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Plants were growing out of the walls. Around 100 wooden beams had rotted. The interiors were musty with smoke from the sacred fire which had also blackened the walls. The stained glass windows that once adorned three sides of the front porch extending on to the pavement were damaged a long time ago. The forlorn Sodawater Agiary, also known as Seth Jamshedji Dadabhai Amaria Sodawaterwalla Agiary, had gone the way of many community institutions. Few know where it is located or even that it exists.
Then two ageing, generous donors came to the rescue. With their help the present trustees got together and restored the 148-year-old fire temple on Queen’s Road (now Maharshi Karve Marg). The duo were to be felicitated on the institution’s anniversary, September 3, 2021, Fravardin roz and mah, but the gathering of under 20 attendees was told that both Soonu Buhariwalla and Jal Sethna were ill and unable to attend. Just then word came that the gutsy Buhariwalla would be present after all following the 10 a.m. jashan performed by Ervads Pervez Karanjia (the panthaky) and his son, Arzan.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                    
When Pervez thanked Buhariwalla for her magnanimous donation of Rs 37.2 lakhs, the spritely lady responded, "No, thank you” for looking after the fire temple and keeping the flame burning. "I should touch your feet,” she commented when he bent to touch hers. Religious institutions should be preserved so that "our grandchildren will be pleased to visit our fire temples,” she stated. However, the only young person present at the function was the contractor’s daughter, Karishma Sukhadia.
Agiary trustee Anahita Desai narrated how social workers Sherry and Karyesh Patel had approached Buhariwalla for a donation to repair the Agiary. She first gave a cheque of Rs 30,000, Karyesh recalled. When told the expenses would be far greater, she asked for an estimate. She then gave Rs 22 lakhs; as the costs escalated, she donated another Rs 13 lakhs and finally Rs 2.2 lakhs. Buhariwalla and her late husband Hoshang had both been middle class bank employees, Karyesh noted. She worked in a department dealing with shares. The Buhariwallas also started investing in shares. Those investments brought them rich returns. Earlier this year she donated Rs 18 lakhs for renovating the Dhunbai Tarachand bungli at Doongerwadi (see "Bungli renovated,” Parsiana, February 21-March 6, 2021).
Sethna, too, accumulated his fortune through shrewd investments in shares and has extended financial help to several causes. He made his donation of Rs 15 lakhs through the offices of the World Zoroastrian Organisation Trust Funds (WZOTF). Desai said he has also committed to financially assist the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) run F. S. Parukh Dharamshalla. Dinshaw Tamboly, chairman and managing trustee of WZOTF informed Parsiana via a WhatsApp message that Sethna, "a nonagenarian, has over the years made appreciable donations through WZO Trusts for various religious centric causes. Around 12 agiaries have been the beneficiaries of his largesse.” He also contributed towards the planting and rearing of 600 sandalwood trees in Mahuva, near Navsari.
Agiary trustee Dinshaw Variava thanked those attending the salgirah function, and praised the donors’ generosity while bemoaning the general "lack of interest in maintaining our institutions.” The businessman said worshippers come to ask for favors from the divine but instead they should query what they can do for the religion. "We need funds for maintenance,” he said. Donations come for kathi, and the priest’s salary was paid by the sale of water from the Agiary’s well, he noted. Soonu has offered to pay the chasniwalla’s (assistant’s) salary for two years, said Karyesh.
Desai mentioned that Soonu "has a heart of gold” and has donated to several worthy causes. She has gifted her house in Khardi to Ahura Support, a charitable trust that assists the disabled. She has also donated Rs 24 lakh to WZOTF for constructing four homes in rural areas, given monies to The B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital and a crore of rupees towards a corpus for the WAPIZ (World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis) Hoshang Buhariwalla Medical Fund.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agiary trustee Capt Percy Master noted, "If we don’t maintain our fire temples there will be no future for our community.” The industrialist congratulated the contractor, Khushru Sukhadia, for carrying out the extensive repairs more so in "in these Covid times.” Other trustees include BPP chief executive officer Aspi Sarkari, chartered accountant Limji Nanabhoy, and former chief financial officer, now consultant to Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Navajbai Tata Trust, Burjis Taraporevala.
Sadly no archival material on the Agiary is said to be available. In his Global Directory of Zoroastrian Fire Temples, author Marzban Giara states, "Amaria alias Sodawaterwalla installed a dadgah at his own expense” in 1874. Thereafter Amaria had the atash adarian consecrated and enthroned in 1884. As the structure deteriorated, his daughter-in-law, Aimai, raised funds for the construction and maintenance of the fire temple. The architect was Seth Framji Jamshedji Billia, a trustee of the Agiary. The foundation stone was laid on March 21, 1924 and the fire enthroned on February 28, 1926, notes Giara.
An 18-second video of the jashan on the Parsiana Facebook page drew almost 19,000 views, 178 likes, 28 shares and 21 comments of which 13 stated they were happy to view the snippet of the ceremony, one asked for it to be removed while the rest questioned whether photography and videography were permitted within a fire temple. Photography and videography are normally permitted in the halls of fire temples. One lady complained the photographers were a distraction but was told they are present even at weddings and navjotes. Willy-nilly Zoroastrian institutions and their followers are being ushered into the global, digital era.