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"Ekdum khotti vaat chhè (The story is incorrect),” stated Ervad Darayus Bajan, a trustee at the Ervad Sorabji Hormusji Ranji Agiary off Grant Road. Parsiana was inquiring regarding a news item in the Parsi Junction (PJ) of May 5, 2024 which stated that the fire temple, bereft of devotees, was "virtually locked down except (for the) mobeds of Cama Baug Agiary who come to give boi every day.” Bajan declined to respond to a questionnaire we proposed sending him. "Hoo jawab nai aapas (I will not respond),” he stated. 

Our queries included the names of the current trustees; how many devotees visited Ranji Agiary; how many bois are offered; whether the arrangement of priests from Cama Baug Agiary offering boi is a temporary one; how the premises are kept secure; whether the income from the corpus is sufficient to meet expenses such as salaries, kathi, upkeep, security; whether the Ranji fire would be shifted elsewhere; if so, which are the possible sites; if the fire is shifted, what would the present Ranji Agiary premises be utilized for; would they be sold? 

At the priests conclave on October 8, 2023, Bajan had stated the Ranji Agiary has 10 visitors a month (see "Let us start,” Parsiana, December 7-20, 2023). Commenting on the general scenario for fire temples he had stated, "Nobody comes to the Agiary, there are no priests, no chasniwallas and the volume of work is reducing.” At the Mevawala Agiary in Byculla, three to four devotees visit on an average a day. He said on a visit to the Iranshah Atash Behram in Udvada he found "only two or three devotees present in the sanctum.” The main cause was the dwindling Parsi population which he attributed to migration and interfaith marriages. "The option was either to sell the properties that were not being utilized or risk having them encroached,” felt Bajan. 

PJ noted ,"Earlier, opposite the Ranji Agiary was Transvaal Terrace, Dina Building, Oriental Hotel and other surrounding buildings which had a large Parsi residency there but with passage of time and migration to greener pastures as well as diminishing population due to late marriages or no marriages there are no Parsis left thereabouts leading to virtual lockdown of Ranji Agiary… It is therefore suggested that initially Ranji Agiary be a litmus test case by shifting its holy fire as well as its estate to Cama Baug.”

Parsiana checked with Khushroo Press, managing trustee of the Cama Baug Charity Trust about priests from that Agiary offering boi at Ranji and other related questions. He responded, "I am not familiar with the trustees of Ranji and am not involved in any arrangement with them. To the best of my knowledge, Dastur Keki Ravji (Meherjirana), our panthaky, has been sending his son to offer boi at Ranji every alternate day. There’s one more boiwalla who comes in on other days. This is because Dastur Ravji is related to the late Ervad Homi Ranji, the erstwhile owner and managing trustee of Ranji Agiary. We, as trustees of Cama Baug, do not interfere with the religious activities of the Agiary as that falls within the exclusive domain of the clergy. 

"Regarding the shifting of Ranji Agiary, your guess is as good as mine. We have not been approached or consulted in this regard. It’s up to the trustees of Ranji to decide and declare on shifting. So far the matter is purely hearsay.

"Cama Baug has its fair share of worshippers — enough to sustain the panthaky’s and kathi expenses.

"It’s up to the community leaders to decide what is to be done about the dwindling numbers of worshippers, and more importantly, priests. We have been promoting the behdin pasbaan and mobed refresher course to make sure that our holy fires, wherever they are located, are tended to. The current generation is accustomed to a much higher level of comfort/luxury than the earlier ones. A major stumbling block in getting young boys to become athornans is the strict regimen of nahan. To this end, we have set up an air conditioned nahankhana so that children from athornan families are encouraged to take up mobedi. The holy fires have looked after us for generations. It’s time we reciprocated.” 

In Marzban Giara’s Global Directory of Zoroastrian Fire Temples there is a quote from a tablet in the Ranji premises: "This atash adaran sahib building… was established by late Ervad Sorabji Hormusji Ranji out of his own funds on roz Ardibehest, mah Avan, A. Y. 1236, 1867 A. C.” As there was a dispute among his heirs, on October 15, 1908, Justice Sir Dinsha Davar passed a decree declaring the building a public charitable institution and a trust deed was made on December 3, 1914.

"The ground floor was renovated by heirs of the late founder at their own expense and a large hall was built on the first floor out of financial contributions by philanthropic Parsi ladies and gentlemen. The new building was opened on December 3, 1914 for the use of Parsi Zoroastrians,” states Giara.

He further quotes from Parsi Prakash: "The new building of the daremeher was consecrated by Dastur Minocher Jamaspji JamaspAsana on roz 17, mah 12, 1290 Yezdezerdi, August 22, 1921. Rs 80,000 was spent for constructing the building. Seth Sorabji and Behramji Edulji Ranji and Ervad Rustamji Bejonji Ranji together contributed Rs 10,000, Seth Manekji Mancherji Baliwalla contributed Rs 10,000.”

Adds Giara, five generations of priests from the Ranji family founded and served the Agiary for 135 years right from inception.