ZAC Holds Museum Trip To Get Glimpses of our Glorious Past
On 10th July, 2022, around forty-two members of ZAC (Zoroastrian Association of California), comprising students and parents from the Religious class, along with their dynamic teachers, the much loved father-son priest duo – Er. Zarrir and Er. Zerkxis Bhandara, visited the exhibition – ‘Persia: Ancient Iran And The Classical World’, which was held at Getty Villa Museum, in Santa Monica, California, USA. Here, they cherished the glimpses of our glorious past, studying our rich Persian history of magnificent Zarthosti Emperors, including Cyrus the Great, Daraius, Xerses and Artaxerxes.
It was a unique experience with hundreds of outstanding exhibits depicting the rich culture of the great Persian Empire. For many, it was a moment of great pride to see how Zoroastrians ruled the majority of the known world of that era, encountering the tumultuous relationship and cultural connections between ancient Greece and Rome. A sense of delight flowed to see the Apadana hall in the Persepolis exhibit, where kings from different nations worldwide would come, bearing gifts from their homelands, to pay their respects to the most powerful Persian kings.
This trip to ‘The Exhibition on Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World’ was decided upon, a couple of months ago. Er. Zerkxis Bhandara, who teaches the youth class, gave the students a background on Zoroastrian history and our illustrious kings, sharing interesting Shahnameh stories, which further whetted the interest of the students for the visit.
Speaking to PT, Er. Zarrir Bhandara said, “Our main goal was to learn the history of our glorious ancestors, who were known and respected as the just rulers of their time. We also wanted to take in information about the amazing monuments, including the great Persepolis, artifacts, utensils, jewellery and various precious stones belonging to that era. The icing on the cake was the 3D show on Persepolis, which was very informative. Thanks to that, we could observe the most prominent representatives of various eras. Today, we feel really proud to be called the descendants of these great ‘Parsa’ Kings (as mentioned in cunie form inscriptions of Darius at Behistun)”
The educational and entertaining excursion lasted three hours and was a fun-filled afternoon with lunch provided by ZAC.
