When I was growing at Wodehouse Road I had no Muslim friends ,,my childhood friend was Keith Kanga half Bawa ..Rayo full Bawa .Dinshah Sanjana much of their sanguinity rubbed of on me .. they made me cheerful positive and hopeful ..without them I would have been a typical lungi clad skull cap miya ,, they pushed me beyond the frontiers of my fate and my parents played a large part in allowing to mix with everyone without blinkers ,, but the Parsis have been the very closest to me in this respect ..the beauty of their race they dont convert you to their religiosity , but they convert you to love their bawa cuisine , bawa girls loved me in college but the moment I told them my name was Firoze and not Phiroze and that I was a Muslim they dropped me like a bad potato in the Elphinstone canteen .. though I did not come from a rich family background they made my background rich.. by their values ethics and love.
My classmates at Private European school early 50s were Tanaz and Jimmy Nanavati kids of Rear Admiral Nanavati and Priya and Laila Kuruvilla daughters of Rose And Rear Admiral Kuruvilla ,, Many other Parsis came in my life ,, but the memories of the earliest ones has not been erased by age or time,,
They say Bawas are crazy but I guess their crazy creativity rubbed off on me and during our school days if you wanted to attract Bawas just clap outside Cusrow Baug and all the bawa heads would push out ,,,in seamless alignment ,, childhood was spent playing at Pandya Bagh and teenage years and tears at Cusrow Bagh ,,
And Mumbai is Apro Mumbai thanks to the Bawas ,,Long live Parsiana Long Live Bawas..and I was blessed by late Mr Rusi Karanjia my dad made his safari suits and than later I made them for him at Framroz Court .
Sal Mubarak..
