A quiet turning point faces our community – one not of numbers alone, but of identity, memory and spirit. Our cherished Parsi-Gujarati dialect, which once filled our homes with wit, laughter and warmth, today echoes faintly in corners, heard less often in the voices of the young. Our customs – sacred, intricate, rich with symbolism – are observed more out of nostalgia than conviction. Our youth increasingly feel distant from the stories, prayers and practices that once rooted generations.

This erosion has not been sudden. It’s crept in slowly, disguised as convenience, modernity and adaptation. What’s at stake here is deeper than ritual or language – it’s more than words… it’s our identity and our continuity. Language is not just a tool of communication – it’s the heartbeat of a culture, the soul of a people and the lens through which we view the world. Ritual is not mere repetition, it is memory woven into movement – it is heritage unfolding, each gesture echoing with generations. History is not just the past, it’s the root of our pride and our resilience, the soil which gently nourishes who we are and who we dare to become.

What we need is a clear-eyed resolve and inspired, urgent action. Even more, we need to understand that preservation is not about clinging to the past, it’s about reigniting its spirit, with purpose and the warmth of renewal, to ensure perpetuity.

We could try to revive our dialect, especially with the youth, through podcasts, community programs and intergenerational conversations… resurrect some of those fading or forgotten customs through festivals, storytelling and hands-on community engagement instead of just obligatory attendance… let our Agiaries also become spaces not only of worship, but of dialogue, education, and belonging. And most importantly, empower our youth not with nostalgia, but with purpose, to carry the torch of our glory, not the burden of heritage.

This is not merely a call to remember, it’s a call to rekindle, to resuscitate a language that once sang through our homes and reclaim a voice that echoes not just in words, but in the very fabric of our being. The flame of our culture still glows – silent and enduring, awaiting our touch. Let us nurture it not with longing, but with action.

For our darling Parsi-Gujarati dialect to surge back, we need to speak it, live it, breathe it. And in that breath, it will live, not as memory, but as legacy. It will rise, not as a relic, but as a rhythm – shared and sung for generations to come.

Have a good weekend!

– Anahita