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Died: Mani Jehangir (Jhangoo) Clubwala, 92, livewire of Madras who served as secretary of the Madras Parsi Association (MPA), the Jal Phiroj Clubwala (JPC) Dar-e-Meher and vice president of The Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI); on March 10, 2022 in Madras.
"I had of course known her as a wise and capable senior of the community but I began to get insights into her wisdom and working techniques…when I became president of the Anjuman and chairman of the JPC Dar-e-Meher,” noted Darius Bahadurji in his message read out at the meeting and dinner jointly hosted by the nonagenarian’s sons Astad and Kaikhushru (Kaika), the JPC Dar-e-Meher, The Madras Parsi Zarthosti Anjuman and the MPA on March 26 to celebrate Clubwala’s fulfilling life. To ensure the fire temple was kept in an immaculate condition, "no detail was too big or too small for her all-seeing eye: the exterior, the interiors, the plants and gardens, how the diva glasses should be kept, the stained glass restored or the old chiming clock serviced… She helped me become a better leader and community man,” acknowledged Bahadurji.
Known for her joie de vivre, her ability to raise funds for different milestones observed in the community, and to assuage those in distress, Mani had come to be regarded as a godmother by many and a surrogate grandparent to their children. A framed photo of Mani’s cheery countenance evoked fond memories for several of them while they regaled the audience with tales of Mani and her predeceased husband Jehangir, a venerated couple in Madras.
Senior Dar-e-Meher trustee Dadi Dalal described her as "very thoughtful and kind, with the best interests of the community at heart.” Her cheerful disposition and warm hospitality helped innumerable newcomers to the city settle down in Madras. She would reassure them that "the city has turned every Parsi who lived there into a millionaire!” reminisced Ervad Bomi Vazifdar. Raised in Karachi, marriage to Jehangir had brought her to India.
MPA president Jasmine Kabraji related how her maid looking at a television program on Queen Elizabeth II was sanguine the royal head had visited their home for she was confusing the Queen with Mani! "She certainly had a regal demeanor and yet was so approachable. She put her heart and soul into social work and socialized with gusto… often mothering members of the community when in need.” To build the edifice for MPA and raise the required funds, popular plays from Bombay would be staged in Madras with Mani’s organizational skills.
"Mani Aunty was a legend. She worked extremely hard with all associations to make them flourish, galvanizing all people with her always very positive attitude…infectious enthusiasm and zest for life. To our Billimoria family she was like our own banyan tree, giving shade to us all, nurturing and comforting one and all,” said Naju Shridhar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A warm, gregarious and fun personality,” known for her signature kotis (warm hugs), she could build a rapport with any and every one, stated Zenobia Dang. Having learnt driving when she was in her 50s, Mani often dented the car, making her husband comment that she needed a car with a bumper on all four sides! Firdause Jila referred to her positive nature and ability to galvanize. Although initially reluctant to share her reminiscences, Sherry Batliwala admitted that she asked herself whether she would have decline to speak if Mani had asked her! In her persuasive, winning style, Mani would have started the conversation with "‘Darling jau (see)…’ and we would be her slaves. For Mani, nothing was a chore, everything was done for a cause,” observed Batliwala. To Souji Salim who had come over specifically from Colombo to pay her respects, "Mani aunty was a fountain of magic.”
Over the years she was a regular attendee at the FPZAI meets. Coolheaded and courteous, she made her Anjuman’s point of view known.
As vice president of The National Association for the Blind and president of the Madras chapter "she worked not for the blind, but with the blind. A friend to every visually challenged person, she communicated with them with her love,” commented Alagu Muthu. "An inspirational leader who led from the front…” she is known to have started a vocational training center, a community based rehabilitation program, inclusive education, a car rally for the visually impaired in Madras… Visually challenged Dipthi Bhatia too shared fond memories of Mani.
Working as an accountant with The Guild of Service that looks after deserted women and their children, M. Ezhil admitted how "one could never say ‘no’ to Mani aunty.” Despite her multifarious commitments, she would always be on time for meetings. Zavera Shahuna described Mani as "A guide to the core,” having won the Silver Elephant, the highest national award in the Girl Guides movement. Mani was the district commissioner of Bharat Scouts and Guides in Bombay and state commissioner in Tamil Nadu.
 "I often connected her single-minded devotion to the tasks she undertook with the motto of the Indian Army’s 54th Infantry Division, ‘Bash on, regardless,’” noted Perviz Bhote in her written message read on the occasion. In awe of her remarkable aptitude to raise funds, Bhote had enquired of her how she managed this difficult and embarrassing task. "I’m not asking for myself. I’m asking people to support a good cause, so why should I feel bad?” Mani promptly responded.
Bhote recalled the time she had come to Madras as a bride. Just a fortnight before her wedding, her father-in-law had passed away. It was Mani who took the lead in arranging for the nuptials in her own home, stoically forgetting that she was recovering from cancer surgery and Jehangir from a throat surgery. On another occasion when Perviz’s husband Dara suddenly took very ill soon after the passing away of Jehangir, instead of attending her husband’s prayers at the fire temple, Mani chose to be by Dara’s side, convinced that "Darling Jhangoo has passed on and he will get the rewards in the other world on the merits of his good deeds.”
Her joie de vivre was infectious. She loved to play mahjong and her social appointments were meticulously jotted in her diary. Even five days prior to her demise she had taken friends to lunch at the Madras Club. Whether it was her love for malai (cream) or chhaas (buttermilk) that she asked for three days before her demise when in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), she relished her "mitthu monu (desserts)” after a hearty meal with friends.
For one who thrived in the company of friends, well-wishers and acquaintances, to her, the pandemic was almost a punishment for there were curbs on movements and gatherings, recalled Roshan Poncha who was the master of ceremonies at the commemoration meeting. When Mani was told that assembly of more than 10 people was not permitted during the pandemic, she had voiced her apprehensions, "I hope I don’t die now when only five or 10 people can come for my funeral prayers!” Adolescents Rustom and Eruch Poncha who would regularly visit her home to regale her with music and games sang My Way at the remembrance meet that reflected her passion for life.
When Mani had slowed down in the last couple of years, it was her caregiver Lorna Capadia who ensured that Mani continued to be in the best of spirits. To acknowledge Capadia’s contribution, Astad and Kaika specially presented her with flowers at the meet. With both sons based in the USA they felt reassured knowing their mother was in capable hands. When Capadia called them in early March to inform them that a kidney infection required Mani to be hospitalized, both of them immediately flew down to Madras. Even in the ICU she was her usual perky self that convinced the doctor to shift her to a regular room!
"She had an uncanny ability to find humor and laughter in the midst of pain,” stated Kaika who appreciated that his mother did not tell him "how I should live, what I should do, what I should say. We just observed and picked up from her: to do what was right and not to offend anyone in the process; not to hold grudges against those who may have offended us.”
The youngest of nine children born to Goolamai and Jehangair Mehta, Astad described his mother as "broadminded...had complete trust in humanity (without a second thought would hand over her car keys to an unknown driver, requesting him to park the car while she went shopping!)... had tremendous courage in the face of adversity (when she fell flat on her face in New York soon after a knee replacement surgery, she got up with a smile saying, ‘I’m so lucky. Had these been my natural knees, they would have been shattered!’)... lived life to the fullest.”
In Mani’s autograph book, her Mama School principal Iris Thompson had quoted a verse from George Eliot’s Count That Day Lost which Mani knew by heart and believed in: "If you sit down at set of sun/ And count the acts that you have done,/ And, counting, find/ One self-denying deed, one word/ That eased the heart of him who heard,/ One glance most kind/ That fell like sunshine where it went/ Then you may count that day well spent.”
The effervescent energizer is survived by her sons Astad and Kaika.