Jehangir Randeria, a childhood friend and neighbor at the Moholla at Wadia Street, Tardeo recently walked from Tardeo, Mumbai to Udvada to spur his faith. The article below was published in the Times of India today
Spurred by faith, Parsi man walks 205 km Last month, 40-year-old Jehangir Randeria undertook a 205-km odyssey on foot from Tardeo to Udvada. Leaving his car-polishing business on an impulse, he decided to walk to Iranshah Atashbehram, the pilgrimage that Parsis undertake to pay obeisance to the oldest consecrated fire in India.
Last month, 40-year-old Jehangir Randeria undertook a 205-km odyssey on foot from Tardeo to Udvada. Leaving his car-polishing business on an impulse, he decided to walk to Iranshah Atashbehram, the pilgrimage that Parsis undertake to pay obeisance to the oldest consecrated fire in India.
For his journey, Randeria took the NH-8. The distance, which is usually covered within three hours by car and up to four hours by train, took him eight days to traverse. He stopped at Dahisar, Vasai, Manor, Charoti, Talasarai, Bhilad and Vapi on the way. The milestones of the walk have been captured on his digital camera and the recurring theme of the album is a collage of photos of the trauma his feet suffered.
Randeria abandoned his shoes when he reached Andheri and continued walking in slippers to avoid shoe bites. “I have shared the photos of my feet on Facebook only with my close friends and family,” he says. At the beginning of the journey, when he dons the slippers, his feet look somewhat sore, but towards the end, the swollen and bandaged feet speak of the pain that Randeria endured. “The NH-8 wasn’t built for pedestrians,” he says. “The roads are difficult and the surrounding area is usually deserted.” With only his shadow as his companion and a few strays that befriended him, Randeria’s sense of dread only compounded on the deserted roads.
At one point, on his way to Manor, the monotony of the bare road became too overpowering for Randeria to bear. Sometimes he prayed aloud to boost his faith and at other times he counted his footsteps, almost like Robinson Crusoe. When the going got tough, his sheer will power propelled him to continue. Finding places to spend the night at was difficult and in transit, a few sympathetic police officers offered him respite at their chowkies. He would often walk long stretches without knowing where the next pit-stop would be. “It was an impromptu decision and I hadn’t chalked out where I would be staying. I was, however, in touch with my cousin who helped me navigate,” he says.
Many Hindus undertake yatras to places of pilgrimage. For Randeria, it may have been the arduous journey faithfuls take to Shirdi that prompted him to test his faith in a similar fashion This is the probably the first time that a Parsi has undertaken such a long journey on foot. Parsis have been known to walk from Sanjan to Udvada along the beach, a distance of around 40 km. Sanjan is the port where the Parsis landed over 1,200 years ago. It is easy to face a challenge when all circumstances are in one’s favour but becomes a test of physical and mental endurance if in spite of adversity, faith wins.
“I visit the fire temple every day. This journey was a way to go beyond the routine and test my faith,” says Randeria. In his religious zest, he did not even carry sunscreen; the result was severe sunburn. Randeria was feverish and his feet were swollen on the seventh day. A doctor friend paid him an emergency visit at Vapi, and ‘ordered’ him to rest for a day. He reached Udvada on the ninth day and offered prayers at the Atashbehram .
Randeria returned to Mumbai by car and was grounded for two weeks. He is firm in his belief that faith helped him to endure the marathon journey.
Bravo Jehangir,
Your journey, dedication and challenge to keep up with the environmental and physical problems is most commendable. I wish a group of Parsees from every colony and locations visit Iranshah on feet at least once in life and feel the enlightening power within. Some Parsees will say why bother walking when we have car and train to take us to Udvada. My dear Zarathostis, it is not the test of physical endurance or proving oneself to be superior neither it is any form of practice prescribed in our religion to achieve some miraculous result. It’s all about your inner voice (Atashe-Vohufriyan- the source) that becomes an inspirational source for our thoughts, words and deeds that makes you achieve such feat in life. Some people aim at such achievement for name, fame, and challenging their physical endurance however Jehangir, in your case those were not the objective when I read your commitment to visit Agiary everyday. In fact your daily commitment to visit Agiary impressed me more than your journey. Remember your inspiration to visit Iranshah has uprooted from your daily religious practices. Wish our community had such passion for religion and religious practices (like people from other faiths) ……we wouldn’t have any controversy of mixed-marriages, conversion and believers in non-Zoroastrian religious practices and idiol worshipping. I wish you all the best.
Bravo Jehangir,
Your journey, dedication and challenge to keep up with the environmental and physical problems is most commendable. I wish a group of Parsees from every colony and locations visit Iranshah on feet at least once in life and feel the enlightening power within. Some Parsees will say why bother walking when we have car and train to take us to Udvada. My dear Zarathostis, it is not the test of physical endurance or proving oneself to be superior neither it is any form of practice prescribed in our religion to achieve some miraculous result. It’s all about your inner voice (Atashe-Vohufriyan- the source) that becomes an inspirational source for our thoughts, words and deeds that makes you achieve such feat in life. Some people aim at such achievement for name, fame, and challenging their physical endurance however Jehangir, in your case those were not the objective when I read your commitment to visit Agiary everyday. In fact your daily commitment to visit Agiary impressed me more than your journey. Remember your inspiration to visit Iranshah has uprooted from your daily religious practices. Wish our community had such passion for religion and religious practices (like people from other faiths) ……we wouldn’t have any controversy of mixed-marriages, conversion and believers in non-Zoroastrian religious practices and idiol worshipping. I wish you all the best.
Congratulations. Well Done Jehangir. It is no small feat that you have achieved. It is sheer dedication, commitment and faith in oneself and our religion, which has enabled you to finish this distance of 205 Kms.
I’m sure if we had a Parsi Book of records, yours would have been entered as one of them.
The story I read was exciting and it must have been sheer determination against all odds to complete the journey.
We Parsis are very proud of you and would like to see our youngsters take a leaf from his story.
God Bless
Aspi Ustad – Vancouver, canada
Congratulations. Well Done Jehangir. It is no small feat that you have achieved. It is sheer dedication, commitment and faith in oneself and our religion, which has enabled you to finish this distance of 205 Kms.
I’m sure if we had a Parsi Book of records, yours would have been entered as one of them.
The story I read was exciting and it must have been sheer determination against all odds to complete the journey.
We Parsis are very proud of you and would like to see our youngsters take a leaf from his story.
God Bless
Aspi Ustad – Vancouver, canada
Congrats Jehangir & God bless
Congrats Jehangir & God bless