On 8th November, 2021, the geriatric ward at the Bomanshaw Minocher-Homji (BMH) Parsi Medical Relief Association, in Karachi, Pakistan, came alive with decorations and flowers, as the city’s Parsi community gathered to celebrate the glorious 107th birthday of Dina Homi Sethna – the oldest living Parsi in Karachi, and most probably, the world!
Sporting a pretty pink party dress, Dina Sethna cut her cake with a little help as everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ on the proud occasion, which saw the joyful participation of people from other communities as well. These included Cardinal Joseph Coutts, politicians Mangla Sharma, Ramesh Singh, Anwar Lala and Abdullah Haroon, alongside other celebrities including actor Feroze Khan.
Well-known rally driver Tushna Patel, who organised the birthday party, said, “My daughter is also named Dina, and today it is also her birthday, according to the Parsi calendar! It’s a big honour for our community to have someone among us who is 107 years old. We Parsis are dwindling in numbers so having a 107-year-old member in our community is amazing.”
Present also were Dina’s daughter – Sunnu and son-in-law – Farrokh Golwalla. Sunnu joked about how her mother retained her vanity even at this age. “She was born in 1914 and when we were celebrating her 100th birthday in 2014, she was most annoyed to receive cards that congratulated her for completing a century! She returned all the cards that had 100 written on them. She didn’t want anyone to think she was a day older than 70,” she laughed.
Speaking about her mother, she shared that she an introvert who kept mostly to herself. Because of her age, she had become hard of hearing and this keeps her from conversing confidently. “She is very caring. When she naps in the afternoon, she tells her attendant to also have a shut eye. The lady volunteers and her attendants lovingly call her Maa,” she added. Sunnu had to have her mother committed to the home as she was unable to physically care for her. But she and her husband are mentally and emotionally engaged in her wellbeing.
Roshan Mehri, Chairperson of the Managing Committee at the BMH Parsi Medical Relief Association, informed that the institution started off as a pre-partition hospital to help local Parsis, but it had now turned into a semi nursing home and geriatric facility for those who are alone and without caretakers.
[Inputs Courtesy: Dawn]
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