"The tombstones themselves have apparently been missing for over 15 years, and the spot is now where people defecate freely… I even rummaged through some nearby rubble, hoping to find some bits of tombstone… Nothing… Dreadful,” stated photographer-cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi of the deserted Parsi graveyard in Gadag in Karnataka. He was on a trip to the southern states when he located the aramgah about 400 km northwest of Bangalore and 160 km southeast of Belgaum. "Sadly, the land with the graveyard has been under dispute for some years, and they have chosen to be disrespectful and destroy the graves,” he told Parsiana from the location.
Gadag’s desecrated aramgah
Chaturvedi, who has been devotedly photographing Parsi aramgahs (see "In loving memory of…,” Parsiana, February 21-March 6, 2024) heard of the graveyard from Poona-based calligraphist Perin Pudumjee Coyaji. Reportedly, there were at least three graves in this aramgah. "Her family worked with the cotton industry…She told me about her grandma and her gravestone, and the fact that she is named after her.”
Gadag has been featuring among the defunct anjumans of The Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India for over two decades. In 2003 it was reported that negotiations for the Gadag anjuman property were "close to completion” when for "the first time a trustee had extended full cooperation (see ‘A world body by end 2003?’ Parsiana, August 2003).”