The Calcutta Parsee Club (CPC) celebrated the 111th anniversary of its founding on November 2-3, 2019 with a basketball match organized by sports council member Kaizeen Confectioner for their young girls. Though the Club team lost against the city’s Modern School, CPC president Prochy Mehta noted "that has made them sit up and start practicing.” The 18-a-side cricket match for seniors that followed saw octogenarian Cyrus Ayrton "bowl with precision... He managed to stem the flow of runs, taking his team to victory,” Mehta noted. Snacks and tea for the evening were organized by Club member Khushmand Buchia. The next day saw a jashan and the "cutting of about 20 cakes brought by members,” with the Club’s oldest member Dina Ardeshir cutting the first cake, the president stated. Music, games and food organized by Mihira Singh and entertainment head Behnaz Bulsara Duggar allowed "everyone to do exactly what they wanted to do: playing badminton, or table tennis, or just sitting and talking and meeting up with old friends, dancing, singing, or taking pictures at the photo booth,” Mehta said. The singers for the evening were Cyrus Madan, Cyrus Confectioner, Jimmy Vatcha, Anisa Anklesaria, Samara Mehta Vyas, Nirvhan Mehta Vyas and Meher Arora, Mehta listed.
The Club was founded by Munchershaw Buttiwala, Byramji Nalladaroo, Nowrojee Nalladaroo, Hormasjee Kandawalla and Keki Spencer on November 4, 1908 (see "Covering Calcutta,” Parsiana, December 7, 2017). Women members were admitted from 1932 onwards. All spouses of intermarried community members and their children are welcome, Mehta communicated. "Just the names of our participants and winners are enough to show our inclusiveness... That tells our story.”
Top l: Prochy Mehta with Dina Ardeshir; the "inclusive" Calcutta community at the
Parsee Club: bonhomie over tea, sports, a jashan and music
Every year after the CPC reopens on October 16, "we have a tea party in memory of (deceased Club members) Zarin and Dinshaw Rustomji,” noted Mehta, in an email to Parsiana. Called "Tea with Z and D,” the menu is planned by Zarin’s sister Yasmin Kapadia, Mehta stated. The Club stands on an area in Calcutta’s Maidan that belongs to the army. "They ‘take back’ the ground from October 1-15 every year. The tea party is held on the first weekend after the Club reopens,” explained Mehta. Zarin and Dinshaw "were not office bearers (of the Club) but were very active members and loved by all,” she said.
Zarin started the Club’s canteen in the early 1960s and her tea and snacks were a mouth-watering hit, Mehta reminisced. "Dinshaw was the quintessential joker. He humored everyone with his terrible jokes, atrocious tee shirts and outfits, from crazy hats and ties to lungis and a sheikh’s robes. Zarin (always) dressed with poise and elegance – a perfectly draped sari or a smart shirt and stilettos,” she wrote.
Rustomjis’ daughter Patience Dastur, who lives in the USA, gave a novel twist to this year’s party, attended by 220 members. Everyone was asked to design a stunning outfit that Zarin would have liked, or draw up a menu of lip smacking snacks, Mehta stated. Dastur judged the submissions online, she stated. The winners for the special menu were Roda Bulsara and Radha Engineer, and for the outfits, Pallavi Bannerjee and Ayanah Gupta.
Bulsara Duggar organized the younger community members to "run around with trays serving tea and snacks… she created so much excitement for the children, that they didn’t look at it as a ‘chore’ but a novel experience… We stood by on tenterhooks wondering which one would drop a tray but they all did a fabulous job.” The children’s efforts were coordinated by Gulnar Mehta and Vabhiz Tamboli, noted Prochy.
Prochy listed the little helpers: Arshiya and Ayanah Gupta, Danish and Yasna Buchia, Anisa Anklesaria, Samara and Nirvhan Mehta Vyas, Darius Modi, Sanjali and Vehan Duggar, Ariyanah and Vivana Mehta, Surya Katrak, Tanya Batliwala, Arman Singh, and Fravash and Rishad Jeejeebhoy.