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Progressive parents, supportive spouses, compatible children were acknowledged by most of the eight recipients who were conferred the 2012 North American Zarathushti Community Awards in New York on August 2 this year. During the course of the XVI North American Zarathushti Congress, the post-lunch session on the first day was devoted to honoring the achievers with a plaque and citation at the hands of Nirupama Rao, Indian Ambassador to the US.
Commending the Zarathushti gathering for having "achieved so much and brought honor to your community” Rao appreciated that they had "found success and fulfilment.” There are three million Indian Americans in the US who constitute one percent of the country’s population, she mentioned, acknowledging the contribution of those who have "built bridges… (for the) progressive partnership between two great democracies.” Welcoming the flow of "ideas, innovation, technology,” she referred to her respect for the community and alluded to Yesdezard Dinshaw Gundevia’s book Outside the Archives that is considered a masterpiece for students of Indian Foreign Service.
Co-hosting the presentation function were Navroz Gandhi and Shehernaz Joshi Verahrami, then chairs of the Awards Committee of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA). As explained to the audience, 32 nominations were received for the seven award categories. A new award category introduced this year was the North American Mobeds Council (NAMC) Community Services Award that was won by Ervad Zerkxis Z. Bhandara. Every nomination that came in with six pages of details was judged by four individuals. The booklet distributed at the function listed the accomplishments of the award winners and noted in the introduction: "Independent panels of respected North American Zarathushtis judge the nominees for the original six awards, and a committee appointed by the NAMC judges the nominees for the NAMC Community Services Award. The Awards Committee coordinates the evaluation process, tabulates the results, and determines the winner based solely on the judges’ evaluations.”
"The awards are meant to provide role models as mentors… Accomplish goals and push yourselves forward,” urged the hosts. They pointed out, only one of the eight recipients this year is a lady, Freyaz K. Shroff who won the Jamshed Pavri Humanitarian Service Award. Youths in the 15-40 age-group who won laurels were Ervad Bahrom F.

 

Firozgary who was conferred the Shirin Nariman Dastoor Outstanding Young Zarathushti Student Award and Narius K. Dastur who won the Mehraban Zartoshty Outstanding Young Zarathushti Award. Rohinton Mistry won the Excellence in Performing Arts, Painting or Literature Award named after Dinshaw Framroze Joshi who was the first chair of the FEZANA constituted Awards Committee that developed a standard nomination procedure and established the terms of reference for the awards process. There were two recipients — Dr Firdaus S. Dhabhar and Dr Shahrokh Khanizadeh — who shared the Jamshed and Shirin Guzder Excellence in Business or Profession Award. The Rohinton Rivetna Outstanding Zarathushti Award went to Firdosh D. Mehta.
Unable to receive his award in person because he was readying for his MCAD (Microsoft Certified Applications Developer) examinations, Firozgary’s award was received by his father Farrokh.

 

 

Currently majoring in biochemistry and cellular biology at Rice University, Bahrom’s goal is to study medicine and become a surgeon. Besides maintaining a very high grade point average, Bahrom is an avid musician, an academic mentor, a basketball player, an Eagle Scout, a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and with the Baylor College of Medicine Shoulder-to-Shoulder program. An active member of the Zoroastrian Association of Houston, the young navar has performed many jashans for the community
and has won community acclaim in the form of the Houston Congress Legacy Award, the Ahura Vakhshoori Scholarship and the Fali Chothia Charitable Trust Scholarship. In the acceptance message read by his father, Bahrom acknowledged that he was "proud of my unique heritage” and mentioned that he derived his "confidence and work ethics” from his religion.
Dastur currently works as an information technology technician for an integrated police agency after earning his graduation in computer science from the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. He additionally works part-time for the New Westminster Police Department where he has volunteered over 800 hours in their Crime Prevention Unit that earned him the 5 Years of Volunteer Service Award in 2011. An active member of the Zoroastrian Society of British Columbia (ZSBC) he has been serving as its webmaster for the last eight years with his expertise being used to develop the websites of the Ninth North American Zarathushti Games and the Fifth World Zoroastrian Youth Congress as well. Thanking the ZSBC for nominating him and the Awards Committee for bestowing him with the honor, Narius mentioned that his role models are his parents Khushrav and Kashmira Dastur.
Likewise Bhandara too acknowledged his appreciation for his "adorable, amazing, babarta, fafarta (griping and grumbling), naachtaa-kudtaa (happy-go-lucky) parents,” Tenaaz and Zarir.
The 17-year-old California resident who wants to be "a well-rounded and well-educated Zarathushti priest” has been holding weekly humbandagi sessions along with his father at the Zoroastrian Association of California’s new center, leading the prayers as well as preparing the lunch for those in attendance. When NAMC president Kobad Zarolia introduced him, he mentioned that Zerkxis "enjoys cooking with a passion and feeding the poor with compassion.” In addition to taking his religious responsibilities seriously by daily setting aside time for prayer and tending a fire with a boi ceremony as also organizing annual muktad prayers at his residence, he maintains a high grade point average while taking a challenging load of Advanced Placement and honors high school courses. Recognizing that the "God that resides in me resides in everyone everywhere,” Zerkxis feels the need to "treat everyone with the same love, compassion and kindness… I have solely performed a fragment of the duty that every athornan is expected to perform.”
Yet another priest who was recognized by NAMC that afternoon was Ervad Pervez Patel of the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY). He was presented a shawl to assure him "of the love and affection of the community.” Given a standing ovation before and after his speech, Patel who was taken unawares by "this closely guarded secret” mentioned that he would like to share this award with
the "past, present and future mobeds of ZAGNY... I would like to thank Ahura Mazda for giving me birth in a family of priests and my late parents who made me a priest… I would like to dedicate this shawl to one person whom I never met but who has done so much for the mobed community – Seth M. F. Cama (who) gave over Rs 25 lakhs (for the construction of The M. F. Cama Athornan Institute in Andheri, Bombay). Camaji has left a legacy of outstanding priests…”
Amongst the well-known international writers in the world whose works have been translated in more than 30 languages, Bombay-born Mistry completed his graduation in economics and mathematics from St Xavier’s College and moved to Canada in 1975. He began writing fiction in response to a short story competition at the University of Toronto where he won the first prize in 1983 and once again the following year. In 1985 he left his bank job to pursue a full-time writing career, authoring a collection of short stories and three novels that were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Over the years he has won recognition in the form of Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book, the Royal Society of Literature’s Winifred Holtby Award, the Canadian Authors Association Fiction Award and honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa, York University and the University of Toronto. In 2009 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and recently he was a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize. Receiving the award on behalf of Mistry was Sam Vesuna, former president of the Zoroastrian Society of Ontario who read out Mistry’s message: "Along with my thanks I take the liberty of offering a word of caution to the judges. Over the years some Parsis and Zoroastrians have chosen to be offended by my books. And now your decision may compel them to be offended yet again in they may even blame you for ruining their appetite and forever making it impossible to enjoy their dhansak. But I suppose that is a risk with which we will have to live…”
Director of research at the Stanford Center on Stress and Health, and additionally holding appointments with the Stanford University School of Medicine, Dhabhar has been a pioneer in the study of how short-term fight-or-flight stress response can enhance immunity. A graduate of Dartmouth College, the London School of Economics and The Rockefeller University from where he received his PhD in Biomedical Sciences in Immunology and Neuroendocrinology, Dhabhar’s multidisciplinary research that is internationally recognized is supported by the MacArthur Foundation and the National Institute of Health. Having contributed to innumerable scholarly and scientific journals he is the recipient of several awards. Whilst acknowledging the contribution of his "critical mentors as also students and collaborators,” Dhabhar was equally appreciative of his parents, sister, wife and two sons. Happy to be ordained as a navar and a member of "a highly accomplished and caring community,” he told the gathering, "Please excuse my jeans; the airlines lost my bags.”
Yet another research scientist who was honored was Khanizadeh, internationally recognized for his expertise in fruit genetics and fruit breeding. A graduate from Tehran University with a doctorate in tree fruit physiology from McGill University, Khanizadeh who is affiliated with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has served as president of the Canadian Society for Horticultural Science and was conferred the Gold Harvest Award by the Government of Canada. Having developed software, database and books on new methods of fruit breeding including unique varieties of strawberries and apples, three of his books are used as reference
works in Canada and internationally. Currently serving as editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Plant Science Khanizadeh has also lent his technical and artistic publishing expertise to the FEZANA Journal, designing the graphic layout of each issue since 2006 and even putting all the past issues online so that they can be visible and recognized by internet search engines.
Co-chair of the FEZANA Welfare Committee and a volunteer with the World Zoroastrian Organisation Trust, Shroff’s commitment to humanitarian causes has earned her recognition in North America and internationally. Among the programs she has conceived and executed are the toll-free critical assistance telephone line which allows Zarathushti victims of domestic violence and families to seek assistance, classrooms for a children’s shelter home and a youth education sponsorship program for the children of Zoroastrian priests in India. Recently she represented FEZANA at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women where she spoke on how to empower rural women to overcome poverty and hunger. Currently working in Bombay with the Colaba Municipal School where she oversees 100 low income students, the activist believes that those blessed "are obligated to share their time, money and smile.” Giving her parents Nivi and Kurush credit for providing her "values, belief, conscience and strength,” she was equally appreciative of her sister Nazneen and "the FEZANA family, my mentors, guides, coaches.”
By the time the last awardee Mehta was honored, the fire alarm that had been accidentally triggered at Hotel Hilton Westchester was ringing at regular intervals making the Outstanding Zarathushti Award winner jest, "That beeping is not my pacemaker.” A registered professional engineer and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Mehta is highly regarded within his profession and has won innumerable awards from Canadian and American engineering societies. Past president of FEZANA, Mehta has been volunteering his services to the community at large and very specifically to the youth. With his scholarship and knowledge of the Zoroastrian religion, he is a popular speaker at various universities, interfaith groups and Zarathushti associations throughout North America. Instrumental in establishing the Zarathushti Symphony Orchestra, he is recognized as "a visionary, a mentor and an unflagging crusader (whose)…outstanding leadership and service have furthered the cause of the Zarathushti community in North America.” Known to infuse his brand of humor effortlessly, when introducing the awardee Ervad Soli Dastur jocularly announced that Mehta was the recipient of "Outstanding Koila Joke Telling Award!” Alluding to the contribution of his parents Tehmina and Dara, as also to the stellar role of Dinshaw Joshi, Mehta added, "With our belief in fravashis, I am sure they are all giving me the thumbs up sign.” Declaring that "without my wife Rashna I would be nowhere in this world,” and referring to his daughter Sherazade Mehta who had received a FEZANA award 10 years earlier, the last recipient quipped, "I am only walking in the footsteps of my daughter.”