The Parsi Zoroastrian Association of Singapore
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The Parsi Zoroastrian Association of Singapore
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A Historic Account by Firdosh TolatAt 08:12AM on 20th December 1999.My Dear Parsi brethren, I would like to share with you an exciting event in
Parsi History, which I have just witnessed. Some of you may be aware that a new Agiyari – Shapoorji
Fakirji Jokhi Agiyari – is being started at the Godrej Baug.
The enthronement of the Holy Fire will take place in the early hours of
Tuesday 21 December 1999. The Holy Fire (originally of Tavri, near Navsari) –
accompanied by a busload of Godrej Baug residents and a cavalcade of
other Zarthostis in private cars – was brought from the Sir J.J. Agiyari,
Navsari to the Dasturji Kookadaru Dare-e-Meher, Sanjaan in the wee
hours of Sunday the 19th. All
the five boi ceremonies were performed during the day in Sanjaan. The Fire left Sanjaan on Monday the 20th,
after midnight, and arrived on the outskirts of Mumbai at 4:30 a.m.
The entire convoy was escorted by Mumbai police.
I was fortunate to witness and be a part of this exciting event, in the
final stage from Worli to Vatcha Gandhy Agiyari, where the Fire
arrived at 5:15 a.m. The urn containing the Aatash was brought out
from the Tata Sumo jeep, accompanied by five mobeds, chanting the Maathravaani
prayers. The silence of the morning
was broken by loud recitation of prayers by the gathered devotees.
It was a magical moment, enveloped in an aura of mysticism mixed with
religious fervor, when one caught a glimpse of smoke emanating from the urn and
the air filled with scent of burning sandalwood.
The Aatash was carried into a special room of
the Agiyari and transferred into an Afarganyu; we saw the holy
fire as bright embers, awaiting to be transferred into bright flames.
Four priests recited the Aatash Neyayesh, offered sandalwood and
as the brilliance lit up the darkened hall, we were witness to a new page being
written in the history of our religion in Mumbai. The Holy Fire will be transferred from Vatcha
Gandhy Agiyari tonight (Tuesday the 21st at 3:30 a.m.).
The ceremonial procession will leave the Agiyari, walk down Hughes
Road up-to Ardeshir Godrej Chowk (Kemps Corner), turn up the road leading
to Hanging Gardens, enter Ambawadi and then into Godrej Baug.
Arrangements have been made to turn off the street lights during the
procession. A water taker will wash the entire route up to Ambawadi.
Thereafter, barrels of water have been arranged to wash the path before
the fire can be taken over it. The Aatash will be finally enthroned in the
sanctum sanctorum of the Shapoorji Fakirji Jokhi Agiyari, Godrej Baug
and the first boi ceremony performed at around 6:00 a.m. 21st December 1999, 08:34 AMYet another historical chapter was written today
morning, when the Holy Fire of Tavri, brought from the Sir J.J. Agiyari,
Navsari, was enthroned at the new Shapoorji Fakirji Jokhi Agiyari, Godrej
Baug. The Atash was originally brought from the Sir
J.J. Agiyari, Navsari, to the Vatcha Gandhy Agiyari, Bombay,
on Monday the 20th at 5:15 a.m., after a day’s halt at the Dasturji
Kookadaru Dare-e-Meher, Sanjaan. All
the five boi ceremonies were performed during the day at the Vatcha
Gandhy Agiyari. A large crowd of countless Zoroastrians had gathered
at the Agiyari in the wee hours of Tuesday 21 December 1999, long before
the appointed hour of 3:40 a.m. The
process of shifting the Aatash started at 3:15 a.m., when a group of
mobeds circled the Afarganyu and the Aatash Neyayesh was recited
aloud by the priests, accompanied by the devotees in the hall.
After the prayers, Dasturji Aspandiyar Dadachanji (Panthaky of the Vatcha Gandhy Agiyari and the person in charge of the entire operation) shifted the burning embers into the same urn, in which was Atash was brought from Navsari. Other priests took up their positions with the various liturgical instruments. Three in the front, each carried a nine knotted
stick, with a nail at the end. This
is to draw Paavi
in the ground when leading the Aatash.
A Paavi
means a furrow, which preserves the sacredness of the consecrated things or of
the sacred ceremonies. Some others
carried spears and shields, while two with swords.
This followed by
three mobeds each with a gurz or mace; All of these signify that the bearer
is a member of the church militant and undertakes to fight against all evil –
moral and physical. Two mobeds carried the special urn, while four of
them covered it with a cloth canopy, held at hand level.
All four corners of this group of six were surrounded by mobeds, who held
cloth bands providing a moving paavi
for the sacred fire. The congregation left the Agiyari at 3:40 a.m.,
followed by a sea of Zoroastrian humanity, all chanting the “Yatha
Ahu Vairyo”
prayer. The ceremonial procession
walked up Hughes Road, U-turned at the road leading to Hanging Gardens and
entered Godrej Baug through Ambawadi (near Spenta Apartments).
The entire route from the Vatcha Gandhy Agiyari to the Shapoorji
Fakirji Jokhi Agiyari was freshly washed with water from a tanker and sand paavis
were drawn. The congregation started reaching Godrej Baug
by 4:14 a.m., where jubilant residents of the colony had gathered to maintain
vigil through the night. The Aatash was finally carried into its
sanctum sanctorum and placed in the Afarganyu, standing on a large slab
of stone. The ceremony of
enthroning the Sacred Fire was completed by recitation of Aafringans and
other prayers, which we could not witness, due to the surge of humanity at the
steps of the new Agiyari. The
Jokhi family graced the occasion and the crowd lustily applauded them when they
entered the grand portals. Today, we were a participant and witness to a historical occasion of our religion as well as lives. May the Sacred Fire keep burning bright in our hearts to keep alive this Great Religion of Lord Zarathushtra. |
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