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Having treasured the 1874 Bible for close to four decades, Dr Pervez Bamji and his wife Annamaria knew that they would have to part company with the 5.5 kg sacred book when they moved to a small condominium in 2015. Serendipity led them to unite the tome with its original owners, the Fenemore family in England, as recounted in Oak Bay News of August 19, 2015 and Four Shires the following month.
The Bamjis had come to acquire the Bible when they were newly married and scouting for furniture for their home at a local auction in the English town of Banbury, Oxfordshire. An art historian, Annamaria was tempted to purchase an "odds and ends” box of books that contained two titles dating from 1774, an 1805 dictionary and the 1874 Bible.
"From the time we acquired the Bible sometime in 1975, we moved homes five times: twice in Banbury, then to Kingston, Ontario, Canada, then to Japan and finally to Victoria, British Columbia. In each home, the Bible was placed in various locations – in our lounge where, due to its age, size (13”x10”x4.5”) and good condition, the Bible was always the topic of conversation. At times it was placed in our bedroom and it even went into storage for three years when we lived in Japan,” the couple responded to Parsiana’s queries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the years, the Bible served "more as an artifact than a prayer book… All our friends loved to open it and thumb through it, wondering who and what was behind such a voluminous work,” stated the Bamjis. When Pervez’s father Jal, a staunch Freemason, visited them, on several occasions he would study portions to identify the Biblical connections with freemasonry.
Bombay born Pervez who has a PhD in electrical engineering worked for Alcan International’s research centers in Banbury, Kingston and Kambara for 28 years before he worked at the Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business in Kingston for 11 years. He first served as associate professor to teach project management and intellectual property management and additionally as the School’s director of Small Business Consulting. Born in Italy, Annamaria obtained her MA in Art History. Currently she is writing a series of articles on Italians in Victoria, British Columbia, during the gold rush of the 1850s.
On several occasions Annamaria referred to their Bible when she sought to investigate the history of its previous owners. From the center pages that list the marriages, births and deaths in the family Bible, she realized it was associated with the Fenemore, Boddington and White families. She asked her former colleague and historian John Webb who continues to live in Oxfordshire whether he knew anyone by that name. Fortuitously Webb had been in touch with George Fenemore at an Oxfordshire cancer clinic and it later emerged that the holy book did belong to his ancestors.
The Bamjis sent off the Bible as a gift and only asked for postal reimbursement for the heavy book. On receiving their family heirloom, Fenemore randomly opened it to a page that bore an image of St Peter. As he subsequently informed the Bamjis, he had been warden of St Peter’s Church for 40 years. "I have a feeling there is a bit of divine intervention,” he believed.
When the Bamjis were asked to expound on their religious loyalties, Pervez mentioned, "I have two copies of the Khordeh Avesta – a Gujarati version which is used when I say my prayers and another English translation by Ervad Kavasji Kanga which I refer to quite often when I want to understand what I pray… I am a devout Zoroastrian. In addition to reciting short prayers twice a day, Sunday mornings are reserved for charging my spiritual battery through prayers to Ahura Mazda when I recite longer prayers like three or four Nyaishes. I also say prayers for my dearly departed on appropriate death anniversaries… I possess various booklets on Zoroastrianism which I refer from time to time… I firmly believe in the quote by Lord Alfred Tennyson: ‘More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of’… Annamaria and I have always respected our respective religions. In fact I accompany her to church on Christmas and Easter and at other times. It is nice to see several parallels in the religious ceremonies. Sometimes the sermons are also thought provoking.”
Annamaria believes that prayers should not be at the expense of "family duties.” She refers to having "a crucifix in the bedroom and also a little statue of Madonna (acquired on my confirmation many decades ago) on my bedside table. The Madonna always accompanies me when I travel. This must be the most traveled Madonna. Also hanging in the bedroom is a painting of the Virgin Mary by a famous Mexican artist Octavio Ocampo.” For Pervez, the brass asho farohar mounted on a wooden plaque continues to have "a prominent place in our home.” As sums up Annamaria, "We both believe that God is one… Respect, tolerance and knowledge of all religions are the Bamji household’s credo.”