Date: Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 3:58 PM
Subject: Tribute to late Mr. Rustom S. Tirandaz on his first month of
passing away
To: TZML <TraditionalZarathushtris@yahoogroups.com>
HUMATA HUKHTA HAVARASHTA!
Roj Mohor, Mah Meher, YZ 1378
(26 Feb 2009)
Dear friends,
today on Mohor roj is the first month of the passing of BPP trustee
(twice elected) Mr. Rustom Sheriyar Tirandaz.
We pay our respects in memory of Mr. Tirandaz, who was like a warm and
generous father and brother to all those who approached him for help
and guidance, be it Zarathushti or non-Zarathushti.
Mr. Tirandaz has indeed made many people happy with his caring and
warm approach.
A close friend of their family Mr Jimmy and Mrs. Pervin Mistry have
sent us a letter describing who Rustomji really was. They have covered
facts about Mr Tirandaz that were not known to many people.
We will let the letter below do the needed talking.
We also reproduce a beautiful letter by Mr Tirandaz's sons Faredoon
and Darayus, and a touching poem by Mr Tirandaz's wife Mrs. Armaity
Rustam Tirandaz.
Please share this email with your friends, and if you have the emails
of Mrs Armaity and their other family members, please forward it to
them too.
Our thanks to Mr. JImmy Mistry and Mrs. Pervin Mistry for sharing a
tribute on Mr. Tirandaz with us and thereby giving us courage and
guidance to help our fellowmen, be they Zarathushtis or
non-Zarathushtis.
Sincerely
TZML Admins.
(please see below for three important letters)
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: pervin mistry
To: tmyz@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, 2 February, 2009 10:30:35
Subject: Fw: My Tribute to dad and the poem.
Tribute to our friend Rustom Sheriyar Tirandaz:
The sudden demise of Rustom Sheriyar Tirandaz (January 27th) has left
many in our community and in other communities deprived of a good
friend and a champion of the needy. Those who met him just once could
not ignore him. One either loved him for his wit and humor, in
addition to an unrelenting willingness to help others, or, one hated
him for his genuine explosion of speech. Rustom was no hypocrite.
Knowing the one and only, the inimitable Rustom Sheriyar Tirandaz, for
the past 50 years and more, my husband Jimmy and I know that being
indisputably kind hearted, he must be laughing from the high heavens
at the poor souls who ridiculed him, who stabbed him in the back in
the name of 'friendship', who suffered from narrow vision and saw
nothing other than the surface 'Rustom'. Rustom would surely laugh at
their loss because they saw the surface which typically has some
stones and weeds but did not see the precious glittering gems and
solid gold that is hidden deep down. Yes, Rustom was a man with a
heart of pure gold! We say to these poor unfortunate folks, it is your
loss!
People came in droves to pay their last respects. Within 10 minutes of
the news of Rustom's passing away, crowds began to gather at his home.
The road was crammed with people of all communities, rich, poor, tall,
short and just about everybody whose life was touched by Rustom.
Rustom deserved the farewell he got because he was one of the most
compassionate, honest, sincere and self sacrificing men who walked the
Earth. His paidust and uthamna were unmatched. Seldom or never has the
Doongerwadi seen such a crowd!
Rustom was a people's man! As a politician, he was in public services
for the past 40 years. He was a Municipal Corporator for 17 long
years. He was the savior of the Doongerwadi at the time of the DDD-AG
imbroglio; he was also committed to save the Bhikha Behram Well from
pollution when the BMC first announced that toilets were to be built
close to this sacred well; he was one among the small delegation that
went to see the CM of Gujarat, Hon'ble Narendra Modi, to stop the FDU
from turning Udvada into a Tourist Dham. Both Rustom and his gentle,
kind hearted wife Armaity, cared for the many, many countless who were
dying, the poor sick who had no one to look after them, who needed
medical relief. Rustom's home was like a dispensary where people just
walked in, any time, without previous appointment, to seek Rustom's
help in all kinds of troubles. No one was ever turned away. Rustom and
his noble family saved so many innocent Muslim lives during the
Hindu-Muslim riots. They silently rescued the old, the women and kids
to safety. Yes, Rustom truly was a people's man and he had a heart of
gold, which is irrefutable.
Besides all the golden qualities of the heart, Rustom had all the good
qualities of the 'head' too! He was very witty and brilliant. He never
prepared his speeches but always entertained his listeners. He was a
very good writer too. In college, he wrote an entire essay without a
single period (full stop)! The professor could not find a single
grammatical mistake! I had the good fortune to go once to the
municipal office with Rustom and although he was not a corporator for
the past many years, whoever saw him, from peons to officers, all got
up to salute him, all were happy to see him! He was known for his
honesty and never, never, did he take any goodwill gifts from anyone
he helped. In fact, during his recent BPP election campaign, so many
people from the audience came forward to announce and affirm that
Rustom was the most helpful, kind and honest man they ever knew. He
would never accept anything, anything in kind for the time and
services he rendered except perhaps the words 'thank you' and often
instead of the thanks, sometimes jokingly and sometimes silently and
without complaint he accepted back-stabbing and ingratitude too.
During the recent BPP elections, Rustom could not afford to host his
campaign with tempting dinners or as we said jokingly, with packets of
peanuts. Later, during the coarse of the elections, some of his
friends convinced him to host his own campaign. He complied
reluctantly and put together three campaigns, at Dadar, Navroze Baug
and Rustom Baug but he was at times late because he had to help
someone or the other who knocked at his door for urgent help just
prior to be in time to attend to his own campaign! The needy took
precedence over his own wish to become a BPP trustee. This was the
real Rustom Sheriyar Tirandaz some fortunate ones knew.
I remember the day in the early 1990's when the seed of his BPP
trusteeship was ingrained in him by some who had met at the Sethna
Agiary in order to create awareness regarding the threat to our
religion and community initiated by the Muslim heretic Ali Akbar
Jafarey together with his supporters in the U.S. Rustom gave such a
sincere, thundering, extempore speech that day at the Agiary hall that
many in the audience insisted that he becomes a BPP akabar, a leader
to navigate us through the course of troubled times. Rustom did win
the BPP election then and became a trustee for the first time, in
1995. Rustom often said he was committed to run for every BPP
elections, as long as he lived! Some of us laughed!
This time again, he won and became the Vice-Chairman of the BPP, the
only Apex Body of all Parsi-Irani Zarathushtis worldwide! He was not
promoted or supported by a single organization or alliance, be they
'traditionalists'. But God in His Wisdom knew Rustom and gave him a
farewell from this Earth the likes of which cannot be duplicated!
Those of us who knew Rustom will always feel the void. There will
never be another Rustom like Rustom Tirandaz! The poor, the lay
people, the shopkeepers at Wadala and other areas mourn losing Rustom,
their friend and ever-present helper. The non-Parsi communities at
Wadala, Dadar and Matunga put up big banners in the area to recognize
Rustom's unflinching devotion to the poor and the needy. They called
special meetings at Dadar, Wadala, Matunga to honor and celebrate a
life so well lived! They are the juddin brothers and sisters but many
in our own community too feel the loss of a great friend and helper of
the needy.
For the past many months, when Rustom was asked "how are you", the
reply was always, "on top of the world" and always and always, when
wished 'good morning' by his friends, his reply was, "and a better
morning to you"! Rustom was never ever wealthy because he never spent
the time or cared for his own needs; he never cherished the dream of
accumulating wealth for himself and his family. Nevertheless, he was
one of the richest men who had so, so much of time and energy to
freely give to all those who approached him for help! Behind every
successful man, there is always a woman and both Rustom and Armaity
made a perfect team. Both have the same qualities of the heart and
Armaity is an equal partner in serving those who need help. At the
Doongerwadi, just prior to the uthamna, Rustom's sons, Darayus and
Faredoon, posted their loving tribute to their noble father. Armaity
posted a beautiful, touching poem as a tribute and farewell to her
husband. Rustom was always very proud of his 'Kiyani tokham'! He
always maintained that he was first and foremost a traditionalist and
loved his religion, community and the Kiyani lineage.
Armaity, Faredoon, Darayus, Pearl, Lal aunty, Dinyar, Roshan and the
rest of the family are not alone in missing this mighty Pahlevan;
Jimmy and I will also miss him and will lovingly remember all the good
times shared. I add that besides us, many more will also miss Rustom's
powerful presence. Among those who will miss his presence very, very
dearly is his ever faithful and helpful friend, Ashdin. The current
Chairman of the BPP, Mr. Dinshaw Rusi Mehta, has also lost the support
and guidance from his faithful colleague Rustom at these crucial
times. Our loss is incalculable and irretrievable. May Ahura Mazda
grant Armaity, Faredoon, Darayus, Lal aunty and the entire family the
strength and courage to accept what is fated and preordained! Jimmy
and I are proud that Rustom went at the peak of his career, as a
Vice-Chairman of the BPP and did not suffer old age or illness.
Rest in Peace, Rustom, and know that your name will be remembered by
one and all whose hearts have been touched by your compassion, smile,
sincerity and service.
(Enclosed as letters below, please read the letter Faredoon and
Darayus posted as a tribute to their father and also the beautiful
peom written by Armaity, Rustom's wife.)
Mr. Jimmy and Mrs. Pervin Mistry
January 2009
A tribute to my father Rustom S. Tirandaz
-By Darayus R. Tirandaz
Someone walked up to us today and said, "Faredoon, Darayus you have
been orphaned by your father Rustom. But you are not the only ones;
the entire Zorastrian community has lost a father and is orphaned".
Tears run down my face and all I can think of is the "Tokham Kyani",
that my father spoke about all the time. This invisible force that
binds all Zorastrians to one another is the awareness that my father
tried to create. Our community is forgetting what it means.
He was an eternal optimist and some of his greatest visions for
the community were of Peace and Preservation. Over a period of 35
years of public service and social work, nothing has held greater
importance to him than to serve the Zorastrian community. He fought
for what was right and he stood against all odds in doing so. He
achieved those goals that most men would give up half way in trying to
accomplish.
The goodwill he created is enough to last the Tirandaz family
many generations. He struggled all his life but you would always see a
smile on his face. After celebrating his victory at the BPP elections
last year he celebrated his 40th anniversary where he also expressed
his excitement of becoming a grandpa. His daughter-in-law Pearl(my
wife) sees her hero in him and considered him as her own father. In
only a matter of a few years she felt what I felt for him.
My mother Armaity said to me, "Through all the triumphs,
sacrifices, joy, pain and time spent together he always gave me lots
of Love and a good life". She made me take a promise to live by his 5
teachings: Righteousness, Truthfulness, Patience, Sacrifice and Peace.
These qualities are hard to come by these days and my father was
overflowing with them all. His love and friendship was felt by every
life he touched, including those who disliked him.
I see a future when the Zorastrian community will realize and
owe a great debt of gratitude to my father for his achievements and
struggle to preserve our community.
I would like to thank all those who have prayed for him. We have
felt your good vibrations and that helps us all overcome his loss. I
thank the lord that his demise was quick and without suffering, very
few have this privilege. I thank Ahuramazda for the 3 great souls in
my life my father Rustom, my brother Behram and my mother Armaity. Dad
we will love you always.
To all who Grieve
by Mrs. Armaity Rustom Tirandaz
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set on me,
I want no rites in a gloom filled room,
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little but not too long,
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the Love that we once shared,
Miss me, but let me go.
For this is the journey we all must take,
And each must go alone,
Remember the Love that we once shared,
A step on the road to home.
And when you are lonely and sick of heart,
Go to the friends we know,
And burry your sorrows in doing Good Deeds.
Miss me but let me go.
