ZAGBA seminar by two scholars of Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrian history

Dear all,

Many thanks for those of you who came to today's interactive seminar
on Zoroastrianism!

As I had mentioned in my presentation, all of us have an important
choice to make: whether to actively work to preserve preserve our
culture, history, and heritage, both Parsi and Iranian Zoroastrian;
or, through our inaction and apathy, let them disappear and
disintegrate further.

For those of us who are Parsi, the UNESCO-sponsored Parsi-Zoroastrian
(Parzor) Project -- run in Delhi by Dr. Shernaz Cama -- is a great
resource that needs our support. I have done a little work with Dr.
Cama and Parzor in the past. You can learn more about the project
through their website:

http://www.unescoparzor.com/

The website contains information on some of their current projects,
such as restoring manuscripts and books at the Meherjirana Library in
Navsari and reviving the art of Parsi embroidery. Click on "Contact
Us" to learn more about how to make a donation. If you have an
heirloom item that is of significant importance to the community, I
suggest that you contact Parzor so that it can be documented and
recorded.

The Meherjirana Library in Navsari has recently put up a website:

http://www.meherjiranalibrary.com/home

The website, incidentally, was created by Dan Sheffield who is here at
Harvard University. He spent some months researching at the
Meherjirana Library in 2008.

In addition, KR Cama Oriental Institute in Bombay has also put up a website:

http://www.krcamaorientalinstitute.org/

Since our community is so small, all of us have a very important stake
and role to play in keeping our unique traditions and heritage alive.
Please make sure to do your part!

Best regards,

Dinyar

--
Dinyar Patel
Ph.D. Candidate, Modern South Asia
Department of History
Harvard University
+1 (650) 796-2486

Dear ZAGBA Members and Friends,

Please join us for a special seminar by two scholars of Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrian history. We are particularly proud to have these individuals be part of this presentation as they are young Zarathushtis living and researching in the Boston area. (This is the rescheduled event from February).

DATE: Sunday, May 2, 2010
TIME: 2:00 to 4:00 pm
LOCATION: Shawsheen Room, Bedford Town Hall, 12 Mudge Rd. Bedford, MA (where Children's Religious Classes are held, not where functions are held)

EVENT: Come meet Yuhan Vevaina, (Ph.D from Harvard University) and Dinyar Patel (Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University). This session will provide an opportunity to learn more about them along with their research interests and areas of expertise. This talk is open to all, so please bring your friends or anyone who might be interested.

RSVP: Please RSVP to zagba@hotmail.com by April 25th so that we can plan for room seating, snacks, and carpooling for those who might need a ride from your area. All are welcome.

Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina received his M.A. in 2003 and his Ph.D. in 2007 from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. After completing his doctoral work, Dr. Vevaina served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Undergraduate Core Curriculum and as the Lecturer on Old Iranian at Harvard from 2007-2009. He has taught a number of courses related to Zoroastrianism including, Old Persian Language and Literature and Middle Language and Literature, an Introduction to Zoroastrianism and a seminar course on Contemporary Zoroastrianism. His research interests include: theoretical approaches to the study of Zoroastrianism; the history and development of Zoroastrian interpretation; colonial and post-colonial constructions of religion; and religion in Diaspora. He is currently working on a number of articles and a book project to be published by Harrassowitz Verlag of Wiesbaden, Germany. He is also the co-editor (with Michael Stausberg, University of Bergen) of the forthcoming, The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Zoroastrianism to be published by Wiley-Blackwell of Oxford, UK.

Dinyar Patel is a Ph.D. candidate in the History Department at Harvard University. He is interested in the history of the Parsi community and the Indian nationalist movement and has conducted research on Mahatma Gandhi's relations with the Parsis. His dissertation is on Dadabhai Naoroji, a prominent Parsi nationalist known as the "Grand Old Man" of India.