Dhansak and fish curry
"I thought of trying to bring together Parsis residing in Goa on one platform so that we can keep in touch,” stated 19-year-old Shiroy Doctor to Parsiana on October 20, 2023. The WhatsApp group "Zarthushtis of Goa” that Doctor started in 2020 today has 46 participants. He estimates that about 25-30 Parsi families live in Goa more or less permanently and he wanted them to be connected. "Most of them have settled in Goa after retirement for a more relaxed life… They are into various fields… There is a couple who has started a small dining place serving Parsi food… There are few in industries and tourism also,” he stated. "Many Parsis come here for a job, position, deputation and return to Bombay or wherever they’re from...
Top, from l: Goan Parsis Shiroy,
Porus and Pervin Doctor; above: Colva Beach, Goa
Photo: Tanya Dedyukhina, Wikipedia
"I feel privileged to be a Parsi… I am a proud Parsi… Most of the people here are aware of who we are as a community and our contribution to the nation… People feel happy to know that I am a Parsi and narrate stories about their Bombay Parsi friends and talk of the yummy Parsi food they enjoyed there… We are considered to be very honest and fun-loving, people who are trusted easily.”
What does it mean to be a minority in a small state? Responded one woman in the group: "We are a minority anywhere we live, not only Goa.” She had lived all over the world and "most have never heard of Parsis.” When asked what happens when there is a death, the 77-year-old said she will "opt for cremation.” Another member said she had to take her mother’s body to Bombay to perform the last rites at Doongerwadi. One woman who has lived in the sunshine state for 14 years stated she had not heard of a navjote or wedding in the state while living in Goa. She stated that community members can opt for cremation or take the body to Belgaum.
The group has made plans to meet up but "nothing has materialized yet,” stated Doctor, a student of business administration. Shiroy’s grandfather, Dr Adi Doctor, was transferred to Goa University from Bombay in the 1970s as a professor of political science. A dean of Goa University, he was invited to teach management students at the Goa Institute of Management after retirement. Grandmother Perin was one of the founders of Dnyanprassarak Mandal’s College and Research Centre in Mapusa. "My father Porus and his brother Sarosh have lived in Goa since childhood.” Porus is into real estate and Sarosh is a mechanical engineer. Shiroy’s mother Pervin is a homemaker.
"So, you can say that we are Goan Parsis who speak fluent Gujarati and Konkani. Just as we love our dhansak, we love fish curry rice too,” ended Shiroy.
Shiroy can be contacted on +91 84110 20054.