Quest for Identity

The theme of this project is provoked by the strange history of a community known as the Parsi. This community was displaced from its roots in Iran in the 7th century AD and settled on the hospitable shores of India. The Parsi community traveled down to India to save themselves from religious persecution. It grew from a handful of migrants to approximately 1,11,500 as per the 1941 Indian census. In order to preserve the “purity” of lineage, certain conventions came to be set by orthodox members of the community. For instance, anyone not born a Parsi could not convert to become a Parsi and a Parsi could not marry outside the community. This is perhaps a key reason for the continuous decline of the community to a paltry 69,601 in 2001.

The objective of my project is to capture some of the insecurities that plague this exceptionally small community, one which is attempting to retain its identity in the melting pot of the 21st century. I have reflected this by taking up the issue of marriage within the community, an age-old system that is still followed to retain the purity of the community, thereby not allowing the community to grow. Ironically this is not stated in the Avestain scriptures. My work also questions the rules and the value system of the community which alienates women from outside of the community who marry into the Parsi community thus commenting on dominance of the male character in the community. This project is a personal expression of how I feel about the issue of identity of the Parsi community as well as the women who live within it.

Varun Cursetji- www.artconcerns.com