(Top): Ervad Parvez Bajan speaks at gahanbar; (above) audience
Even the pre-monsoon showers that interrupted Ervad Parvez Bajan’s talk on "Zoroastrianism, the Best Religion” did not dampen the spirits of his intent listeners at the Dae mah gahanbar organized by the Thana Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman (TPZA) on June 2, 2013, at the Thana Patell Agiary compound. Swiftly and methodically both the speaker and his audience shifted from the open compound to the stilt area of Patell Apartments (a 10-storeyed building within the Agiary compound built for Parsis from the Thana Agiary Fund over 20 years ago) and settled down for the priest to continue his talk, mentions an email received from Zarsis D. Udhnawala, TPZA president. The talk was followed by an interactive session with Bajan.
Zoroastrians living in and around Thana were present as well as some from as far away as Dadar and Kalyan who are regular patrons of the Thana Patell Agiary and number among the 590 or so members of the TPZA, the email notes. The celebration of the Maediarem Gahanbar always begins with a jashan held at the Agiary, followed by a religious talk. Udhnawala welcomed the attendees, honored guest speaker Bajan and his family, and later offered a vote of thanks. A subsidized dinner followed.