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February 21-March 6, 2025

 
 
Nilgiri herbs

“The Utsav’s utility”

In "The Utsav’s utility” (Parsiana, January 21-February 6, 2025) you have extolled the so-called utility of the Udvada utsavs without looking into the large number of negatives. Whilst the items and events presented in the utsav are beneficial to the community, the organizers need to be reminded that these utsavs should not to be held in Udvada which is the most important religious site of the Parsi community. If we treat Udvada as a go-to town for all-things-Parsi or as a tourist site we are trivializing the very purpose and existence of the holy Iranshah Atash Behram which has been......



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Baname Khuda!
Wish to point out a couple of discrepancies.

One is the incorrect photo of ladies performing a garba in decent traditional Parsi attires. Who in their right mind would object to such an event. But you falsely labelled it as 'naach-gaana'. The objection in my writeup and various other Parsis on social media was the (risque) Bollywood and western items performed under the banner of Iranshah Utsav. There were 'Mere Angne Me Tumara Kya Kaam Hain' songs and other items to which we objected.

Secondly, Your Editor's remark below the letter mentions non-Parsis being 6,000 and the Parsis being 200 in number. And you mention that 'None of the communities has raised any objection to the holding of the the festival'. This is another incorrect nuance you have raised. Why should non-Parsis raise any objections to the utsav? The vehement objections to these utsavs, over the years, has been always from concerned traditional minded Parsis, for reasons too many to mention here.
- Adenwalla Family
- 30-Mar-2025

I am not clear whether the ustav was around Iranshah and had only Parsi culture exhibited. If so perhaps we could avoid this as visiting Zoroatrians to Iranshah at Udvada see it as a religious place, and bollywood style clothes and dance would be in poor taste.

If the venue was elsewhere, then of course we need to open our minds.

(You may publish this.)
- Sunnu Golwalla
- 27-Feb-2025

 

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