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Lights were switched off in the two halls that housed the 1,200 plus audience and in the adjoining service areas prior to the start of the Mithoo Jesia-conceived docudrama Amar Jyoti Zarathustra on the life of the Prophet. This was necessary to experience the full impact of the visuals in the show, explained host and Iranshah Udvada Utsav (IUU 2019) core committee member Hoshaang Gotla prior to the staging on December 27, 2019, the first day of the three-day festival. "Religion, revelry and recognition” was the promise of the organizing committee for IUU 2019. The Utsav germinated from a suggestion of then chief minister of Gujarat and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attract visitors to the south Gujarat coastal town. This is the second part of Parsiana’s coverage of the three-day event (see "The blessings of Iranshah,” Parsiana, January 7-January 20, 2020).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enacted with approximately 50 artists ranging in age from six to 60, Amar… portrayed various stages in the life of Zarathushtra from his birth to his passing away, with actor Boman Irani providing the "voice” of Ahura Mazda. The narration of the story was provided by Jesia, with Aarish Daruwalla of Mazda Events providing the musical score, as noted the introduction. The tableau, in which "statues” depicting the court of the Persian emperor to whom Zarathushtra preached came to life, drew many sharp intakes of breath from the audience. "I could not have done this without the full support of (Udvada High Priest and member of the National Commission for Minorities) Dastur Khurshed Dastoor and the blessings of Iranshah,” acknowledged Jesia when she received a standing ovation at the end of the segment. "I drove Khurshed and (his wife) Havovi mad” during the preparations for the event, claimed the Dadar resident and matriarch. Revived 40 years after it was first staged, Jesia acknowledged the support she had then received from noted jurist Ervad Nadir Modi (who was present in the audience) in scripting the drama. In December 2019, the docudrama was also staged at the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Dadar Athornan Institute.    
IUU 2019 kicked off with a somewhat sparsely-attended jashan in the Uzirin gah performed by Ervads Zarir Dastoor, Darayus Sidhwa, Dinshah Mughol, Kersi Sidhwa, Cawas Dastoor, Behram Bhadha and Firdosh Sidhwa. As the main Iranshah building is under renovation, the jashan was performed in the adjacent Dinshaw Petit Daremeher (dadgah) building where the Atash Behram fire is temporarily ensconced. The Utsav Hall resounded with monajats in praise of the Prophet rendered by Havovi Karanjia, with Hufrish Bamji on the keyboard, including two songs on the last day of the event in the presence of chief guest Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. He was accompanied by Valsad member of Parliament K. C. Patel and Gujarat legislative assembly member Kanu Desai. Also present was Jehangir Panthaki representing sponsor Dr Cyrus Poonawalla. Ék Zarthosti tolo aavyo mukam Bandar Sanjan (a group of Zoroastrians landed at Sanjan port) went the words of one song. A dramatized film on the life of the Prophet previously made by Dubai resident Meher Bhesania played in a continuous loop on the last day while audiences waited for Rupani’s arrival.
The essence of the song-dance-sketches segment "Gujarat ni aarsi, amé Parsi (The mirror of Gujarat, we Parsis)” presented by dramatist Yazdi Karanjia was the honesty and good nature of the community, stated Maharukh Chichgar. She compered, acted in and "thought it up together” with her father Yazdi. They wanted to showcase Gujarat’s Parsipanu, she said. A total of 45 actors, dancers and singers took part. "I had to use my management skills more than my artistic skills,” Chichgar laughed. The actors and the dancers had no time to practice together in Surat where they are based. "Final rehearsals were only in Udvada,” she stated. 
The revue kicked off with two dozen dancers who presented semi classical dances to the Gujarati "anthem” Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat (Hail, proud Gujarat) and the bhajan Vaishnav jan tau téhné kahiyé (Call those people Vaishnav who...). A brief skit about a Parsi man who wanted to die, and then changed his mind drew many laughs. The finale included a medley of Bollywood and Gujarati numbers to which choreographer Dimple Deputy’s troupe performed. When Parsi women in garas joined them on stage, the spectacle drew much applause, especially during the rendition of the Parsi garba Mari rangili darjan (My colorful female tailor). The participants in the community garba were Chichgar, Kashmira Palia, Mahazarin Variava, Dilnaz Besania, Vahishta Engineer, Perin Karanjia, Daisy Patel, Mahtab Bhatporia and Afreen Patrawala. Shehzad, Farzan, Perin and Veera Karanjia, Anosh and Mahazarine Chichgar, Hormuz and Dilnaz Besania, Binaifer Daboo and Jal Langrana took part in the skits, listed Maharukh. Navsari-based Rumi Baria provided the music. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mixing genres
An adaptation of Elvis Presley’s 1960 hit It’s now or never by songsters Hormuz Ragina and Danesh Khambatta alluded to the urgent need within the community to procreate rapidly: "We are in a plight/We will soon be out of sight.” Other numbers that had the audience dancing were Presley’s Rock around the clock and Crazy little thing called love from Queen. Ragina’s bands (currently named Groove Garden) have played "as a goodwill gesture” at both the 2015 and 2017 versions of the Utsav under the name of The Big Red Bus. "It is a pleasure to play for so many community members… but to play to a larger audience would be more satisfying to us as performers,” he revealed, bemoaning the decreasing attendees at the Utsavs he has witnessed over the years. "I will be back with The Big Red Bus next time there is an Utsav,” he promised. Groove Garden comprises vocalists Ragina, Khambatta, Sarfaraz Irani and Zoe Siddharth; pianist Kaizad Gherda; lead guitarist Siddharth Shankar and bass guitarist Adil Kurwa. 
When choreographer and dancer Burzin Engineer leapfrogged over the back of his hunched co-dancer Dawood Qureshi from the stage onto the space in front in a closing flourish, the audience’s gasps were audible. "I had injured myself while rehearsing for the jump, yet I did it,” stated Engineer. The eight-member team that included Engineer and Qureshi had only a fortnight to prepare for the six-minute segment, he told us. A former merchant navy officer, Engineer has been dancing for 18 years and teaching dance for 10, he said. The 28-year-old founder of Dance-OUT Company ("we combine dancing with high-impact aerobics and physical training”) has been a lead dancer for Raell Padamsee’s Ace Productions, he explained. Engineer’s curriculum vitae states that he has conducted dance training for the students of J. B.Vachha, J. B. Petit and Alexandra Schools. He listed his other team members: Naasha Bhot, Fiona Karbhari, Jennifer Batliwala, Khushnaaz Irani, Benafsha Kavarana and Kanchi Gupta. "Prayers have their place and dancing has its place,” he told Parsiana when queried about the naysayers who objected to the song-and-dance sequences at IUU 2019. "It is stupid of people to mix the two…we were anyway far from the Atash Behram,” he noted.  
"We wanted our audience to dance, groove, sing (and) join us… (so) a (mix of) genres worked well,” noted music composer and pianist Merlin D’Souza of Soul Yatra – Filmitronix whose band played for 90 minutes on the penultimate day of the Utsav. After some initial coaxing, music for the bhangra and the twist, with rock and roll melding with disco and Latin tunes, had the audience on their feet. Vocalists Shahzneen Arethna, Shrurti Bhave and Dwyane Gamree (supported by guitarist Adil Manuel; bass guitarist Saurab Suman; drummer Cassian Fernandes; percussionist Anirudh Shirke) and their Hollywood-Bollywood numbers, many from the 1950s and 60s, found favor with 72-year-old Surat resident Nariman Panthaki. He was among the first of about 150 members of the audience to get up and shake a leg. The band’s segment "Bollywood through the Ages,” with Engineer’s dancers accompanying the band for a few numbers, enticed even more of the audience to get rocking. "(Swedish band) Abba’s numbers were a special request, so we had those as well,” D’Souza told us.
"When I mentioned to Havovi (Dastoor), that I was open to collaborating with any Parsi artiste, she suggested Aspi Sepoy,” noted D’Souza. The caretaker of the Zoroastrian Information Center (ZIC) regaled the audience with renditions of about six of his favorites from Hindi films. (Sepoy was earlier a victim of a train accident at Udvada station and both his legs, knee downward, had to be amputated.) 
D’Souza, whose band had earlier performed at IUU 2017, said that the current edition of the Utsav saw more audience interaction. Happy with the time management of the performances before her band, she noted that the audience "did not migrate to the yummy dinner spread while we were playing!” (Earlier, Gotla had announced that dinner would be served only after the band had finished playing.)
"Parsis understand harmony (in music) and have internalized it,” was her parting remark.