Udvada, Navsari and Sanjan

On Sunday, we made a day trip out of three places in southern Gujarat that have historical and religious significance to the Parsees: Udvada, Sanjan and Navsari. When we departed in the morning, only the Iranshah Atash Behram (one of the nine most sacred temples to Zoroastrians) was on the agenda, but the other two were pleasant, if somewhat rushed, additions.

In the Zoroastrian faith, eternal flames must be kept burning at Atash Behram temples and Atash Adaran temples (the two types of holy temples for Zoroastrians). The temple in Udvada is especially significant since it holds the oldest of the holy fires, one that has been kept continuously burning for at least 1,300 years. Apparently, it also holds significance as a sort of Jersey Shore for Indian Parsees, with everyone and their mother there; we ran into Dixie’s aunt and uncle as well as my aunt’s two close friends, all visiting from Mumbai. Udvada is actually a quaint coastal town that would make for a pleasant vacation spot even without the religious significance. The fire temple is built in the style of Persepolis with its winged bulls on each side of the main staircase. The main building is under renovation and the fire has been relocated to a smaller temple.

Sanjan is another coastal town not far from Udvada where the original Parsees landed in their boats after fleeing Iran 1300 years ago. They sought and received refuge from the local king and have proudly called themselves Indian ever since. Sadly, despite the importance of this place to the Parsees, our visit was a bit underwhelming. One pillar, erected in 1917, in the middle of an overgrown garden commemorates the Parsees landing and the fire temple (an Atash Adaran) hardly gets any visitors.

Luckily, we ended our day on another good note with a stop at Navsari, the ancestral home for my dad’s side (before Ahmedabad). This was my first time seeing Navsari and its old, narrow, meandering streets. Despite its size, the city has a very neighborly feeling to it. Like Udvada, Navsari is home to one of the other Atash Behrams –one that is arguably even more interesting. Thought it sits in the middle of the city, it is located on a slight hill and has enough space around it that it stands out prominently from its surroundings. The walls are made of marble and one slab, facing the inner sanctum of the temple, supposedly has a naturally-occurring image of a revered priest, Dasturji Meherji Rana. We arrived after sunset and it was dark inside (artificial light is not allowed inside the temple), but the vague outline of a figure—which I first mistook for a bass-relief carving—was not enough to either confirm or disprove the claim.