A seven-a-side mini soccer match enjoyed by the little boys and girls was the highlight of the Calcutta Parsee Club’s Independence Day celebration on August 15, 2019. It started with the hoisting of the national flag by senior member Yezdi Karai and the singing of the national anthem, noted a brief report by Club president Prochy Mehta.
At the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Club the prior month, when the managing committee and sports reports were read out, an audiovisual highlighted the main events of the year with the members happy to spot themselves on screen.
The highlight of the AGM was the awards ceremony when Samara Mehta Vyas was conferred the Beji Bulsara Trophy for the Most Promising Youngster under 14, and Jahan Mehta, the Gimi Award for the Best All Round Sportsperson. Dinaz Jeejeebhoy was adjudged the best player in basketball, Sanjay Dutta in football, Ramin Bulsara in cricket and Ratan Postwalla in hockey. Senior member Mehru Tangree was felicitated with a silver plaque for being conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to the Bharat Scouts and Guides. A special mention was made of Zal and Barnali Vania who coach the junior and senior players three times a week.
Clockwise from top: Calcutta Parsee Club’s trophy winners with Prochy Mehta
(far l); flag hoisting by Yezdi Karai; mini soccer match participants
Games evening at Calcutta Parsee Club: not letting rain play spoilsport
With the rain thwarting the outdoor games program for members of CPC on September 22, 2019, novel indoor games dreamt up by entertainment secretary Behnaz Bulsara Duggar were quickly substituted. She kept the players from ages three to 90 on the move, noted Mehta in an email to Parsiana. "Rounders,” in which all 50 members assembled tried to tap a table tennis ball over the net of a table tennis table with either a bat or their palm caused lots of fun and confusion; "Beer Pong” required the players to land a table tennis ball into a few cups strategically placed on a table. "Crosses and knots” on a giant board was "very competitive,” wrote Mehta. A game of darts was adapted for toothpicks to avoid injury to "all the children playing and running around.”
A respite from the rain allowed "Score a (hockey) goal” to be played outdoors. "Everyone thought they were hockey stars, but when it came to scoring into a goal the size of a dustbin, it was different story,” noted Mehta. The younger members were kept busy with "Twister” and "Knock the Can” by Gulnar Mehta and Avi Batliwala.
"The white team, which won all games except ‘Rounders’ was presented with a cake by our ‘youngest’ players, Deena Ardeshir (89) and Arni Medhora (81),” noted Prochy. Besides Gulnar and Batliwala, Bulsara Duggar was assisted by Yohan Confectioner, Kaizin Confectioner, Anahita Tangree, Afreen Ghiara, Varun Anklesaria and Mihira Singh, stated the president.