Frashogard

Roj Ashishvangh, Mah Bahman 1377 Yz.

In my last post on the Baj of our Master, Ustad Saheb Behramshah N. Shroff, I had mentioned the existence of some close disciples of the Master who were touched by him in very mysterious ways. The episode I am about to describe was recounted by Mr. Kavasji Pestonji Sarkari in the Ustad Saheb Behramshah N. Shroff memorial volume printed in 1930, three years after the passing away of the Master.

Mr. Sarkari was an engineer who lived and worked in Hubli, Karnataka. He first came to know of the Master through newspaper writings and initiated a correspondence with him. Shortly thereafter, he came into close contact with the Ustad and after 1914 right till the time of the Ustad’s death, he was in very close contact with him and was privy to many hours of private discussion and guidance. In his essay in the memorial volume, Mr. Sarkari has recounted a very strange and mysterious occurrence which happened on 7th August, 1917. Here is my free rendering from the original Gujarati written in first person by Mr. Sarkari.

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Roj Daepdin, Mah Bahman 1377 Yz.

Today is the 81st death anniversary or Baj of the Master, Ustad Saheb Behramshah Nowroji Shroff, who passed away on 7th July, 1927 in Surat. In an age where the dead are forgotten within a few months or years at the most, the memory of the Ustad lingers on today as fresh as the bloom of a new rose even after three quarters of a century. It is a testament to his unique position within the community that on his Baj today, ceremonies are being performed by committed priests, various organisations and simple Parsis in numerous Agiaries and Atash Behrams in Mumbai, Udvada, Navsari and Surat in addition to other small towns and villages. In an age where Parsis are most attached to photographs and idols, here is a man who is remembered even though we do not have a single photograph of his. [In my interaction with the late Namdar Sanjana, a very old person who was fortunate to see the Ustad in his youth, he had told me that the Ustad looked much like the late Jamsetjee Tata, the founder of the Tata group.]

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