Tribute to Hoshang (Hosi) Khambatta: Chamsi prayers 26th Oct
A Life Remembered
Hoshang Rustomji Khamabata
(B.10th April 1926 – D. 25th April 2019)
Hoshang Rustomji Khambatta who passed away on 25th April 2019 served the Zoroastrian Community of the UK with exemplary dedication. His wife Dolly predeceased him on 4th May 2013. For about five decades they supported Zoroastrian community activities across the ZTFE, WZO and the Zoroastrian organisations of South London and Harrow. Their association with the Zoroastrian community in the UK began in the 1960s.
They played an integral part in the life of the community making them a popular and much loved couple. When speaking of Hoshang or Hosi as he was affectionately nicknamed it was difficult not to mention Dolly and vice versa.
Hoshang left Nagpur, India for the UK in 1957 joining Borough Polytechnic in South London to study and become a Radio Technician. Dolly had arrived in the UK from Mumbai in 1961. She had established a circle of Zoroastrian friends and had met Hoshang within this group. On one particular occasion they had both been invited to lunch and their host suggested that Hoshang drive Dolly to the venue. At this time Dolly lived in Hammersmith and Hoshang in Heston. Hoshang made the telephone call and the pair travelled together to the do. Gradually their friendship blossomed into love and they married on 16th October 1965. The wedding ceremony was performed by Dasturji (Dr.) Sorabji Kutar and Ervad Jal Birdy at the Zoroastrian House, Kensington Olympia.
Dolly was a successful seamstress and for years took orders from Haute Couture dressmaker, Julian Rose of Bond Street. Hoshang worked for the BBC where following an eventful career as a sound engineer he retired in 1992.
They put these skills to good use for the benefit of the Zoroastrian community. At ZTFE events at the Zoroastrian Centre and the former premises the Zoroastrian House in Compayne Gardens, Hoshang always set up the microphones and monitored the sound system. He did the same at WZO events and for the South London and Harrow organisations. Accompanied with Dolly the couple were committed to volunteering. They were well known for travelling vast distances to volunteer at events and provide lifts for those without transport. When Parsee plays or nataks were performed, Dolly always helped with the actors’ costumes and make-up. As a snooker enthusiast Hoshang also helped organise, participate in and umpire the Zoroastrian House snooker tournaments.
Hoshang and Dolly were loyal grass roots supporters of the ZTFE. They were amongst the early supporters of the New Premises Project and following their 25th Wedding Anniversary they donated their cash gifts to the cause. Their kindness and generosity also extended to the children they met showering them with sweets and chocolate.
On 6th October 2011, in recognition for his dedicated services to the ZTFE, Hoshang was felicitated at the Zoroastrian Centre, at the time of Prince Philip’s visit. The ZTFE requested Prince Philip to present Hoshang with a Sesquicentennial Gold Medallion.
Hoshang was again felicitated by the ZTFE at the Zoroastrian Centre on 1st May 2016 at his 90th birthday celebration an occasion at which he again generously donated his cash gifts to the ZTFE.
ZTFE President Malcolm Deboo paid tribute to Hoshang and Dolly recounting aspects of their lives and their commitment to the ZTFE. Former ZTFE President Dorab Mistry said of both Hoshand and Dolly that the “the present Zoroastrian Centre stands as a symbol of their relentless work and their generosity.”
Hoshang always took his professional and voluntary work seriously but never took himself seriously. Hoshang’s bonhomie was instantly recognisable coupled with his self-deprecating sense of humour. This was true whether he reminisced about his life experiences in the Indian Air Force (IAF) or cracked jokes from his hospital bed days before he passed; instructing the nurses to replace the contents of his saline drip with champagne. He enjoyed telling of the time he was asked by Dolly to deliver a number of dresses she had completed to one of Julian Rose’s fashion exhibitions. Hoshang had to take them directly to where the models were changing. Finding some in a state of undress he shielded his eyes with the clothes he had come to deliver, although “no one else batted an eye lid.” He mused that working for Dolly had its stresses.
Born into priestly heritage in the railway town of Badnera India, Hoshang was the second of seven children. His older sister Banoo, sadly passed away at the age of 14 after a bout of typhoid, leaving his mother Khorshed Banoo and father Rustomji to bring him up along with siblings: Veera (Vilu), Mehli, Roshan, Jal and Percy.
The family moved to Nagpur when Rustomji was promoted to drive steam trains. They settled in the railway colony, of Ajni, which fell within Nagpur’s extended limits. Here Hoshang counted ZTFE member Homi Patel amongst his childhood neighbours. Years later in the UK, the pair settled a very short distance from each other in the vicinity of Heathrow Airport. Hoshang’s life in Ajni consisted of schooling and sports namely cricket and hockey. His father was a shikari of sorts but this was not to Hoshang’s taste.
By his mid-teens Hoshang developed an interest in the workings of valve radios. He joined his cousin Erach selling and repairing them and learnt the rudiments of electronics. However Hoshang dreamt of becoming a pilot and watched in awe, the low flying aircraft land at the airstrip in Nagpur.
On a morning in 1942 aged 16, he went to sign up to the Indian Air Force, Japan having already declared war on Britain. The recruiting sergeant realised that Hoshang was one year below the required age to enlist and thwarted his plans. Determined, Hoshang went to another recruiting office that very same day where he told them he was 17.
After passing basic training in Lahore, Hoshang successfully completed a test in electronics and was selected to work in radar. He became the “15th Indian,” to be recruited in the whole of India. In 1943 as a trainee he went to the ‘General Control Interception Station,’ in Madras (now Chennai) where a man named Hipkin, was the Commanding Officer.
Hoshang’s time in the IAF was a mixture of hard work, fun and simply “finding his feet.” On two occasions he was reprimanded. On the first he stayed up all night watching “Nelly’s Band,” completely forgetting that he should have been on guard duty.
On the second, he fell asleep whilst actually on guard duty. Fortunately nothing much came of these misdemeanours. At another time he flew in a Dakota with his “co-conspirators,” from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Madras simply for a game of cricket although there may have been other matters of importance to tend to as after all a war, was going on.
After war with Japan ended, his unit was disbanded and he applied to become an air force pilot. However this did not materialise because he failed his navigation test by landing his plane on the wrong airstrip. He eventually left the IAF in 1945.
In 1946 he attended the Kashmiri Gate Polytechnic in Delhi furthering his studies before securing a job at All India Radio in the ‘sound section for broadcast.’ He covered cultural programmes to begin with but with political rallying at a high, he and his team were sent to cover some key political moments.
On one occasion he and his team were sent to Kasturchand Park, Nagpur to cover one of Nehru’s political rallies. Nehru’s entourage also included Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Thousands of people had thronged to hear speeches which were being given from a rostrum. Hoshang and his team had set up their equipment beneath the rostrum and he had climbed up to be near the microphones. That morning his sister Vilu had given Hoshang a photograph of Nehru, which she wanted the leader to autograph. Hoshang was able to honour his sister’s wish at this rally. It was also the occasion he prevented Nehru from flinging a “sound recording microphone,” into the crowd, in a fit of temper. Nehru mistakenly believed it had stopped working mid-speech after the crowd began to complain they could not hear anything from the loudspeakers.
When covering a public prayer meeting held by Mahatma Gandhi, he was also able to arrange for two American journalists to gain an audience with Gandhiji on condition they made a contribution to Gandhiji’s collection fund for untouchables or harijans. In 1948 he and his team accompanied the famous broadcaster, Melville de Mellow at Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral. Hoshang recounted the hundreds of farmers who had brought milk and butter to distribute to the poor in the Mahatma’s memory.
During the course of Hoshang’s BBC career he worked at a variety of venues including: Farnborough Airshow, various race courses, Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon and at the Crucible, covering professional snooker. When part of a TV crew recording a snooker tournament at Wembley Arena Hoshang was approached by his idol Steve Davis. Davis asked Hoshang to play back part of the recording as he wanted to view a portion of his game. Hoshang with his usual good humour said “that’ll cost you!” His reward came shortly after when Steve Davis gifted him an autographed snooker cue. It was to become a much cherished possession. It was through the BBC many years later that Hoshang would meet by chance Andrew Hipkin, the son of his former Commanding Officer. Hoshang visited Hipkin senior once, accompanied by Andrew and the pair spoke of their former times in India. Andrew and Hoshang also became good friends, with their passion for snooker cementing their friendship.
For about the last three years of his life Hoshang moved from his home in Ashford Kent and resided at the Neem Tree Care Home in Greenford. Although reluctant to make the change he gradually realised that his own personal limitations made this necessary. This did not impact on his zest for life, remaining mobile and independent as much as possible. Members of staff at the Care Home loved him again admiring his great sense of humour, his politeness and for always being immaculately dressed - preferring to wear suits with an array of ties to match.
In many ways Hoshang’s journey through life seems to have been taken on “a green magic carpet measuring 11ft 81/2in by 5ft 10 in,” and on the way he enriched the lives of all those he met.
Many friends reminisced about their times with Hoshang. At Hoshang’s Utumnu and funeral Phiroze Master whose parents Dina and Soli were close friends of the Khambattas remembered his life by reciting a poem he had written. However it was the words of his niece Dr. Rukshana Nanji, which conveyed the sentiments of many, when she described him as a “sweet gentle man with a rare capacity…to spread happiness and smiles wherever he went. He never shied away from helping others. He may have advanced in age chronologically, but his spirit always remained young and vibrant.”
May Hoshang rest with his beloved Dolly together, in Garothman Behest.
Rohinton F. Munshi
(Hon Sec) ZTFE
Hoshang Rustomji Khamabata
(B.10th April 1926 – D. 25th April 2019)
Hoshang Rustomji Khambatta who passed away on 25th April 2019 served the Zoroastrian Community of the UK with exemplary dedication. His wife Dolly predeceased him on 4th May 2013. For about five decades they supported Zoroastrian community activities across the ZTFE, WZO and the Zoroastrian organisations of South London and Harrow. Their association with the Zoroastrian community in the UK began in the 1960s.
They played an integral part in the life of the community making them a popular and much loved couple. When speaking of Hoshang or Hosi as he was affectionately nicknamed it was difficult not to mention Dolly and vice versa.
Hoshang left Nagpur, India for the UK in 1957 joining Borough Polytechnic in South London to study and become a Radio Technician. Dolly had arrived in the UK from Mumbai in 1961. She had established a circle of Zoroastrian friends and had met Hoshang within this group. On one particular occasion they had both been invited to lunch and their host suggested that Hoshang drive Dolly to the venue. At this time Dolly lived in Hammersmith and Hoshang in Heston. Hoshang made the telephone call and the pair travelled together to the do. Gradually their friendship blossomed into love and they married on 16th October 1965. The wedding ceremony was performed by Dasturji (Dr.) Sorabji Kutar and Ervad Jal Birdy at the Zoroastrian House, Kensington Olympia.
Dolly was a successful seamstress and for years took orders from Haute Couture dressmaker, Julian Rose of Bond Street. Hoshang worked for the BBC where following an eventful career as a sound engineer he retired in 1992.
They put these skills to good use for the benefit of the Zoroastrian community. At ZTFE events at the Zoroastrian Centre and the former premises the Zoroastrian House in Compayne Gardens, Hoshang always set up the microphones and monitored the sound system. He did the same at WZO events and for the South London and Harrow organisations. Accompanied with Dolly the couple were committed to volunteering. They were well known for travelling vast distances to volunteer at events and provide lifts for those without transport. When Parsee plays or nataks were performed, Dolly always helped with the actors’ costumes and make-up. As a snooker enthusiast Hoshang also helped organise, participate in and umpire the Zoroastrian House snooker tournaments.
Hoshang and Dolly were loyal grass roots supporters of the ZTFE. They were amongst the early supporters of the New Premises Project and following their 25th Wedding Anniversary they donated their cash gifts to the cause. Their kindness and generosity also extended to the children they met showering them with sweets and chocolate.
On 6th October 2011, in recognition for his dedicated services to the ZTFE, Hoshang was felicitated at the Zoroastrian Centre, at the time of Prince Philip’s visit. The ZTFE requested Prince Philip to present Hoshang with a Sesquicentennial Gold Medallion.
Hoshang was again felicitated by the ZTFE at the Zoroastrian Centre on 1st May 2016 at his 90th birthday celebration an occasion at which he again generously donated his cash gifts to the ZTFE.
ZTFE President Malcolm Deboo paid tribute to Hoshang and Dolly recounting aspects of their lives and their commitment to the ZTFE. Former ZTFE President Dorab Mistry said of both Hoshand and Dolly that the “the present Zoroastrian Centre stands as a symbol of their relentless work and their generosity.”
Hoshang always took his professional and voluntary work seriously but never took himself seriously. Hoshang’s bonhomie was instantly recognisable coupled with his self-deprecating sense of humour. This was true whether he reminisced about his life experiences in the Indian Air Force (IAF) or cracked jokes from his hospital bed days before he passed; instructing the nurses to replace the contents of his saline drip with champagne. He enjoyed telling of the time he was asked by Dolly to deliver a number of dresses she had completed to one of Julian Rose’s fashion exhibitions. Hoshang had to take them directly to where the models were changing. Finding some in a state of undress he shielded his eyes with the clothes he had come to deliver, although “no one else batted an eye lid.” He mused that working for Dolly had its stresses.
Born into priestly heritage in the railway town of Badnera India, Hoshang was the second of seven children. His older sister Banoo, sadly passed away at the age of 14 after a bout of typhoid, leaving his mother Khorshed Banoo and father Rustomji to bring him up along with siblings: Veera (Vilu), Mehli, Roshan, Jal and Percy.
The family moved to Nagpur when Rustomji was promoted to drive steam trains. They settled in the railway colony, of Ajni, which fell within Nagpur’s extended limits. Here Hoshang counted ZTFE member Homi Patel amongst his childhood neighbours. Years later in the UK, the pair settled a very short distance from each other in the vicinity of Heathrow Airport. Hoshang’s life in Ajni consisted of schooling and sports namely cricket and hockey. His father was a shikari of sorts but this was not to Hoshang’s taste.
By his mid-teens Hoshang developed an interest in the workings of valve radios. He joined his cousin Erach selling and repairing them and learnt the rudiments of electronics. However Hoshang dreamt of becoming a pilot and watched in awe, the low flying aircraft land at the airstrip in Nagpur.
On a morning in 1942 aged 16, he went to sign up to the Indian Air Force, Japan having already declared war on Britain. The recruiting sergeant realised that Hoshang was one year below the required age to enlist and thwarted his plans. Determined, Hoshang went to another recruiting office that very same day where he told them he was 17.
After passing basic training in Lahore, Hoshang successfully completed a test in electronics and was selected to work in radar. He became the “15th Indian,” to be recruited in the whole of India. In 1943 as a trainee he went to the ‘General Control Interception Station,’ in Madras (now Chennai) where a man named Hipkin, was the Commanding Officer.
Hoshang’s time in the IAF was a mixture of hard work, fun and simply “finding his feet.” On two occasions he was reprimanded. On the first he stayed up all night watching “Nelly’s Band,” completely forgetting that he should have been on guard duty.
On the second, he fell asleep whilst actually on guard duty. Fortunately nothing much came of these misdemeanours. At another time he flew in a Dakota with his “co-conspirators,” from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Madras simply for a game of cricket although there may have been other matters of importance to tend to as after all a war, was going on.
After war with Japan ended, his unit was disbanded and he applied to become an air force pilot. However this did not materialise because he failed his navigation test by landing his plane on the wrong airstrip. He eventually left the IAF in 1945.
In 1946 he attended the Kashmiri Gate Polytechnic in Delhi furthering his studies before securing a job at All India Radio in the ‘sound section for broadcast.’ He covered cultural programmes to begin with but with political rallying at a high, he and his team were sent to cover some key political moments.
On one occasion he and his team were sent to Kasturchand Park, Nagpur to cover one of Nehru’s political rallies. Nehru’s entourage also included Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Thousands of people had thronged to hear speeches which were being given from a rostrum. Hoshang and his team had set up their equipment beneath the rostrum and he had climbed up to be near the microphones. That morning his sister Vilu had given Hoshang a photograph of Nehru, which she wanted the leader to autograph. Hoshang was able to honour his sister’s wish at this rally. It was also the occasion he prevented Nehru from flinging a “sound recording microphone,” into the crowd, in a fit of temper. Nehru mistakenly believed it had stopped working mid-speech after the crowd began to complain they could not hear anything from the loudspeakers.
When covering a public prayer meeting held by Mahatma Gandhi, he was also able to arrange for two American journalists to gain an audience with Gandhiji on condition they made a contribution to Gandhiji’s collection fund for untouchables or harijans. In 1948 he and his team accompanied the famous broadcaster, Melville de Mellow at Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral. Hoshang recounted the hundreds of farmers who had brought milk and butter to distribute to the poor in the Mahatma’s memory.
During the course of Hoshang’s BBC career he worked at a variety of venues including: Farnborough Airshow, various race courses, Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon and at the Crucible, covering professional snooker. When part of a TV crew recording a snooker tournament at Wembley Arena Hoshang was approached by his idol Steve Davis. Davis asked Hoshang to play back part of the recording as he wanted to view a portion of his game. Hoshang with his usual good humour said “that’ll cost you!” His reward came shortly after when Steve Davis gifted him an autographed snooker cue. It was to become a much cherished possession. It was through the BBC many years later that Hoshang would meet by chance Andrew Hipkin, the son of his former Commanding Officer. Hoshang visited Hipkin senior once, accompanied by Andrew and the pair spoke of their former times in India. Andrew and Hoshang also became good friends, with their passion for snooker cementing their friendship.
For about the last three years of his life Hoshang moved from his home in Ashford Kent and resided at the Neem Tree Care Home in Greenford. Although reluctant to make the change he gradually realised that his own personal limitations made this necessary. This did not impact on his zest for life, remaining mobile and independent as much as possible. Members of staff at the Care Home loved him again admiring his great sense of humour, his politeness and for always being immaculately dressed - preferring to wear suits with an array of ties to match.
In many ways Hoshang’s journey through life seems to have been taken on “a green magic carpet measuring 11ft 81/2in by 5ft 10 in,” and on the way he enriched the lives of all those he met.
Many friends reminisced about their times with Hoshang. At Hoshang’s Utumnu and funeral Phiroze Master whose parents Dina and Soli were close friends of the Khambattas remembered his life by reciting a poem he had written. However it was the words of his niece Dr. Rukshana Nanji, which conveyed the sentiments of many, when she described him as a “sweet gentle man with a rare capacity…to spread happiness and smiles wherever he went. He never shied away from helping others. He may have advanced in age chronologically, but his spirit always remained young and vibrant.”
May Hoshang rest with his beloved Dolly together, in Garothman Behest.
Rohinton F. Munshi
(Hon Sec) ZTFE