Dinshaw Avari- Trying my Hand at Blogging!

July 9, 2020 (Photo credit- shutterstock.com) On a recent online course, I was made to read one of the most POWERFUL essays (by Amy Gutmann) “The Lure & Dangers of Extremist Rhetoric”, a topic so so prevalent worldwide.   The speech is so profound that it actually made me sit up and take notice of my very own actions and reactions in arguements; and while these principals apply in politics, they are prevalent in family, work and society in general!   Excerpts - “ Going as far back as Aristotle, he maintained that –   The proper task of rhetoric is to drive home the logic, the truth and the evidence of an argument.   Reason should frame a good politician’s goal to persuade.   The opposite of a sound democratic argument is demagogy: manipulation and deception in order to divide, demean, deceive and conquer [citizens].   Extremist rhetoric blatantly disregards and devalues truth-seeking understandings upon which citizens [ … ] may ...

June 18, 2020 (6 of 12)   REPLY ADDRESS BY MR. DINSHAW B AVARI ON THE OCCASION TO COMMEMORATE HIS 85 th  BIRTHDAY on NOV 5, 1987-   “ Sir Sidney Ridley confirmed to me that he would protect me and would ensure that the Hotel, if purchased by me, would not be requisitioned during the Second World War for the Army, Navy and Air Force, as was the custom.   So, putting up my entire life’s savings and borrowing the rest, I went to Mr.  Wyseman and purchased the Bristol Hotel for Rs.100,000/-.  Mr Wyseman agreed on one condition- that Khorshed and I learn the hotel business with him for a few months.  So, every morning at 4 a.m. I went to the Empress Market to purchase all the groceries, and the mutton, beef, chicken, fish, vegetables and fruits.   (Photo credit- Empress market- https://www.parhlo.com/30-rare-unseen-old-pictures-karachi/ ) As soon as six months training were over and Mr. Wyseman handed over the Hotel to me and left Karachi...

April 26, 2020 REPLY ADDRESS BY MR. DINSHAW B AVARI ON THE OCCASION TO COMMEMORATE HIS 85 th  BIRTHDAY on NOV 5, 1987- (4 of 12) “ Next day I went to Dr. Kanga's house for lunch and I was surprised to find that his wife had a boutique from which she was earning Rs. 100/- per month. After lunch, I asked her if she would instead like to earn over Rs.300/- per month. I trained her as an Insurance Agent for only one day. The next day, she brought insurance of Rs. 50,000/- from Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto, the Grandfather of Miss Benazir Bhutto and earned a commission of Rs. 1500/- at the first shot. I had all the Punjabi and Parsi Agents in Karachi working for me and all did very good business and made very good money. I sent for my younger brother Rathan from Bombay to come and stay with me where he was attending a College, and as my Father had asked me to look after him because when my mother died he was only One year old. I got a two-bedroomed flat at a rent of Rs. 50/- per...

April 2, 2020 (Image credit- https://images.app.goo.gl/kXaAvcuBG5UZQ4DN8 )  Life is all about experiences and based on those experiences, over time, your outlook towards life and the world forms & changes. Likewise, I too have become more philosophical, definitely more religious and have come to sincerely believe in (& follow) a saying we learnt from my father– “ Whatever happens, happens for the best; Whatever happens, happens the way God wants it to    because that’s the best way ” So when my sailing friends, Bill & Kate Gover invited me to cruise with them on ‘SY SENETO’ around the world ( https://billkatesail.wordpress.com/ ), I jumped at this opportunity for their Pacific leg.  About four weeks - a leisurely cruise - interspersed with squalls (and calm) – but nothing grueling like it would have been in a Clipper or Fastnet race. My wife Dinaz did - and my family would’ve - supported this 100%, as they have my other ...

March 13, 2020 REPLY ADDRESS BY MR. DINSHAW B AVARI ON THE OCCASION TO COMMEMORATE HIS 85 th  BIRTHDAY on NOV 5, 1987- (3 of 12) (Vita steamship- Photo credit- https://picclick.co.uk/CANARA-1942-British-India-Steam-Navigation-Co-cargo-233507144190.html ) “ I accepted Karachi because I used to read articles on the Late Mr. Jamshed Mehta in the Jam-e-Jamshed and was highly impressed. He asked me in how many days I would like to go over and open the Karachi )Office. I told him within 48 hours I would go to Karachi, as I require one day to go to Udvada and Navsari for Prayers and for meeting my relations and friends and the next day I would go to Karachi. He told me that the Manager's Agreement require  at least 8 days to be made ready, signed, stamped and completed and therefore, I could go within 10 days. This Offer was a God sent gift to me. When coming to Karachi, I travelled by Steamer 'VITA' in the first class, and I became acquainted with Mr. Pesi, So...

(2 of 13) REPLY ADDRESS BY MR. DINSHAW B AVARI ON THE OCCASION TO COMMEMORATE HIS 85 th BIRTHDAY on NOV 5, 1987- “ I want to tell you that I was very ambitious and hard-working and I used to go down to an  Irani  Restaurant after office hours, sit at a table and would call the people in the room to come and have Tea and biscuits with me (at my cost of course). Remember that the charges for this was One Anna per person. Round about 10 persons used to join me every day and I used to give them a lecture on the advantages of Life Insurance. Do you know that, by my offering them tea and Biscuits and giving them lectures, seven persons out ten would agree to insure their lives with me and the very next day, I used to take them to Doctor Adi Kohiyar, the leading physician of Bombay in the early morning at 7.00 a.m. for Life Assurance Examination. This tactic of mine resulted in generating the largest amount of Life Assurance sold in any one month, in the whole of Bombay Pr...

February 14, 2020 I surprised my future wife with a romantic(?) Valentine’s dinner the year we were dating; and then for the next few years after our marriage... …and just as suddenly those romantic dinners stopped J , not for want of trying   … I just “forgot”! There is no religious significance of Valentines Day to the general public in Pakistan.   However, we all like to celebrate it as a means of entertainment. Valentine’s occasion brings activity to Pakistan’s society in general.   It’s a means of entertainment- besides eating and drinking, there’s not much more one can do in a large city like Karachi. I’ve found that occasions like Valentine’s increases market activity; there’s a positive vibe in the City; employment and commerce is generated by eating places.   Besides this, roadside sellers of flowers have a boon.   Patisserie orders increase (…so does your waist line!). Pakistanis are not celebrating any religious ang...

February 11, 2020   ( http://t2online.com/lifestyle/comedian-cyrus-broacha-gets-real-about-his-bestie-kunal-vijaykar/cid/14024 ) Our family are Parsi Zoroastrians, a minority so minuscule that we are almost an “endangered” species in our own right 🤣 ! Recently I came across an hilarious post purportedly by Cyrus Broacha, a famous TV Personality, Comedian and … Parsi. So, for a little mid-week humour, let me quote verbatim what I read – QUOTE “While most surnames in India reflect caste and lineage, the Parsis had a delightfully modern streak — having landed from Persia without caste, history or context, they created name identities through professions and names of places (cities and streets). Our family moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) from Rawalpindi during the partition in 1947. We came as refugees, but the family soon settled down and by 1953 my father had started playing golf at the Willingdon Club. I was eight years old and would walk 18 holes with him ...

February 11, 2020   ( http://t2online.com/lifestyle/comedian-cyrus-broacha-gets-real-about-his-bestie-kunal-vijaykar/cid/14024 ) Our family are Parsi Zoroastrians, a minority so minuscule that we are almost an “endangered” species in our own right 🤣 ! Recently I came across an hilarious post purportedly by Cyrus Broacha, a famous TV Personality, Comedian and … Parsi. So, for a little mid-week humour, let me quote verbatim what I read – QUOTE “While most surnames in India reflect caste and lineage, the Parsis had a delightfully modern streak — having landed from Persia without caste, history or context, they created name identities through professions and names of places (cities and streets). Our family moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) from Rawalpindi during the partition in 1947. We came as refugees, but the family soon settled down and by 1953 my father had started playing golf at the Willingdon Club. I was eight years old and would walk 18 holes with him ...

January 17, 2020 On several occasions I have written extracts about my late grandfather, Dinshaw B. Avari, who was the patriarch of our Group. I recently came across a “ REPLY ADDRESS BY MR. DINSHAW B. AVARI GIVEN ON THE OCCASION OF THE FUNCTION HELD BY THE PARSI COMMUNITY OF KARACHI TO COMMEMORATE HIS 85 th BIRTHDAY on NOVEMBER 5, 1987 AND FELICITATE HIM ”. I also sincerely believe that “we are who we are because of our grandfather and my father’s” sincere, hard and untiring efforts and work ethics. I thought the best way to share the hardships and tribulations that my grandfather went through to establish his family is to reproduce his speech – in short blogs over the course of this year. There are some life’s lessons to be learnt from his words and I hope my family can emulate even a fraction of what he has done, for our children and future generations. Dinshaw =============================================================== (1 of 12) REPLY ADD...

November 19, 2019 photo credit-  https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/2383350-skull-death This weekend, my family and I visited our driver for a condolence on the death of his young son, who also worked in our Hotel. The man died of mouth cancer … due to chewing paan (betel nut) and gutka. Gutka, a tobacco-related narcotic, is truly the scourge of mouth cancer- and it is addictive! In October, the Provincial Government enacted a tremendous law banning Gutka, with a heavy fine & imprisonment … while the nascent law is a positive step, the government has yet to follow up with effective implementation. The problem is that for the consumers of this substance it is a narcotic.   You can’t simply turn off a switch.   Like other narcotics and behaviors, it is deeply ingrained in society and part of their lives – so much so that generations of families are consuming it concurrently.   Besides, I don’t believe we have the infrastructure to provide me...

November   6, 2019 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elXGOeS8EUQ ) One of the best investments this Country ever made in the ‘90’s was development of the new Motorways in the Punjab.  Let’s analyze what it has produced- ·        *  Poverty- Whether it’s the “CPEC” development of roads network, rail links or other transport modes or it’s internally developed, tying city to city and province to province will uplift rural areas and give them access to commerce, trade, emergencies, etc.; ·        *  Commerce – you’ve shrunk the time, eased the availability and given smooth access to farmers and trade from their villages to large towns and cities; ·        *  Mobility- Punjab has become MOBILE.   With a maximum travel time of six hours, people can work in one city while their home is in another- very much like cities in USA; ·        *  Transport- network and ...