Zoroastrian News – اخبار زرتشتیان

I was sitting under the old maple tree of the Fire Temple, the same tree which has been registered as national cultural heritage, and some time back it was suffering from pests, to the extent that it was in danger of being destroyed, and no one thought that this tree would once again start a new life.
In the quiet of the evening, I was waiting to hear the chirping of the parrots which had their nests in this old maple, but the pesticide spraying had made them all flee. I was waiting to see some familiar face, when I luckily met Hushang Nowzari. He also, like the old maple, has undergone hardships, but is as strong and confident as ever.
As he enters the Fire Temple, without waiting to be asked, tells me: “I have renovated this place. Charitable people donate their money to me or to the Anjuman and I start the work . . .” How well he remembered the names: “The funds for renovation of this place was donated by Mehri Nowzari, Kianpour Kiyanian paid for renovation of the Fire room, Faramarzian paid for the hall, the library was renovated by Kaykhosrow Khadiv Parsi, etc., etc.

The engraving of “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds” was funded by Jahangir Kaviani. For renovation of Shahverahramizad, Jamshid Kaviani, Fereidoon Hormozdi and Farrokh Nowzari donated.” Hushang Nowzari, who was member of the Anjuman for three cycles, continued: “Previously, donors would give their money to me directly and I would start renovation. But now I prefer that the funds are deposited to the Anjuman’s account, and I receive money as per the expenditure that I incur.”
I took a look at the marble stones fixed on the walls of the Fire temple and said: “Don’t you think that if these old buildings are renovated in its original traditional style, besides having more harmony, they will have double beauty?” He said: “Yes, you are right. The truth is that in those days no one would think of preserving traditional architecture. It is a few years that the Cultural Heritage Organization has started thinking about this matter. If we also knew about it at that time, we would not have covered the walls with stones but would do the renovation in its original traditional style.” He started talking about his recent projects: “After obtaining the approval of the Anjuman, I started building the toilet service of Pire Vahman Amshaspand, with funds of Bahram Aryanfar. This work took two weeks. You should come and see the improvement in that place.”
I asked him why haven’t the young people, who are educated and qualified in construction matters, cooperated in these projects, and he said: “I think the problem is that this young generation and the experienced members of the Anjuman do not agree to each other’s ideas and want to have the last word. I have always welcomed the abilities of the youth and have worked with Eng Khosrow Shahriyari and Jamshid Kalanpour.
About his future plans, Nowzari said: “The inheritors of the Bakhtiari’s have donated a piece of land to Dowlatkhaneh Fire Temple, which is intended to be added to the Fire Temple, as approved by the Anjuman. The Fire Temple building also needs repair. After that, it is the turn of renovation of the wall of Shahverahramizad. In addition, the terraces of Pire Vahman Amshaspand need renovating, and the Ashtad Izad Pir has a lot of work to be done on it.” He added “What a pity that no one thought about saving the Kerman’s Pire Sabz before it was completely forgotten.”
As we left the Fire Temple, with every step we took he named the donors who had helped him in renovation of different sections of the Fire Temple. In every street that we walked, he showed houses belonging to Zoroastrians and expressed his wish that they should also be renovated. Here, we separated and I was wondering about the vast knowledge he had about the history of the donors and the Zoroastrian places in Kerman.