Thanks to Nina Mistry (Jt. Secretary) and Sheroo Kanga (Secretary) for another fantastic and informative newsletter.

Download and read the entire newsletter in PDF Format.

Yes folks, we are coming up to June very fast and that means the fun filled Youth camp. We had a terrific response at the last prayer class and already have 19 kids all set to go.

This camp is for 6-16 year olds from Friday evening, June 1 – 3rd, ending with the June religious class.

A good Friday night dinner will be followed by a hike on Saturday morning up Bear Mountain. Some of the younger children can climb halfway and then play by the lake.

After a scrumptious pizza meal on the way back, we will have a relaxing afternoon followed by a water fight, weather permitting. After dinner, we often light a large bonfire and have smores to everyone’s satisfaction. For Sunday morning, we plan a big brunch, followed by sports on the front lawn and cleanup, ending with circle time at the religious class.

This is a wonderful opportunity for getting the younger youth together, to have a great time, bonding together and forge friendships. We look forward to having all the youth participate. Please email shiroy@zagny.org for all confirmations and questions regarding the event.

The images are from previous Z camps.

Good afternoon everyone.

I am happy to present the Secretary’s report for the first year of the 2011-2014 term of the ZAGNY Board. On behalf of the Board, I extend a warm welcome to the families who became ZAGNY members in 2011. Congratulations to the newlyweds and navjote kids, and condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.

The new Board took office in March 2011, under the able leadership of President Gev Nentin and has since worked tirelessly to organize numerous events and activities. The responsibility of the Secretary and Joint Secretary, amongst other things, is to timely communicate information pertaining to the tri-state and the North American Zoroastrian community, to our members. We achieve this objective through our newsletters and I would like to take a moment to acknowledge our outstanding newsletter team members, Nina Mistry, for her help and dedication in creating and compiling the newsletters you have enjoyed reading this past year; and Arzan Sam Wadia, who is responsible for posting each newsletter on our website and sending the numerous e-blast communications to the community. I would also like to recognize the dedicated support of Kaika Clubwala in printing and mailing the hard copies of our newsletters.

I am pleased to share with you that we have been successful in reducing costs of the printing and mailing of our newsletters this year, thanks in part to the generosity of the sponsors of our first issue in April 2011, Nelly and Cawas Cama; (in honor of Cawas’s mother Daulat’s 100^th birthday) and our second issue in June 2011, the NDMI members. Thanks also to our advertisers, Fali Shroff, and Mahruk and Lokesh Sharma for their advertisement contributions throughout the year.

We were also able to save dollars by updating our database, a tedious and time-consuming task, which to our surprise reduced the number of newsletters printed and mailed from approximately 350 to 250. Needless to say, we shall continue to benefit from this reduction in the number of copies printed and mailed for all future newsletters. Thanks to Khursheed Navder for keeping this database up to date.

I would like to thank my co-board members for their time and dedication towards the community. Last but not the least, on behalf of the board I would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Darbe Mehr Trustees, to all the Religion class teachers, all our priests who perform the prayers throughout the year, and to the many volunteers who help out at the class luncheons for their support and service to the community.

Following is a quick recap of the major events that took place during the past 12 months:

MARCH 2011

NAVROZE FUNCTION

Navroze 2011 was celebrated on Saturday, March 26^th at the Darbe Mehr. Ervad Pervez Patel and Karl Khambatta blessed the congregation. A record 273 guests attended the event. Program for the evening included the ZAGNY Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Board elections. At the AGM, President Gev Nentin asked the congregation to approve the creation of additional Members-at-Large positions to support the preparations for the XVI NAZC 2012. The members present raised no objections.

A brief address by Astad Clubwala about the new Darbe Mehr Initiative took members on a walk down memory lane to the establishment of the first Darbe Mehr in New Rochelle and the journey to our current location in Pomona. All members were encouraged to attend and participate in the May 1^st, 2011 DMZT AGM when building plans would be presented to the community. Highlights of the evening were the gara raffle drawing and the first-ever online auction, fundraisers for the VXI NAZC 2012 that raised $8,000 and $7,800 respectively. Lucky winners were delighted to take home the mini haft-sheen table centerpieces.

APRIL 2011 – REVLON CANCER WALK

United in the fight against cancer, our ZAGNY Team No.1069 participated for the 10th consecutive year in the 5Km Annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women’s Cancers on Saturday April 30^th, 2011. Our team of 17 walkers collected $10,281 for this worthy cause. As ZAGNY team captain, I look forward to seeing many of you on Saturday May 5th, 2012, in Times Square, NYC for the 15th Annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women’s Cancers.

DR. ALI JAFFERY LECTURE

Dr. Ali Jaffery visited the Darbe Mehr and presented the gathering with a lecture on Zarathusthti Existence in the Contemporary World – the theme of our upcoming XVI NAZC 2012.

JUNE 2011 – IVY GANDHI YOUTH CAMP

The Ivy Gandhi Youth Camp scheduled for June 3 – 5, 2011 was cancelled due to lack of participation from our youth ages 6-16.

PARSI GENERAL HOSPITAL FUNDRAISER

Yasmin & Jamshed Ghadiali hosted the Parsi General Hospital 25^th Anniversary Fundraiser at their home on Saturday June 25^th, 2011.

JULY 2011 – ZAGNY PICNIC

Sunday July 10^th, 2011, 75+ enthusiastic and fun loving members attended the annual ZAGNY picnic at the Mercer County Park in Windsor, NJ.

AUGUST 2011 – MUKTAD PRAYERS AT DARBE-MEHR

Over 125 members attended Muktad prayers at our Darbe Mehr on Sunday, August 14^th, 2011 for the first gatha–Ahunavad. Thanks to our priests, Darius Antia, Xerxes Antia, Rohinton Dadina, Karl Khambatta, Rohinton Madon and Pervez Patel for offering the special prayers and reciting all the names submitted by our members. We would also like to thank all our host families, for graciously volunteering their homes to offer the prayer services during the second to fifth gatha days.

PARSI NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

Parsi New Year 2011 (Y.Z.1381) was celebrated on Saturday, August 20^th, 2011 at the Darbe Mehr. Approximately 170 guests attended the event.

President, Gev Nentin, welcomed Dr. Jamshed Bharucha to our ZAGNY community and to New York, congratulating him on his appointment as the 12th President of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.

The gathering took a walk down memory lane during the presentation for the New Darbe Mehr Building. Members shared a few nostalgic moments as they watched the video prepared by Ferzin Patel, capturing our community’s journey, growth and vision.

A belly dance performance entertained the audience for the evening.

INDIA DAY PARADE

ZAGNY participated at the India Day Parade in New York City on Sunday, August 21^st, 2011. We had an enthusiastic representation of about 20 members from the youngest 14 month old to several 70+ year-old participants.

SEPTEMBER 2011 – CONGRESS WAS ANNOUNCED

After going through a lengthy bidding process, FEZANA’s Congress Committee selected ZAGNY in partnership with IZA to host the XVI North American Zarathushti Congress in NY. This one of a kind event will take place from August 2-5, 2012 at the Hilton Rye town in Rye, NY. Thanks to the individuals on various committees who are working tirelessly to make this congress a huge success.

OCTOBER 2011 – UDVADA ATASHBEHRAM FUND RAISER

Erach Munshi and Lovji & Mehru Cama hosted the Udvada Atash Behram Fund Raiser luncheon on October 16^th, 2011 at the Darbe Mehr.

DANDIYA RAAS FUNDRAISER

ZAGNY organized its first ever “Dandiya Raas” event at our Darbe Mehr on Saturday October, 22^nd, 2011. This was the first of the two fall fundraisers by the Social Committee for the XVI NAZC 2012. A modest $900 was raised towards the XVI NAZC 2012.

NOVEMBER 2011 – HALLOWEEN

The much-awaited Halloween Parade was held on November 6^th, 2011 at Darbe Mehr. Our ZAGNY tots-n-teens participated in the annual Halloween parade by dressing up as their favorite characters. The youngest was 18 months old and the oldest was 10 years old. There was a plethora of costumes as the children paraded on to the stage. Thanks to everyone for participating and encouraging our wonderful children.

“JAMVA CHALOJI” FUNDRAISER

A fantastically successful event organized on Saturday November 12^th, 2011 by the Social Committee for the XVI NAZC 2012 second fall fundraiser. This gara-dagli gala event raised $3,600 towards the XVI NZAC 2012.

DECEMBER 2011 – NEW YEARS EVE

120+ people brought in 2012 on a high note at the Darbe Mehr. Good food, music and lots of mingling set the tone for the evening. ZAGNY President, Gev Nentin, wished everyone a fun and festive evening, and invited Edul Daver to update the community on the fund raising efforts for the New Darbe Mehr. We have received total pledges of $2.25 million – a great way to finish 2011 and establish the momentum for 2012!

A valiant effort by the youngsters to sell raffle tickets, collected $455 for the XVI NAZC, 2012. At 11.30 p.m., party hats, tiaras and noisemakers added to the excitement leading up to the champagne toast. As the lights were dimmed, everyone counted down the ball drop at Times Square live, thanks to the projection screen set-up by Shailendra Dusaj. After wishing each other a Happy New Year, our party enthusiasts hit the dance floor for another half hour of dancing before the night came to an end. With this, a very busy 2011 that was filled with many social events became another memorable year.

On behalf of the ZAGNY Board I would like to recognize and congratulate the following members who earned awards during the year March 2011 to March 2012:

KAYHAN IRANI – COMPASS AWARD

FARAH PAVRI – BLACK BELT – youngest to earn her 1st Degree Black belt from the Edgewater Kung Fu Academy

Nosh Nalavala – The UNCA award for the best media coverage of the United Nations.

Before I end, I would like to mention that my husband Vispi and I have served ZAGNY in various ways for many many years and we would really like to see a brand new beautiful Darbe Mehr. We will be successful in making this happen. The NDMI group is working hard under the leadership of a very able and I must say extremely hard working individual, Edul Daver, who will make it happen. So without hesitating please give whatever you can, to the new building fund. Thank you.

Lastly, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you as Secretary of the ZAGNY Board. I look forward to another excellent year, a very successful Congress in August, and a BRAND NEW DARBE MEHR for all of us.

Wish you all a happy and healthy year with peace and harmony within our community.

Sheroo Kanga

Secretary

April 1^st, 2012

May the new year bring peace, prosperity, happiness and good health to our families, friends, neighborhoods, cities and nations.

We look forward to seeing you all at the Navroze & Zarathushtra Celebrations hosted jointly with IZA on March 31, 2012.

Registration is open at this link: http://zagny.org/navroze-2012-function-registration/

The above picture is the Haft Seen table set up by Mehernaaz Shovir Irani (sister of ZAGNY member Arzan Sam Wadia) at her residence in Gamdevi, Mumbai; India. The color this year was gray and the animal was a Whale.

• XVI NAZC 2012
• EVENT UPDATES
• NAVROZE REGISTRATION
• ELECTRONICS RAFFLE
• UPCOMING EVENTS
• ANNOUNCEMENTS
• SILENT AUCTION
• COMMUNITY CORNER
• MEMBERSHIP FORM
• NOTES
• SAVE THE DATE

Direct Link to file : March 2012 ZAGNY Newsletter

TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Winning amount will include all
taxes and surcharges.

Tickets can be used on the Non-stop flights from New York, Newark, Chicago and Toronto

2 checked in bags allowed per ticket.

Tickets do NOT quality for frequent flyer miles.
 
Blackout dates for travel apply. Cannot travel :
USA to INDIA June15 to 3 July & Dec 1 – 31
INDIA to USA  Aug. 17 to 3 Sept & Dec 28 – Jan 15
 
The winning amount is tax deductible.
 
Travel should be completed by March 31, 2013.

Associations are encouraged to organize a day of fun and host a shoe drive to support local charities. ZAGNY and IZA will probably organize efforts for the day of the May religious class. This event will help raise awareness about the importance of shoes in enhancing the physical, mental and emotional lives of disadvantaged individuals. Furthermore, it is an opportunity for the Zoroastrian community to gather and celebrate philanthropy and health . This would also be a good opportunity for a student to take up this project as part of the "Good Life" program offered by ZAGNY. High school students are encouraged to work on this as it adds to a college admission resume.   

We’d like  to kick off this initiative at our Navroz function in March and then follow it by support at both the April and May religious classes. We are looking for volunteers to form a small committee that can lead this project and be responsible for it. Responsibilities include sending out communication, making flyers, setting up a few boxes where shoes can be collected in, figuring out logistics (especially for the Navroz function), coordinating drop off for the donations (we were thinking of donating to People to People) and documenting the efforts of our community. We already have a volunteer from IZA and are looking for a few people from ZAGNY to help lead.

If you are interested, please email Usheen Davar, usheen@aol.com by Thursday, March 09, 2012.  Usheen will be collecting the volunteer names and will provide the committee with all the relevant information & next steps.

Zoroastrians Stepping Forward: Website

FEZANA will be participating at the 56^th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Conference to be held at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA.

Tanya Bharda, Kaizad Cama, Homi Gandhi, Afreed Mistry, Behram Pastakia and Freyaz Shroff from FEZANA will be representing the Zoroastrians at the UN. Joining them from the Gram Seva Foundation will be Jay Boziceveh. The group will be presenting a panel discussion titled, “NGO Learnings: Empowering Rural Women to Overcome Poverty & Hunger.”

Using specific case studies from field work in rural India, panelists will showcase successful projects addressing poverty and hunger eradication. The work of Gram Seva Foundation, well established rural NGO, will be highlighted. We will also be showcasing some of the good work being done by World Zoroastrian Organization Trust Funds (WZOTF). Attendees will be able to take back ideas and strategies that can empower women in living healthier, happier lives.

The panel discussion details are:

Date: Thursday, March 1st, 2012

Time: 6:15 pm to 7:45 pm

Location: Church Centre, Boss Room, 8^th Floor, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY

The Church Center is open to the public and visitors, so please encourage Zoroastrians and their friends to attend and support the presentation.

About United Nations

The United Nations is central to global efforts to solve problems that challenge humanity. Cooperating in this effort are more than 30 affiliated organizations, known together as the UN system. For more information visit www.un.org

About Zoroastrians

Zoroastrians serve as effective bridge builders as they see from their own faith, traditions of truth, righteousness, charity, beneficence and respect for creation reflected in traditions of the religions of both the occident and the orient. Zoroastrianism, founded circa 1500 BCE, credited to be the oldest monotheistic religion, is believed to have transmitted percepts such as the ultimate victory of good over evil and the resurrection of souls, through Judaism to Christianity, and later to Islam. Zoroastrianism flourished as the imperial religion of three Persian empires, those of the Achaemenians, Parthians and Sasanians, and was the dominant religion from Turkey, and eastward to China during those times. North America’s Zoroastrian community includes those who arrived from the Indian subcontinent, known as Parsis, and those who came directly from Iran seeking religious freedom.

About FEZANA

Founded in 1987, FEZANA serves as the coordinating body for 26 Zoroastrian associations and 10 small groups throughout the United States and Canada. FEZANA promotes the study, understanding and practice of the Zoroastrian faith in North America., represents the interests of its member associations, and carries out philanthropic and charitable activities worldwide. The FEZANA Journal, FEZANA’s publication of record, circulates to Zoroastrian households in more than 22 countries, as well as to scholars, academicians and religious organizations worldwide. For more information visit: www.fezana.org.

Press Release: January 11, 2012

This is the third such joint function in recent times.

Date: SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2011, 6:30PM ONWARDS

Venue: GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH, 353 E. CLINTON AVE, TENAFLY, NJ 07670 

Program for the Evening

6:30pm: Registration  
7:00pm: Cocktails (Cash Bar) and Appetizers 
8:30pm: New Darbe Mehr Building Presentation 
9:00pm: Dinner and Dessert 
9:30pm: Electronics Raffle Drawing & Air India Tickets Silent Auction Winner Announcement 
10:00pm onwards Dancing

To register, download PDF form and mail in check

OR

Fill out the form below and pay by credit card online.

Contact: Mahrukh Cama, Board Member ZAGNY for tickets and details. mahrukh@zagny.org