Parsi body plans vulture breeding to help death rites
The Parsi community of the city — who leave their dead out in the open to be consumed by vultures and were facing problems with disposing their dead with the dwindling number of vultures in the city — are hoping to resolve the problem with an aviary to rear vultures.
The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) announced the project at a meeting with the community after the new trutees completed one year. They hope to build an aviary in next three to five years’ time.
It is against the Parsis’ Zoroastrian faith to either bury, burn or submerge their dead as they believe it pollutes the environment. Hence, they leave the bodies at the tower of silence left to be consumed by the vultures.
"Earlier, a proposal was scuttled but we are working on a vulture breeding program. It will also take care of the threat of the drug Diclofenac as we will try and ensure that the human body is Diclofenac-free," said Khojeste Mistree, BPP trustee. It is believed that the vulture population is tapering off because of the intake of drugs like Diclofenac from the human body.
The meet also presented a white paper of sorts and the future plans the BPP has for the community. Among them is a housing project that will see 2,257 spacious flats for the Parsis built in the six colonies in Mumbai. "Of these, 1,457 flats will be allotted free to the Parsis after cross-subsidisation," said Dinshaw Mehta, chairperson of the trustee.
A new logo was also launched with two wind bulls featuring on either side of the BPP. "It is done with a motive to bring healthy interaction and harmony in the community," said Jimmy Mistry. Its symbolic importance represents strength in the physical world, consciousness, and spirituality.
A youth program — Zoroastrian Youth for Next Generation will also be launched with a dedicated website by December that aims to promote healthy interaction, encourage participation, bring a sense of pride in the community, recognise its achievements, promote networking, provide details on scholarship, religious events, jobs, matrimony and lists social events.
According to a Jame Jamshed Weekly write-up with published photocopies of quoted correspondence in their issue of 25 October, 2009, as recently as October 16, 2009, one Mr. Rishad Naoroji, an authority on avians, has written a rather agitated and strongly worded letter to the BPP Chairman & Board of Trustees against the recurrent media despatches sent by Mr Khojeste Mistree to the English media publications about a make-believe/proposed vulture breeding project at Doongerwadi, which articles tend to mislead the gullible masses among the Parsees.
The Jame news further states that the Director of BNHS – Mr Asad Rahmani himself, had only two months earlier on August 17, 2009, written to Mr. Mistree at the BPP Office slamming one such story that appeared in a leading daily in mid August this year, therein refuting Khojeste’s false assertions on the subject of starting any vulture conservation breeding centre in Mumbai along with the BPP.
Notwithstanding, now here again in yet another national paper we have its correspondent filing a report on Khojeste Mistree’s pet project (among other grandiose BPP castles-in-Spain!)
This is one Trustee who never loses an opportunity to air his pipe-dream in the press, and the BPP function at the Dadar Gymkhana Grounds was another occasion for the Mistree man to sell his flight-of-fancy to a crowd that came not to hear Trustees speak, but for the free dinner and entertainment it offered.
Instead of flogging a dead horse to rise and take-off, would that the BPP apply the same indefatigable spirit to more important issues that warrant their immediate attention and for which task/s they were voted by their supporters to elected office.
If you were there at the BPP meet this Sunday you should have heard Khojeste refute each of Jame’s claims. Always hear BOTH sides of the story before jumping to conclusions. Also read the WAPIZ page in the FPJ which beats the hell out of Jame and his coward editor week after week. Thanks to the WAPIZ page, the community now refuses to be brainwashed by the Jame Rag.
Remember Julius Ceaser, Mickie. “The fault dear Brutus lies not in our stars but ourselves that we are underlings” If there are those in our Community who can not distinguish between facts and fiction and are ready to be hoodwinked then such gullible themselves are to blame and not the Trustees. There can not be restrictions on those who want to indulge in flights of fancy. It is the herd mentality in or community which has led to this state of affairs and we have to endure the same. Otherwise these perpetual failures will conveniently shift the blame for their imminent failure on thinking section of the community and claim they they were “prevented from doing good of the Community”. Let the events in future months bear testimony to these ‘achievers’.
FORGET JAME AND ITS EDITOR.NOT ALL AMONGST THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY HAVE THROWN AWAY THEIT THINKING CAPS / REASONING ABILITY.
ALL CAN NOT BE EXPECTED TO MORTGAGE THEIR MINDS TO EMPTY PROPAGANDA OF WAPIZ.
‘CONTRIBUTION’ OF WAPIZ PAGE IN FPJ IS TO CREATE AN ADVERSE IMAGE OF THE COMMUNITY IN MINDS OF SISTER COMMUNITIES.THATS ALL.
Piloo, haven’t you heard the saying that it is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument?
It is the community’s misfortune that the herd mentality (as opposed to the thinking Parsees) fails to accept that for seasoned speakers, words are chameleons to reflect the colour of their environment, and they less-reveal and more-conceal their true purpose within. You cannot impress the masses enough that such people who profess to be religious, even those who worship regularly, show no particular interest in the world beyond themselves. Aspirants lie the loudest because they lie to themselves, just like our artful politicians.
As for the WAPIZ ad page, it lives up to what Salman Rushdie once opined: ‘What is freedom of expression? Without freedom to offend, it ceases to exist?” Every time one believes that its off-the-tangent, obnoxious criticism can stoop no lower, it outdoes itself.
After being’brainwashed’ by Jame, we are expected to be BRAINWASHED by WAPIZ WISDOM in F P J.!
Jame’s articles value is quite noted by many times publishing articles and in their next issue the true version coming out by members of the subject writing to it condemning the false baseless write ups metting out so called judgements!!.
Classic examples of the last sunday’s article by residents of a Parsi colony..condemning Jame’s previous figment of imagination and their charges on the ssue some time back..
On the issue of persistant pressure for preserving the Vulture as well as ancient system …i guess the spider’s story of Web making and try till one succeeds and also the human selfless endavour to overcome’ shall always be nullified by excuses and being linked to ‘Flogging a dead horse and ofcourse then the only mantra’ Change’..
Can hogwash appearing on Ad pages of FPJ ever succeed in’brainwashing’ anybody? Unless of course the reader is a confirmed nincompoop. Of course what appears in J J is , at times is also motivated.
Mickie,
THERE IS SOME ‘CONFUSION’here.
WHO IS FLOGGING A DEAD HORSE? Pot calling the kettle black/Identity Crisis??
One blogger by name Pheroz has set out in detail the drugs not banned in India under the write up titled BACK TO VULTURE in Parsi Khabar.
Old saying,one can fool all persons for some time and some persons for all the time but not all persons at all times.
The Trustee who ‘refuted’ all the Jame’s claims is renowned for reneging. Remember the Election manifesto of declaring “Assets”, if elected. Perhaps being extremely ‘busy’, he seems to have ‘forgotten’ his poll promise.Or is is he in a state of dis belief that he is indeed a TRUSTEE? After another 6 years he will make his audience at Dadar forget what he spoke in October 2009. People take for granted, public memory to be short.
Pilloo there is certainly no confusion on my part about who is flogging which horse ?
If the blogger alluded to cannot grasp the content and intent of reasoning of others’ comments, and remains adamant in refusal to acknowledge non-feasibility of this particular proposed project in discussion, that’s the individual’s problem. For this ilk, no amount of explanations will help.
Dogged determination is always commendable depending on the mission applicable to. Unfortunately it is entirely misplaced in this non-starter undertaking of breeding vultures/building aviary at Doongerwadi. Let our bickering/divided community leave it to the all-wise AHURA to revive extinct vultures especially at our Towers Of Silence, which He will if HE desires that Dokhmenashini remain an established custom for Mumbai Parsees alone. Till then, freedom of choice should rule over illegal religious diktats in our Democracy.
By the way, you are mistaken my friend _ as long as there are SOME uninformed followers with blind faith, scheming leaders can fool them ALL the time. When even those who are well-read and well-informed wish to join this club, what is left to be said???????
To broaden one’s horizons beyond the trash we read in J J and Wapiz page , it would be interesting to read http://www.bozorgbazgasht.com/English-Books.html
Our Religion is certainly spreading and followers increasing – not the Brazilian Substance consuming type.The books referred to on this site are of eminent Parsee Authors.
“On the issue of persistant pressure for preserving the Vulture as well as ancient system …”
wakeeey wakkeeey rustom, … we don’t stay in ancient system any more…
there were no skyscrapers, factories, vehicles running on fuel, psychotic drugs,
solar panels… remember?…
And just see the irony…there are more vultures in the world than Parsis… yet Khojestee Mistry is more worried about them than parsis…
anyway… back to my Parsi peg!!!
Anti Dhongidox wrote :
“The books referred to on this site are of eminent Parsee Authors”
All authors are eminent but one.
Farzana,
“there were no skyscrapers, factories, vehicles running on fuel, psychotic drugs,
solar panels… remember?”
Just some additions to your list:
NO DICLOFENAC OR NIMESULIDE existed in the ANCIENT times.
“NO DICLOFENAC OR NIMESULIDE existed in the ANCIENT times.”
exactly, anti-dhongi,
I think those who want to preserve ancient system should pursue their passion seriously and give up living in modern cities or using any modern civic amenities.
Mickie & Farzana;
Please read to -day’s Mumbai Mirror page 2. Those who bragged about “WAPIZ page in the FPJ which beats the hell out of Jame and his coward editor week after week.” will have to do quick rethink how to brainwash the community hereafter unless of course they come up with calling even write up in M.M. as motivated. TRUTH ALWAYS TRIUMPHS.
“Exposure” of Lies by those who want to ‘protect and preserve”?
Strongly recommend reading Parsi Tari Arsi Column in to -day’s Mumbai Samachar. Those not subscribing to a copy can read it on the Web page. In a lighter vein, it exposes the duplicity of vested interests and confirms the belief of certain bloggers here that the Trustees want to shift the blame for their ‘failure to keep promise’, however absurd, on the falsely labeled Reformists.
The fault actually lies with the gullible section of the Parsees who exercised their franchise without applying their minds.If people want to believe falsehood and not what they can actually see with their own eyes, then it is their fault and not the fault of politician type of Trustee material thrown up by so called Adult franchise.
One can help a myopic by providing visual aids but what can one do in case of individuals who pretend to be blind and indulge in emotional ‘atyachar’? The Prophet wanted to eliminate superstitions and rituals but our ‘holy Scholars’ want to continue their stranglehold on the community by exploiting fear of the unknown in life after stage.
According to these Scholars, Karma or Manashni, Gavashni & Kunashni are less significant as compared to adherance to a failed system.