Previously I had mentioned that our Hong Kong office is on Mody Road (麼地道) in East Tsimshatsui (尖沙咀東).
What many people, probably including the Parsee in our San Francisco office, do not realize is that Mody Road is named after the notable Parsee businessman Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody (b. 1838 - d. 1911), one of the founders of the University of Hong Kong.
Like a number of the formative influences on Hong Kong during the early years, Mody was an enterprising Mumbaikar - not a few of whom where Parsees, although it must be mentioned that one of mr. Mody's business partners (Sir Catchick Paul Chater), though also from Bombay, was in fact Armenian.
[Wikipedia articles: MODY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormusjee_Naorojee_Mody CHATER: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catchick_Paul_Chater ]
TIEN-SING SIU-LEUN YAUHAN-KONGSI
However, the most famous of the Hong Kong Parsees is probably Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala, who founded what eventually became the Star Ferry (天星小輪有限公司) in 1888.
[Star Ferry: http://www.starferry.com.hk/index.php]
My readers will naturally understand that to anyone living in San Francisco, founding a ferry service must count as a very great achievement. There's something timeless about ferries plying routes between different branches of a great metropolitan area - unlike roadways, ferries unify. Ferries are magic.
Even if people have come from outside of town, taking the ferry says that they want to be here, whereas driving sends the message that they can leave at any time.
And they do.
Some people actually live in the barbarous hinterlands across the Bay or the Golden Gate by choice, difficult though that is to believe.
My piles might bleed for them.
LINGUISTIC NOTE: 有限公司 Yauhan-kongsi = 'having limit public manage'; limited company.
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6 comments:
The Parsee in your office is most definitely aware of the person after whom Mody Road in HK was named. Especially since that gentleman shares his first name with my father. So cease and desist forthwith these slanderous (or is it libelous) slurs on the scope of my knowledge, especially my knowledge of the esteemed, glorious, incomparable Parsee community. Remember that Bawas are not synonymous with Buddhus. (You may come see me for a translation of the last word)
Don't need to ask you what that means. Shan't bother translating it - you know I used to work in an Indian restaurant.....
By the way, I omitted to mention that the aforementioned Sir H N Mody would have paled and shuddered had he heard himself being referred to as a "Mumbaikar". In fact, to this day, all self-respecting Parsees create gentle breezes when they too shudder almost violently at the pejorative term. We are, my dear man, Bombayites, and would thank tyou to remember that and refer to us as such.
Ach, could’ve said Mumbaiwallah. But that would’ve really gotten your dander up.
Nah. Lots of good old Parsee names end in 'wallah). Kelawalla, Poonawalla, Daruwalla, Darukhanawalla, Boywalla, and ...drum roll, please....Bombaywalla, among other noted "wallas". Wasn't known as Mumbai in those days. The "Bharatization" of all things not Bharati is a fairly recent phenomenon. Poona is now Pune, but I will bet my forthcoming Social Security check that no self-respecting Poonawalla will change his/her name to Punewalla. That would be so not done in the best of Parsee circles.
Do not go around casting asparagus at the knowledge of Parsees.
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