Light bounced off the marble clad walls and the fragrance of sandalwood greeted early afternoon visitors for the celebratory jashan at the 193-year-old Seth Jamshedji Jejeebhoy Godavara (Gamadia) Agiary in Fort that has been spruced up by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) with contributions from community members, a handsome donation from BPP chairman Yazdi Desai and his wife Anahita, and a "young well-wisher from Panthaki Baug.” With the estimated 180 plus devotees spilling over onto the main verandah and the aisle leading to the sanctum sanctorum, there was standing room only in the small hall on December 17, 2019, when fire temple panthaky Ervad Firdaus Pavri and his father Ervad Rohinton started the celebratory jashan. "So the Agiary is all yours,” said Desai to the middle-aged and elderly audience. BPP trustee Xerxes Desai told the audience that the marble cladding for the hall, verandah and the sanctum sanctorum was donated by yet another anonymous donor. Firdaus showed pictures of the verandah, hall, bathrooms and other areas of the fire temple taken before and after the renovation.
1) Ervads Firdaus Pavri (l) and Rohinton Pavri (extreme r) demonstrating "then and now" images of Godavara Agiary;
2) Anahita Desai; 3) Arnavaz Mistry; 4) Khojeste Mistree (l) and Firoza Punthakey Mistree;
5) Jashan in progress; 6)Exterior of the renovated fire temple;
7) from l: Kersi Randeria, Shehnaaz Khambatta (partially seen), Viraf Mehta, Armaity Tirandaz,
Xerxes Dastur, Yazdi Desai, Jamshed Bhiwandiwalla, Er Firdaus, Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy 8th Bart
Photos 1-5, 7: Dolly Divecha
In a state of disrepair for many years (see "Keeping Godavara going,” Parsiana, September 21, 2018), the BPP owned and managed fire temple was reopened for worship on its 193rd salgirah, after an eight-month renovation project. This involved repairs to the dilapidated exteriors, replacement of the roof, new bathrooms and toilets, major plumbing and electrical re-hauling, painting, and floor and furniture polishing. The consecrated fire was moved to the rear of the structure while the renovations were on.
While Yazdi felicitated Firdaus and Rohinton with shawls and flowers, Firdaus felicitated Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy 8th Bart, architect Jamshed Bhiwandiwalla who supervised the renovations and former BPP trustees Khojeste Mistree and Arnavaz Mistry. BPP trustees Armaity Tirandaz, Viraf Mehta, Xerxes Dastur and Kersi Randeria felicitated donors who were present that evening. Randeria appreciated Anahita’s efforts in liaising with Firdaus and Bhiwandiwalla very closely during the renovation.
Some community leaders questioned spending scarce resources on a fire temple with such few footfalls, more so when there were five others in the vicinity. Many are languishing as the once predominantly Parsi population residing in Fort moves elsewhere. The Agiary saw only about eight footfalls a day prior to the renovation, Firdaus had told Parsiana. Parsiana could not spot a single child or even a young adult in the audience at the reopening. Reportedly, the day after the salgirah saw a dozen visitors. An earlier plan to shift the fire to Godrej Baug was objected to by some traditionalists.
The once-forsaken Agiary shot into prominence after Udvada High Priest and representative on the National Commission for Minorities Dastur Khurshed Dastoor suggested at the Global Working Group meeting in December 2018 that the sacred fire could be shifted to another agiary which could house it separately, the property could be sold and the funds utilized to help mobeds (see "Favoring formalization,” Parsiana, December 21, 2018). "Try and use the property. After 15 or 20 years nothing will remain with the community,” he had stated. Desai had countered in the secular Press that the fire temple would "not be sold.”
On January 24, 2019 BPP trustee Noshir Dadrawala had suggested that "my view would be (to) ceremonially and with full ritual observations relocate the holy fire at a suburban colony... say Nirlon Parsi Colony in Goregaon (and) renovate the building into a home for Parsi senior citizens or low cost houses for Parsis… We need to have a long-term vision to ensure that those who are deprived of worship get what they need and those that need care or shelter get what they need.” He had recommended that the place where the holy fire earlier burned could be made into a prayer hall with a small dadgah fire.
When the fire temple was consecrated in 1826, Rs 10,064 came from the community, with the BPP providing the balance of Rs 6,933, stated Desai. Four decades later, the heirs of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Bart rebuilt the building in his memory out of his estate as per his wishes.