concealed feelings and emotions of mankind have spilled the beans of the tenets, the ethos and the spirit of their religion. Parsi writers, especially, with their proud feeling for their tiny community have very enthusiastically brought into light the sacraments and the ethos of the religion in their works. Writers as Keki.N.Daruwala, Rohinton mistry, Wapsi Sidhwa, Nergis Dalal, have corroborated the real spirit of Parsis. Not only the rituals, traditions, customs of Parsi but also the aura, the food the ambience of house has also been dealt with a fine tooth comb. Initiation into their work is to initiate in the Parsi philosophy and for a non parsi, an opportunity to dive deep into the depth of it. The novel Skin Deep by Nergis Dalal is made
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Parsi also spelled as Parsee, member of a group of followers in India of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. The Parsis, whose name means "Persians", are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to India to avoid religious persecution by the Muslims. According to the Qissa-i-Sanjan, Parsis migrated from Greater Iran to Sindh and Gujarat, where they were given refuge, between the 8th and 10th century CE to avoid persecution following the Arab conquest of Persia. Dalal seeks to delve into the history of the religion and makes Naaz vehicle for the same. Naaz tries to appease the inquisitive instincts of her Punjabi husband Ramesh who is mesmerized by the lavish and mysterious lifestyle that was so different from his own Punjabi religion. Naaz very vividly gives the idea of the migration of the people of her community and intermingling with Indian people.
“We are the original boat people. We arrived in India as refugees from Persia in AD 745 fleeing conversion by Islamic invaders. The story goes that the raja of Sanjan, where the refugees landed, was reluctant to admit these strangers from across the water. He said there was no room for them and sent the Parsi head priest a full glass of milk as a symbol. The priest put a pinch of sugar in the milk and returned it to the raja, intimating that they would assimilate totally and even sweeten the place with …show more content…
A girl becomes a bat mitzvah at the age of twelve according to Orthodox and Conservative Jews, and at the age of thirteen according to Reform Jews. Dalal introduces the readers with this tradition of the Parsi religion by describing the Navjote ceremony of Naaz and Yasmin.
“For Zoroastrians, this is like a First communion or Bar Mitzvah, a formal initiation which every Parsi child- male or female- must undergo. The sudra, a thin muslin shirt worn next to the skin, and the kusti, the sacred thread, handwoven from white lamb’s wool, are formally put on the child by a priest in a ceremony which had great religious significance for all Zorastrians." (P.53 Skin Deep)
Grandma prepares Naaz and Yasmin for the Navjote and with recitation of mantras the ceremony is performed. The ceremony is like the initiation of a child in the materialistic world of accountability. The ceremony is strictly restricted to the Parsi people only and a non Parsi is not allowed to attend it. Even the mother Sophie who does not belong to the religion remained away from the ceremony. They were ready for the Navjote and in a lavish ceremony with hundreds of guests the priests perform the
Parsi also spelled as Parsee, member of a group of followers in India of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. The Parsis, whose name means "Persians", are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to India to avoid religious persecution by the Muslims. According to the Qissa-i-Sanjan, Parsis migrated from Greater Iran to Sindh and Gujarat, where they were given refuge, between the 8th and 10th century CE to avoid persecution following the Arab conquest of Persia. Dalal seeks to delve into the history of the religion and makes Naaz vehicle for the same. Naaz tries to appease the inquisitive instincts of her Punjabi husband Ramesh who is mesmerized by the lavish and mysterious lifestyle that was so different from his own Punjabi religion. Naaz very vividly gives the idea of the migration of the people of her community and intermingling with Indian people.
“We are the original boat people. We arrived in India as refugees from Persia in AD 745 fleeing conversion by Islamic invaders. The story goes that the raja of Sanjan, where the refugees landed, was reluctant to admit these strangers from across the water. He said there was no room for them and sent the Parsi head priest a full glass of milk as a symbol. The priest put a pinch of sugar in the milk and returned it to the raja, intimating that they would assimilate totally and even sweeten the place with …show more content…
A girl becomes a bat mitzvah at the age of twelve according to Orthodox and Conservative Jews, and at the age of thirteen according to Reform Jews. Dalal introduces the readers with this tradition of the Parsi religion by describing the Navjote ceremony of Naaz and Yasmin.
“For Zoroastrians, this is like a First communion or Bar Mitzvah, a formal initiation which every Parsi child- male or female- must undergo. The sudra, a thin muslin shirt worn next to the skin, and the kusti, the sacred thread, handwoven from white lamb’s wool, are formally put on the child by a priest in a ceremony which had great religious significance for all Zorastrians." (P.53 Skin Deep)
Grandma prepares Naaz and Yasmin for the Navjote and with recitation of mantras the ceremony is performed. The ceremony is like the initiation of a child in the materialistic world of accountability. The ceremony is strictly restricted to the Parsi people only and a non Parsi is not allowed to attend it. Even the mother Sophie who does not belong to the religion remained away from the ceremony. They were ready for the Navjote and in a lavish ceremony with hundreds of guests the priests perform the