Heritage & Cultural Studies
In 2003, the UNESCO General Conference adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the international community has actively engaged to understand and record the links between tangible and intangible heritage ever since. Parzor has been working towards a similar goal since 2000, with consequently diverse projects.
Information on Zoroastrianism, scanty as it is, has for long come from outside the community. Parzor has attempted to connect with the community in India and Iran or search through the silence of neglect.
In 1999, as the world globalized and urbanized rapidly, UNESCO created the Memory of the World Programme. While modern technology, sound, films and digital recordings have created an enormous output of material, ironically we are still losing a language almost every day and cultural heritage at almost the same speed. It is therefore imperative to preserve both Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage in this new millennium. Memory combines both the traditional and the contemporary, living practices are inclusive, for much of humanity shares these expressions and their symbolism- by highlighting one ancient strand in the tapestry, we hope to help preserve the heritage of humanity.
Intangible Cultural Heritage
What or who are the Parsis? The Zoroastrian heritage of a “Life-enhancing not a world-denying faith” creates a Religion of Action which provides the foundation of daily life among the Parsi Zoroastrians. Zoroastrianism gives importance to both the Menok and Getig, the spiritual and material aspects of existence and, therefore, provides a holistic approach to life.
The Zoroastrian must be a person of action. ‘Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds, Humata, Hukata, Huvarashta’, the core mantra of both religious and cultural attitudes, is believed to have the power to transform negation, drive away evil and enable this world to reach ultimate joy. Unrecognized by most adherents of the religion, the faith sub-consciously provides a deep inner core from which to draw strength for honesty, helpfulness, sincerity, happiness and success.
Since inception the most pressing need of the Parzor Project was to immediately start recording the intangible aspects of Parsi-Zoroastrian heritage, as the most valuable resource people, both priests and laity, are of advanced age. The scope of work is wide and the process has often been a race against time- to record intangible heritage before knowledgeable people are lost- priests, musicians, artists and traditional medical practitioners and experts from many other fields.
The living heritage of the Parsi Zoroastrians is being recorded by Parzor across India for over two decades now and is part of the Parzor archives for use by researchers and scholars from the world over. The initial focus was on recording the smaller pockets of Parsi settlements since these especially in the interior regions are in grave danger of disappearing. The methodology followed was to start recording varied geographic regions, starting with Bharuch, Navsari, Surat, Bardoli and the villages of Adajan, Bhatta, Suhali and Hajira in South Gujarat. The Hyderabad-Secunderabad regions in the Deccan and Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Dahod in central Gujarat have been covered during oral tradition recordings.
The Parzor team has traveled across the country recording diverse lifestyles found in the community: the grand life style of the Parsi Vadis, the huge estates of South Gujarat, in contrast to the life styles of the small Vads. While many of the beautiful homes of the Vadis lie deserted and forlorn, in Dahod and Bardoli rural Parsis have used the community’s environmental consciousness for profit and development. Hybrid varieties and scientific cultivation have enabled the tiny Parsi populations there to flourish and be leaders in farm technology.
There has been considerable success in these endeavors. Parzor's digital Archives now have many hours of video recordings and many thousand photographs. The lifestyles as followed in different locations are preserved and archived for study and analysis.
Read more about Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Rituals section under Ecology & Society
Archival & Tangible Cultural Heritage
Creating awareness about the urgency of preserving the tangible heritage of the Parsis for posterity is one of the most important aims of Parzor. Tangible heritage material can range from manuscripts, paintings, photographs, and personal libraries to heritage sites; textiles, embroidery, jewelry, silver, old traditional furniture and artifacts, even old postcards and toys. Over the years, Parzor has worked to preserve the Tangible Heritage of the community- skills including incense making, embroidery, carpet weaving, and archaeological findings that elucidate the community history from Iran to Sanjan.
Parzor has been working on plans of a Heritage Circuit along with the revival of cuisine, craft and other forms of heritage. Some heritage architecture has also been identified, however this requires funding and is dependant on sponsors. The work on preservation of Tangible Heritage & Heritage sites requires interaction with technical advisors, archaeologists and local custodians of the sites. Under Tangible Heritage protection two types of activities are envisaged. The first is protection of sites, objects and historical monuments. The second is the restoration and preservation of photographs and other visual material of heritage value. Development of some Heritage sites as places of tourist interest could fulfil the needs of preservation as well as maintenance on a long-term basis. A good example to follow has been the restoration and preservation, which has been done for Havelis in Rajasthan which are now under the Heritage Hotel Scheme. The ultimate aim of the Heritage Project would be to create a museum on the Parsi-Zoroastrians, which would be of international standards and evoke international interest and response.
Want to help with Parzor’s Heritage Circuit or Museum?
The Heritage Sites Project has an international dimension, as many of the original sites are located in Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia along the Silk Route. Contact has been established with local research bodies and community members as well as governments in some of the countries. A very important discovery in the field of tangible heritage was the ancient water harvesting system, the Tanka. At Bharuch the Project stumbled upon the Tanka system of water harvesting which is still functional in a few houses. While many systems of water harvesting provide storage water, this particular system provides pure drinking water. The purity is as high as that of bottled mineral water. This type of Tanka may owe its origin to ancient Persian systems of water management and further studies need to be carried out before a complete picture and understanding can emerge. The Parzor project has started creating awareness about the importance of protecting this important tangible heritage of the Parsi Zoroastrians. Interest in researching the Tankas in greater detail and their potential use in a water-starved world has been the focus of discussion with various researchers and organizations.
Read about ‘ Tanka ‘ under Ecology & Society
The Parzor Project requested Mr. Rohinton Jambusarwala, an expert practitioner of the correct methodology of this type of ancient water harvesting, to share his knowledge with the NGO Development Alternatives. Their report of the purity of this water, which meets WHO standards, makes interesting reading.
The Parzor archives also contain valuable material from Parsi theatre. It has play scripts, which include Harishchandra, Jehangir, Behram Gore and Banoo Hoshang as well as Romeo and Juliet all printed between 1871-1876. There are handwritten scripts of several others in the archives, as well as interesting theatre props from the Calcutta Amateur Dramatics Club. From more recent contributors, Parzor has video material from Yezdi Karanjia and his troupe in Surat.
Read more in ‘ Theatre ‘ under Performing Arts
The Meherjirana Library in Navsari, Gujarat, is a treasure trove of manuscripts in Avesta, Pahlavi and Pazand. Parzor Foundation has been instrumental in reinstating MRL to its rightful place in Zoroastrian Studies. Since 2000 Parzor has worked with MRL and helped raise funds for the renovation and restoration of its building. More funds gathered through Parzor in the following years have also helped add to their building complex. The MRL now has an Annexe including a Conservation Lab, a Conference Hall as well as rooms for visiting scholars.
Gen. Adi Sethna, founder of the Parzor Project had been devoted to the Library and its welfare. He facilitated the digitisation of most of their collection on Zoroastrian History and Culture. The digitisation resulted in microfilms jointly owned by the MRL and Parzor. This collection includes rare and precious Rivayats- correspondence between Iranian and Parsi-Zoroastrian priests.
While the Meherjirana Library, situated in the Tarota Bazaar region of Navsari, was always a local resource for students, Parzor Foundation has helped put it on the global map as a significant resource centre for Zoroastrian Studies. In 2009, Parzor collaborated with the Library to organise its first international conference on Zoroastrianism. Amitav Ghosh was a special guest at the conference and since then Parzor has facilitated research for many Indian and international scholars on Zoroastrianism and Central Asia. The original ‘Sanad of Emperor Akbar’, issued to the First Dastoor Meherjirana, housed here, was one of Parzor's rarest finds.
Intercultural Studies
The Zoroastrian tradition was not always less known. Humankind has always shared more connections over dividing factors. The Jews, Greeks, and after them, the Romans, shared boundaries with the Persians on the western frontiers while in the east, Indians, the tribes on the Central Asian Steppes and the Chinese were neighbors. They all have shown considerable awareness of the Zoroastrian tradition and Persia from very early times. Intercultural exchange in people, ideas and goods was fostered from as early as the 1st millennium BC, a turning point in human history when Aryan horsemen arrived on the Iranian plateau and settled, mingling with the original inhabitants.
Geography has been a significant contributing factor in the creation of the community history and character. The Iranian plateau is a region of contrasts with vast arid mountain lands and dense forests of oak, walnut, pistachio on one hand and valleys with figs, pomegranates, oranges, lemons and mulberries on the other.
Even after the move to India, the myriad cultural influences on the community have helped it maintain a rich, intercultural identity. The Parsi food of Navsari, the Parsi Garba, dance and music at the Navratri celebrations and at Diwali are all part of an ancient intercultural tradition.
Ardeshir Dhanjishah and the Swaminarayan Phenta
Surat is a great example of Parsi acculturation into Indian society and the Parsi ability to draw on multicultural traditions in craft, trade, business and life. One interesting intercultural story from Surat is that of Ardeshir Dhanjishah, Kotwal of Surat, and Swami Sahajanand Maharaj, Founder of the Swaminarayan Sect. Ardeshir, belonged to the Neksatkhan family who had served the Mughal court. His mother was the first Parsi woman to get a political pension, honoring the courage and death of her husband Dhanjishah in protecting Mandvi during the rebellion of 1810. Ardeshir, as Kotwal, combined the powers of a magistrate and Police Chief. Due to his integrity, the Pindaris, dacoits and outlaws could no longer bribe lower administration and loot this rich city. Dr. Ratan Marshal in his Gujarati book Amar Vir Ardeshir Kotwal, (Surat, 1946) and in his recorded interviews (October 2001), recounts how Ardeshir brought peace in just six months, both by using enthusiastic volunteers and by strict discipline. Even today, Kotwal is celebrated in Parsi Geet and Garbas. He brought such peace to Surat that the people of Surat, “now slept with their doors open”.
Sahajanand Swami, of the Swami Narayan sect, had a large following within Surat, even among the Parsis and the British. He was invited in 1825 to visit and see the now peaceful city for himself. Welcomed at the gates by Ardeshir Kotwal, he presented him with his own pagdi (turban), a coconut and a small picture. For Swamiji, Ardeshir was a man of God who had performed a miracle in bringing peace to this town. Several stories of this relationship are still recounted and till today, the presents of the Swamiji are preserved by the descendants of Ardeshir Kotwal. It is believed that they have the power to fulfill wishes, and the family has built a hall for worshippers in their own home. Once a year, on Bhai beej, these objects are displayed in public and priests of the Swami Narayan Sect perform a puja in this home.
Cuisine
"Parsi food is a symbol of a community that has been willing to change and adjust to new circumstances across history and geography. It is obvious that Parsi cuisine is an important marker of ethnic identity."
Perhaps the one thing that will last beyond the Parsi community is the art of Parsi cuisine. The last decade or so has seen a revival of Parsi food in India and other places. Parsi cuisine is born out of the combination of Iranian and Indian flavors; part of the cuisine is also made up of English dishes with a tinge of Indian flavors to better suit the Indian palate more accustomed to spices.
Parsi food is generally regarded as rich - a cuisine of the affluent, using expensive ingredients like dried fruit and a lot of meat. Even though cooking for the household on a regular day is much simpler, food forms a dominant component of daily life.
Surat was not only a hub for traditional crafts and weaving, but also a center for culinary creations. The Surti Parsis interacted with all communities and the Dotivala bakery was born of their intercultural links with the Dutch. Till 1762, when the Nawab of Surat took over the Dutch Factory and the Dutch moved outwards to beyond the Mecca Creek, the Dutch held primacy in trade at Surat. The Dutch Garden, now known as Dayalji Baugh on the riverbank, is just a strip of its earlier grandeur. Opposite this location is the old General Post Office, GPO, once a Dutch Factory. It was perhaps here that the Dutch introduced the art of baking bread in Surat- five Parsi men were employed here to make bread; When the Dutch left Surat, they handed over their ovens to one of these loyal assistants, Mr. Framjee Pestonji Dotivala.
Framjee continued to supply bread to the Europeans but the stock was often left unsold. Bread at that time was fermented with toddy and would not spoil for a considerable amount of time. However, it would become dry due to loss of moisture. This leftover, crisp-bread was sold cheap to the poor and became popular. As the demand increased, the bread was made smaller and circular, to be then dried out in an open oven. This was the first instance in India when ‘biscuits’ were dried in this manner. The biscuits, being tasty and nutritious, were recommended by doctors who prescribed them as a controlled diet for patients. As time passed three varieties became famous. One made with pure ghee was called the Farmasu surti batasa. The surti batasa had less shortening. The third type of biscuit was a combination of a local sweet and Parsi ingenuity. The Dotivala bakers mixed a sweet called dal with the oven mixture of bread-biscuits to make the famous Nankhatai.
When Prohibition was introduced, the bakery faced a problem because they could no longer use toddy as the fermenting agent. Till today, they believe that a great taste was lost because the new fermenting agent was made of hops and potatoes. The first three bakeries of Surat were Parsi-owned; today these Dotivala biscuits are exported across the world. The revival of interest in Parsi food and bakery products across India is a development from Gujarat. Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and the famous Irani bakeries of Pune, owe a debt of gratitude to this humble beginning.
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