"I was a teacher in this school,” piped up retired banker and erstwhile Udvada resident Aban Patel while examining old religious manuscripts on display at the Kayoji Mirza Hall and Library as part of the Iranshah Udvada Utsav 2019 (see "The blessings of Iranshah,” Parsiana, January 7-20, 2020). Responding to a quizzical look from the Parsiana representative, Patel clarified that a school exclusively for Zoroastrian children functioned at the Hall from 1952-53 until 1960 or so.
Set up by the Udvada Samast Anjuman when the only other school in the village started admitting children from other communities, Patel said that at its peak the school had "maybe about 50 students and five teachers.” She taught at the school after completing her secondary school education for "about a-year-and-a-half,” and later went on to complete a teachers training diploma, before switching to banking.
Teachers and students at Udvada’s school for Zoroastrians, early 1950s,
Aban Patel seated extreme right in sari
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