Did the trustees of the Boyce Dhunapatel Agiary (pictured) in Tardeo refrain from installing solar powered lights in the main Agiary building after taking into consideration the views of the orthodox or because the trust deed forbade the use of electricity?
Both factors apparently played a part. The Parsi Voice (TPV) editorial team of Rita Doctor and Hanoz Mistry claimed that after detailed discussions with Doctor, Mistry and some others, Hosi Dastur, chairman and managing trustee of the Agiary trust "was convinced without any doubt that solar radiation, in spite of being a natural source, would still result in electricity entering the holy premises; a thought that was equally abhorrent to him as to the other orthodox devotees of the Agiary. We are happy to inform the community that the whole board of trustees unanimously decided to shelve the idea of installing solar lighting in the Boyce Agiary.”
Trustee Noshir Dadrawala stated in his individual capacity that "the moment it was brought to my attention that the trust deed is specific with regard to no use of electricity, the decision was made not just by me but all my colleague trustees unanimously. A trustee cannot and should not go against the terms of the trust and the wishes of the settlors — simple!” The other trustees of the fire temple are lawyer Nadir Modi, chartered accountant Kersi Commissariat, lawyer Pervez RustomKhan and Ervad (Dr) Ramiyar Karanjia.
Both TPV and Dadrawala noted the inconvenience caused to worshippers due to a lack of adequate lighting. The TPV editors noted that the "Agiary being without electricity, the mobeds and devotees face the issue of inadequate lighting, especially during muktad days when all kriyas (ceremonies) start early in the morning. Being the man on the spot and in charge of the Agiary, Dastur grappled with various possibilities to alleviate this problem. Someone suggested using solar energy to light the Agiary. This raised the hackles of some devotees who did not want the pristine atmosphere of the Agiary compromised.”
Dadrawala commented: "Let me be honest. Some of the old priests and some old devotees were really facing a major problem going about their religious duties in darkness. Personally, I was all for harnessing solar energy for electrification restricted just to one area in the agiary where ceremonies are conducted and nowhere near the kebla of the holy atash padshah.”
A devotee at the fire temple in the evenings, and local Tardeo resident said that once one has a feel of the place, one can navigate one’s way towards the sanctum sanctorum even with dim lights from the oil lamps. Another resident, however, stated that on his occasional visit he had to hold on to his young daughter for support when entering the hall around the kebla.
The end result is that the elderly, who are the main devotees of fire temples, may be deterred from worshipping at the Agiary. Torches are not permitted. Rather than risk a fall, the safer option may be to frequent a better lit agiary.
A jashan was held in the Agiary on July 28, 2019 after the reinstallation of the holy fire in the main building while it was under renovations. Dadrawala wrote to Parsiana that "the Agiary is maintained like an atash behram” (where mostly no electricity is used in the main halls around the kebla). "There is no panthaky system is the Agiary… Dastur who lives in the building adjoining the Agiary keeps a hawk’s eye on the day-to-day affairs,” he noted. The holy fire of the Agiary was moved to the Tardeo premises only in 1940, after being consecrated in 1834 at Duncan Road (now Maulana Azad Road) in Nagpada.