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Row upon row of yellow school buses dotted the grounds of the St Mary’s School (ICSE) on November 25, 2018 unloading Zoroastrian school and college going children. They had gathered at the Mazgaon school to participate in the 16th Zochild Day (ZCD). Though the venue was slightly smaller than the Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Auditorium at Matunga where most of the ZCDs were previously held, the pace of events and the children’s enthusiasm remained undeterred.
Wolf calls and whistles greeted Perin Bagli, principal of the Activity High School and trustee of the Zoroastrian Children’s Foundation (ZCF), as she stood on stage to sound out the dos and don’ts of the day. "Your discipline is not befitting the function. There should be no movement in the audience. Cell phones should be switched off and there should be pin drop silence,” she admonished the ever excited children, requesting the volunteers and teachers to "please take over.”
With Jana Gana Mana and the community anthem playing in the background ZCF founder Shihan Vispi Kapadia unfurled the national and the ZCF flags to declare the day "open... Jara jor thi boljo kanké khavanu ék dum tagru chè [Say it (the ZCD oath) loudly as the food is very good],” he addressed the youngsters. Over 500 voices joined Kapadia to repeat the oath which promises to uphold the tenets of our faith and keep the fires of our great ancient religion always burning bright.
The ZCD song specially penned by Gulnar Tafti, music teacher of The Alexandra Girls’ English Institution, was sung with gusto by the students of the Bai Avabai Petit High School, Activity and The Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Parsee Charitable Institution. "Calm, serene and spiritual, that’s how we would like to start the morning,” said master of ceremonies Hoshedar Khambatta, a favorite of the audience. Paying tribute to the inspiration of ZCD — Shiraz and Vispi’s firstborn, the late Fareena — was volunteer Zubin Sanjana rendering a soulful Bollywood number. Images of Fareena and ZCF stalwarts — late Dr Daisy Sidhwa, Dadi Engineer and Marazban Mehta were projected on the screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students of the Lady Engineer High School sang Khudavind O Khavind while the Petit children sang a monajat and some fun-filled Parsi songs accompanied by their music teacher Viraf Daruwalla. Two girls from Poona and one from Ahmedabad showed off their western dancing skills. Combining two folk dances — Rajasthani and Raas from Gujarat — were Activity students. The Petit girls also enthralled the audience with their yoga, gymnastics and pyramids. They were trained under the watchful eye of their teacher Ervad Marazban Maney.
The children of the Mancherji Joshi Dadar Parsi Colony (DPC) put up a ballet performance. It was followed by a docudrama Zarathushtra — The story of his life produced by Meher and Kersy Bhesania of Dubai and directed by veteran filmmaker Adi Pocha of Squirkle Productions.
A day prior, outstation children were treated to a performance by Udaan [an NGO (nongovernmental organization) for and by the visually challenged] at the Birla Matushree Sabhagrah.
While introducing the chief guest of the morning, former top cop Arvind Inamdar, Khambatta said, "They don’t make men of his ilk any-more. We should preserve his DNA. Should I call him Inamdar or imandar (honest)?” he asked, as the 79-year-old police officer climbed on stage amid rapturous applause. The "living legend” had a distinguished career in the police force and resigned after serving the cadre for 36 years.
"Parsi bagair Bharat no itihas puro na thai (Without the Parsis, India’s history is incomplete),” said the top policeman addressing the audience in Gujarati, English and Hindi. "Hum Parsioko nahi milné ayengé tau kisko milné ayengé (If I don’t come to meet the Parsis who will I go to meet)?” he queried, referring to Vispi’s insistence that he address the gathering.
Sharing a close camaraderie with community stalwarts like the late jurist Nani Palkhivala, at whose residence he must have eaten around 500 meals, Inamdar went on to narrate his meeting with the late J. R. D. Tata. When the law enforcement officer asked Tata the secret of his success, Tata replied: "My aim is perfection.” Inamdar followed this advice.
Well versed with the history of the community, Inamdar even explained the meaning of the Ashem Vohu prayer! "The Parsis must live, prosper and do very well,” was his wish. "Parsis mean honesty, integrity. Promise me that you will all be men of integrity. You should be Indians first and Parsis afterwards. You should be honest and righteous. And if you do this, I see the rise of the Parsis again… Come what may, you must increase your numbers,” he told those present.