"Even before we anticipated purchasing a building this year, the most important part of our future prayer hall had already arrived in our continent, waiting to be sent our way,” commented Bakhtavar Desai, president of the Zoroastrian Association of Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana (ZAKOI). She was referring to the nearly 20” in height and 16” in diameter, spare afarganyu from the Quetta Agiary in Pakistan that lay in wait in Vancouver for two years. The metal urn atop which burns the sacred fire was recently sent by courier for use by ZAKOI.
Clockwise from top l: property bought by the Zoroastrian Association of Kentucky,
Ohio and Indiana; exteriors, interiors and afarganyu from the Quetta Agiary
The Association is converting a church property they purchased in July as a center and dar-e-mehr for the community in the three Midwest states in the USA (see "From church to center,” Zoroastrians Abroad, Parsiana, August 7-20, 2024). "We are so deeply grateful to the Quetta Agiary and the Mehta and Gustvasp families for this divine gift to our community! Our ZAKOI dar-e-mehr has been blessed,” acknowledged Desai in response to queries from Parsiana.
When Firdosh Mehta, erstwhile president of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA), heard this summer that "we are getting ready to purchase a building, he contacted me and told me that he had an afarganyu for us already!” Desai reminisced. Mehta had "run out of the afarganyus he had brought from India, but two years ago, his friend, Jamshed Gustvasp, who lives in Vancouver, but originally hailed from Quetta, had given him an afarganyu. The priest at the Quetta agiary (had reportedly enquired) if he would like to take this spare afarganyu they had, for use in North America. Jamshed agreed to take it back with him because he knew his friend Firdosh would surely find a home for it. So for the past couple of years, Firdosh kept this afarganyu in his home, and was waiting for some news of a new dar-e-mehr coming up somewhere in the North American continent. As soon as he heard about us, he contacted me and told me I didn’t need to search for an afarganyu for our new dar-e-mehr, as he was going to send this one to us!” Desai related the sequence of the afarganyu’s sojourn.
In 2022, Parsiana had learnt from erstwhile senator and Baluchistan minister, and general secretary of the Quetta-Sukkur Parsi Anjuman, Roshan Bharucha that only a handful of elderly individuals remain in the area, some of whom are being cared for in her own home.
Commented Desai, "So you see, how the divine forces work? We do believe that we are receiving divine help in making this dar-e-mehr happen for our community!” Until a month ago, the annual Gatha jashan and muktad prayers for ZAKOI members would be held at the Desais’ residence, with Bakhtavar’s husband Ervad Fred invoking blessings for almost 300 souls. Once the dar-e-mehr becomes operational, religious ceremonies will be conducted there. Being co-chair of the Interfaith Activities Committee at FEZANA as also the Sacred Connections Program at Cincinnati, in August 2024 Bakhtavar was working tirelessly to have a successful Cincinnati Festival of Faiths.