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APPEAL
Dear Friends ,
When UNESCO requested me to head a Project on the Parsi Zoroastrians it was a dream come true . As a researcher and worker for the community for almost 2 decades , this would give me an opportunity to formulate ideas into an action plan
With a very small seed capital provided by UNESCO , we started work and have conducted field surveys at Bharuch , Surat , Navsari , Valsad and Ahmedabad, prepared and got responses to a questionnaire and made a Project document , conceptualising the project
The scope of the project needs to be understood . It will be the first time that such an examination covering all conceivable aspects of a community is to be undertaken. This is possible because the Parsis are small enough in numbers to be studied in such close detail but large enough in extent with a world wide spread and achievements to warrant such a study . The Project has national & international raminfications .
The Parsi Zoroastrian Project may therefore seem ambitious and idealistic but my Zoroastrian Heritage has taught me to put my dreams into action and my Parsi forefathers , beginning with dreams , have achieved almost impossivle goals . This gives me strength to take on this work .
The Project needs your wholehearted support , attidtudinal , physical and also your financial commitment even for it to take off . Any contribution of time and effort is welcome but even more important is financial assistance large or small .
UNESCO's role has been to provide the first seed capital of $4500 . This enabled me to make an initial field trip to Bharuch, Surat, Navsari,Valsad etc , assess the responses there, and formulate the main Project Report which delineates the scope of the project and is specifically meant to help obtain funds from various sources. This project report has now been put on this web-site for wider response
For the project work to progress further, money has to be collected by the project.UNESCO New Delhi,will act as the treasurer to the project . Funds from all donors will be collected in a seperate Designated Account of UNESCO set up for the project . UNESCO will ensure that the donors are periodically informed about the progress of the project and utilization of the funds .
Your support large or small is necessary to enable further work.
We have alreadtreceived some support from The Bombay Parsi Panchayat , The Martab trust , The Shireen & Mr.Jamshed Gazdar trust, amongst others.This has enabled us to start work on the'The Oral Traditions'. A team of photographers have been taken to interior Gujarat in October `99 to start audio-video recording of Oral Tradition and some of the other aspects .
The recording of oral tradition needs much more support and it needs support urgently .The generation which has so much wealth of knowledge about our ancient customs,stories and traditions is very rapidly vanishing.Many are over 80 years old.
Infact , even between our first survey in March and the Field trip , with the recording team in October, we lost a few of our valuable community members(repositories of wisdom).We thus request you to send your contribution towards this aspect immediately,so that lack of money does not lead to the delay of recording and losing of irreplaceable sources.
Alternately you may consider sponsoring a specific aspect of a module,perhaps in memory of a loved one whose memory would thus stay alive forever. A generous individual of Delhi has donated Rs 6 lakhs ($15,000) towards Microfilming and Preservation of the invaluable collection of Manuscripts and Ancient Literature at the First Meherji Rana Library at Navsari in memory of her late husband.We have now carried out the physical survey of the collection, with the help of renowed experts like Dastoor Kotwal and Dastoor Meherjirana . Our microfilm team has been designated and we are trying to enhance the funds through obtaining further support from the National Archives of the Govt of India . This generous individual donation will enable saving this valuable literature from being erased from the face of the earth.The microfilm will be made available for use by scholars all over the world.
Similiarly aspects such as Setting up of the Zoroastrian Museum or parts thereof , sponsoring of one or more of the books of each Module,etc could be selected. The specific project proposal could then be worked out in consultation with the donar .
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YES! I would like to play a part in seeing the Project moves forwards to Preserve and Promote the Zoroastrian culture and heritage .
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I WOULD LIKE TO SEND A DONATION
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I WOULD LIKE MORE DETAILS ON SPONSORING PART OF | |||||
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