Easy Like A Sunday Morning

Udvada is a quaint little town—a village, really—with a rich past and a lazy present, nestled comfortably by the sea in south Gujarat. Time moves slowly here, but it does not really matter for no one seems to be going anywhere.

- Gustasp And Jeroo Irani

Udvada, to us, is a voyage into the past. It’s comfortable, familiar and brims with fond nostalgia. For this former fishing village is associated with almost every landmark... crisis, special occasions, achievements... in our lives. We have travelled here ever since we can remember: to seek His blessings after Navjotes (initiation into the Zoroastrian faith) and weddings in the family—our own and our children’s, to give thanks for boons granted, to seek guidance in troubled times. Sometimes, just to escape from the grind and find spiritual solace.

The reason this sleepy little town is so entwined with our lives is because it is where Iranshah, the over 1,000-year-old and most holy fire of the Parsi/Irani Zoroastrian community in India, is enshrined. We still cherish the memory of the trip on which we offered a machi (a special offering of nine sticks of sandalwood to the fire) in thanksgiving for a boon granted. It was a magical midnight affair: flickering diyas (oil lamps—electric light should not fall on the holy fire) in glass light fixtures suspended on chains from the ceiling of the hall outside the inner sanctum, the glowing face of the bearded mobed (priest) as he fed sticks of sandalwood to the holy fire, the outline of a lady and her child silhouetted against dancing licks of billowing flames, the tolling of the bell...

Little has changed in Udvada over the years and the village appears to be wrapped in a protective cocoon that has withstood the onslaught of time. It still remains a stronghold of tradition, an unchanging constant in our volatile and uncertain lives buffeted by the surging tides of modern technology. A visit to Udvada is our excuse to feel the comforting embrace of the familiar. It’s a pilgrimage we need little prompting to embark upon.