I always enjoy Berjis Desai’s articles on Navsari, having spent most of my vacations there at my grandmother’s house in Dastur Vad.
His piece "How orthodox was Navsari?” (Parsiana, July 21-August 6, 2021), on the superstitions followed there, brought back memories of what my maternal grandfather, Pestonji Ratanji Edulji Cassad, had once told me.
When Pestonji was born, the astrologer mentioned by Desai (I presume it’s the same, as my grandfather had spoken about the royal connection), told his parents that the child would not live beyond 15 years of age. His childhood was devoid of simple pleasures which were denied to......