Parsis in South Gujarat moved to Bhavnagar about 130 years ago, perhaps after the decline in commercial activities in Surat, noted Ruzbeh Umrigar, volunteer and Gujarat conservation projects coordinator for Parzor. He was speaking at an event jointly organized with the Bhavnagar unit of the Indian National Trust for Architecture Conservation and Heritage (INTACH) at the Nilambag Palace Hotel in Bhavnagar on September 2, 2023.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of two restored frames with images of the prophet to the Bhavnagar Parsi Anjuman (BPA). They were restored under the auspices of Parzor Foundation and under the guidance of conservator Anupam Sah. BPA secretary Homi Patel collected the frames on behalf of the Anjuman from Samyukta Kumari Gohil, matriarch of the erstwhile royal family. A note on the event was sent to Parsiana by Umrigar, who is the great-grandson of Dorabji Umrigar, benefactor to the community, he stated.
Clockwise from above l: Kersi Deboo, 3rd from l, showing Samyukta Kumari Gohil (in vermillion sari)
and others around "Parsiwada;" dilapidated dharamshala; Homi Patel; Anupam Sah; Ruzbeh Umrigar holding
restored frame presented to Bhavnagar Parsi Anjuman
Chief guest and vice chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Kersi Deboo introduced the 80 odd persons present to the lives of illustrious Parsis from the city: Politician Sir Mancherjee Bhownaggree and Umrigar in whose name the land for the city’s Dorabji Shapurji Umrigar Daremeher (dadgah) was donated by the then ruler to the increasing Parsi population of the city. INTACH unit convenor for Bhavnagar, Brijeshwari Kumari of the erstwhile royal family of Bhavnagar State, gave the welcome address.
Those present included a smattering of the 32 Parsis who make Bhavnagar their home, INTACH members and supporters, and members of the erstwhile royal family including patriarch Vijayraj Singh Gohil. Located in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, the city’s population is estimated at 817,000 by a government census website.
About 30 of those assembled walked through the city’s "Parsiwada” where Deboo reiterated the sugar-in-the-milk fable of Jadi Rana and addressed their questions. Umrigar explained that Parsiwada refers to the compound which houses their old hall, the fire temple and the erstwhile dharamshala. Deboo also toured the Doongerwadi property along with Patel and officers of the forest department for clearing the overgrowth, said Umrigar.
Patel told Parsiana on September 18 that there has been no mobed in the city; the last one to serve the fire temple passed away in 2011. Their dakhma was last used in 2002. An aramgah exists within the Doongerwadi premises. Besides Patel, the other trustees of the Anjuman, all Bhavnagar based, are president Kavas Daruwala, Parvez Bhathena, Meheriyar Khambatta, Nirmala Khambatta (Meheriyar’s non-Parsi wife), Kashmira Baria, Firdaus and Neville Patel (Homi’s sons) and Kurush Bharucha. When queried if their trust deed permitted a non-Parsi to be a trustee, Homi said, "Nai malé tau su karvanu (What do we do…we could not find one)?” The Anjuman is not currently a member of The Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India.