The 131th salgirah of the Navroji Chanjibhai Mehta Agiary in Bardoli was celebrated on November 23, 2016 with a maachi offered to the dadgah fire in the morning followed by a khushali nu jashan conducted by Ervad Rumi Aspi Sanjana. Present at the jashan were trustees of the fire temple and Zoroastrian residents of Bardoli ranging in age from one-year-old Rushad Shahzad Mehta to nonagenarian Dolat Sorabji Mehta, states Marzban Giara in a write-up sent to Parsiana.
Navroji Chanjibhai Mehta Agiary, Bardoli
The Agiary in Bardoli’s Parsi Gully was built in December 1885 by Navsari resident Edulji Navroji Mehta in memory of his late father Navroji Chanjibhai Mehta at a cost of Rs 5,000. Bardoli is situated 27 km from Navsari. Edulji had sailed to China at the age of 15. After a voyage which lasted six months, he served as godown keeper with the first Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. Fifteen years later, Edulji returned to Navsari and in partnership with Nusserwanji Talati began to trade with China in cloth, bangles, silk, pearls, tea, cinnamon, opium and cotton. Their firm was located in Canton with branches in Bombay, Hong Kong, Amoy, Fuchau and Taiwan, Giara enlightens.
After over a century, the Agiary building was reconstructed and re-opened to devotees on January 18, 2014, with the prayer hall dedicated to the memory of Villoo Cyrus Poonawalla. Mobed quarters were built and furnished in 2012 in memory of Bai Maneckbai Pirojshaw Jejeebhoy. The dakhma in Bardoli is unused with corpses being carried to the Doongerwadis in Navsari or Surat. Across the street from the fire temple is the Faramji Dinshaw Petit Dharamshala, rebuilt in 1997. The Dharamshala houses a community hall in the basement, some shops and a charitable dispensary on the ground floor, with the first floor being reserved for guests.
With a population of about 135 Parsis in Bardoli and neighboring villages, the Anjuman was able to successfully host a meeting of the Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India in 2002.
Parsis would do well to take risks and move out of Bombay to other towns and prosper as entrepreneurs, advises Giara, noting that the honorary secretary of the Anjuman, Pervez Bahmanshah Mehta moved to Bardoli with his family 25 years ago from Bombay and is a successful businessman and educator.