Jiyo Parsi meet: Go forth and multiply but... some questions, please

Doc makes it rockTHE Jiyo Parsi press conference at the Cama Oriental Institute in South Mumbai opposite Lions Gate to be precise was to apprise the community and the media that the scheme which is a multipronged approach to arrest the decline in community numbers is now going to have a print advertising campaign to increase visibility The hall had the eminent Dr R P Soonawala renowned gynaecologist sitting upfront Post the presentation where a few visuals of the advertisements were shown the floor was open for a Q amp A sessionChief guest Perizad ZorabianThere were plenty of questions about intercaste marriage though the Jiyo Parsi panelists on the dais said repeatedly that this was about the scheme and not intercaste marriage Towards the end Dr Soonawala took the mike and stated ldquoMy son has married a Gujarati girl The motherrsquos influence is much more usually than that of the fatherrsquos during the formative years When my daughterinlaw takes my grandsons to the Fire Temple she has to sit outside she cannot enter Maybe we have to think about inclusion There is no other community which disallows persons into its templesrdquo There was an uncomfortable silence for a minute after that and one could hear some murmurs within the hall Dr Shernaz Cama director Parzor Foundation which has launched this along with other organizations was on the dais She said ldquoThat is an issue for the Bombay Parsi Panchayat BPPrdquo The BPP president Dinshaw Mehta simply smiled without saying anything In a world of politically correct speak and where people are afraid to rock the boat you may or may not agree with Dr Soonawala but this doc needs to be applauded for bringing up a touchy topic Prescription for an increasingly quiet whycreatetrouble worldLineup Dr Shernaz Cama second from l and company look on PICS Khushnum BhandariGirls change your ways A lady in the audience for the Jiyo Parsi meet put up her hand and asked for the mike during the interactive session The campaign promoters had earlier spoken about how young people had ldquounreasonably high expectationsrdquo when looking for a spouse and that was one reason why so many Parsi youngsters did not get married claiming that they had not found the correct person The lady stated ldquoThe attitude of Parsi girls must change Today a Parsi girl does not want to live in a joint family She would rather marry a rich businessman rather than a nice Parsi boyrdquo To that the Jiyo Parsi panelists simply said that the community has to do some introspectionGuest greetings Chief Guest H E Masood E Khaleghi Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran centreDoing a gender benderGender equity came up as questions were raised about why Parsi men who married nonParsi women could avail of the scheme while Parsi women who married outside the community could not There were also questions about why Parsi menrsquos children are Parsis and why children of Parsi women who married outside the community could not be Parsi In the end Dr Cama was forced to say that she may have personal opinions but they worked within the ambit of the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act which is patriarchalBeyond Babies Dr R P SoonawalaAn ad not just a handbillSam Balsara chairman and managing director Madison World which has created a series of advertisements which are to be printed in community specific press about the campaign was told by a journalist that one advertisement which stated that if numbers do not go up a board outside a cluster of squat buildings stating lsquoParsi Colonyrsquo would change to lsquoHindu Colonyrsquo was offensive Balsara said he would look at the ad but advertising is ldquomeant to offend in some way If it does not it is handbills or mere informationrdquoThe audienceHolding up a mirrorWhile the scheme has is about treatment for infertility importance of marriage at a younger age and more children from the line of questions it is evident that different issues continue to dog the community The speakers could only keep trying to bring the Q amp A session on track to Jiyo Parsi to ensure that it is not derailed by intercaste marriages and gender inequity questions Dr Cama said that it was important that ldquopeople focus on the positives of the campaign We should learn to be happyrdquo Some accused the press of sensationalism yet it was not just the press but the the Parsis themselves who asked these questions Evidently it is time to wake up and smell the coffee or dhansaak to be precise