May I say how exceedingly pleased I was seeing the front cover of Parsiana ("Dr Shernaz Cama: creating community consciousness”) appear on my desktop in the early hours of March 21, 2017, our New Year’s Day, Nowruz?
It was a grateful recognition of a lady, for her unparalleled, distinguished services, exceptional contributions and achievements in the service of the Parsi community in India and the Zoroastrians world-wide. Above all, she sought to enlighten the people of India about the community, its very ancient religion and its exceptional contribution to India through three expertly curated, concurrently running exhibitions in New Delhi from March to May 2016, the likes of which have never been seen before, anywhere. A humongous task that involved years of meticulous planning and coordinating resulted in: "The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination” at the National Museum; "Threads of Continuity” at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts; and "No Parsi is an Island” and"Painted Encounters: Parsi Traders and the Community” at the National Gallery of Modern Art. The 11-week-long program included
various talks and shows, multiple times a week in Delhi’s torrid hot summer.
Despite experiencing seri-ous medical problems mid-April, and disregarding doctor’s
orders she was there smiling with her dedicated team, ensuring the smooth running of the events.
In the January 26, 2017 "Padma list” announced by the Indian government, I expected to see Cama’s name. However, what the Presidential Awards overlooked, Parsiana compensated.