Parsis gear up for Navroze celebrations

AHMEDABAD: Members of one of the largest minority communities are all geared up for celebrating

Navroze

on Thursday. Pateti – the last day of the Parsi Calendar Year, observed on the eve of Navroze, is a day of penance where one repents for their sins. Navroze celebrations are usually marked by offering prayers at the

Parsi Agyari

and later, greeting loved ones.

“Members will gather at the Parsi Agyari in the morning for Jashan. Usually, it is a day spent in the company of family and loved ones followed by further celebrations held by individual families in the form of feasts,” said

Jahangir Anklesaria

, president of Parsi Panchayat, Ahmedabad.

In the past week, Parsis marked the 10 days of ‘Muktad’, the last ten days of the religious calendar. “According to the Parsi tradition, during these ten days, the souls who have left the world come to bless us and special prayers are held at the Agyari during these days,” said Anklesaria.

Various members of the community have been gathering at the

Parsi Sanatorium

in the past one week for various community bonding activities, games and merriment.

Like any other festival, Navroze is almost incomplete without a feast and the aroma of sweets prepared using semolina as well as vermicelli along with fish preparations usually mark Navroze celebration within families.


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