It is believed that the rain gods do listen to the pleas of the Parsi children of Navsari when their choirs sing to invoke rain during the Ghee-Khichri ritual in Bahman mah. This year, too, it rained within two days of the songs being sung by the boys of Avan Baug, Malesar and Motafariya at the Seervai Party Plot on the Parsi Orphanage premises. The Parsi ladies of Navsari also had a small Ghee-Khichri get-together at Sohrab Baug, notes an email from Ruzbeh Umrigar on behalf of the Parsi Cultural Division of the S. B. Garda College Trust, Navsari.
Ghee Khichri ritual
Photo: Image created by Artificial Intelligence
This quaint custom dates back to around 120 years, long after the Zoroastrian migration to India and settlement of Parsis in Gujarat. Folklore has it that there was a great famine in southern Gujarat due to a delayed monsoon, adversely affecting the predominantly farming community. An acute shortage of water resulted; the rivers ran dry, endangering even the birds and animals. The townsfolk of all communities began to pray in the form of bhajan-kirtan (devotional songs and stories) to invoke rain. The local Parsi children went around the town collecting rice and lentils with which to make khichri to feed the poor while singing Gujarati songs to cheer people and lift up their spirits, notes the email.