Parsi Resource Group, to mark the 265th anniversary of the enthronement of Paak Iranshah at the Udavada Atashbehram, organized a two-day trip for devotees to Daman and Udvada, of which I was a part, to pay respect to the Iranshah and be a part of the celebrations organized by the Udavada Samast Anjuman and the Foundation for Development Udavada (FDU).

The weekend began rather early when we all gathered outside the Rustam Faramna Agiary at 10.30am. We left for Udavada was a13- car convoy which included our founder trustee Jimmy Mistry, volunteers and their family members.

The convoy made its way through the afternoon traffic only to hit the bad roads on the highway to Gujarat. Our first pit-stop was at the Parsi Dairy Farm located at Talasari on the Gujarat border. Much to our surprise we were greeted by lush green gardens and a portico - a far cry from the treacherous Indian Highway and the trucks that block both sides of the roads.

Thick Lassi, a tad too sweet and yummy hot bhajiya's, felt like a feast in the pleasing environment. The elders chit-chatted while he kids played on the swing or with the pet dog's - all a much needed break after the three- hour journey.

We still had quite a long way to go so we all left soon though unwillingly. The roads this time seemed much smoother and we covered the 22 km to its destination - Hotel Miramar in Daman - much faster.

It was already 4.45pm by the time we reached. While most of us were housed in the hotel few had to make do at a guest house not very far from Miramar. Once there, we all wanted to collapse but surprisingly, by 5.30 everyone was ready and down for a visit to Jimmy's furniture manufacturing plant nearby.

After a look around the state-of-the-art factory we moved to the third floor where the Della Tecnica staff was there to fill our tummies with some fantastic mutton samosas and chips. After visiting both his existing factory and his new factory site right next door, we left for Mirasol, the water and theme park in Daman a few km's from our hotel.

Although the water park and the boat rides were shut we had a huge lawn to ourselves with DJ music and a bar - a must-have for any Parsi get-together. The DJ's music, though good, failed to pep us up enough. But to everyone's delight, Jimmy broke the ice and we had a wonderful evening playing antakshari. The person who stole the show, however, was Irfan Bhai - the sole man who handles the Daman factory and does an extremely amazing job of it too! By midnight the folks were thinking and talking about the next big day we all were there for. With tummies full and tiresome day taking toll everyone seemed eager to drive back to the hotel.

Despite the eventful day before, people woke up early. After a breakfast buffet of Tadi and Niro, we all made our way to Udvada to pay our respect to Iranshah.

Packed with thousands of Zoroastrians, many of them from the Island City, , Udvada felt more like Mumbai what with the overcrowded precinct and all the police around to ensure that the day went off smoothly. The queue to enter the Atashbehram stretched well into the morning sun. After paying our respect to the Iranshah and attending the Jashan conducted by Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor inside the premises, we moved on to the function arena built opposite Hotel Mek near the Atashbehram. The make-shift structure was built to hold 100s of people to attend the felicitation as well as attend the gambar there.

As we headed back to the factory, we were glad to be welcomed with Lucknowee biryani served with chilled beer - treat for rumbling stomachs and dry throats.

As I reach the fag end of my narration, I would like to give credit where it's due - Jimmy and his entire team did a great job. It's really easy to forget that he doesn't run an event management company but the way everything works is perfect.

After having dwelled enough on the amazing hospitality, it would be unfair to not mention the team spirit of PRG volunteers. It is great to be a part of likeminded Zoroastrian group, which is sensitive towards the cause of the community to the extent that they devote most of their free time working towards the upliftment of Zoroastrianism. The enthusiasm that this group projects is infectious to the extent that everyone who comes in the vicinity is sucked-up by the desire to make a difference. And this trip did exactly that. Everyone who came as a guest left with a determination to do something for the community, a smile on their face, plenty of good memories and enough anecdotes to last a few more such picnics.

Thanks from all those people who came along, whom you very kindly took care of from the start till the end and treated like kings. May you reach way ahead in life and GOD bless you with all his MIGHT.

"It was a big day indeed and to say that we enjoyed this religious trip is to downplay the entire experience."

-Malcolm Desai