Although he lived in the USA, Tahamtan Hormazd Aresh’s heart was always in India and his soul resided in Iran. He used to visit India periodically, usually during the cooler winter months and meet his many old friends and relatives. He would also stay tuned with happenings in Iran and would talk fondly about his early days in Tehran and Yazd.
He was a staunch traditional Zoroastrian and supported several good community causes. Over the years he sponsored several Indian Zoroastrian priests and some Indian Zoroastrian youth to visit Iran and experience its beauty, history and spiritual heritage.
Born on August 29, 1936, in Bombay, he graduated from Cathedral and John Connon School and attended Davar’s College of Commerce before earning a degree in electrical engineering from California State University, San Luis Obispo. In 1959, he married Gordafrid Irani in Bombay, and together they raised three children — Rohinton, Scheherazade and Zaal. They have two grandsons, Saahm and Areya.
Tahamtan Aresh: staunch Zoroastrian
While in Iran, he collaborated with his father, Hormazd, to develop a desolate property in a neighborhood in Tehran, Tehranpars. He also established the Zoroastrian Iranian Community Association (ZICA) which provided support and a sense of community to Indian Zoroastrians seeking better opportunities in Iran. However, the revolution in Iran compelled him and his family to leave the country and relocate in the USA.
In the wake of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Tahamtan highlighted the plight of the community at several community forums including the Fifth North American Zoroastrian Congress held in Los Angeles, in the year 1986. Top priority was given to the immigration of Zoroastrian refugees to the New World by a majority vote. Much scepticism was shown by some towards refugee immigration, but that did not deter Prof James Russell and Khojeste Mistree of Zoroastrian Studies in India to begin work, intensively, and systematically.
Mistree met Zubin Mehta (the then conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra) in New York and through him he met some of Mehta’s contacts from the US Senate and Congress. Likewise, Russell wrote extensively to his Congressmen and slowly a network was established in Washington, with Dr Ada Adler being the key State Department lady spearheading the PS 4000 program instituted by the then US President Ronald Reagan.
Tahamtan served as the president of the Zoroastrian Association of California (ZAC) from 1982 to 1985 and, in 1988, founded the Traditional Mazdayasni Zoroastrian Anjuman (TMZA). Under his guidance TMZA has been a beacon of traditional Zoroastrian values,
Tahamtan’s sudden passing on November 27, 2024 has left a profound void in the hearts of his loved ones and the community he cherished.
NOSHIR DADRAWALA
noshir@capindia.in