Text and Photos : Katie Dubey

Set in sylvan surroundings in Lonavala is the Adenwalla Agyari, a small fire temple. There was a sizable population of Parsis in Lonavala and Khandala at one time.

“In numbers, Parsis are beneath contempt, but in contribution, beyond compare.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Parsis are followers of Zoroaster. “Zoroastrianism is the oldest of revealed world religions.” says historian Mary Boyce. “It was already old, with roots in a distant past, when the first historical records of it were assembled. The prophet Zarathustra, arose in Persia in the reign of Vistasp, of the Kayanian dynasty around 1500 B.C. At 30, he received a spiritual mandate from Ahura Mazda, the Creator to destroy evil and instill truth and purity amongst the people. Zarathusthra began his mission at the court of King Vistasp of Bactria. The King was eager to embrace Zarathustra’s teachings but the courtiers opposed him. Almost immediately, it happened that the king fell into dire circumstances and in desperation he turned to Zarathusthra, who worked a miracle for him on condition of acceptance of the new faith. The king responded and decreed that Zarathustra’s faith would be the state religion and it flourished until the 7th century A.D. When it crossed borders with the expansion of the empire and in contact with Greece, they referred to it as ‘Zoroastrianism’ — the religion of Light, as it is still known in the West.

The passage to India
Sir John Malcolm has recorded that the fate of Persia was sealed in A.D.641 at the battle of Nahavand, when it fell to the barbaric Mohammedan hordes of Arabia. The defeat of Shah Yezdezard brought to an end 415 years of glorious rule of the Sassanian dynasty. Oppressively and cruelly the Muslims forced upon the Persians conversion to Islam. They destroyed their Fire temples or converted them to mosques. Many succumbed to conversion, but a small band of Zoroastrians preferred persecution to abjuring their faith. Taking their holy of holie, the sacred Fire, with them, they fled to the mountains of Khorasan. Here they succeeded in keeping out of sight of their enemies. Eventually, their persecutors caught up with them, forcing them to flight once more. In the dead of night, they descended the mountain, took to the sea and headed for the small island of Ormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Shortly after they had settled on the island, the Dastur or priest received Divine instruction to abandon the island and proceed towards the west coast of Hindustan. With heavy hearts, the Persians bid good-bye to the land of their birth and their forefathers and set sail for the distant shores of Hindustan in the rickety vessels offered to them.
The scant information available about the landing of the small band of Zarathusthis in India derives from the Kissah-i-Sanjan, compiled by a Dastur in 1660. Arriving from the region of Pars in Persia, they came to be called Parsis. Most legends of this historic arrival mention a group 300 strong, led by their priest, Dastur Nariosang Dhaval. They landed at Diu, and remained there for nineteen years living in mountain caves. They resurrected their holy fire and tended it. At the end of the nineteenth year the Dastur received an augury instructing him to lead his people away. Obeying this higher Intelligence, they gathered together and set sail again, but, hardly had they embarked upon the voyage when a vicious storm rose at sea and the small band thought they would surely perish. With naught but their faith and mantras, they prayed to Ahura Mazda, the Creator, for deliverance from disaster and a chance to enthrone His holy Fire. Their prayers answered, they rode the storm. When it dissipated a gentle wind propelled them to the shores of Sanjan, a tiny principality, about 100 kilometres north of Bombay, a tired and bedraggled group.

Sanjan becomes their home
Sanjan was ruled by Suryavanshi Jadi Rana, a wise and liberal man. Two stories prevail about how the Parsis sought permission to settle in the Rana’s kingdom. They sent an emissary to the court of the Rana seeking asylum. The king, seeing this group of tall, hardy, warrior-like men who came as refugees, feared for his throne. He questioned the priest on their state of affairs and the nature of their faith. During their stay at Diu, the Parsis had acquired some knowledge of the language, religion and customs of the Hindus. The priest answered so satisfactorily that permission for stay was immediately granted.

There are eight Atash Behram or main fire temples in India, of which four are situated in Mumbai. The other four are in Gujarat. Two in Surat, one in Navsari and the most important one, Iranshah in Udvada. The one above is at Princess Street, known as Wadiaji’s.

Another popular story tells of the Rana sending a delegation to the group who waited at the shores of Sanjan for permission to enter, with a glass of milk, full to the brim, indicating that there was no room for more people in his kingdom. Into this glass milk the leader added a spoonful of sugar without spilling a single drop. The Rana understood the astute gesture and was impressed with the foreigners and their ways. He granted them asylum and the religious freedom they sought, upon the condition that they would adopt the language, costume and customs of their new country and not bear arms. This promise was given and implemented.
Parsi ladies adopted the sari, men the pyjama and tunic, which later gave way to trousers and shirts. But on special occasions, like weddings, navjotes and religious ceremonies Parsi men wear a ‘dagli’, which is a long white muslin jacket over their trousers and traditional headgear called a ‘pagdi’ or a ‘pheta’. They also gave up the use of their mother tongue and began to speak Gujarati thus blending with the culture of the land.
They were granted a large tract of wasteland to settle upon. After years of persecution and hardship the refugees finally found a home. With the assurance of being left unmolested, each one went back to his profession and trade. Soon they converted the barren land into an oasis. Then they embarked upon building their Fire-temple in thanksgiving for all the munificence they had received from the Almighty. The Rana gave them permission and every assistance and went so far as to supply all the materials too, but the actual building was constructed by the Parsis themselves. In a few years, A.D. 721 the Atash Behram was complete and the sacred Fire was ritually enthroned upon its altar in accordance with the rites of Zoroastrianism.
Tennyson says ‘Though much is taken much abides’. Three hundred years passed. Parsis practised their religion unhindered. No inter-marriages or conversion took place but their numbers multiplied. Families began to spread out to other parts of Gujarat and India. The earliest movement was towards Cambay, now the Gulf of Khambhat and Variav, between 942 and 997 A.D. Later newer pastures like Ankleshwar, Surat, Bharuch, Udvada and the surrounding areas of Gujarat were explored and settled. They were entrepreneurs and did well in commerce and industry. Navsari, was named when Parsis arrived and found its climate congenial, similar to a province of Iran. They called it ‘Nav’ new; sari ‘area’ and so it came to be called Navsari. Historical record of this migration dated 1142 A.D. is still in the possession of the celebrated high priest of Navsari, Merji Rana.
Others moved down the west coast to Thana and Chaul, but when the Christians appeared and began proselytizing, Parsis had to adopt an escape route. The community realising resistance to be futile, pretended to agree to conversion and sent an emissary to the governor requesting permission to celebrate prior to the conversion. The Portuguese were thoroughly gratified and accorded a blanket permit for the celebration. Parsis, already famed for their rich and delicious food, laid out a sumptuous feast, invited all the officials and made sure that wine flowed in generous measure. As their guests indulged themselves, the Parsis amid singing and dancing exited the city. For the next 300 years they stayed away until the British took over and persuaded them to settle in Thana once again.

The flight from Sanjan
In 1305 Alaudin Khilji attacked Sanjan and the Rana knew that his forces were no match for the invader. He summoned the Parsis and asked that they take up arms on his behalf. Acutely conscious of how they had been driven out of their homeland by the Muslims, they took up arms to help the Rana and mobilised a force of fourteen hundred men under the leadership of Ardeshir. Some miles beyond Sanjan, armies clashed in fierce battle. The Hindu faction soon fled the field, but Ardeshir heroically led his men on. They broke through enemy ranks and scattered them forcing their general Alp Khan to flee. This humiliating defeat at the hands of a refugee army was unbearable for the Muslims. Alp Khan reinforced his army and re-appeared. Outnumbered by a hundred to one the Hindus and Parsis were slaughtered, but, when Ardeshir was pierced by a dart and killed, his army fell into disarray and was soundly routed by the Muslim invader. It was flight again! The community fled to the mountains of Bahrot, eight miles east of Sanjan, taking with them their consecrated Fire. Here, protected by jungle and sea, they guarded it for the next 12 years. When conditions were congenial they returned to Bansda, north-east of Navsari. In A.D. 1331, they moved the Fire to Navsari, where the Parsis had flourished and grown in numbers, wealth and influence. In 1572 A.D. Emperor Akbar overtook Gujarat. A wise Emperor, he was interested in the various religions. He held a religious discussion at his court, where Meherji Rana, a learned priest, was selected by the Zoroastrians to represent their community. He impressed the Emperor so favourably, that Akbar ordered that a fire be kept burning at his court day and night, according to the custom of the ancient Persian Kings. The Jizyad, a tax imposed on all non-Muslims, was also abolished for the Parsis. Today, the Dastur heading the Atash Behram of Navsari is still given the tile of Meherji Rana.
Between the flight from Sanjan to a period of recovery of religious freedom nearly a hundred years elapsed. In 1733 there was apprehension about the Pindaris and the Fire was moved to Surat, from there to Navsari again, then to Balsar and finally to Udvada. In 1742, on 28th October, the sacred Fire was enthroned in its permanent residence and there it remains to this day. The small little town of Udvada on the coast of Gujarat is a place of pilgrimage for Parsis. After every important occasion in one’s life, particularly a Navjote or wedding the concerned family will make a trip to Udvada to give thanks.

A Parsi couple sitting in the verandah of the Anjuman Atash Behram at Princess Street, Mumbai

Surat, a trading port of the time was occupied by the Parsis much later. Here that they came into contact with the British, around 1478, engaged in trade and industry with them and were persuaded to move to Bombay. Whatever the reason, some families had moved to Bombay during the time of Portuguese. In 1671 when Dr. Fryer visited Bombay he found “On the other side of the great inlet to the sea is a great point abutting against Old Woman’s Island and is called Malabar Hill, a rocky woody mountain, yet sends forth long grass; on the top of all is a Parsi tomb lately raised” – this is the ‘Dokhma’ or ‘Tower of Silence’ from where every true Parsi begins his onward spiritual journey to this day.

Surat to Bombay
The family settled in Bombay when the islands were ceded to the British as part of the marriage dowry of the Portuguese Princess was of Dorabji Nanabhai Patel, employed by the Portuguese to act as a go between in their transactions with the locals. He continued in this business when the British took over the islands and rose in their favour. Later his son succeeded to all the offices he held.
Ever mindful of their harrowing past and grateful for the asylum given to them in India the Parsis remained loyal to the land and its rulers. They stood by the Hindu rulers in Sanjan in their hour of need. When the British ruled they stood by them to defend their land. Their loyalty and valour has been recorded in glowing terms by the British thus, “The powerful British Government of India is fully cognizant of the fact that at one period of its history the city which has become a highway between Europe and India and a great emporium of trade, was prevented from being lost to it by the loyalty and courage of a Parsi.”
When plague broke out in 1692, British officers and soldiers, worn out by the hot and humid climate, mosquitoes and lack of sanitation in the city, were easy prey to it. Seeing the advantage of this position, the Siddis of Janjira swept down the coast in a piratical expedition and captured one of the islands and the Dungry fort. Taking the defence of the city into his own hands, Rustumji Dorabji, the son of Dorabji Nanabhai, cobbled together a naval force of local fishermen with indigenous weapons, charged the pirates and drove them out. Then the news was dispatched to the headquarters at Surat. His courageous action was greatly lauded and the family rose to eminence. Later, the British sent a governor to Bombay to take charge. Governor Gerald Aungier, when he came, saw the potential of Bombay as a port and encouraged people to move to the new city giving them facilities to set up business and trade. Parsis with their entrepreneurial skills took up the challenge and several families moved from Surat to Bombay each engaging in some specialised activity.

An enterprising community
Cawasji Patel began his enterprise with the supply of boats and vessels for public service. Consequently, when the British defeated the Marathas and annexed Thana and Bassein, Cawasji was appointed to an important position in Thana, where he established a Parsi colony. A street in the Fort area of Bombay still bears his name ‘Cawasji Patel Street’ a tribute to all the charitable work that he did in Bombay and Thana. He also ventured beyond the shores of Bombay to China as did several others.
Banaji Limji established trade links with Burma and gained enormous wealth which he deployed in charitable works. The first ‘agyari’ or fire temple was built by him. It is tucked away in a side lane called Banaji Lane in the crowded Fort area of the city. The Fire was consecrated in 1709 by Limji. “It is the oldest surviving agyari in Mumbai,” says Parsi historian Marzban Giara. It entered its 300th year in 2008. For the past few centuries, Parsi Fire Temples have been one of Mumbai’s most important religious and architectural landmarks. The second oldest, Manekji Seth agyari, less than a kilometre away, is 275 years old. Every affluent family built an agyari in thanks giving and several of them can be found all over old Bombay.
Family lines rose. Bhikhaji Beramji Panday was the first to introduce the concept of banking in Bombay apart from other philanthropic works. At a time when the city was scarce on fresh water and people and cattle thirsted he was led by intuition to dig a well. In spite of being close to the sea, the spot where he dug spouted fresh water. The well stands to this day at the crossroad of the Fountain-Churchgate and Cooperage-Metro arms and is considered a holy spot where Parsis gather to pray. At any time of the day, as one walks from the Flora Fountain towards Churchgate, a small group can be seen praying by the well.
During the famine in Gujarat, thousands flocked into Bombay and Sorabji Readymoney arranged to feed them all twice a day, for nearly a year. Several streets of Bombay to this day carry the names of these stalwarts.
Bombay was now a trading centre. Surat continued to be the principal port and shipbuilding was concentrated there, but the government of Bombay was keen to begin ship building in Bombay itself. They sent a representative over to Surat who noticed a young, industrious foreman at work in the yard; Lavji Nusserwanji Wadia. In 1735 Lavji was persuaded to move to Bombay with a few fellow shipwrights. With ship building in their backyard, trade from the Bombay port increased and the Mazgaon drydock was created. Lavji’s sons also followed him in business. The fame of their skill spread across the country. They were honoured with a ‘jagir’ by the British and presented a silver ruler of their trade. Merchant ships were followed by war ships. Jamshedji Bamanji, Lavji’s son was the master builder entrusted with this job without any British supervision and the opinion about vessels he built was communicated to Bombay. “The Salsette sails as well as any of our frigates, stands up better and had any other ship, but her, been frozen up in the Baltic as she was for nine weeks, she would not have stood the buffeting of the ice one day, whereas she came off unhurt. It was wonderful the shocks she stood during heavy gales,” said the British naval commander.

The illustrious men and women
Jamshedji Jejeebhoy was a poor Parsi from Navsari, who came to Bombay at a young age and joined business with his father-in-law. Restless and adventurous, at sixteen he journeyed to China in the service of a merchant. On his return to India he resigned from service and set off for China on his own with little wealth but great confidence. Shrewd, sagacious and observant, guided by integrity and honesty, in a surprisingly short while he was a wealthy man, but it was the distribution of that wealth with generosity and sagacity that earned him his repute. The J.J. School of Arts, the Grant Medical College, schools for Parsi children, dharamshalas in Surat and Navsari, in Gujarat, Khandala and Pune in the Deccan, waterworks, bridges, roads, wells aqueducts and reservoirs were publicly endowed. The extent of his private charities is still unknown. So vast was the scope of his public service, not only for the Parsis but for the entire population of the island, that in 1842 he was knighted. His wife followed suite and the Mahim causeway built at the cost of `1,57,000 stands witness to her generosity with a stipulation to the British Government that local people will pay no charge for its use.
Postal service was initiated by Meherwandaru Postwalla in 1794 from an office on his verandah in Bazaar Gate Street. He posted letters for the public at a fee of one pice per letter. He employed clerks who wrote letters for the illiterate on flimsy paper, rolled them up like a cigar and wrote the address on top. Most of the postal peons were also Parsis and with the assistance of an agency, letters were distributed throughout the Bombay Presidency.

Bhika Behram well - a freshwater well dug in 1725. Its stone canopy is decorated with stained glass. Parsis treat the well and its surroundings as sacred because it contains fresh water even though it is close to the sea. It is said that if anyone lights a lamp near the well, all his wishes would be fulfilled.

By 1845 the British had manipulated the Indian market to such an extent that it was flooded with English cotton, setting aside the finer indigenous, handwoven textile. To repay the British in their own coin, a far-sighted business man, Cawasjee Nanabhai Davar ventured to fight Manchester with her own weapons. He bought British manufacturing machinery and installed it at Tardeo laying the foundation for industrialisation. He launched the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company as a joint-stock venture and its runaway success prompted the establishment of the next mill in 1857 after which several other Parsis ventured into the industry. Very soon Bombay was the ‘Manchester of the East’.
About this time political ferment was brewing. English education, which the Parsis avidly imbibed, gave them the insight on how to fight the British on their own terms. Taking the lead in politics was Dadabhai Navroji, a product of Elphinstone College, pronounced to be the ‘Promise of India’ by Professor Orlebar. He was the first Indian to be appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in a European dominated institute of learning. Soon after, young Dadabhai drew his life’s road map. He wrote “The thought developed itself in my mind that as my education and all the benefits arising therefrom came from the people, I must return to them the best I had in me. I must devote myself to the service of the people.” He promoted the first political association of the Bombay Presidency; The Bombay Association to safeguard the interests of the city and to fight for the political and administrative rights of Indians. Shortly, the association had 385 members paving the way for an all India political body – the Indian National Congress. The first session of the Congress was held in Bombay in December 1885 with 18 delegates from Bombay and the rest from across the country. Dadabhai set the tone of the session by speaking of the drain of the country’s resources and the need for Indians in Civil Services.
He stood up to the British with characteristic courage when he analysed the economic condition of India and formulated the ‘drain theory’. He noted, “In reality, there are two Indias – one of them prosperous, the other poverty stricken. The prosperous India is the India of the British and the other foreigners….. The second India is the India of the Indians – the poverty stricken India…..this India of the Indians becomes the poorest nation in the world after 150 years of British rule.” When he won election to the British Parliament he announced at one of the largest gatherings of felicitation, “We hope to enjoy the same freedom, the same strong institutions which you in this country enjoy……I have now no doubt from my long knowledge of this country that as soon as the British people begin to understand what we are prepared for, then they will be ready to give it.” He fought continuously for India’s freedom. The ‘Promise of India’ matured into the Grand Old Man of India.
There were others who followed. Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, was virtually the ‘Uncrowned King of Bombay’ and gave it its municipal constitution. Mumbai’s icon, Taj Mahal Hotel was built in defiance of the British by Jamshedji Tata. He promised to build a hotel so grand that no Indian would want go to British establishments and suffer insults. His values and patriotism have been steadily sustained by his descendants. Today, Ratan Tata has done the family proud. His unstinting generosity towards the victims of the terror attacks of 28th November 2008 and their families has dumfounded people. Even those employees just a day old have been treated with the same grace.
Cawasji Jehangir, Dinshaw Vatcha, Ardeshir Godrej, Khurshedji Cama, J.N.Petit, and several others were all pioneers in their respective fields and the institutions they gave the city still serve the populace. Ladies were not far behind. Madam Cama is remembered for her heroic act of unfurling the first Indian flag in a European gathering. Post freedom, it was Dr. Homi Bhabha who fathered India’s nuclear research programme.

Customs and traditions
In spite of the persecution, the destruction of close to 90 per cent of its recorded history and tenets, migration to distant lands and the assimilation of alien customs and languages, Zoroastrianism survives because its adherents are tenaciously holding on to the teachings and traditions of their forefathers. Core beliefs have remained intact because these are the stuff of life. Parsis always live by them. The Prophet demands that his followers actively and wholeheartedly fight evil all through life. This constant endeavour to remain connected to the Divine through good thoughts, words and deeds – Humata, Hukta Havarashta – forms the basic building blocks, infusing strength of character into individuals: responsibility, effort, industry, courage, justice, truthfulness, charity and self-sacrifice are the benchmarks of a life well lived. Nature, through which the Divine manifests itself is always revered and protected and above all Fire is held in the highest veneration: The living embodiment of the Divine, so it is enthroned, fortified by Avesta mantras and kept alive in perpetuity.
Between life and death, the most important ceremony for a Parsi is that of the Navjote. The initiation of a child takes place between seven and eleven years of age. A girl’s Navjote is usually performed in her seventh year to pre-empt menstruation. Until such time as the Navjote takes place the child is taught the mandatory prayers that have to be recited every day of life after the Navjote ceremony. The child sits on a wooden platform, after a ceremonial bath, clad in a loose, white pajama over which is worn the ‘sudra’, a loose, long tunic of fine muslin sewn with nine seams. One priest will stand exactly opposite the child and the other 4 or 6 will take their place behind him. The Dastur, initially prays himself, then along with the others invoking divine blessings that encompass the entire gamut of life. Thereafter, the child stands on the platform, the sacred girdle or ‘kusti’ is held in both hands and reciting the prayers the kusti is wrapped around the waist of the child by the priest for the first time. It is worn throughout life and even in death. The Navjote should take place in the Fire Temple only, being the ceremony that establishes a connection between a Parsi soul and Ahura Mazda, his Source through the embodiment of the Divine – the Fire.

The groom being received at the wedding venue with the traditional ritual of dispersing the evil eye

Weddings commence around sunset to honour the promise of yore, that marriages would take place in the night as per Hindu custom, but as Parsis do not undertake anything auspicious after sunset the marriage ceremony begins at twilight.
‘Agharni’ is the celebration of a young woman’s fertility. When she is seven months into her first pregnancy, auspicious fertility objects like coconut, betel leaves and nuts, are placed in her lap and her mouth sweetened with curd or sweetmeat. Gifts are exchanged by both families and there is great rejoicing.
In death too a Parsi does not veer from the tenets of his religion. Today, the West is applauding the method of disposal practised among the Parsis as the most scientific and eco-friendly. Parsis place the body in a consecrated tower called a ‘dokhma’ on top of a hill or mountain surrounded by natural forest. Vultures and the sun quickly return the body to dust. A great deal of controversy has dogged this method lately in Bombay, perhaps more on account of the property prices and its prime location in the city now, but, when the dokhma on Malabar Hill was built, 350 years ago it was dense jungle.
High thinking and simple living characterises a Parsi. Even their festivals, of Navroz, Papeti or New Year and Khordad Sal, birth of the prophet, are celebrated with quiet dignity in their homes. The day begins with a visit to the Fire Temple and the celebration is with family and friends. Ostentation is always shunned.
Their dwindling numbers is bothering the world today, but the Parsis themselves are quite complacent. They have survived the vicissitudes of time over thousands of years and believe that as long as they maintain their genetic purity and cling to their faith, even this will pass. After all there were only 300 Parsis who landed in Sanjan.

The writer is the author of three coffee-table books and writes for various newspapers and magazines on nature and environment.

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