Poona based Freny Daruwalla calls herself a "catcher of stories.” Part of the Parsi-Irani Oral History Project of evergreenstory.org, a free storytelling platform, the 25-year-old says that she has interviewed 134 Zoroastrians for that website since joining them in November 2021. The website was founded by 15-year-old twins Anvi and Anya Fenn during the pandemic days from their home in New Jersey USA. The objective of the Project is "a race against time to record and preserve wisdom, knowledge, traditions and heritage of one of the most prosperous minority communities in the world,” states their website which claims to be the "largest collection of Zoroastrian voices ever archived.”
"story catcher" Freny Daruwalla
The edited audio interviews, between 15 to 20 minutes long, are preambled by an introductory text. Guests whose interviews are up on the website, or are in the final stages of editing include Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal; philanthropy law specialist and past Bombay Parsi Punchayet trustee Noshir Dadrawala; Supreme Court Justice Jamshed Pardiwalla; hotelier Darius Dorabjee, centenarian Mani Bhagat of Jhansi; social worker Meher Medhora of Ahmedabad; model Hufriya Bhivandiwalla; comedian Cyrus Broacha; and educationist Armaity Davar among others.
Many of the interviews are "sometimes two hours long… I have to then make them crisp… edit, re-edit, add introductions, gather photos and then upload to the website.” Daruwalla says Parzor director Dr Shernaz Cama is her "pillar, mentor and guide… She provides me names of people and I reach out to them… Firoza Punthakey Mistree also helps me.”
Enjoying the preparation for an interview is the key to her job, she said. "I look to explore the unexplored, unrevealed side of people… When I interviewed stunt queen Sanober Pardiwalla, I did not emphasize her work in Dhoom 2, as most other interviewers did, but on her other equally important work in movies likes Ok Janu and Gehraiyaan.”
While interviewing Jam-e-Jamshed editor Shernaaz Engineer, her "eyes opened to the pull of the publishing world.” The weekly has so far carried three of her stories, she informed Parsiana. "After I left my teaching job at education online portal Stones to Milestones, I was asked by my professor at St Mira’s college, Dr Snober Sataravala to apply for a position at evergreenstory.org as they were looking to capture Parsi stories, so I grabbed this opportunity,” she stated.
Daruwalla calls her plumbing consultant father Coover and homemaker mother Khushnuma her "pillars of strength… my entire life…When I start writing about them, my eyes begin to well up because they have never ever left my side…I have been away from them and from Poona because of my work which makes me further yearn for their warm hugs, their jokes.” Granddaughter to cricket umpire Piloo Reporter and Homai, Freny says she loves watching Apro Amitabh nu [Our Amitabh (Bachchan’s)] Kaun Banega Crorepati with them. To brother Maneck, a banker, she owes her ability to "push beyond my boundaries.” Brownie Daruwalla, ("my sister who is not a dog but a family member”) completes their unit.
Freny says she strongly believes in the power of our prayers to help her stay positive and optimistic. "I daily light a divo in my house… Praying in front of the fire calms my stress and completely energizes me… I feel extremely serene when I keep looking at our atash padshah.”
Other cosmopolitan "themes” on evergreenstory.org include history, cricket, Bollywood and entrepreneurship. The website claims to plant one tree for every story uploaded on their website. So far 12,000 trees have been planted, they claim.