Yet Another Parsi Pioneer

This woman dedicated her knowledge to the service of society. She belonged to the Parsi community, which was once upon a time, sidelined by other religions. Like the other members of her religion, she proved to the Indian society that Parsis are actually an asset to this country.

The woman with timeless contributions; Image Source: Veethi

Almost 1400 years ago, the Parsi ancestors of Banoo Coyaji had been abandoned from their Persian Homeland. They were fleeing from the religious persecutions of Iran’s new conqueror and hence sought refuge in Gujarat.

On arriving, they were immediately asked to blend themselves with the localities. The ancestors became sari-laden and learnt the local language. It was almost like dissolving millions of sugar grains into hot, boiling milk.

They still managed to stick to their traditions and worshipped in their own fire temples. Despite their numbers being less than hundreds in the country, they’ve achieved prominence in most fields. For this reason, Banoo Coyaji also points out that, “We’re not even a minority.”

Pestonji Kapadia was a civil engineer and architect. He met his wife Bapaimai Nusserwanji Mistry when he was studying engineering at Pune University. Both were blessed with a girl, their only child, on 7 September 1917. She was none other than Banoo Jehangir Cayooji.

Banoo was sent to live with her grandparents in Pune at a very young age and lived a life of luxury. She was a prodigy and always placed first in rankings at school.

She was also the first girl to matriculate from St. Vincent’s, which was an all-boys school.

She did her pre-med from St. Xavier’s College and went on to become a practising gynaecologist. This is where she met her husband, Jehangir Cayooji, who was the brother of her mentor. They had a child and decided to settle in Pune.

Her career peaked during the 1940s to the 1990s, when, after working for 50 years as Chief Medical Officer, she increased the number of hospital beds from 40 to 550. In order to give back to society, she transformed the hospital into a teaching institute.

She also opened a primary health care centre and trained 660 girls in matters related to nutrition, family planning, and hygiene, so that they could help their own communities with the same. In the years that followed, she received the Padma Bhushan award, Punyabhushan award as well as the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service for her contribution to the field of health. It was on this day in 1993 that she was awarded the Magsaysay Award for her contributions.

Apart from actively participating in the field of health, she had other interests too, such as literature, music, and ballroom dancing with her husband.

After living such a giving life, she passed away on 15th July in 2004, at age of 86. The world needs more Banoo Coyajis, especially at a time when health is of major concern, especially in India.