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This book written in
Gujarati by Dr. Modi was published in 1926[i]
describing his extensive travels from Mumbai to Aden to Africa, Europe,
Russia, Iran, Iraq, Karachi and back to Bombay in 1925. His major
objective was to travel to all these places in search of clues about
Zoroastrian civilization which was spread in many dynasties from Europe to
China and all the way south to India, ending with the Sassanian Dynasty’s
glorious empire destroyed by Arabs in 7th century.
The main reason I am
interested in translating pieces of this book is how he connects our
religious texts, prayers, etc. with the cities, historical places, etc. he
visits. I am not a scholar of any language, let alone Gujarati; however, I
have endeavored to translate these pieces with the best of my knowledge
and efforts with a hope that others less fortunate not to know Gujarati
will benefit from it.
I want to first
acknowledge the help of my good friend Jamshid Zartoshty, Minsk, Belarus,
who was the first person who pointed out to me this book and some
interesting facts about the Atash-Kadeh of Baku, Azerbaijan, described by
Sir Modi in this book. He wanted to have pages 266-276 to be scanned from
the book and sent to him for one of his friends. I took up his request and
ask for help of my nephews, Zarir Darbari and Cyrus Dastoor, to find out
if we can get hold of this book, and if so, can Zarir scan the above pages
from it and send it to me so I can forward them to Jamshid. As always,
Zarir persisted in following up on this request, consulted the newly
ordained Dastoorji Peshotan Mirza, son of the famous late Dr. Hormazdyar
Mirza, who approached Dastoorji Kaikhushroo Jamasp Asa, who in turn
obtained a copy of the book from a library and loaned it to Zarir. Zarir
then scanned the pages and send them to me which I forwarded to Jamshid.
However, this whole
episode sparked my interest in the entire book and was amazed at the
vastness of the travels of Sir Modi described in this book. He visited
Aden, North Africa, France, UK, Germany, Hungary, Russia (U. S. S. R. at
that time), Azerbaizan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Karachi. Everywhere he
went, he visited historical places and discussed religious and historical
subjects with the local scholars, gave lectures in English, French,
Persian, and connected a number of places with our Zoroastrian prayers,
history, customs, etc.
The subject matter of
Jamshid’s request is his description of his visit to Baku in Azerbaijan on
the Caspian seashore where an ancient Atash-Kadeh was alleged to be
existing. Hence, here is the English translation of this chapter from Sir
Modi’s book, pages 266-276.
-
Iran, Azerbaijan, Baku,
Hotel – Europe, September 28th, 1925.
-
Baku – Vourukash
(Caspian) Sea
-
Known Atash-Kadeh of
Baku – a possible Atash-Kadeh.
-
“Hamajor zareh varkash”
Afrin e Haft Ameshaspand
-
Meaning: Hamazor with
Vourukash Sea!
-
From
Tiflis to Baku – Homage to Vourukash Sea in this journey.
With the grace of God (Khudaa
Taalaa), on 24th September 1925, I stepped on the holy land of
Azerbaijan in Iran for the first time. I thank Ahura Mazda (Daadaar) for
making it possible for me to visit this country. I left Tiflis city after
midnight of 23rd September and after about a journey of 16
hours, I arrived at Baku at 5 P. M. next day, 24th September.
About two to three hours before arriving in Baku, I first saw the vast
seashore of the Vourukash Sea (Caspian Sea). In all my lifelong prayers of
Afringan, I have made Hamazor many a time with this sea, reciting the
above sentence. Now, I am seeing this sea by my own eyes. To celebrate
this momentous occasion, I did my Kusti and daily morning (Haavan Gaah)
prayers and recited Avan Ardvisur Nyayesh and paid homage to this sea with
many thanks to Ahura Mazda (Khudaa Taalaa).
From Moscow, I spent 2
nights in the train, one night in Vladivostok city on an uncomfortable
sofa in its Agricultural Institute, since there was no place in the local
hotel, and a very short 4th night in Tiblis since I had to make
arrangements for my visit to Baku late into the night. That night, I went
to bed at 1 A. M. and had a few hours of sleep. I spent the fifth night in
train again. Thus, I was exhausted when we arrived finally in Baku on the
afternoon of the fifth day, took early dinner and went to bed at 8 P. M.
so as to be ready next day at 7 A. M. to visit the Atash-Kadeh of Baku.
In Baku, Russian and
Turkish were the only languages spoken by the people. Rarely, someone
speaks Farsi. For this visit in Baku, I had approached the Iranian Consul
of Tiflis and requested him to wire someone in Baku so as to have someone
receive me there when I arrive. He had done so and I was indebted to him
for this help. Because of this request, a Baku Consulate person was there
to receive me at the station and took me to this hotel. The Iranian Charge
des affairs in London have given me a very complimentary endorsement
letter which resulted in these arrangements for me in Baku.
Invitation of Azerbaijan Exploration
Society
The same gentleman agreed
to pick me up next morning to take me for a visit of the well-known Baku’s
Atash Kadeh. But he never showed up. After waiting for him a long time, I
requested the hotel management to find me a guide. One of the hotel guests
who knew some French kept telling me: “He will come. He will come.” Well,
I waited the whole morning, the day’s cooler time, for the gentleman. As I
was wondering what to do now, just then a young man, who could speak a
little English, came from outside and asked: “Are you Dr. Modi?” After
hearing in the affirmative from me, he informed me with the great
happiness: “I am representing the local Azerbaijan Exploration Society.
Our Society heard about you arriving from Tiflis and so we wired the
President there to invite you here on our behalf and send you here to us.
We received the answer that you have already left Tiflis. We did not know
which train you will be catching from Tiflis. Hence, I have been searching
for you in a few local hotels and finally I came to this hotel.” With the
grace of Ahura Mazda, my worries were unexpectedly over and I now had a
noble guide who took me under his wings as an honored guest of the
Society. Immediately, he called three four important members of the
Society and within a short time escorted me to the office of the Society.
There, we had a discussion with these members about the Parsees and about
the local alleged Atash Kadeh. They were also very interested in the
History of the Hun people. Recently, they came in contact with a Hun
group. Afterwards, one of the members accompanied me to my hotel room.
There he saw my book: “Asiatic Papers Part III” and examined it for a
while and opened the book on the subject: “The History of the Hun People”
and placed his hand on that page and said: “This subject is very important
to us.” I promised him that I will send a copy of the book to him after I
returned to Bombay.
Now in the office of the
Society, we decided that I should first visit Baku’s Atash Kadeh and then
at about 8 P. M. I should give a lecture to the Society members whoever
can attend. Two specific subjects were decided for my lecture. One about
the Parsees and the other about the Ancient History of the Hun people.
After that, these noble people escorted me in two cars to visit Baku’s
Atash Kadeh.
Surkhani
The Atash Kadeh was in a
place called Surkhani on the road from Baku about 30 to 45 minutes by car.
Traveling from Tiflis to Baku, one will pass miles and miles of barren
country. Except for a few small one to two feet tall shrubs, grazed by
feeble looking animals, there was no sign of any tree. Similar to an oasis
within a desolate desert, the skyline of this Surkhani seemed to have
hundreds of tall cypress trees; however, as we approached closer to it,
they were not the trees but tall wooden structures of the petroleum wells,
many of them from 50 to 75 feet tall. They call this place “Surkhani”. The
origin of this word may have come from “SHO-E-LE-KHANEH” meaning the house
(“KHANEH”) of the fire balls (“SHO-E-LE”). Among the ocean of these
petroleum wells is situated this alleged Atash Kadeh. Not just me but any
Parsee who is a little familiar with our Hindu brethren’s religion, their
temples and their customs, after examining this building with its
inscriptions, architecture, etc., would conclude that this is not a Parsee
Atash Kadeh but is a Hindu Temple, whose Brahmins (priests) used to
worship fire (Sanskrit: Agni).
About hundred to two
hundred years ago, our Hindustan (India) used to have a very good trade
with the Central Asian cities like Samarqand, Bokhara, etc. Also, many
Hindu traders from Hindustan used to visit Baku for trade. North Indian
Hindu traders from Sindh and Multan (now in Pakistan) used to take part in
this trade and used to visit Baku. This temple was erected to satisfy
their religious needs. Our Hindu brethren also consider Fire (“Agni”) as a
God. The natural gases emit from earth at this place, which will ignite
into a continuous fire ball by any sparks. Hence here at the mouth of fire
naturally originating from earth, they established a Hindu Temple for fire
worship. After a few years, the original trade routes and customs changed
and the visits of the Hindu traders diminished. And from the original
group of the Brahmins, some passed away and a few that were left went back
to their original home land. At this place, they showed me a long room and
informed me that some 40 years ago, the Russian Czar, Alexander III,
visited this place with a desire to witness the Hindu Brahmin Fire ritual.
So the local officials gathered a few Brahmins still living here and they
performed the fire ritual in this room in front of the Czar.
I spent two hours
inspecting this place. I asked for a tall ladder and with trepidation I
climbed to the top of the building and examined the foundation stone which
was inscribed in the Nagrik script (the Sanskrit language; the most common
Hindu characters of writing). I also examined the small living rooms
(cells), adjacent to the main square of this building, which resembled the
Indian Buddhist monasteries cells for their monks. I also examined the
place where they used to cremate bodies of the dead Hindus. And from all
these examinations, in addition to what I believed from my various
research before visiting this place, I became convinced that this place
has nothing to do with Parsees. It is not a Parsee Atash Kadeh but a Hindu
Temple.
This building is about 15
to 18 feet square. In the center is a pit about 2 to 3 feet deep and about
4 feet square, similar to the pit our Hindu brethren would dig for their
“Haoma” ritual. Due to the natural gas emitting from this pit, the fire
could have been lighted. Above is a dome; however, it is not round
(circular) as in a Parsee Atash Kadeh. But, in the center of the dome,
there is a big opening from which natural sunlight will shine in the pit.
In a Parsee Atash Kadeh, stringent care is taken to ensure that no natural
sunlight shines directly on the holy fire in the sanctum sanctorum. On the
four sides of this building, port holes have been provided for the smoke
to escape.
At the entrance of the
building, there is a foundation stone with inscription in Nagrik script,
which in the beginning invokes the Hindu God, Shree Ganesha. The building
is referred to in the inscription as “JWAALAAJEE” (meaning volcanic), that
means some burning substance building. And the installation date is
mentioned as the Hindu Vikramaajeet calendar year 1866 (equivalent to 1810
A. D.). This inscription contains nine lines and the pictures drawn in
this inscription are as follows: the first row has a flower first, then a
bell (“GHANT”), then the sun, then a fire ball, and again a fruit. The
second row below this has a flower first, then the trident of Lord Shiva
(“TRISHOOL”), then the Swastika symbol (Hindu style), then a second
trident and then a flower. It was impossible to write all this down as I
was deciphering the inscription at the top of a trembling ladder. Hence, I
spent some time in noting all the details of the inscription mentally and
then writing them down after coming down to the floor. In the inscription,
you see: “SHREE GANESHAAYANUM” in the first line, the Vikramaajeet Hindu
calendar year (“Vikramaajeet Saake”) in the second line and “Shree
Jwaalaajee” (the fire ball) in the third line.
On all four sides of this
building are small minarets. They are open on all four sides and there are
three steps on all four sides. Some years back when there were Parsees and
other communities living here, then a Parsee Atash Kadeh would not be left
open for all to see. In the center, there is a pit. In a Parsee Atash
Kadeh, for the central fire, a high platform like a throne is erected.
Near this building, there is a place about 8 to 10 feet long where they
say that the Hindus used to cremate their dead. This will never happen in
a Parsee Atash Kadeh.
In the main square, there
are ruins of what seems like a small temple. Such ruins are also on the
other side. Both have been leveled to ground. One has been restored by the
Government. It seems that a rich follower may have built them.
Around the temple there is
a large square where a number of small cells are erected in a row. They
are closed from outside and so appears to be a compound wall from outside.
Every cell has a door but no windows. There are 25 of such cells. In one
of them is a wall painting of Hindu God, Ganesha. Some walls have pictures
of trees and Trident. One of these cells is about 35 feet long. May be it
was a common dormitory for visitors and faithful. Some cells have a dome
like structure at the top. Two cells were used to tie up the horses of the
visitors. In about nineteen cells, there are inscriptions in Naagrik
script. From these inscriptions, it can be deduced that traveling faithful
may have built these cells. One inscription is in Farsi whose date is
given as 1158 Hijree; that means that this Farsi inscription was inscribed
190 years ago (about 1735 A. D.). From this Farsi inscription it appears
that when Baku, and the whole Azerbaizan, was under the suzerainty of the
Shah of Iran, the influence of Farsi was very important in this area. This
date is older than the date on the foundation stone inscription of the
Hindu Temple (1810 A. D.) which proves the Hindu Temple was built later
on. Some parts of this Farsi inscription are damaged. First line: “Aatash
saf kashideh humchoo del” is readable. So also the Hijree date mentioned
above.
From all the above facts
it is without a doubt clear that this building is not a Parsee Aatash
Kadeh. Before coming here, from my research in reading various articles, I
was sure then that this building is not a Parsee Aatash Kadeh.
My Previous Research Studies on Baku’s
Aatash Kadeh
A question has been
repeatedly raised if this building is a Parsee Aatash Kadeh or it is a
temple of the Hindus who also worship fire. About 25 to 30 years ago, when
the Gujarati Knowledge Spreading Society celebrated its Golden Jubilee by
convening a “Conversazione”, I rented a stall and exhibited a number of
Iranian artifacts and books, as well as a picture of this Baku Aatash
Kadeh and informed the visitors that it is not a Parsee Aatash Kadeh. That
time I also printed a handbill to explain this conclusion. My friend, Mr.
Nusserwanjee Heerjeebhai Patel, who is very meticulous in preserving the
old documents of this Society, may still have a copy of this handbill.
Afterwards, in the Times of India newspaper, this subject was again opened
for debate when I also published a number of facts on this subject. In
this, I have used the supporting reference from the famous Central Asian
traveler, Dr. Swen Hedin, whom I met in Stockholm in 1889 A. D., who gave
me a copy of his essay on this Baku Aatash Kadeh. I also remember that Sir
Dinshaw Eduljee Vaachhaa, who besides politics also took great interest in
such matters of history and literature, wrote a letter to me agreeing with
my facts on this matter that the building is not a Parsee Aatash Kadeh but
a Hindu Temple.
This was the main question
which brought me to Baku. The major reason why I did not go from Tiflis by
train straight to the southern parts of Azerbaijan which are more
important for our religion than this northern part of Azerbaijan was to
visit this place. Also, I wanted to visit the Durburn Wall of
Noshirwan-e-Aadel.
The Small Fire Balls (“Jwaalaajee”) and
the Big Fire Balls
When I visited the Kangra
Valley in the Himalaya Mountains some 25 years ago (1900 A. D.), I was
told that the current Aatash Kadeh was considered as a Hindu Temple by the
Hindu friends I met there. In the year 1900 A. D., I was not well from the
after effects of the Cholera I contracted years ago. Hence, I traveled
with my relative, Jamshedjee Eruchjee Modi, to the hill town of
Dharamshalla in Punjab as guests of his relatives Faraamroj and his
brother Naadirshaw Khajooree, for rest and change of climate. After a few
days of rest and relaxation, we visited the valleys of Kangra and Kulu by
the way of Paalanpoor and Baeznaath. That time I heard that there is a
village called Jwaalaajee where at one place natural gas emits from earth,
night and day, and the Hindu worshippers throw clarified butter (Ghee) on
it so that the fire lights up like a huge fire ball. I went there after
hearing about it and saw the place of this burning substance (Jwaalaajee).
Talking to the Hindus there, they call this Small Jwaalaajee and stated
that their Big Jwaalaajee is in Baku, Aazerbaizaan.
Statues of the Baku’s Olden Days Hindu
Devotees in Moscow’s Lenin Museum
On 18th
September 1925, I visited Lenin Museum in Moscow. In this museum were
shown full sized statues of the people of various countries of U. S. S. R.
This is a very worthwhile collection to see. In it were also the statues
of devotees in olden times of the Baku Temple. They were shown creating
fire from wood and sitting cross legged around fire. Some are shown coming
from the front to do the fire worship (“Poonjaa”) with musical
instruments. They have red dots (“Tilaks”) on their foreheads. Some are
shown weaving a rug. It has an explanatory tablet in Russian in which they
are identified as Hindus. The Russian woman custodian near this exhibit
gave me the following English translation (as given in the book in English
and reproduced verbatim here):
“Near the town Baku in the
villages of Souratshaanaa and Emidjan where the fire (naphtha) comes from
the earth lived the Hindoos, who came from India. They were Brahmans. They
made a temple and adored the fire many years. They lived there, but now
they are not at Baku. It is said then years before they lived in little
rooms and worked for money. They built their cells. They are not the
Parsees – the Guebers who adored Zarathushtra”.
In the museum’s catalog,
the following description is given about this exhibit in Russian which was
translated in English as follows (as given in the book in English and
reproduced verbatim here):
“A Russian traveler
Beresine relates that the temple has the form of 5 sides. In the middle of
these five sides’ place, there was a little well a long tube-like hole and
the naphtha came out of it and the temple has a little bell and the
worshipper begins the prayers, the bell is rung. This little room is
covered with a cupola and near the door a trident symbol of Shiva. The
inscription on the door says that the temple was built in 1866 (Russian
1810). Near the temple is a large pit. Over it is a great stove. On the
stove all the dead are burnt. In 1842 there were only seven persons and
afterwards nobody came from India.”
The custodian woman of the
exhibit read the catalog: “The Description of the Collections in the
Ethnographical Museums”, which was compiled by a local scholar, Professor
Miller, in Russian and translated it into English for me which I wrote
down and presented it here, with a hope that some Hindu scholars may find
it useful to know how their religious rituals were performed about hundred
years ago outside their country.
Even now there is a misunderstanding
about this subject.
About 20 years ago in
1905, an authentic big book, “Baku” by J. Henry, was published. In it, it
is erroneously stated that the building was a Parsee Aatash Kadeh. It
states:
“When 25 years ago, the
priestly attendant – a Parsee from India and the last of the long list of
Fire-worshippers reaching 2500 years died at Surkhani.”
I believe that as far as
Parsees are concerned, they should completely remove the notion that the
building in Baku is a Parsee Aatash Kadeh. A scholar who has burnt a
little or lot of midnight oil, as the saying goes, over a small or a large
historical place, when he visits that place and sees it with his own eyes,
and corroborates his previous opinion about that place must be overjoyed
by that visit. The same was the case for me during my visit to Baku. In
addition, I was very glad to see and learn new things.
There must be an Aatash Kadeh at this
place in ancient times
Just because I have proven
by my previous scholarly studies that this building is not a Parsee Aatash
Kadeh and now after seeing it with my own eyes I can with certainty
corroborate the same conclusion here, does not mean that in this city, in
ancient times, there were no Aatash Kadehs. There may be more than one
Aatash Kadehs in this city. In our ancient literary works, there are
references of the worship of fire emitting directly from earth. In all the
various types of fires, one fire has been described which burns without
any fuel. This is the same fire of the natural gas wells which burns night
and day without any fuel. One early Catholic priest in ignorance has
described this phenomenon as the sleight of hands by a Parsee priest in
making this fire burn continuously without fuel. But there is no sleight
of hands in this. It is just a natural phenomenon.
Our Aatash “Apaam Naptaar” and the
Naphtha of this place
We all pray at the end of
each of the five Geh prayers the following prayer remembering various
fires.
“Thwaam aatarem Ahura he
Mazdaao puthrem …….. yazamaide. ….. Apaam Naptaarem Yazamaide. Nairim
Sanghhem yazamaide.”
Meaning: We venerate you
Aatash, the son of Ahura Mazda. We venerate Apaam Naptaar Aatash. We
venerate Nairyosangha Aatash.”
In this veneration of
Aatash, in “Apaam Naptaar” words, the word “Naptaar” is the root of the
current word Naphtha. This Naphtha flows like a liquid and so its Aatash
is called “Aap” meaning liquid. If I am not forgetting, for this
comparison, Mr. Meherjeebhaai Paalanjee Maadon gave a talk on the subject
in our Investigation Society for Zoroastrian Religion.
In my opinion, this was an ancient Aatash
Kadeh
The origin of this
country’s name, Azerbaizan, is from our own word “Aazar” or “Aatar”
meaning fire, because in ancient times, there were a number of Aatash
Kadehs in this country similar to the natural gas fire in Baku and in
other places. One of our highest Aatash Behraam, Aadar Gushaspa, was also
in this country whose other names were: “Aadarbaadgaan” or “Aataropaatkaan”.
Hence, there should be a similar Aatash Kadeh in Baku. Ten miles from
Baku, I described previously in this book, the “Kur”, “Kurus” (Cyrus)
river which starts in Caucasus Mountains and empties in Caspian (Vourukash)
sea. It has been stated in history that the Roman Emperor, Heraclius,
ordered to destroy all Aatash Kadehs up to this river. The above mentioned
writer, Mr. Henry, writes the following account about Baku, quoting from
Gibbon:
“Heraclius encamped (?) on
the steppes at the shores of the Kura, ten miles south of Baku. There
Gibbon says …. At his command the soldiers extinguished the fires and the
temples of the Magi. Twelve years later, Persia was vanquished a second
time by the Arabs who at the edge of the sword converted the people from
fire worship to the Musalman faith. Large numbers fled to Ormuz, thence to
India and gave origin to what are now the Parsees of Bombay.”
It is said that the
Lithuanians, the U.S.S.R. neighbors, also used to visit Azerbaizan to
worship these fires.
The real story behind
Gibbon mentioning about the destruction (extinguishing) of the Baku’s
Zoroastrian Aatash Kadehs at the hands of Heraclius is as follows: The
Persian Emperor, Khushroo Perviz, attacked the holy Christian places in
Palestine and carried with him to Iran the holy cross on which Jesus
Christ was crucified. In revenge for carrying this Cross to Iran, this
Roman Emperor destroyed the Iranian Aatash Kadehs.
Now there is a minaret
here which is called “Kiskale” or Tour de la jeune fille in French,
meaning Young Girl’s Minaret. There is a local legend, which is doubted by
many, which states that one father wanted to marry his own daughter. The
daughter made a deal with her father that: “If you build a tall minaret
and when it is completed, I will marry you.” When the father completed the
minaret, the daughter climbed at its top and fell off and committed
suicide. Now my guide told me that this is not a true story and there was
nothing to wonder about it. If the daughter did not want to marry her
father, there were many ways she could have committed suicide. Moreover,
this is not a simple minaret. In it there are seven stages or storeys or
escape routes for the emission of Baku’s Naphtha. I examined the minaret
all the way to its top. There at the top was a tablet in Farsi with the
inscription: “Kooba-a-Masood bin Daaood”, meaning “House of Daaood’s son,
Masood.” Now, some of the local people believe that this is a very ancient
building, of Sassanian times or even older than that. And it was built as
a copy of the ancient Babylonian Minarets. And about eight hundred years
ago, one emperor, Masood, created this tablet to commemorate his name. If
he himself had built it, he would have mentioned that in a foundation
stone together with its Hijri (Muslim) date.
According to my
examination, I think the above opinion is correct. This is an ancient
Iranian building and it is an Aatash Kadeh. It is not a common Aatash
Kadeh with its fire maintained by burning wood by its priests. But it is
an Aatash Kadeh fed by the natural gases, Naphtha, (apaam Napaat). Haft or
seven is a very holy number in Zoroastrian religion and hence there are
seven storeys or stages in it. At each storey, in one corner, there is an
escape hole for the natural gas Naphtha which when lit created a fire
ball. This minaret is taller than 80 feet. The climbing steps are on one
side and its diameter at the top is as large as forty feet. From the top,
you can see the vast sea shore of Vourukash sea (Caspian sea), and from
its ramparts you can observe the nature’s sun, moon, and stars.
Now, in our country,
India, in the ruins of that famous ancient city of Taxila near Rawalpindi
city, Sir John Marshall has excavated the ruins of an ancient Aatash Kadeh.
I have commented about it before in this book, as well as I have spoken
about it in my lecture on “Patliputra” (present day Patna, of the famous
king Chandra Gupta of the Maurya dynasty). With this Aatash Kadeh, there
was a tall minaret which was built according to the architecture and
design of the ancient Babylon’s Ziakurut. An Aatash Kadeh with its
adjoining minaret, from the top of which one can see the neighboring sea
or river or lake and from its top one can observe the sun, moon, stars,
and mountains and worship them, such was the design of ancient Aatash
Kadehs. I have mentioned it before in this book that our Aatash Behraam in
Navsaari is built according to the architecture of ancient Aatash Kadeh.
Here in Baku, this minaret which was connected with Babylon by my guide is
a combined Aatash Kadeh and minaret in this huge building. In fact, this
was not a common Aatash Kadeh where fire was kept lit with sandalwood or
dried wood, but was naturally lit by the natural gases of Naphtha (Apaam
Napaat).
In my humble opinion, on
one hand I have discounted the existence of one Aatash Kadeh, supporting
my previous studies on this subject; but on the other hand, I brought to
light another ancient Aatash Kadeh, and for this, hopefully my visit to
this place will be of some use to my colleagues. This could be one of the
Aatash Kadehs destroyed by Heracleus, as reported by Gibbon, or according
to the previous discussion, it may be one of the Aatash Kadehs destroyed
later by Arabs. In my lecture here to the local scholars and the
Archeological Society members, as well as during my meeting with the
President of the Republic later on, I emphasized to all of them the
importance of this Aatash Kadeh and implored them to take good care for
its preservation.
My two lectures in Baku
I gave two lectures in
Baku. As mentioned before, the first one was delivered on November 26th
on the two subjects: “The Parsees” and “The Hun People”. The second one
was delivered on November 28th at 8 P.M. and on the same night,
I left Baku at 10 P.M. to travel to Tabriz. The first lecture was given in
Farsi to the members of the local Exploration Society and was
simultaneously translated in Turkish by a local member. Only one or two
members can understand English and a few can understand Farsi and so it
was necessary to translate it in Turkish because it is the spoken language
of the local Muslim people.
I chose the subject for my
second lecture as: “The Importance of Azerbaizan from a Parsee Point of
View”. This lecture was publicized and was also mentioned in the local
newspapers and hence the lecture hall was fully occupied. I also gave this
lecture in Farsi which was simultaneously translated in both Russian and
Turkish because many in the audience can understand only one of these two
languages. My objective for this second lecture was to create an interest
in our religion among the local learned people.
Meeting with the President of the
Republic
After the first World War,
this north part of Azerbaijan became an independent Republic under the
sovereignty of the U.S.S.R. After the Russian Revolution, the vast empire
of the Russian Czars were divided into 24 smaller republics based on
ethnicity and the whole country was called U.S.S.R. (United Soviet
Socialist Republic) similar to the formation of U.S.A. Each U.S.S.R.
republic elects its own President. Since many republics have Muslim
majority, many Presidents of such Republics are Muslims. Here in
Azerbaijan, due to Muslim majority, the elected President, Honorable
Agamaliogly (age 60) is also a Muslim. He is a gentleman with an open
mind. Because of physical problems with his legs, he could not attend my
second lecture. However, he wanted to meet me on my last day in Baku and
sent his personal car for me. After our meeting, I was happy on two
accounts. First, I was able to make him really interested in our ancient
Iranian culture; and secondly, I was able to know the details of the
current political situation of his country. I brought to his attention the
importance of the Aatash Kadeh with the minaret, which I believe was an
ancient Aatash Kadeh and made a fervent appeal to him to preserve it in
good condition. He was very glad to do so and promised me that he will
give such a command to his ministers. I also requested him to inform us of
any archeological studies which shed some light on our ancient Iranian
culture.
In connection with the
local politics, he was optimistic about the increase in importance of
Azerbaijan since it became an independent Republic. Observing the trend of
atheism in the city of Leningrad, during my visit there, I brought his
attention to it and requested that: “It will be nice if Allah (God) is not
forgotten here.” Hearing that he said emphatically with feelings that: “We
have never forgotten God and will never forget Him; however, God seems to
have forgotten us. He kept them in very poor condition in the previous
Russian Empire.” He is looking at the new changes as the Renaissance of
his country. He informed me that his objective is not to interfere with
the independence of any religion in his country. With the following few
words he made me think of his commitment. He said: “If you Zoroastrians
come here and say to me that you want to have the building of Surkhani
Aatash Kadeh as your Aatash Kadeh, then I will gladly do that. If you say
that the minaret which you think is an ancient Aatash Kadeh and which you
want to start as an Aatash Kadeh once again, then I will gladly think
about it.”
During the coming month of
December, the local Society has convened an important Congress here in
Baku in which they have invited scholars of Turkish and other related
languages. The local Society members informed me about this Congress, and
presented me with the printed invitation for presenting a paper at the
Congress and if unable to attend, even requested me to send a paper on an
important subject. The President also pleaded with me to attend this
Congress for sure. I placed my hand on my beard and informed him that with
the grace of Ahura Mazda, I am 70 years old now, and hence I am not
optimistic to make further journeys like this in the future. After
listening to me, he informed me that he was 60 years old and after hearing
from others he called me a young man in my work and wished me well in
future. Our meeting was very cordial and personally satisfying and with
very loving words we partook the beautiful Shirini and dried fruits and
tea and we said Good Byes very fondly.
In this part of Azerbaizan
was born the famous poet Nizaamee. His birth place was the ancient city of
Ganjaah, which is now named Elizabethpol and which is situated between
Tiflis and Baku. On the death anniversary of this poet, I wrote an article
about him. He has presented the story of Khushroo Perviz in his beautiful
Farsi verses.
Today, I am leaving behind
me Azerbaizan, which is connected with our holy religion and just
mentioning its name makes my mouth water with sweetness, and also the
northern shores of the Vourukash (Caspian) sea. My hotel’s dining room is
not on the ground floor but on the fifth floor. From here, in the soft
rays of sun in the early morning Haavan Geh and also in other Gehs, I have
gazed on the shores of Vourukash (Caspian) sea, and from this I have drawn
many a beautiful thoughts and inspirations.
I will close this letter
after saying a few words about the “Kur” fish of this Vourukash (Caspian)
sea.
Kur Maahee (fish)
In our scriptures, there
are references of a fish called “Kur Maahee”. The natural habitat of this
fish is the present Vourukash (Caspian) sea. For this fish in Behram Yasht
(Para. 29), it is said that Behram Yazad had bestowed upon Zarathushtra a
far sightedness pr the power of seeing very small things similar to the
one present in “Kur Maahee” fish. (Ahmaai dathat Verethregano Ahuradhaato
………. Aomcha sukem yim baraity karo masyo). The origin of this fish is
mentioned as Rungahaa river and it is said that it can see the smallest
hair in the water, to such an extent that it can differentiate which is
the head of the hair and which is the tail of such a tiny hair. (Yo
ranghahyaao ----- vareso stawanghem aapo urwaesem maarayaete.) This fish
is abundant in this Caspian sea and Prof. Jackson has stated that a sample
of this fish is preserved in the Caucasian Museum in Tiflis. This fish is
now called “sturgeon” and its zoological name is: “Acipenser huso”.
[i]
This English translation is provided courtesy of Ervard Soli Dastur of
Sarasota, Florida, (June 2004).
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