Parsis: Stories of Wit and perseverance

India is a land of refuge for many. It has served as the salvation of many communities fleeing from dangers of persecution; the Parsi community is one such example. Parsis came to India 3000 years ago but initially, they were not very welcome to India. When Jadhav Rana, the king of Gujarat, attempted to refute them permission to stay, Parsis utilized their wit, born out of a desperate will to preserve their culture. Thousands of years later, they continue to add trinkets in the treasure trove of art, history and culture.

Parsi women c. 1865; Source: Pinterest

It is a story of the 8th century. The Arab conquest was at its pinnacle, with raging armies and shrewd plans that brought down the strongest of the empires, including the Roman Empire. The Arabs were advancing like water descending down a slope, undeterred, unconquered, undefeated. In their pursuit of religious domination, they conquered Persia - one of the strongholds of the community practicing Zoroastrianism.

In their desperation to escape religious persecution, the community fled from the mainland to Hormuz on the Persian Gulf. But the Arabs hounded them to the sea. Left with no other option, they fled, going where the sea would take them. It first landed them in Diu, where they spent two decades before setting sail again. Soon, they landed in Sanjan, a town in Gujarat. It was in this town that they settled, after much tussle and it was this town's population which gave them the name they now adorn. Parsi - translating to Persian.

Parsis sent a request to King Jadhav Rana, to allow them to settle in his kingdom and revive their livelihood to strengthen their chances of survival. King Jadhav, overwhelmed by the number of people who were seeking refuge, tried to politely refuse the Parsis. He sent them a glass of milk as a message and that although he would love to help these people regain their identity through his kingdom, the resources in his land were limited and the land was on the verge of overpopulation. Thus, he could not allow them to stay and further strain the already limited resources. Desperate but not helpless, the Parsis sent the glass of milk back to the King with a message of their own. On receiving the glass of milk, the King was perplexed. It did not seem to have undergone any change whatsoever. However, he soon realized that the Parsis had added sugar to the milk to serve as a metaphor for their stay in the kingdom. If the king allowed them to stay, they would add sweetness to the land, i.e., they would not strain but rather improve the resources to make them more accessible for everyone. Further, the addition of the sugar had not made the milk overflow the glass. Although they would stay, they would not crowd the kingdom and cause hinderance. Impressed, King Jadhav Rana allowed them to stay. The Parsis lived in the town as a small migrant, agricultural community for hundreds of years before spreading to other parts of India. And true to their word, they added a lot of sweetness, not only in the land of Gujarat but in the entire country we call India.

Recent archaeological excavations revealed that the Parsis developed an underground irrigation system called "Tanka" which utilized several pipelines running in perpendicular directions to improve water supply. The water in these tankas was never exposed to sunlight and thus never deteriorated. The same system is called Qanat in Persia. Parsis had replicated the system, solely from memory, to help reduce water shortages in Gujarat. Those designs, now under the scrutiny of modern engineers, are being brought back into implementation, as a result of their impeccable design and accuracy.

Another feat the Parsis are credited with is there beautiful textiles. In poems written in the 7th-8th centuries, there is mention of a Chinese princess being married to a Persian. China, robust with its secret of silk, punished anyone who tried to divulge this secret to foreigners by death. The princess, resolute to wear only silk garments, secretly carried silkworms in her headdress. She smuggled them out of China to her husband's country and thus, the Persians had their hands on silk. And from there developed some of the finest designs of embroidery.

Parsi embroidery is a magnificent testament to the richness of the Iranian culture. The Parsi gara refers to a unique style of embroidery that Parsi traders brought back from China on their travels to deliver opium and cotton from India. The Parsi gara has many symbolisms embedded in it - there is a spin wheel motif, a rooster and a hen along with male and female sparrows. The Parsis also embroidered bats on sarees and while they did not mean anything to the other communities - for them it symbolized death. These sarees were worn specifically by other communities as Parsi customers, upon recognition of the bat motif, would refuse to wear the garment again. The original fabric for Parsi embroidery was called 'Sali Ghaj', a cloth with very thin lines running through it.

The Parsi Gara; Source: Pinterest

These motifs are not recognized widely which is partly the reason for the dwindling Parsi population. Their contributions and culture has been lost in the mainstream, recognized only by those who keep an eye out for symbols. Although customers may not know where their beautifully embroidered sarees draw inspiration from, the traders and shopkeepers in the nooks and crannies of large markets still remember. In the dirty alleys of Sadar Bazaar, lit only by the lamps held by withered hands that still print embroidery on fabrics, the Parsi culture still lives, and even thrives. It has perhaps, become a part of the ancient world, where the work of the hand is still valued more than the efficient machines. If only a curious person with a thirst for knowledge, asks where the dog, the sparrow and the wheel come from, would the embroiderer tell you, that these are wisps of history from thousands of years ago. They are whispers, carried by the wind to the depths of India. They are the ghosts of a culture that has changed the world through individuals like Dadabhai Naroji and they are the pieces of thread hanging from a dangerous precipice of extinction.

Parsis try to express their culture not only through their handicrafts but through their clothing as well. While the paghdi is a majestic looking headgear worn by Parsis during wedding and social events, all Parsis have a kushti - a cream coloured thread of wool around their waists all the time. It is similar to the janeu worn by Brahmins and Kshatriyas. Even now, some Parsi women can be seen carrying a paandaan, or an elaborate box with betel leaves meant to be consume for pleasure. Back when the Parsis first came to India, the paandaan was as important for the woman as her purse.

A dwindling community at the verge of losing their identity, Parsis fear their rapid decline in major cities like Mumbai. Ever since their escape from Persia, they still can't seem to escape an impending threat of getting lost in the dust of time. In a world of free expression, this is a community which fears the loss of its culture. It leaves one thinking of how the world would suffer, from having this perspective removed from the kaleidoscope of lenses that different communities use to see the world.