May 2009 - ZANT

ZANT News - May 2009 1

www.zant.org May 2009

A Publication of Zoroastrian Association of North Texas

ZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWS

We welcome and encourage feedback from our community. Please send comments or suggestions to [email protected] or mail to ZANT, P.O. Box 271117, Flower Mound, TX 75027

If you would like to sponsor our newslet-ter please contact Pearl P. Balsara

• 5/10: Mother’s Day Picnic (pg. 2) • 5/15: Parsi Natak (pg. 9) • 5/29: Ladies Night Out (pg. 2) • 6/7: ZANT Gahambar (pg. 10) • 6/14: ZANT Religious Class • 6/21: Father’s Day (pg. 3) • 7/4: Tirgan & July 4 (pg. 3)

ZANT EZANT EZANT EZANT EVENTSVENTSVENTSVENTS

• 4/30-5/4: Maidyozarem Gh. (F) • 5/1-5/5: Maidyarem Gh. (K) • 5/26: Zarthost-no-Diso (S) • 5/31-6/4: Maidyarem Gh. (S)

ZZZZOROASTRIANOROASTRIANOROASTRIANOROASTRIAN C C C CALENDARALENDARALENDARALENDAR

ZANT Activities 2

Mother’s Day 2

Tirgan 3

Kids’ Corner 4

Treasurer’s Corner 5-6

ZANT Center Update 7

ZYNA Youth Congress 11

Father’s Day 3

ZANT Gahambar 10

Parsi Gujarati Natak (drama) 9

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 27117 Flower Mound, TX 75027-1117

ZANT Center: 1605 Lopo Road Flower Mound, TX 75028-1306

Spring is passing by at rapid speed, the 2008-2009 school year is coming to an end shortly and ZANT is hard at work arranging for a multitude of events for the re-mainder of this Spring season and the upcoming Summer. Our members’ calendars will be busy with the graduation ceremonies, college campus visits and summer va-cation trips. There is the 12th North American Zoroastrian Youth Congress (July 1 – 5) in Fremont California and a few other local and national religious and non-religious Zarthushti camps throughout the nation. ZANT has teamed up with the Adi and Ghadially families to make it financially feasible for our youth to attend this year’s youth congress. For details please refer to pages 3 and 11 of this newsletter.

We realize that our Zarthushti families have a busy schedule but if you happen to be in town, don’t forget the Mother’s day event, the Gahambar, the Tirgan and other celebrations. Please drop us a line if you feel there is an educational, entertaining or sporting event coming to our area which is worth attending and we may be able to put a group together to enjoy the event.

The ZANT board would like to take this opportunity to recognize Mrs. Roshan and Dr. Rustam Mehdiabadi for their dedication and unconditional support of our com-munity. We are asking them to please accept the "Honorary Membership" in the Zoroastrian Association of North Texas. Please read about their many contributions on page 3.

The ZANT Center project is making steady progress and is still on schedule and on budget; if you happen to pass by the Center site, you would notice a large area of the fire lane and the parking lot concrete has been poured and the plumbing under-neath the slab is being worked on.

May Ahura Mazda bestow His choicest on you all.

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

IIIINSIDENSIDENSIDENSIDE THISTHISTHISTHIS I I I ISSUESSUESSUESSUE

B B B BOARDOARDOARDOARD OFOFOFOF D D D D IRECTORSIRECTORSIRECTORSIRECTORS

President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Social Director Director Director

Kamran Behroozi (972) 355-6607 Farieda Irani (972) 867-0509 Pearl P. Balsara Khurshid Jamadar (972) 471-1139 Keshvar Buhariwalla (972) 691-5327 Roya Bidanjiry (817) 703-1316 Delna Godiwalla (972) 416-3589


Egg Hunt

Our April Children's Religious Class was attended by 28 children and teens with some attending for the first time. The Balsara residence was once again overflow-ing with laughter and fun. After Religious Class was completed, everyone shared the cost for lunch and en-

joyed the pizza feast.

With so many kids, where do you hide the eggs on a rainy day? Rooms in the Balsaras’ home were turned into treasure hunting areas and the kids had a wonder-ful time finding their treats. Thank you to all who par-

ticipated.

ZANT A ZANT A ZANT A ZANT ACTIVITIESCTIVITIESCTIVITIESCTIVITIES ---- L L L LOOKINGOOKINGOOKINGOOKING B B B BACKACKACKACK

After many years on hiatus, ZANT is planning a La-dies Night for all those interested in a wonderful eve-ning out. We thought we would be a bit adventurous;

how does dinner and a movie sound? So what is adventurous about that you ask, well how about trying a traditional Chinese cuisine called dim sum! Did you know dim sum literally means "to touch your heart," and consists mainly of dumplings, steamed dishes and other goodies (don't

worry, we can also order sweet and sour chicken and fried rice). So let us be bold and have a feast at Kirin

Court, located at 221 West Polk Street, Suite 210,

Richardson.

To complete the evening we ladies can go down the street to the Indian movie theaters in Fun Asia and see a Hindi movie or find a tear-jerker 'chick flick' at the

American theater.

So mark May 29 on your calendar and plan to meet at Kirin Court at 7:30 pm on Friday night. Please

RSVP to Abby Patel at (817) 253-1644 by May 22.

Sunday, May 10th is soon approaching and we are looking forward to spending the afternoon at the beau-tiful Dallas Arboretum. In order to receive the group discounted rate of $6.50 per adult, $5 for Seniors and $4.50 per child (ages 3-12), you must RSVP by May 5. Group tickets have to be purchased ahead of time and will be available at the “will call” window at the Arbo-retum for families to pick up, the price otherwise will

be $3 more per ticket on the day.

We have already heard from a few families and our menu is being planned. We will meet at the front gates at 11:00 am and find a spot to picnic on. If you are a bit late and need to locate us, please call Keshvar on

her cell (972)898-8991.

This event is for the entire family to come and honor

the Moms and celebrate with the entire ZANT family.

Please RSVP to Keshvar Buhariwalla at

[email protected] or call (972) 691-5327 by May 5,

2009 so that we can purchase the tickets for you.

Location:

Dallas Arboretum 8525 Garland Road Dallas, Texas 75218 (214) 515-6500

ZANT M ZANT M ZANT M ZANT MOTHEROTHEROTHEROTHER’’’’SSSS D D D DAYAYAYAY C C C CELEBRARTIONELEBRARTIONELEBRARTIONELEBRARTION

L L L LADIESADIESADIESADIES N N N N IGHTIGHTIGHTIGHT O O O OUTUTUTUT

CREATIONS OF AHURA MAZDA

A Book Written & Illustrated by Children of ZANT

This literary work includes the Amesha Spentas and the Seven Creations, the Zoroastrian Creation story, the 30 days of the Zoroastrian Calendar, and finally a few puz-zles and activities to keep the mind sharp in regards to Zoroastrianism. This book is a must have for every Zo-roastrian home library and we urge our community to purchase this special Lim-ited Edition for your own family and friends. Please support our kids’ hard work and effort in raising funds for the ZANT

Building Fund.

Available on sale for $10


Would you like to attend the 12th North American Zo-roastrian Youth Congress July 1 – July 5, 2009? The ZANT board, the Adi family, and the Ghadially family can help you with that! The board will be subsidizing the cost of attending the congress in the amount of $1500. With the generous matching of another $1500 by the the Adi and Ghadially families together, a total of $3000 dollars is available to assist all those who want to attend. If you send in proof of registration to

Pearl Balsara by May 30, 2009, up to $300 of your cost can be subsidized. For information, please contact Pearl. In addition, FEZANA will be giving $100 to every participant for the first 200 registrants. For regis-tration and Congress details, visit www.fezana.org/zyna. Please see the congress flyer on page 11 of this newsletter.

Dad's day is soon approaching and we just wanted to let our ZANT families know that we are planning an afternoon for all our special fathers.

With our dads in mind we are planning an afternoon by a lake, playing on a sandy beach, ordering BBQ and enjoying the day in our pavilion.

So mark Sunday, June 21 on your calendar and look for all the details in next month’s newsletter.

ZANT FZANT FZANT FZANT FATHERATHERATHERATHER’’’’SSSS D D D DAYAYAYAY C C C CELEBRARTIONELEBRARTIONELEBRARTIONELEBRARTION

ZANT will be celebrating Tirgan, the creation of water along with America's Independence Day, on Saturday July 4th. We have reserved the North Pavilion at Bob Woodruff Park and plan on spending the afternoon at the park. We will be enjoying the day with water games, sand volleyball, cricket matches, hiking along Bob Woodruff Park Lake and ending the day with the spectacular fire works display that Plano offers from our reserved pavilion. Look for more details in next

month’s newsletter.

Location:

North Pavilion at Bob Woodruff Park 2601 San Gabriel Drive Plano, Texas 75074

T T T T IRGANIRGANIRGANIRGAN ANDANDANDAND J J J JULYULYULYULY 4 4 4 4THTHTHTH C C C CELEBRATIONELEBRATIONELEBRATIONELEBRATION

HHHHONORARYONORARYONORARYONORARY M M M MEMBERSHIPEMBERSHIPEMBERSHIPEMBERSHIP

The Board would like to take this opportunity to be-stow an “Honorary Membership” in the Zoroastrian Association of North Texas to Dr. Rustam Mehdiabadi and his wife, Roshan Mehdiabadi. Dr. Mehdiabadi did his Residency at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. In the early 1970’s, he moved to Lubbock, Texas and began a private practice in Ear, Nose and Throat and Allergy Medicine. Today the Mehdiabadis spend time with their three daughters and two grand-children and continue to participate in Zoroastrian As-sociations across the country. Our ZANT community has been fortunate to be at the receiving end of many years of support from this wonderful family. Though their home is in Lubbock, the North Texas Community has felt their presence. With the vision to help seed the ZANT Building process that had not yet taken root, to supporting other ZANT activities, with no expectations in return, the Mehdiabadis have been quiet supporters of this community for over a decade. Theirs has al-ways been an unconditional support for our community projects and for our growth and well being. ZANT recently completed the sale of the Lubbock property, which was donated in 1998 by the Mehdiabadi family, and had generated an annual income for ZANT over the years. With so much given and so little expected in return, we honor the Mehdiabadis with this token of our appreciation. We look forward to their attendance at the ZANT Center opening.

M M M MONTHLYONTHLYONTHLYONTHLY G G G GOODIESOODIESOODIESOODIES

Many thanks to Simin Engineer for last month's deli-cious chicken tikka masala with rice. Eight families thoroughly enjoyed the yummy food and are asking

when's the next one coming?!

The goody for May is chicken curry and rice pre-

pared by our super-chef Arnavaz Vakharia.

It will be available on the second weekend so please place your order by May 5 with Anahita Sidhwa at 972-462-1553 or email at [email protected]. The dish costs $ 30 and will feed 4 people. We will call you to arrange de-

livery or pickup

N N N NORTHORTHORTHORTH A A A AMERICANMERICANMERICANMERICAN Z Z Z ZOROASTRIANOROASTRIANOROASTRIANOROASTRIAN Y Y Y YOUTHOUTHOUTHOUTH C C C CONGRESSONGRESSONGRESSONGRESS


I’d like to share a few funny quotes with the young adults … • Always and never are two words you should al-

ways remember never to use. • Accept that some days you're the pigeon and

some days you're the statue. • You know the speed of light, so what's the speed

of dark? • There are three sides to any argument: your side,

my side and the right side. • Never argue with a fool. People might not know

the difference. • When you're right, no one remembers. When

you're wrong, no one forgets. • If you can't see the bright side of life, polish the

dull side. • Everybody is somebody else's weirdo. • Everyone has their days…some days are longer

than the others.

(Source: from the Internet)

Religious Class:

The April class started as always with group prayer. The Younger Kids re-called the name of our Creator, Ahura Mazda, and tried to list the various creations He blessed us with. Then we learned how Ahura Mazda takes care of His creations and makes them grow. However, as humans, it is our responsi-bility to take care of nature as well as ourselves. We can do this by promising to be good followers of the religion as is taught in the Jasa Me Avanghe Mazda prayer.

The Middle Age group learnt about the 6 Gaham-bars…

• Importance of the 6 Gahambars • Their relation to each creation & season • How & when is it observed • It considered every Zoroastrian’s religious

duty • The coming together of the rich & poor

We continued the class by learning about the other Zoroastrian celebrations/observations….NouRuz, Khordad Sal, Zarathosht-No-Diso, Fravardigan, Tir-gan, Mehergan, Ava & Adar Roz-Nu Parab, Jashn-e-Sadeh, Chahar Shanbeh Suri, Sizdeh Bedar etc.

The Youth group has started to construct various games and materials for the new classrooms and chil-

dren to work on. Some ideas the kids came up with are a timeline of Zoroastrianism, matching games, puzzles, etc.

We finished the class with a session of face painting and an indoor egg hunt. A big thank you to Nina aunty & Nilufer aunty for the face painting!

Assignment for the next class

Younger kids - Please remember to bring your packets again to the next class in June so that we can memorize the prayer and understand its meaning. Don't forget to answer the questions in the packet with help from your parents!

Middle Age Group – Learn the names of the 7 Gaham-bars & do your crossword puzzle.

Joke Time (Laugh – it increases your face value) ☺

Q: What goes TICK-TICK, WOOF-WOOF? A: A Watchdog!

Q: Why does male deer need braces? A: Because he has “buck teeth”!

Q: Why did the golfer wear 2 pairs of pants? A: Just in case he got a hole-in-one!

Thoughts for the Month:

Without goals, and plans to reach them,

You are like a ship that has set sail with no

destination

-Fitzhugh Dodson

Disciple is the guardrail That keeps you on the path of self-esteem -Kent Nelson Even if you are on the right track, You will get run over, if you just sit there! -Will Rogers

Children’s Religious Class:

Our next religious class will be held on Sunday, June 14,

2009 at 11:30 am, at the Balsara Residence.

Please note: We will NOT have a Religious Class in May

For further details about the Religious Classes, please con-

tact Pearl Balsara.

(Kid’s Corner logo courtesy of Zoroastrian Studies, India)

KKKK IDSIDSIDSIDS’ C’ C’ C’ CORNERORNERORNERORNER

3 steps for practicing religion: Āgāhi, Astavāni and Neki Knowledge, Faith and Benevolence.


From what we get, we can make a living …

What we give, however, makes a LIFE

- Arthur Ashe

Building Fund Donors:

The following families have fulfilled their pledges towards the Building Fund:

TTTTREASURERREASURERREASURERREASURER’’’’SSSS C C C CORNERORNERORNERORNER

ZANT Capital Campaign

Total number of pledges received: 54

Total amount pledged: $571,196

Total amount received (to date): $425,946

Hong Kong Anjuman (outstanding): $ 65,000

Other Pledges (outstanding): $ 80,250

ZANT General Fund

Total Balance in General Fund: $ 39,999

Donations received for the

General Fund (4/1-4/20): $ 501

The donations and balances listed below are accurate as of April 20, 2009.

Aga Naozer (India) Bahrassa Feraydoon & Persis (Arkansas) Balsara Poras & Pearl Behroozi Kambiz Behroozi Kamran & Saghar Behrouzi Parviz & Mahbanoo Birdie Mezdi & Meena (Florida) Buhariwalla Kali & Keshvar Chinoy Birjis & Zenobia Contractor Jamshid & Kashmira Desai Firdausi & Niloofer (India) Dinyarian Mehraban & Parvin Engineer Simin & Rehan Firoozgar Parimarz Gazdar Adi & Celia Gandhi Navroz (Maryland)

Godiwalla Soonu Heaton Michael & Cainaz Vakharia Irani Spenta & Delnaaz Irani Behram & Farieda Iranpour Farin Jamadar Jamshed & Khurshid Jamshidi Jamshid & Rubina Kahl James & Homa Kalianivala Nina & Zarir

Godiwalla Boman

ZANT Building Fund

Total Balance in Building Fund Bank accounts: $ 277,122

Value of TD Waterhouse account (02/28/09): $ 48,239

Donations received for the Building Fund (4/1-4/20): $ 83,527

Total Number of Donors - since inception: 252

Building Capital Expense as of 04/20/09:

Pre-construction: $ 67,843

Construction: $ 172,722

Medhora Arnavaz Mehdiabadi Dr. & Mrs Rustam Merchant Hoshi & Nawaz Mistry Aspy & Roda Mistry Ardeshir Mistry Kavas & Kashmira Moghadam Anita Nasta Mahesh & Sherry Parakh Zal & Carole Patel Hoshang & Arbez Raghani Sherry & Farook Rivetna Jamshed & Tamara Pithawalla Ashish & Mazarin Sarkari Vispy & Ruth-Dinaz Shroff Darius & Cyra Sidhwa Feroze & Anahita Soroushi Babak & Mitra Srinivasan Tushna & Naresh Vakharia Adi & Arnavaz Wadia Aspi & Ketty


Building Fund Donors:

Thank you to our Building Fund Donors for the period April 1, 2009 to April 20, 2009:

General Fund Donors:

Thank you to our General Fund Donors for the

period April 1, 2009 to April 20, 2009:

Membership:

Annual Membership received from 3/31/09-4/20/09:

Our current membership for 2008-2009 is …

Life Members 42

Annual Members 152

Thank you very much for your membership

and continued support.

TTTTREASURERREASURERREASURERREASURER’’’’SSSS C C C CORNERORNERORNERORNER … … … … (continued)

Balsara Poras & Pearl

Sadri Persis & Vira

Thanks a lot for your continued support to ZANT!

In the words of American philosopher and psychologist, James William: “The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” So let us donate in “Cash & Kind” for the worthy causes of our ZANT !

… kerdār bed chun Ahura Mazda Khodāy

pa dāmāne khish. (Āfrin-i-Buzorgān)

May you be as beneficent amongst those around you, as Ahura Mazda is in His creation.

Behroozi Kamran & Saghar

Dastur Cyrus & Nashita

Engineer Rehan & Simin

Gandhi Navroz (Maryland)

Hong Kong Anjuman

Karbhari Mahervan ZANT Kids

Ahura Mazda’s creation book sales $ 250

W W W WORTHORTHORTHORTH S S S SHARINGHARINGHARINGHARING ———— TTTTHEHEHEHE F F F FOUROUROUROUR B B B BLESSEDLESSEDLESSEDLESSED L L L LOOKSOOKSOOKSOOKS

Look back and ‘Thank’ God. Look forward and ‘Trust’ God Look around and ‘Serve’ God!

Look within and ‘Find’ God!

I asked God, “How do I get the best out of life?” God said, “Face your past without re-grets. Handle your present with confidence.

Prepare for the future without fear!”

Without God, our week is: Mournday, Tears-

day, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, Shat-

terday and Sinday. So, allow Him to be with

you every day!

Life is short, so forgive quickly. Believe slowly … Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably … Never regret anything that makes you happy.

And have a wonderful journey!

(Source: received from a ZANT member)


The building project is going well. In early April we finally found a few days of dry weather to pour a large section of concrete for our parking lot. Driving by the site now, you’ll notice it. All underground utility connections are completed and we started in-stalling the plumbing piping under the building foun-dation. Our plan is to complete the plumbing work by April 24 and be ready to begin the building foun-dation within 1-2 weeks afterwards. This is the rainy season so we anticipate some delays, but nevertheless hope to have the building foundation completed sometime by mid-May. This will be a major mile-stone for the project.

Our project budget still remains within our original estimates. Below is a summary of our current project cost estimate with the corresponding budget number from our original project estimate from October 2008. Administrative Costs: $39,416 ($48,431 Oct ‘08) Site Work & Foundation: $217,843 ($170,843 Oct ‘08) Building Construction: $409,415 ($454,217 Oct ‘08)

Total Estimate: $666,674 ($672,948 Oct ‘08)

Our target milestones for the next few months are as follows:

April: Complete site preparation (to include: site excavation and grading, utility connections, parking lot concrete, building foundation concrete) May through June: Construct building framing. Begin various building trades (electric, plumbing, air conditioning, etc.) Begin exterior masonry and roof-ing. If you would like to learn more about the project or have any specific questions, please contact Jamshed Rivetna at (972) 208-2785.

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WZCC WZCC WZCC WZCC ---- N N N NORTHORTHORTHORTH T T T TEXASEXASEXASEXAS C C C CHAPTERHAPTERHAPTERHAPTER N N N NEWSEWSEWSEWS

An Evening with Jal Shroff

On April 1 2009, the North Texas chapter of the World Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) was honored and delighted to host Mr. Jal Soli Shroff for an award ceremony and dinner. Every year the WZCC recognizes outstanding Zarathushtis for their achievements in various business categories, and had named Mr. Jal Shroff of Hong Kong as the Out-standing Zarathushti Professional last year. Since Mr. Shroff could not attend the annual meeting in Hous-ton, but travels often to Dallas, Mr. Firdosh Mehta, who is also the President of the North Texas Chapter of WZCC, was entrusted with the task of presenting the award to Mr. Shroff with the due ceremony. The ZANT community was privileged to have this oppor-tunity to meet Jal Shroff and spend the evening with him. For us in ZANT this was particularly meaning-ful as Mr. Shroff has been the key liaison for the Hong

Kong donation for our ZANT Center.

Firdosh Mehta introduced Jal Shroff, gave a back-ground of the WZCC activities and awarded the ele-gant plaque to Mr. Shroff recognizing his many achievements. Jal said he was pleased yet humbled to

be selected as the recipient of this award and we were interested to hear about his life, and how he and a chance acquaintance from Dallas started Fossil, where he continues to serve as a Director. He maintains strong ties to his business partners in Dallas, and be-cause of this relationship, Dallas has a special place in

his heart.

One of Jal’s many volunteer activities is being the President of the Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hong Kong where wise stewardship has allowed the funds to multiply. With his fellow trustees, he ensures that

the benefits of the funds are spread world wide.

Jal visited the ZANT Center site at Lopo Road prior to arriving for the dinner and remarked that he was pleased with the progress and site work and $ 135,000 of their pledge has been remitted. As the first genera-tion of Zarthushtis in North Texas, we hope we will also be able to establish strong roots for our children, that will allow our community to thrive and ZANT will be home to many successful and generous citi-

zens.


ZANT C ZANT C ZANT C ZANT CENTERENTERENTERENTER: : : : PPPPROGRESSROGRESSROGRESSROGRESS ININININ P P P P ICTURESICTURESICTURESICTURES

Groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 8,

Concrete poured for driveways — March 2009


P P P PARSIARSIARSIARSI G G G GUJARATIUJARATIUJARATIUJARATI N N N NATAKATAKATAKATAK (D (D (D (DRAMARAMARAMARAMA))))

D/FW Gujarati Samaj proudly presents a Parsi Gujarati

Natak (drama) by Parsi Comedy King, Yazdi Karanjia.

Kutrā ni Puchhdi Vānki Date: Friday, May 15, 2009 Time: 8:00 pm Place: The Black Academy of Arts and Letters Dallas Convention Center Theater Complex 650 South Griffin Street Dallas, TX 75202

(214) 743-2400

Tickets: $10, $15, VIP ($25, $35)

For information and tickets please contact: Dilip Shah (972) 235-9500 Dr. Kiran Parekh (469) 371-6600

Rajesh Sanchala (214) 564-3416

Majles. The manufacture of crystal, glassware, and produc-tion of sugar cane and silk material was started in Iran dur-ing this time. The Europeans helped Iran to start its first post office and telegram rout. The first newspaper was started. The Europeans also helped Iranians to build forts, manufacture gunpowder, and build guns. Iranians became more familiar with the western industrialization and changed their hats and clothing to look like western coun-tries.

In 1921 A.D., Reza Khan, an officer in the army staged a coup and in 1925 announced himself as the Shah of Iran and established the Pahlavi Dynasty .

Sources:

1. Tareekh-e Iran (History of Persia) by: Hassan Pirnia, Abass Eghbal Ashtiani, and Dr. Bagher Agheli

2. Tareekh-e Kamel-e Iran by Dr. Abdolah Raazi 3. Chekideh Tareekh-e Iran by Hassan Naraghi 4. The Aryanpur Progressive Persian-English Dictionary

by Manoochehr Aryanpur Kashani with collaboration of Seyyed Mostafa Assi

(Next month’s article will be about the Pahlavi Dynasty which will be the last article of the “Tracing Our Zoroastrian Roots” series. The content of the above article is directly translated from the named references. For questions and comments please contact Saghar Behroozi or ZANT.)

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar established Qajar Dynasty in 1795 A.D. The Qajar Dynasty was able to reunite Iran again. Some of the most important events during this era were as follows.

During this period artists excelled in producing some of the finest paintings, tile works, and architectural monuments. Sepah-salar School is one of Qajarieh monuments. For the first time foreigners interfered in Iran’s internal affairs. Gollestan and Turkamanchai treaties were signed in 1813 and 1828 respectively. After multiple wars: Afghanestan, present day Georgia, Armenia, and Azarbaijan were separated from Iran. Afghanestan became an independent country, and the rest became part of Russia. At the end of several wars with the Ottoman Empire, Iran was unable to retrieve its territo-ries from the Ottomans. Iranian literature blossomed again and Sofism became popular.

Mirza Taghi Khan or Amir Nezam, a prime minister of Qajar, initiated many constructive reforms. He reformed the jus-tice system, reorganized and retrained the army, supported intellectuals, and encouraged students. Amir Nezam estab-lished the Dar-ol-phonoon School for the army, medical, and industrial students. He brought in European instructors and increased security and safety of people throughout the country and expanded the agriculture and industry.

In 1906 A.D., the Constitutional Revolution took place in Iran leading to establishment of Iran’s first parliament or

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Maidyarem GahambarMaidyarem GahambarMaidyarem GahambarMaidyarem GahambarMaidyarem GahambarMaidyarem GahambarMaidyarem GahambarMaidyarem Gahambar

(972) 219-5050 Phone: Senior Activities Center Place:

Lewisville, TX 75067 12:00pm – 4:00pm Time:

1950A Valley Parkway Address: Sunday, June 7, 2009 Date:

In memory of their late father Cawas K. Todiwalla and uncle Behram K. Todiwalla,

this Gahambar is being co-sponsored by Pearl & Poras T. Balsara with ZANT.

Reservations:

� ZANT members FREE

� Non-members : $5 per person

� There will be a late charge of $5 per person (members & non-members) for RSVP after the

May 31, 2009 deadline.

RSVP by May 31, 2009 to

Pearl P. Balsara at

Email: [email protected]

Let us all get together and celebrate the

(celebrating Ahura Mazda’s creation - Animals)

Prayers followed byPrayers followed byPrayers followed byPrayers followed by

Lunch consisting of Parsi and Irani delicacies: Sarya, Non-veg. & Veg. Dhan-Sak, Kebab, Potatoes,

Aash, Persian Chicken, Salad, Lagan-nu-Custard & Sholeh Zard

(all of the above served on traditional banana leaves or plate)

Since the food is being prepared by volunteers the courtesy of a reply is requested

by May 31, 2009

There will be crafts and games So come over as soon as you can


Zoroastrian Youth of North America IN ASSOCIATION WITH FEZANA

The 12th North American Zoroastrian Youth Congress

July 1 - 5, 2009 in Fremont , California

It’s Up to Us to Lead the Way…

Register Now - $300 April 20 - June 15, $350 June 16 onwards, $400 on site

For more program details and online congress registration: www.fezana.org/zyna

- Fremont Marriott $64 /per night + taxes (up to 4 guests per room) - Online Hotel Reservation or(800) 228-9290 or (510) 413 3700 (ZYNS)

- Free Hotel transportation to/from San Jose Airport and Internet connection.

Fly in to San Jose (SJC) by American Airlines. Use promotion code A2869BA. Discount valid from June 28-July 8, 2009.

Rent A Car- Use Avis Worldwide Discount (AWD) Number G028286.

PLEASE SEE PAGE 3 OF THIS NEWSLETTER FOR COST SUBSIDIZING BY ZANT

Guest Speaker Prof. Jenny Rose Talent Contest, Entertainment & Dance, Trip to San Francisco


ZANT

P.O. Box 271117

Flower Mound, Texas 75027

www.zant.org May 2009

A Publication of Zoroastrian Association of North Texas

ZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWSZANT NEWS ZANT NEWS ZANT NEWS ZANT NEWS ZANT NEWS ZANT NEWS ZANT NEWS ZANT NEWS ZANT NEWS

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Keep this stub Please detach and return this side Accept my contribution of: for your records. with your contribution payable to: “ZANT" and mail to: ( ) $10 ( ) $20 ( ) $30 ( ) $40 ( ) $50 ( ) $_____ To: ZANT ZANT Treasurer P.O. Box 271117 For: Check # Flower Mound, Texas 75027

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“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” Help us pass on the good religion to future generations.

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May 2009 - ZANT