Burning bright

It was a bit worse than forgetting to bring the ring to a wedding At my Navjote the family found we had left behind the 72thread lambrsquos wool woven ldquokustirdquo cord meant to circle my waist to initiate me into the faith Fortunately the distress was fleeting Thanks to the fact that the ceremony was at Tata Agiary mere metres from our house My brother ran back got it and I was officially ordained Parsi within minutes of the mistakeThe Wadiaji Atash Behram at Dhobi Talao is fronted by a lovely courtyard fountain Pic Sameer MarkandeStanding oasislike on frenzied Hill Road rechristened Hell Road by my mother the Tata Agiaryrsquos distinctive feature is a striking stained glass panel of Zarathustra amid Edwardian motifs centred in the main prayer hall It once graced Tata Palace My maiden name was Dastoor meaning ldquopriestrdquo and down to greatgrandfather every ancestor did stoke the sacred flame in neighbouring Navsari This makes me a believer even if not an overly fervent follower of the faith Irsquom among the last 40000 members of my minuscule community in the city baffled by two dozen agiaries left unlisted in the Development PlanAt Dadar Parsi Colony the manicured gardens around Rustom Faram Agiary and its handsome structural sprawl render it imposing File PicWith both parents spending their childhood at Dadar Parsi Colony the Rustom Faram Agiary has also been a part of my growing up Manicured gardens around its handsome structural sprawl render it imposing The fire temple was built by a philanthropic Agra hotelier who moved to Mumbai surprised to find the largest housing colony for his community had no place of worship As this keeps a record of residents since the 1920s I know Irsquoll return to trace my roots here sometime soon mdash Mancherji Joshi visionary founder of this leafy colony was a maternal granduncleThe Tata Agiary on Hill Road in Bandra famed for its stained glass panel of Zarathushtra PicSuresh KKOther hubs proudly tending their own altars are the Jokhi Agiary in Godrej Baug on Malabar Hill and Karani Agiary in Cusrow Baug on Colaba Causeway Blessed by morning ldquomaachirdquo offerings and jashans on auspicious days they enjoy footfalls aplenty being on the premises of better populated baug complexes How long they stay strong is really anyonersquos guess in the marauding madness of roads mapped to plough through churches and metros through parksItrsquos business as usual outside the Vatcha Agiary in the bustling heart of Fort PicSameer Markande It took an agiary of course to solemnise my marriage a quarter century ago The Jejeebhoy Dadabhoy Agiary at Colaba continues to dress resplendent in a swathe of orchids and organza for weddings which promise to welcome more members to the fold It remains every young couplersquos first port of call after they exchange vows and before guests leap to long tables laden with caterer Tanaz Godiwalarsquos fine feast of ldquolagan nu bhonurdquoThe agiary of the family I married into is tucked into an alley behind Flora Fountain The Banaji Limji Agiary containing Bombayrsquos earliest sacred fire from June 1709 is fondly dubbed Kote ni Agiary or ldquofire temple of the Fortrdquo Children cheerfully call it Bakri Agiary for the goats grazing in the courtyardA small miracle is presented at Soonaiji Agiary nestled in a lane I love across August Kranti Maidan where chocolate queen Meher Pinto rules and generations of children have played ChorPolice and cricket Amazingly the natural grain of veins in the marble of one of its walls is fanned out to form the face of Zoroaster right from the paghri on the prophetrsquos head to hisflowing beardRound the corner from where we live today my children light flickering oil lamps in Saher Agiary at Breach Candy A sense of sheer peace is palpable when you touch the cool rim of the ldquokeblardquo ledge in its sanctum sanctorum The pretty cottageroofed venue witnesses a number of nuptials below tree trails of hanging lights to give it a fairyland lookSmall is beautiful again in the case of the Thoothi Agiary Sandwiched squat between Shapoorji Pallonjirsquos mansion and Raj Bhavan it is a miniature landmark in itself Nothing short of nirvana to hear prayers overlooking the serene bay waters this agiary sits perched on at the Arabian Sea edge along an ambling arc of WalkeshwarOppositely proportioned is the huge Assyrianstyle faccedilade of the Vatcha Agiary inside Kermani Building at the point where DN Road joins PM Road A pair of big winged bulls rise like sentinels guarding the 100yearold gates topped by a ldquofravashirdquo angel motif looming benevolently Irsquove often visited the Iranian Anjuman Zoroastrian office in the same building to research the unique culture of the land we set sail from with fresh hopeAs significant for its sanctity as for its architectural beauty is the Holy of Holies mdash the Wadiaji Atash Behram on Princess Street in Dhobi Talao Bombay has four Atash Behrams IndoIranian in design the Wadiajirsquos fluted columns crenellated verandahs and octet of Porbunder stone pillars parallel Darius the Greatrsquos audience hall in ancient Persepolis A cluster of sandalwood shops patronized by Parsis in this area have given it the name of ChandanwadiIt is said that 16 different fires are ritually mixed to create a pure Atash Behram flame These include fires from an ascetic shepherd soldier king and goldsmith Hands folded before this one mdash burning slow and steady bold and bright ndash I feel all of them warmly wisely watching over me