Noshir’s Finest Hour

Never in the history of nearly 350 years of its existence, has the Bombay Parsi Punchayet been beleaguered to such an extent that our concerned trustee Noshir Dadrawalla had to take recourse to the Gandhian way of protest! It must have been the last straw for this veteran campaigner. A hunger strike! Noshir is the foremost authority in philanthropy in India. He is highly respected abroad and should be treated as an asset to the BPP. He is an erudite person, and a scholar on Zoroastrianism. He is a prolific writer and a fine orator.

Then there is Kersi Randeria – a bluntly honest person. Very approachable, dependable and a no-nonsense sort of person, quite a witty man too, and he is no one’s puppet, no matter who the puppeteer.

The third is Xerxes Dastur – a CA of repute but one cannot be sure where he stands. Is he a fence sitter? One feels he can give a lot more to the community.

Now comes our young, go-getter trustee – Viraf Mehta. He had given a mighty strong impression that he was not a person to be dictated by anyone. Being a great supporter of youth, I had great hopes for him. But then, his dear papa is not just anyone……………..!

And last but not the least, Mme. Chairperson – Armaity Tirandaz. She aimed her Tir (arrow) at ruling the roost for a whole year till end-2022 – both unopposed, and probably more, with her  young tele-prompting pal. It would have been something akin to Lady Macbeth joining hands with Brutus! Mind boggles at ‘Que sera’ that would have been sung for the duo by another playback singer. Just another thought… “it is better to be an erstwhile trustee than be a has-been.”

Asked when the BPP plans to hold the elections for the vacant posts, the Chairperson is reported to say that she is pondering. Pondering, or wandering(?) over the issue, one wonders. She is either inefficient and incapable of making quick decisions; or maybe it is a wily ploy to run the Punchayet without any opposition and to hell with the poor and indigent members of community. Such behavior goes against all the norms of the management of a charity Trust.

The fasting is over, but the community is sure that all is still not well. The Last Waltz is yet to be had. What is certain is that posterity will look upon the creators of the present imbroglio, direct or ones teleprompting behind the scene, with contempt and disgust. Be that as it may, it was Noshir Dadrawala’s finest hour.

By Dara Khodaiji