Over the past eight years "we did various events for the kids between five and 15 and later their parents; then the grandparents too wanted to get involved and urged us to organize activities for them,” Xtremely Young Zoroastrians (XYZ) founder Hoshaang Gotla told Parsiana on June 19, 2022. They are toying with the idea of starting a separate organization called XYZ Silvers. "XYZ (wants to) involve every member of the community and by doing activities for the XYZ Silvers independently, we involve the 55+ age group also in our events.”
Seniors and juniors at Silvers Fun Day of Xtremely
Young Zoroastrians’s Tehmurasp’s Titans
All the eight locality-wise children’s groups of XYZ have had Silvers Fun Days before. "It is a theme once a year…music based programs or having kids make cards for the seniors….This kind of an event with seniors also performing was a first,” said Khushmeher Sodawaterwala, a volunteer mother in Tehmurasp’s Titans, XYZ’s Andheri group, who was one of the organizers of the XYZ Silvers Fun Day on June 11.
Parsi Gujarati songs, English numbers, retro Bollywood music and dances by participants of all ages from Panthaky Baug and Salsette Colony took center stage on that day. It was "not just one evening of entertainment, but a month long schedule of practice sessions, which led to chai breaks, fun sessions and above all bonding between generations,” Sodawaterwala, who also trained the participants, told Parsiana on June 19.
"We had 44 participants aged from four to 80 come together and perform so adorably and enthusiastically… The dances were on retro songs so getting the kids to dance to songs they had never heard before, and that too with old fashioned dance steps was the biggest task of all,” she said. "It was lovely to see little Raj Kapoors and also our young Shammis and Mumtazes (referring to actors of that era).”
In addition to the eight locality based children’s groups, Xerxes’ Invincibles comprise 15-30 year olds. "These are erstwhile members of XYZ,” said Gotla. In keeping with Persian names, their executive committee is called Artaxerxes’ Army, their advisory council Pourushasp’s Platoon and the Karachi unit Ardeshir’s Aces. F. J.