PUNE: Asha Vahistha - The Zoroastrian Centre, India’s first open agiary started under the umbrella of Association for Revival of Zoroastrianism (ARZ) in 2017, is all set to celebrate an inclusive Jamshedi Navroze on March 21. It is open for all communities and especially for Parsis who married into a non-Parsi community.

Vispy Wadia, a trustee of ARZ said, “Navroze celebration in Asha Vahistha is an opportunity for people who married outside their community to celebrate this festival with their whole family. It is an inclusive celebration where everyone is invited.”

“Last year almost 200 people came for the celebration and this year we are expecting even more as the invite has already gone viral and we are getting a lot of inquiries,” he added.

“Iran, which is the birthplace of this religion, has no discrimination and everyone can enter the agiary, as God never discriminates. Discrimination leaves a very negative psychological impact on the kids when they see their mothers not allowed to enter a particular place,” he added.

The Jamshedi Navroze celebration at Asha Vahistha will start with a Jashan ceremony followed by a performance from musicians and artists from Iran. They will be performing live soulful Persian music. A Haft Seen Navroze table will also be set up in the main prayer hall.

Turan Desai, a Camp area resident who married into a Maharashtrian family experienced a lot of objection from the community due to the non-acceptance towards her inter-faith marriage.

She said, “My parents were really supportive but due to certain reservation in the society, I had to face a lot of remarks but I feel that a lot of change is happening and with Asha Vahistha coming into existence, I feel it is a good change and I am glad that people in our community are opening up.”