It was celebrations galore to a number of people who belonged to several communities living in the Maximum City. Besides Holi, a number of them that trace their roots to Persia, or today’s Iran, celebrated Navroze or Naw-Ruz in different ways. While the Fasli Irani Zoroastrians celebrated it as Jamshedi Navroze, the Baha’i celebrated it as the first day of the calendar. A section of the Muslim community, too, celebrated Navroze and marked the birthday of Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, Hazrat Ali. “The spiritual leader of the Baha’i community originally hailed from Iran. Our fasting month ends and we celebrate Naw-Ruz (New Day) day with prayers and meeting each other. It also marks the vernal equinox during which the day and night are of the same duration,” said Nargis Gaur, member of the Bahai community in the city. The Baha’i, unlike others who trace their origins to Iran, do not have any particular delicacy or dress code planned. “We visit Fire Temples. Later there are different delicacies prepared at home,” said Dr Viraf Kapadia. Some of the delicacies prepared include Dhansak, chicken dish, pulao, sali boti, patra ni machi and even falooda among others. “A number of people also go and visit each other, which is a tradition,” said Kapadia. Mainly Shiah Muslims who migrated from Iran, celebrations were threefold. “Today, we had three celebrations. Navroze started at 3.30 am. Then it was Holi, and now we are celebrating the birthday of Hazrat Ali,” Ali Namazi, a Shiah Muslim whose family moved from Iran to India, said.

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