M J Wadia Agiary, located at Mumbai’s Lalbaug, celebrated its grand 190^th salgreh, on 30^th June, 2024 (Roj Behram, Mah Bahman) amidst much joy and a sense of community togetherness. The celebration commenced with a Hama Anjuman Jashan, led by the Agiary’s Panthakee, Er. Kersi Bhada, at 5:30 pm, in the presence of a large congregation of devotees, paying obeisance to the venerated Atash Padshah.

Master of Ceremonies – Roxane Desai extended a warm welcome to all in the jam-packed hall. A monajat sung by Iran League prize winner, Maidyorem Chinoy, from the Dadar Athornan Institute, motivated everyone to stay true to Zarathushtra. In his inspiring speech, Chairman Trustee of M J Wadia Agiary Trust, Kersi Limathwalla, first expressed gratitude to founder Muncherji Jamshetji Wadia and went on to emphasize the importance of prayers. “Pray to Ahura Mazda, attune with Him by staying pure not just physically, but also with mental cleansing of negative thoughts, jealousy, anger, hatred. Instead, fill the soul with love, sharing, caring and compassion. We play different roles at home, at work, in society and each has to be played conscientiously – this is worship! This attunement with God makes life beneficial, meaningful and worth living,” he shared.

He lamented how this fast-paced age uses quick-fixes, leading to a lower attention span in youngsters, which needed to be addressed urgently. “It’s an age which can be salvaged with farajyat prayers, or Hoshbam, or even by small capsule prayers like Nirangs. Pray, attune and be linked-in with Ahura Mazda,” he added.

Panthaky Er. Kersi Bhada, discussed how the youth get overwhelmed with the volume of our prayers. “Start with basic prayers slowly, then move over to the bigger ones,” he advised, exhorting parents and grand-parents to encourage the youth to pray. In his nostalgic and inspiration talk, Er. Dr. Ramiyar Karanjia shared how the Agiary’s Padshah Saheb was consecrated 190 years ago, in a private building owned by businessmen brothers Seth Dadabhai and Muncherji Pestonji Wadia. A 15-year business recession forced them to mortgage and then auction the entire estate, including the Makaan of the Agyari, which was given away for Rs. 42,000/-. For 10 years, from 1853, the Padshah Saheb was relocated at the Pak Wadiaji Atash Behram. Later Muncherji Jamshetjee Wadia built the Makaan for Padshah Saheb, though he passed away before its fruition. His sons got the Atash Padshah consecrated, continuing his legacy. Since then, the fire glows brightly here. The Agiary was also renovated to its present state seventeen years ago. He went on to emphasize the importance of taking time to pray to Ahura Mazda, immaterial of how busy one is in this jet-set age. “Internalise and cleanse the mind with prayer. Pray in small packets with complete focus and with conviction that God, religion and prayers help,” he concluded

BPP Chairman Viraf Mehta applauded the Structured Religious Course which have been conducted at the Agiary for 17 years. He expressed disappointment that the youth of the community seemed to lack commitment towards the religion and that the remedy was to educate the youth about our religion. Next, Iran League prize winners and students of the Dadar Athornan Institute, Barjis Bharda, Ziyaan Turel and Delyaz Panthaky, sang their monajats with a twist and a Shahnameh recital. Meheraaz Delkhah impressed all with her singing, while ballerina Parinaz Guard, mesmerized all with her performance. Rustom Tirandaz, a self-taught Nunchak artiste, was greatly appreciated as his passion for nunchaks won him the Talent Round in HPY-2024.

Floral tributes for the dignitaries and tokens of appreciation for the young performers were presented, as Armaity Tirandaz rendered a thought-provoking, motivational poem on our Constant Companion – God. The evening concluded with delicious food and a vote of thanks proposed by Kersi Limathwalla.

[Courtesy: Roxane Desai]