Print pashas, the Parsi Mark Twain and a playwright called Pijam

A charming heiress a goodlooking but villainous doctor a timid lover a crafty detective a singing girl a Nawab in his dotage and a dancing womanmdashin a photo drama that rings with love hate villainy fidelity fascinating and thrilling story of social life starring the beautiful and emotional Miss Thelma Wallace and Miss Yvonne WallaceSo announced ads summarising in superlatives Kohinoor Film Companys 1925 silent saga Fankdo Fituri Handsome Blackguard The magnificent ParseeHinduMuslim screen romance from the extremely popular sensational novel by Pijam cast with the fetching Ms Wallaces directoractor Homi Master himself as Yakub the sleuth Moti Behram Vasunia Fram Sethna and KB Athavale as the eponymous blackguardEnsemble cast and crew of a 1955 Calcutta Parsi Amateur Dramatic Club CPADC staging of Pijams Makhkhai Mohro the first CPADC production assigning women the female roles earlier performed by male actorsFeted for his exciting presentation of embroiled plots in brazenly melodramatic manner Master scored another surefire hit Discerning audiences attributed Fankdo Fituris appeal to its sparkling original writing They were always full of admiration for the author Pirojsha Jehangirjee Marzban pen name Pijam anagrammed from his initials PJMTwo generations ahead of Pijam produced stalwart pressmen ably moulding the Marzban legacy This early lineage stretches back to Mobed Fardoonjee Marzbanjee 17871847 Pijams grandfather respected as a great Orientalist Suratborn to a Kadmi priestly clanmdashKadmi Fasli and Shahenshahi form the trio of Zoroastrian sects mdashwith his father and grandfather scholars of Avestan texts the patriarch merits lasting recognition on several scoresPJ Marzban popular playwright and JameJamshed editor Pic courtesyFeroz DubashMost significantly Fardoonjee started the first vernacular printing press in 1812 and established Asias oldest continuously running periodical The Bombay Samachar on July 1 1822 A valuable template for subsequent Parsihelmed publications like the Indian Spectator eventually Voice of India Fardoonjees paper appeared weekly till 1832 biweekly till 1855 and daily since as Mumbai SamacharFardoonjee is declared the Caxton of the Gujarati Printing Press in HD Darukhanawalas classic Parsi Lustre on Indian Soil an allusion to William Caxtons introduction of the printing press in 15thcentury England A remarkable reel of achievements earned him high repute as the Father of Gujarati printed literaturePijam with his sons Rustom and Adi Pic courtesyManek GuzderThree years following his arrival from Surat Fardoonjee opened a bookbinders shop in Bombay in 1808 Pioneering vernacular journalism in the country and very importantly the production of Gujarati typefaces he published the first Gujarati calendar in 1814 corresponding to the Hindu Samvat Year 1871 Unfortunately no known copy of this almanac survivesCarrying on Fardoonjees print endeavours were Behramjee Fardoonjee Marzban 18261895 the second of his three sons and his grandson Jehangirjee Behramjee Marzban 18481928 Jehangirjee worked his way up from proofreader to partner at the 1832established JameJamshed meaning goblet of Shah Jamshid in which the future was supposed visible Initially a weekly like its current avatar it converted to a daily broadsheet for years from 1853 Asias secondoldest surviving newspaper rolled from a distinctive red brick building at Ballard Pier on the road still signboarded Adi Marzban Path in memory of the playwright and James last editor who was a MarzbanLawyer Feroz Dubash at the antique partners desk used by two people facing each othermdashand chair of his greatgrandfather Pirojsha MarzbanThe ancestral press flourished under Jehangirjees proprietorship Possessed of a fine writing style and ready wit for which the humourist was hailed the Mark Twain of the Parsis he reigned among the citys successful influential newspapermen Prior to the Jame he edited the Gujarati magazine NooreAlam Nure Elam in Persian JB Marzban also managed three leading English dailies ndash The Times of India The Advocate of India and The Bombay Gazette even printed on silkJehangirjees friends were drawn from performing artistes and press personalities of the day One was actor Framroz Joshi superintendent of the Government Central Press whose roles in the 1860s when actresses were banned onstage included the female lead of The Lady of Lyons rendered with aplomb in Gujarati by the Gentleman Amateurs ClubProgramme covers of Pijams plays Makhkhai Mohro and Madam TichkuAn active member of the Bombay Municipal Corporation JB Marzban was the first Parsi journalist publicly honoured by the government with a CIE Companion of the Indian Empire Despite championing womens education Jehangirjee held reactionary views His motto for social reform and as a policy for the papermdashFestina lentemdashwas an oxymoron of wisdom though Latin for hasten slowly or proceed with prudence a phrase preferred by grand civilizations and dynasties particularly the emperors Augustus and Titus as well as the Medicis The Roman historian Suetonius tells us Augustus deplored rashness in military affairsBesides being a renowned dramatist Jehangirjees son Pirojsha really grew the Jame as a paper nurturing it bringing it up says Ardeshir Dubash chairman of Concern India Foundation The grandson of Pirojsha Jehangirjee Marzban 18761933 Dubash and his sister Manek Guzder are the children of Pijams only daughter Jer The sons were Rustom nicknamed Lulu and Adi Marzban Incidentally Dubashs son Feroz is named after Pirojsha spelt slightly different and Ferozs little son Jehangir after JehangirjeePirojsha is credited with an extraordinarily prolific oeuvre in his short life 15 volumes of fiction comic essays and plays scripted assuming the pithy nom de plume Pijam Versatility was a hallmark of these literary contributions from fiery criticism of civic issues to featherlight musings for GupSup Indias answer to TitBits which he edited briefly Darukhanawalas tome describes Pijam revealed himself a master of Gujarati language in his hands a pliable weapon used deftly to extract tears or provoke mirth from readersPlaywriting was a passion PJ Marzban pursued with steady proficiency His notable scripts included Makhkhai Mohro Madam Tichku Mazandaran and Maasi No Maako Wowing packed houses some won wider adulation as celluloid adaptations His journalistic flair evident right from Elphinstone College years Pijam became the JameJamshed editor seen at the vanguard of Zoroastrian religious sentimentA difference of opinion in private matters decided the duration of Pirojshas professional innings at the Jame and Bombay Samachar When he wanted to marry my grandmother Ratanbai she was just 15 or 16 shares Dubash who has reignited the family association with the bilingual tabloid Jame version He was the eldest son of his father displeased by the alliance on account of his daughterinlaws tender age Cutting off Pijam from the business he had nothing to do with the couple Not till the birth of their first son was there a rapprochement Jehangirjee reinstated Pirojsha in the fold and at Jame While Pijam had been cast out he was approached by Muncherjee Cama to join the Samachar as an editorAn unsolved mystery for the family involves the naming of Pijam and Ratanbais children Why the firstborn registered as Adi on the birth certificate too was renamed Rustommdashonce the couple had a change of mind when their second boy came alongmdashis anybodys guess Seemingly fixated by the name they called the new baby Adi instead Plays Rustom wrote and staged proved minor compared with those of his younger brother Adi Marzban writerdirector doyen of Gujarati and English theatreWhat vitally were the defining editorial stances of father and son JB and PJ Marzban Their individual temperaments left a unique stamp on Bombay press circles Mitra Sharafi mentions in her book Law and Identity in Colonial South Asia Parsi Legal Culture 17721947 When Jehangirjee needed a break from critics he retreated in the Matheran hills to Red House the Marzban villa If both men emerge oldfashioned Pijam was amiably softer dispositionedJehangir Behramjee Marzban had spent decades in the wily world of Bombay journalism and Parsi community politics The father of Parsi journalism was a veteran of Bombays libel wars she writes His son PJ or Pijam was a wellknown satirist with orthodox leaningshellip The younger Marzbans correspondence suggested his father ruled JameJamshed with an iron grip In a letter to a family member the son explained he could not publish the relatives writing because Pa would come down on my poor head like lightning and thunder As Marzban senior told the Bombay High Court in a libel suit Whenever there is anything out of the common it is a rule in the office to refer to meOn marrying Pijam moved out of the singlestorey family bungalow Shalimar now Delstar building on Hughes Road Residing near Cama Baug he and Ratanbai finally settled at Chapsey Terrace on Altamont Road The sitting room there was his library with specially fitted cupboards for books This was Adi Mamas space to rehearse his plays recollects Dubash Neighbours remember diminutive Ratanbai dress exclusively in black sarees through long years of widowhood till her death in the 1970sPijam and Adi Marzbans productions impressed with scene set and light design Each brought journalistic experience to plays which shone natural relevant yet entertaining In addition to the appointment as a Justice of the Peace PJ Marzban served as Sheriff of Bombay often accompanied for official events by his daughter JerTo quote Parsi Lustre on Indian Soil again PJ Marzbans journalistic mantle has fallen upon his talented sons Ardeshir and Rustomji worthily treading the path chalked out by their revered grandfather and fatherThe rest is happy historyTo the citys Gujarati theatre fans sorely missing a live play today we say catch what you can online and look forward to next year Navoze MubaarakmdashParsi naatak jivto rehMeet the MarzbansFardoonjee Marzbanjee 17871847Behramjee Fardoonjee Marzban 18261895Jehangir Behramjee Marzban 18481928Pijam Pirojsha Jehangirjee Marzban 18761933Adi Marzban 19141987 siblings Rustom Marzban amp Jer DubashAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmehermarfatiacomKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news