Subscribers’ comments on Parsiana’s strengths and weaknesses written on the subscription renewal form are published with their consent. Unless another name is affixed to the remarks, Parsiana assumes they are written by the subscriber.
Parsiana’s strengths: Parsiana is doing a good job. Keep it up! BEHROZE DARUWALLA
Parsiana’s strengths: Excellent! Going on steadily. JIMMY KERSI GODIWALLA
Parsiana’s shortcomings: Your editorial department does not like articles on smaller places with less population of Parsis. Also, all the news we send is not accepted and the department has never bothered to know anything about us. I am a regular subscriber to Parsiana for over 30 years, though there may have been a break due to exigencies of service, but I have never read any news about Ajmer.
I had sent very lovely articles about the Parsis but I was told that they were very long or some other excuses were given, and they were never printed. I only hope that you know we have a functional agiary with a mobed where boi is offered four times a day and a dakhma for over 130 years. A handful of about 20 members, old and young, run a proper Parsi anjuman successfully. We manage our trust with proper accounts and have duly elected office bearers. The only thing lacking is money but so far we have managed fairly well and keep the atash burning for 24 hours.
My only complaint is that you never write about us or post pictures of our agiary and dakhma. I do not know whether you are even aware of our existence. I hope that in future you will write about the Parsis of Ajmer.
Maj NOSHIR K. MARFATIA (retd)
President, Shri Ajmer Parsi Jarthosti Anjuman, Ajmer (Rajasthan)
The editors reply:
In the last decade Parsiana has written about the Parsis of Ajmer several times. "The majesty of Ajmer,” an article on Majestic Talkies authored by Maj Noshir Marfatia (retd) himself (August 7, 2011); three letters written by Marfatia used in Readers’ Forum: "Ajmer’s social worker” (June 7, 2008), "Aid for Ajmer’s agiary” (July 21, 2011), "A matter of attitude” (February 7, 2012); "End of an era,” an item in Events and Personalities on the closing down of Majestic Talkies (March 7, 2015); mention of Ajmer’s Parsis in reports on the Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India titled "Reining in the radicals - V” (December 21, 2010) and "Attending to assets - III” (January 7, 2015). The magazine has written about events in Ajmer in earlier issues as well.
• • •
Parsiana’s strengths: Very informative on various aspects of the Parsi community. H. D. PAJNIGAR
Parsiana’s strengths: Berjis Desai’s articles are hilarious and I enjoy reading them. Shortcomings: The magazine is getting thinner. There are too many advertisements. Editorials need to be hard-hitting on issues plaguing the community. Capt JIMMY SARBH
Parsiana’s strengths: Very informative magazine covering non-biased opinions on Zoroastrianism worldwide. Keep growing. FIROZE J. SIDHWA