Heartiest Congratulations to the Winners of our Parsi New Year Special Issue Contests! We thank all our talented readers for the massive response to all three Contests. The following are the Top 6 Winning entries. Winners are requested to email us at: editor@parsi-times.com to collect your gifts.

 

WINNERS OF CONTEST I: ‘Parsi Traits ‘n’ Quirks’

 

The Parsi Prototype

By Dezadd Dotiwalla

 

A person like a Parsi is difficult to find,

A rare specimen, he’s one of a kind!

God-fearing, fun-loving, happy and gay,

Awaiting his Parsi Times every Saturday!

 

Sunshine or dark – he’s merry as a lark,

All he needs is his delicious ‘dhansak’;

Disturbing his siesta is a problem, you see,

Unless you have in readiness – some Batasas with tea!

 

As the Sun sinks below the horizon,

A bottle of Whiskey adds to the fun;

While others may find it very odd,

After a few pegs, he thinks he is God.

 

Very loving and kind and no cause for fear,

His choicest profanities are a pleasure to hear!

He likes girls – calls them ‘fatakris’ & Gori’,

And can never resist a ‘ Dal ni Pori’.

 

When it comes to Marriage, he keeps on Thinking,

No wonder this loving population is slowly Shrinking.

In matters of ‘Love’, he’s the Best by far,

Don’t get ideas, it’s with his Bike and his Car.

 

His needs are simple, his wants are few,

It’s either Bhida par, Salli par, or Papeta par Eedu.

Fun-loving, Courteous and extremely Kind,

A Parsi friend is a ‘TREASURE’ to find.

 

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Parsi Traits And Quirks

By Meher Sutaria 

 

Our non- Parsi friends can well relate,

With our amazingly exclusive Parsi Traits.

They admire our forthrightness and simplicity,

And are always amused by our eccentricity.

 

Parsis are perpetually full of beans,

Being enthusiastic and energetic, is in our genes.

Philanthropy and honesty go hand in hand,

These traits portray our ” Bawa” brand.

 

We’re known as a race that’s happy-go-lucky,

Yet in all fields of work, we’re determined and plucky.

With a will to achieve -dedicated to our work,

Our bounden duties, we never shirk.

 

We have an innate sense of humour,

Some say we’re fastidious, but that’s a rumour.

We crack jokes of the slapstick kind,

A morose Parsi is hard to find.

 

A Parsi bachelor enjoys his life,

He is in no great hurry to look out for a wife.

As long as he lives with his mother dear,

He certainly has nothing much to fear.

 

But a Parsi maiden is of different kind,

She moves around with a goal in mind;

A handsome youth she must encounter,

So as never to remain a life-long spinster.

 

All in all, we Parsis are an affable lot,

With goodness in our deeds, words and thoughts;

We may have our crazy traits and quirks,

But our brethren love them – that’s why it works!

 

 

WINNERS OF CONTEST II: Complete The Following Story…

“Jamshed, or Jamsu – as his friends called him, was thrilled that he was now finally married to Roda, the seventh love of his life. He knew she had married him only because he had a huge 3-bedroom flat in an upscale baug, where he parked his 5 foreign-ni cars! Now all he wanted was for Roda to fall in love with him. But even more than that, he wanted her to learn how to make mutton-cutless and kolmi-na-kawab exactly the way it was made by his mum – Rati, who also lived with them. As he approached the kitchen, he saw his mum and Roda animatedly talking…

 

A Matter Of Taste

By Freyan S. Wadia

 

“Taamota na bhaav joyach tu-ey? 200 rupya per kilo! Whatever next, a mortgage on the house?”

“It’s not like you can’t afford it! You have one vintage Mercedes, Morris, Beetle and two Fiats in the garage!”

“Maari dikri, my son is a mechanic, not the next in line to the throne!”

“What is going on?” said Jamshed, entering with haste to end this turn in conversation.

“Your… your mother wants to use ketchup instead of tomatoes in taamota-par-eedu tonight!”

“Jamsu, be a good boy and pass me that plastic bag with the ketchup sachets.”

“Yes, mummy.”

Jamshed took in his wife’s utter disgust and backtracked. “Um, no Mummy, there’s… there’s no such plastic bag.”

“What rubbish! Open that cupboard, all our MacDonald’s sachets are there!”

“Is this true, Jamshed?” said Roda, blanching.

“No, no Roda,” he threw a pleading look at his mother. “It isn’t true!”

 

Rati had had enough. She pushed him out of the way like a WWE wrestler and strode over to the cupboard. The plastic bag in question fell at her feet, spewing out hundreds – no, thousands – of sachets on the floor… A testament to all their visits to McDonald’s even since it opened in Mumbai!

 

“I’ll need ten of these, mustn’t be greedy,” said Rati, a placid old lady once again. “Be a darling and pick them up for mummy. And get a new plastic bag – this one is torn.”

 

Jamshed didn’t know what to pick first – the sachets or the fainted form of his wife!

 

Surprise! Surprise!!

By Keshver Boywalla

 

Jamsu was amused, as he was always made to understand that Sass-Bahu can never get along… so he decided to eavesdrop their juicy conversation. Rati was telling Roda, “Joni dikra, my Jamsu is very fond of two things – mutton cutless and kolmi-na-kawab. Now, who wants to prepare these cumbersome dishes every other day! So, I found a way out!”

Roda, with bright, shining eyes, asked in anticipation, “What is it mamma? Mane pan kehevni?”

Rati whispered, “Shhh…., speak softly, deewal na bi kaan hoy! Joni, apri gali ne nake, Usman Idawalo, je baafela eeda sell kare che ne, he makes very tasty, tikha tam-tamta cutless-kawab. So, I’ve arranged secretly with him to deliver them to our doorstep! So now you too continue with this arrangement to keep Jamsu happy! And if he is khush to taro ne maro diamond necklace pakko!”

Poor surprised Jamsu was left with a gaping mouth so wide, it could 3 kawabs in it at once! Scratching his head, he started calculating… instead of marrying Roda, had he hired Usman as his cook, how much he would have saved!

 

WINNERS OF CONTEST III: Cliq-a-Pic

1. Name: Kaiwan & Penaaz

Forget the Patiala peg… Say ‘CHEERS ‘ to our ‘PARSI DOUBLE PEG’!!!

 

2. Name: Farah Mistry 

Caught between a rock and a hard place? Try Parsipanu – it’s caught between Sweet and Savory!