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Sugar in Milk: Lives of
Eminent Parsis
Though the Parsis came to India a thousand years ago after getting persecuted in Iran and readily dissolved like sugar in Indian milk, it was only during the beginning of the 19th century that the likes of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy (1783-1859) began having dreams governed by the basic Zoroastrian tenets of Humatha, Hukatha, Huvarstha, i.e., good thoughts, good words and good deeds. During the course of reading the 12 biographies we go through a wide sweep of enterprises. It is a kaleidoscopic maze. There are pioneer industrialists and global traders. Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy buys a fleet of ships and gets involved in the opium-trade with China that becomes a single crucial factor in the emergence of Bombay as a metropolis. Ardeshir Godrej (1868-1936) produces world-class fall-resistant, burglar-proof and fire-resistant safes. Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (1904-1993) pioneers aviation in India. On the political, economic and constitutional front, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta (1845-1915) strives for establishing the local-self government in Bombay; Ardeshir Darabshaw Shroff (1899-1965) becomes a powerful spokesman for private industry in an increasingly government regulated economy; Dadabhoy Naoroji (1825-1917) becomes famous for his Drain Theory; Nani A. Palkhivala (1920-2002) argues effectively against all odds that the Parliament can’t alter the basic structure of the Constitution. Then there are revolutionaries, scientists, soldiers and artists. Madame Bhikhaiji Rustom Cama (1861-1936) works in exile for the cause of Indian nationalism unfurling India’s first national flag on the foreign soil. Homi Jehangir Bhabha (1909-1966) cultivates a formidable group of scientists for the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and for India’s nuclear programme. Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw leads the Indian Army to victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Zubin Mehta conducts the famous Israel Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic orchestras. These biographies inform us that the ideas conceived and nurtured by all these stalwarts and others like them took time in acquiring realistic shapes. For example, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904) had dreams of establishing a science institute, to found an iron and steel company and to commence generation of the hydroelectric power. However, these dreams could not be realised in his lifetime but only later. We also find in the book many fascinating and peculiar traits of individual personalities. Pherozeshah Mehta almost exudes feminist traits. Cama Bhikhaiji adopts Spencer’s words for her epitaph, befriends Irish revolutionaries Constance Markievicz and Maud Gonne and corresponds with Maxim Gorky. Manekshaw, despite having an impeccable sense of humour, gets his share of controversies and addresses Indira Gandhi as ‘Prime Minister’ since the word "madam", as he bluntly tells an objecting cabinet secretary, carries the implications of a brothel keeper. Though there is no individual biographical masterpiece here that has the power of moving or lifting us, the excellently printed book provides an interesting and instructive assemblage of the salient facts about the vision and life of important Parsi personalities. Sepia toned photographs also form an important archive.
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IT is amazing to note
how much the Parsis have shaped the history of India and how far
reaching is their impact on the life-style of a common Indian. We come
to know something about this influence after going through the 12
biographical sketches of the eminent Parsis given in the book.