1,00,000 Strong!

So the story goes something like this. A group arrives on an unknown land. The King is scared of what these new immigrants might mean in the years to come for his land. He sends a messenger to seek out their intent. The immigrant folk send over their emissary with a bowl of milk and some sugar. The emissary stands in front of the king with the bowl in one hand and the other hand held out with some sugar in it. He adds the sugar to milk and the milk dissolves in it. The King allows them to stay and become a part of them.

Why? What did that signify?

It symbolized their smooth assimilation in to the existing culture while actually adding to the culture (sugar making the milk sweeter).

The King made four demands of the settlers:

• Adopt the native language
• The women adopt the local dress
• Cease to carry any weapons
• Their marriages be conducted after sunset

These settlers stayed on and are still staying there, not just adding to the culture but making it very beautiful and enriching it. They stay on with complete harmony with the locals, they now being considered locals themselves. Their contributions are exemplary and their community has produced some of the best citizens India has seen till date. J.R.D. Tata, Ratan Tata, Wadias, Godrej, Homi Bhabha and the list goes on.

Yes, I am talking about the Parsi community. Originating from Iran, these followers of Zoroaster having left Iran due to the persecution by Muslims, called Iranian Zoroastrians landed in Saurashtra, Gujarat and the King in question is Jadi Rana. The episode of their landing is called Qissa-i-Sanjan.

I attended a Parsi wedding yesterday at the Colaba Agiary and I had a wonderful time there. The atmosphere although serene was electric. Serenity was brought in by their cultural symbols present everywhere with their traditional white dress for the men with the black hat and the women in their traditional Parsi sarees, the excellent Parsi food, their Raspberry and Ginger sodas, the Lagan nu Custard and the beautiful women (yes, that is a cultural symbol). And, it was electric because of the nature of these people and of course the live band. Parsis tend to have a joyous, lively and polite countenance, although at times it could turn into sheer craziness. This translates into a unique personality that can only be attributed to this community. No other.

I am grateful that this community is a part of my culture. They have enriched the culture, stayed in harmony and contributed enormously to the success of the nation.

One of the people I met there provided me with some very interesting information. The King had also asked them to promise that they will never try to convert and nor will they allow anyone to convert into the Parsi religion. When asked about the dwindling population of his community, being just about 1,00,000 out of which almost 80,000 are in Mumbai, all he said was - they had promised the King.

No religion should try and convert people; it is a personal choice and it should be left at that. I praise this community for sticking to their promises. It is very honorable. I would be very sad indeed if the population of this community dwindles even further. They are a part of the culture and I would like them to keep being one.