Khordad Sal, this year on August 21, is the annual occasion for two awards presented by the Madras Parsi Zarthosti Anjuman (MPZA). Their Khodabux K. Razi Award for the highest aggregate marks at the board level was awarded to Samara Parakh while the Faramroze T. Byramshaw Award for achievement in any field was awarded to Jehan-Dorab Madan for his achievements in the field of para-table tennis, noted MPZA honorary secretary Shahnaz Rao. Held at the Phiroj Clubwala Memorial Hall the event included a round of the "ever-popular housie, an excellent and informative Parsi culture quiz and a sumptuous sit-down dinner,” she noted.
From l: Felicitating Jehan-Dorab Madan (seated); get-together in Madras
The community was meeting for the second time in less than a week, having celebrated Parsi New Year (August 16) at GRT Grand Hotel. MPZA "makes a huge effort to give the community a memorable bash on that day,” wrote Rao. Since 2019, the community had not held the event at a hotel on account of the pandemic, so community members enjoyed an evening of fun, goodwill and enjoyment, noted the honorary secretary. "As usual, our generous members contributed in cash and kind towards the success of the evening,” she stated. Besides the prizes won by members, each member-family also went home with a gift. A live band added to the festive ambience and "everyone was in high spirits.” Rao noted that 120 members and guests attended the evening celebrations. Memorable moments of the evening were captured by a professional photographer and shared with all members.