Respected Mr. HomiRanina (advocate supreme court), Mr. and Mrs. ZarirBhathena, all my dear Zosta Committee members, dignitaries off the dais, Awardees and my dear friends.
I feel humbled today,standing before such Parsee Stalwarts whose accolades, I could only dream of possessing.
Its my dual pleasure & privilege, as a Student and as a Teacher to stand before U, at this Unique and Tantalizing 35th ZOSTA function, which is probably the only platform encouraging both teachers and students equally.

Winston Churchill once said that “A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt, long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”

I must acknowledge that I am not going to preach this awesome gathering, but would rather love to discuss and share some of my views of life. I do not claim infallibility in my speech and would not mind if you disagree.

Though a lot of Parsee youth is gathered here today, its a grim reminder of our declining numbers and am glad we r making attempts at rectifying that.

Let me start of by saying I am proud to be an Indian & equally proud to be a Parsee.
As Parsees we have been followers of the great flame of Humata (good thoughts), Hukhta (good words) and Huvarshta (good deeds) and should pledge to be goodparsees all our lives.

Our religion revolves around 2 virtues
Asha : the force of truth and
Urvan : the freedom of choice and I would go one step further in saying that
IN TRUTH LIES FREEDOM AND IN FREEDOM LIES TRUTH.

Zarathustra himself in the 30th Yasna preaches that:
“May we be the ones who will make this world splendid”and over the years have we…

Ever since 3000 refugees who ran away from intolerance and religious persecution in Iran and sought asylum in India first landing in Diu in 917 AD and then in Sanjan in 936 AD, we Parsees have come a long longway…

Just to list a few of our mammoth contributions to society, let me remind u of

• Sirs..Pherozeshah Mehta&DadabhaiNaoroji,who led the Indian Indepence Movement

• Physicist Homi J. Bhabha, Homi N. Sethna and  J. R. D. Tata, who made history in science and industry so much so that Sir Jamsetji Tata, was fondly regarded as the "Father of Indian Industry",

• Field MarshalSam Manekshaw as a distinguished and well decorated military official.

• Our rock star Freddy Mercury who made news for more than one reason

• Landmarks like Nariman point being named after parsees.

• MadamBhikhaijiCama, who helped in the battle against the bubonic plague and also was instrumental in the designing of theIndian Tricolor flag.She had suggested designing in the centre an (Islamic) crescent and a (Hindu) sun, which was later rejected.

Even the term "Parsi" in Sanskrit means "one who gives alms… the charitable one”

I would like to quote,Mahatma Gandhi, The Father of our Nation, who said……"I am proud of my country, India, for having produced the splendid Zoroastrian stock, in numbers beneath contempt, but in charity and philanthropy perhaps unequalled and certainly unsurpassed"

It is in the spirit therefore of respect for Asha or truth, Urvan or freedom of choice and the great Zoroastrian dream, that I beseech every Zoroastrian to walk the path of righteousness, to reaffirm the timeless truth of our faith and to give his or her everlasting fire to Zarathustra.

Let me nowtalk about what I am truly here for..to discuss…The Ideal Student - Teacher Relationship and to motivate you to the essence of life, its values, its virtues and its failures andsuccess.

Before I venture to do so, I must admit that IAM A STUDENT ALL MY LIFEand I am gonna share with u, few stories and quotes which have helped me evolve into….the student, the teacher and the person, I strive to be, even today.

Aristotle said

• “Those who educate children well, are more to be honored than parents, for these only gave life, those the art of living well.“

Brad Henry said,

• A good teacher can Inspire hope,

• Ignite the imagination, and

• Instill a love of learning.

William Arthur said,

• The mediocre teacher tells.

• The good teacher explains.

• The superior teacher demonstrates.

• The great teacher inspires.”

 

I would say to my students that, as excellent teachers we rnotin it for the income,but r in it for the outcome

Have U given it a thought that money and power decrease on sharing, but on the other hand Knowledge and love increase on sharing with others and hence we say…… Knowledge begets Knowledge

I would say to my dear teachers that, Students really don’t Care how much U know, Until they know how much U care

Often a student feels, that if there is a different teacher in school, to teach each different subject, then why is the poor student expected to know all subjects.  This is a Pseudo Gap we need to bridge with compassion and the right direction.

A dogmatic teacher attempting to have an open mind, may motivate the students by saying… I expect u all to be independent, innovative, and critical thinkers… who will do exactly as I say.

If a boy and girl meet before marriage, its called DATING and if they meet after marriage its called AccomoDATING. But a Student teacher relationship is a bond that stays the same for eternity.

Kindly tell me how is Wisdom Different From Knowledge

• Knowledge is the assimilation of information where as

• Wisdom is putting this information into appropriate use.

A befitting example would be this… That the man who invented the first wheel was an idiot but the person who invented the other 3 wheels and put it to use was a genius

Let me share with you what I feel an ideal teacher should possess.

• An ideal teacher should Inspire, Innovate, Recognize, Motivate, Nurture, Demonstrate and Channelize a students potential and energy and then Instill life’s values into them

• An ideal teacher should not reprimand in public,should not tell what to do, should notlimit ideas, should notjudge or compartmentalize a student’s vision and passion.

• An ideal teacher,

• Knows your weaknesses, but shows U your strengths,
• Feels your fears but fortifies your faith and
• Recognizes your disabilities but augments your possibilities.

 

On the other hand an ideal student should learn to value a teacher, respect them as, or more than their parents and be receptive and grateful forever. In short a student should be like a SPONGE absorbing and soaking into the knowledge and wisdom imparted.

 

Albert Einstein said, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

 

Gandhiji said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

 

Motivational part

Story about Belief :
A man was passing by a herd of elephants, suddenly stopped as he was confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by a small rope tied to their front leg. It was obvious that the elephants could break free from this flimsy bond anytime they wanted. He asked the trainer next to them as to why no chains and why did the elephants never break free. His answer was quite shocking. He said that when these elephants were babies, these same ropes were enough not to let them break free and then as they grew up they conditioned themselves to believe that they cant break it and hence never attempted to do so.
Moral of this story is “that our beliefs should be open to change depending on the circumstances & the evidence provided”.

Let me ask u a riddle now.

• If I had 5 bottles in my right hand and 6 in my left… what do I have?….A drinking problem….. It is finally the perception that matters

Did u know that the literature God.. William Shakespeare was pulled out of school in the 7th grade since his father could not afford his education.

Did u know that the Cricket legend…. Mr. Sachin Tendulkar could not appear for his 10th grade exams as he was playing an India Pakistan match and today he is mentioned in the school textbooks as the God of Cricket.

We know for a fact, that One is never only awarded for his or her Achievements, but mainly for the Contributions he or she has made.

Unfortunately in India, in order to get a Loan, you first need to prove that you don't need it. And so it is important for us to be axiomatic (self evident) and confident within ourselves

One more riddle

• If you and me were to exchange 1 rupee what would we each have at the end?

• Instead, If you and me were to exchange 1 good thought, what would we each have at the end?

Another story about Success(Potato, Egg and Coffee Beans)

What happens when each one is put separately in boiling water.

• the potato went in strong and hard but came out soft and weak

• the egg ..aprueedu.. was fragile and liquidy initially, but later came out hard though boiled

• the coffee beans were unique and they changed the water and created something new.

 

So just like this story, when we r exposed to the same diversities in life it should be our choice what we want to be … a potato… an egg… or coffee beans

One more riddle…
What if I tell u a dhaasu joke now… lets presume..most of u would laugh
If I said the same joke again… some of u would laugh just to keep me happy but if I said the same joke a third time… none of U would laugh….

If we cant laugh on the same joke again and again why do we keep making the same mistakes again and again?….Instead, WE should learn & move on.

A real dream is not the one you see when you r asleep, but it’s the one which does not let U sleep

In this day and age of technology and due to the Internet and social sites such as Google,watsapp, FB, twitter etc., if the Teacher is not savvy, the student finds himself or herself superior.
Lets hear some jokes on this….

• Today’s student feels that once they know how to use GOOGLE, that’s the ultimate education they need to know

• Behind every successful student there is a …teacher?…parent? hardwork ? Luck?...... No… It’s A Deactivated Facebook Account.

• Early to bed and early to rise … is no longer an advice to our dear students, for being healthy, wealthy and wise, as nowadays it only means one thing.. …there is No Internet Connection Available

 

Let me now shareMy Description of a Parsee in the form of a Pneumonic and my 5 secrets of success

 

My description of a Parsee

• P-Progressive Yet Pragmatic

• A-Adorable & Adventurous,

• R-Resourceful & Responsible

• S-Successful & Yet Simplistic

• E-Educated &Efficatous

• E-Enthusiastic, Energetic & Evolved And ….

• S-Sooooo Damn Good

 

My 5  Secrets to Success

• Work hard but Also Work Smart.

• Be always eager to learn

• Don’t make the same mistake twice

• Learn to take responsibility for your words and actions.

• Whatever you do, put your Heart and Soul into it

 

Johnijohni
Where bawa
Eating dhanshak
Yes bawa
Eating eeda
Yes bawa
Love music, play & dance
Yes bawa
Want a drink or 2
Yes bawa
Talk Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati all in one sentence
Yes bawa
Liked my speech
No bawa
Want me to talk a little more
Noooobawa
Getting bored
Yes bawa
Ok. Jamvachalojiidikra
Ha HaHa

 

“Just as the comedian should leave the crowd laughing, the speaker should leave them thinking.”

Hope I have succeeded…….

Jiyo Parsee
Jiyo ZOSTA
Jai Hind