New Year fatakris

That's what the Bawas call a hot woman in local lingo. And this Monday, Mumbai's Parsi community will celebrate New Year with 12 hot women on a wall calendar that's sexy, spanking, and sold out

New Year fatakris

That's what the Bawas call a hot woman in local lingo. And this Monday, Mumbai's Parsi community will celebrate New Year with 12 hot women on a wall calendar that's sexy, spanking, and sold out

"Who is the promoter?" asks the geriatric Bawaji in an advertisement for an investment firm. If he is Parsi, he has to be old. That is the general perception of this tiny community with just 69,600 members spread across India, according to the 2001 census.

But a little over a year ago, a group of enthusiastic, young Zoroastrians set out to overhaul this timeworn image and draw attention to the younger, active and progressive members of the community. ZYNG (Zoroastrian Youth for the Next Generation) is the youth forum of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, the community's largest representative body.

ZYNG's goal is clear: bring the Parsi youth together through social events, including paintball competitions and speed dating sessions, help them get in touch with their roots, and promote what's probably the community's need of the hour -- inter-community marriages. The latest idea to have stemmed from the group is just as fresh as its members -- a calendar featuring 12 gorgeous Parsi models.

Styled by Bollywood stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania and shot by fashion photographer Farzan Randelia, the all-Zoroastrian youth initiative is an "excellent way to draw attention to the fact that the community included vibrant young members too," says ZYNG managing committee member Tashan Mistree. Adajania, whose model-sister Scherezade Shroff is the April girl, says, "Just three of the 12 girls have posed before a camera before, and it's always exciting to work with real people. It's more of a challenge."

Twenty-seven year-old Mistree says the 'models', some of whom are lawyers, accountants and entrepreneurs, will serve to remind Zoroastrians of the beauty of the community. A brief note on Zoroastrian history and the inclusion of traditional days known as 'roj', will help create awareness about traditional customs among the young. "Meher Roj for instance, is a day for contracts, Ashishvangh is a day of good fortune and wealth, and Ram Roj is the ideal day to conceive a child, which, Mistree says, "usually gets a lot of giggles from the youth, but it's an interesting part of our culture."

But not everyone is pleased with the calendar's new, bold look. A comment on Parsi Khabar, a community news website, says it's not suitable for viewing, others have demanded the inclusion of male models. "Maybe, next year we'll get some guys to pose," says Adajania. But the one thing that's out of her hands is the fact that the 1,000 copies that were printed and priced at Rs 300 each are sold out.