Prayer Class Activities - 2009
- 31st January 2009 - First Day of the Prayer Class
- 14th March 2009 - Navroze Quiz
- 2nd May 2009 - Sadro Making Competition
- 20th June 2009 - Last Day of the prayer class from the existing committee
- 15th August 2009 - "A brief history of the early Parsi settlers in India" talk by Godrej Engineer
- 12th December 2009 - Annual Prayer Class Children's Event 2009
| Date | 31st January 2009 |
| Event | First Day of the Prayer Class |
| Venue | Te-Tuhi The Mark |
| Description | The first day of the class was well attended by 27 children. They all looked forward to yet another exciting year of activities and learning of our wonderful religion at the class. The prayer class committee strives hard to achieve it all for them and make the class a fun place to attend every fortnight. |
| Date | 14th March 2009 |
| Event | Navroze Quiz |
| Venue | Te-Tuhi The Mark |
| Description |
Come Navroze and the prayer class always does something unique for its children.
In the previous years we have had the Navroze table displayed by the children. This year we had a quiz. Children were divided into seven teams and questions regarding Navroze were put forward to them. It ran into two turns. Prizes were given to the two winning teams.
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| Date | 2nd May 2009 |
| Event | Sadro Making Competition |
| Venue | Te-Tuhi The Mark |
| Description | 23 children present at the class were given white chart paper and parts of the sadro to put them together in one hour.
All hands at work and creative minds came out with the best sadras. Judged for their accuracy and neatness, prizes were given to the following children :
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| Date | 20th June 2009 |
| Event | Last Day of the Prayer Class from the existing committee |
| Venue | Te-Tuhi The Mark |
| Description |
The current ZANZ Committee who ran the prayer class efficiently for the last five plus years finished their term and therefore 20th June was celebrated as the last day for them.
Parents and children await to hear the dates and venue from the new committee which comes into force on June 27th after the AGM. The present committee resigned after running the class for five plus years successfully. Hope and pray that the classes start soon and the children are all put into action by the new members on board. The present committee comprising of Hormaz Patel, Freny Khambatta, Mana Vajifdar and Shernaz Petigara thank the parents and children for their support in making these classes a success every fortnight. Ushta-Te.
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| Date | 15th August 2009 |
| Event | "A brief history of the early Parsi settlers in India" talk by Godrej Engineer |
| Venue | Te-Tuhi Centre for the Arts - Auditorium |
| Description |
ZANZ hosted an interesting and thought provoking talk entitled "A brief history of the early Parsi settlers in India" by our member Mr. Godrej Engineer. Godrej illustrated his talk with interesting maps, flowcharts, and some unique photographs. He narrated some perhaps hitherto unknown anecdotes of bravery, heroism and Parsi magnanimity. Godrej enlightened us about some erudite scholars, soldiers, engineers and saintly personalities who made a tremendous impact and contribution towards the Parsi settlers in India.
The talk was attended by over 50 people with several requests for more such informative events. Ushta-Te.
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| Date | 12th December 2009 |
| Event | Annual Prayer Class Children's Event 2009 |
| Venue | Xtreme Extertainment, Panmure |
| Description | The children from the prayer class had been eagerly awaiting this event to celebrate the great work they have been doing at prayer classes since July. When asked what they wanted to do, a majority chose to go bowling. So, on 12th December 2009, 34 children descended on Xtreme Entertainment for a wonderful time. This event was organized by the Prayer class team to encourage young Zoroastrians who have regularly attended our prayer classes each fortnight. The kids started with a game of bowling showing off their skills and also learning valuable lessons from their parents. Then they had their meals and drinks. After that it was time to unleash their potential at the arcade machines. Many were riding bikes or playing basketball. The amazing games at Xtreme made the kids (and some parents) go gaga. The two hour event extended to over three hours and by that time the kids had tried their hands on every machine that was available to them. Prizes were given for perfect attendance (10 out of 10) to Zenia Irani, Delnaz Patrawala and Kayomi Patrawala. Perfect attendance was also achieved by Mark, Liana and Karina Anklesaria who were unable to attend the event. Some parents had generously donated time, effort and money for the prayer class stall at the ZANZ Housie and Food night held on 17 th October. The money collected from the sale of falooda and bhel puri was used to subsidize the bowling event. We thank all the parents who made donations of money, ingredients and time. Who says Zoroastrianism is dying and the community will dwindle to a few thousand (especially outside India) when we have such magnanimous support from our community members. This year’s prayer classes have been an extremely rewarding experience for the Prayer Class Team. The ZANZ Management Committee would like to thank Hormuzd Patel, Tehmus Mistry and Mana Vazifdar for their selfless and dedicated service to our children. The ZANZ prayer classes assist in laying the foundation for the future of our community in New Zealand by giving our children the opportunity to interact and grow together. The onus lies on the parents to bring them to the classes every fortnight. We look forward to seeing many more children at prayer classes next year. The first one for 2010 is on Saturday, 13 th February. Regards, ZANZ Management Committee |
Prayer Class Activities - 2010
- 13th February 2010 - First Prayer Class of 2010
- 27th November 2010 - ZANZ Prayer Class End of Year Event
| Date | 13th February 2010 |
| Event | First Prayer Class of 2010 |
| Venue | Te-Tuhi The Mark |
| Description |
ZANZ's first prayer class for the year 2010 was held on 13th February at Te Tuhi from 5.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. It was a momentous day for the thirty children and their parents who were present as this was the last class conducted by our popular Ervard Hormaz Patel. Hormaz has always been in the forefront and has religiously conducted ZANZ prayer classes since 2002. His dedication and selfless service to impart religious education to our young Zarthostis by teaching them basic prayers and our rituals has helped ZANZ's efforts to lay a solid religious foundation not only for our kids but also for the Zarthosti community at large. He is well known to most of our Parsee brethren by virtue of him conducting many jashans and other religious ceremonies for our community.
Hormaz and his family have decided to move to Australia to seek greener pastures. On 13th Feb 2010, ZANZ presented Hormaz with a small token of appreciation and a plaque signed by all our prayer class kids appreciating his selfless service to our community. We wish Hormaz and his family a happy and prosperous future in Australia. His presence will be missed by us all here in New Zealand and hopefully one day we can have a video link with him and conduct combined prayer classes with Melbourne. We would also like to update you all on the progress of our Prayer classes. We start with Hum Bandagi as has been the ritual over the past many years. The pre-Navjote children are taught the basic prayers and kusti by Ervard Hormaz Patel, Mana Vazifdar and Thrity Mistry. The children also enjoy hearing stories with morals and colouring pictures. Our post-Navjote students are also having great fun and religious education, albeit, with a different approach under the leadership of Tehmus Mistry. Serious debates, exchange of ideas, meanings of different prayers, video clips on Zarthosti rituals, linking daily life examples/incidents with our religious principles/doctrine and encouraging the kids to work collaboratively on a project are some of the activities of this class. This has taken the class to a new level where the children have an exciting and interesting time at Prayer class. In the last half hour, Farida Master teaches these children monajats and it gives great pleasure to see the kids singing and rehearsing the songs with actions. ZANZ's Prayer classes are an important part of our association and closely related to several of its objectives. We take their importance very seriously and encourage our children to come regularly to maintain continuity and build camaraderie. We are very happy to announce that our young Ervard Perzaan Mehta will take over the reins from Hormaz Patel and will conduct the classes for our pre-Navjote kids. Perzaan is happy to take on this role and is keenly interested in promoting our Zoroastrian values. We welcome Ervard Perzaan Mehta to the Prayer Class Team.
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| Date | 27th November 2010 |
| Event | ZANZ Prayer Class End of Year Event |
| Venue | Extreme Edge Indoor Climbing, Panmure |
| Description | Twenty children and four brave adults climbed walls at Extreme Edge Indoor Climbing, Panmure. This was a reward for the prayer class children for regularly attending and participating in the prayer class sessions in 2010. Most of the children were familiar with the activity and encouraged and helped the others to scale the variety of colourful and challenging walls. There was a short break for juice, chips and biscuits after which the children were back on the walls for a second session until it was time to go home. The ZANZ Management Committee would like to thank all the parents who have consistently brought their children to the fortnightly prayer classes. Regards, ZANZ Management Committee |
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Prayer Class Dates
Dear friends,
Most of you are aware that ZANZ organises prayer classes for our children to impart knowledge of our core prayers, the religious rites and customs, culture, values and our tradition. These classes are open to the children of all Zarathoshtis, irrespective of membership of our association.
All ZANZ prayer classes for 2017 on the first Saturday will be held at Studio 4, Te Tuhi - The Mark, 13, Reeves Road, Pakuranga and the timings will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Classes on the third saturday of each month will be held at the Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher. Classes will run from February 2017 to December 2017
We start our prayer class with Hum bandagi and then continue on to sing two monajats. A brief introduction for our newcomers will be made so every child feels welcomed and knows each other.
The class will finish at 5:45 p.m.
All children must be picked up by 6:00 p.m.
All parents are requested to pick their children up on time as we have to vacate the rooms and the Te Tuhi staff has to shut down the premises.
Please show your support & encouragement by bringing your kids to this class regularly. With the blessings of AHURA MAZDA, we hope and pray to keep this eternal flame burning in the hearts of our children who are the future torch bearers.
Minoo Siganporia will conduct the classes.
All future notices/reminders about the prayer classes will be sent from the ZANZ Mailing list. If you would like to receive emails from the ZANZ Mailing list, kindly contact the ZANZ Management Committee at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Kind Regards,
ZANZ Management Committee
The ZANZ Prayer Class dates for 2017 are:
| Date | Venue |
| 4th February 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 18th February 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 4th March 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 18th March 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 1st April 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 15th April 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 6th May 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 20th May 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 3rd June 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 17th June 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 1st July 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 15th July 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 5th August 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 19th August 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 2nd September 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 16th September 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 7th October 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 21st October 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 4th November 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 18th November 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
| 2nd December 2017 | Te Tuhi, The Mark, 13, Reeves Road. Pakuranga |
| 16th November 2017 | Faroud Shahlori Dar-e-Meher |
5th November 2016
About the ZANZ Prayer Class
At the ZANZ prayer classes we are trying our best to teach our children the culture, values, traditions, customs and prayers that form the core of our religion.
With blessings of AHURA MAZDA and our elders we hope and pray to keep this eternal flame burning in hearts of our children who are the future torch bearers.
ZANZ would personally like to thank all those who have helped in achieving the current high standards that we continue to maintain.
The class is conducted on the first saturday of every month and is proud to achieve high attendance standards.