SPECIAL

20 March 2020 

From his apartment window, Bomi Khambata watched as the special plane flew low and approached the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Matsushima Air Base in Miyagi Prefecture.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines Co (JAL) had worked together on this aircraft which displayed an Olympic torchbearer pictogram emblazoned on the front of the aircraft running along the side of the plane via an ochre-coloured emblem to the Olympic Torch Relay emblem on the tail. The livery featured a runner with the torch at the front of the fuselage and red strokes representing the Olympic flame. The livery had the words “Hope Lights Our Way”.

This plane was transporting the flame from Greece to Japan. The flame was placed into a specially designed container for flights. This looks a bit like a miner’s lamp. The Olympic flame had been lit at the historic site of Ancient Olympia in Greece and was handed over to the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee by the Hellenic Olympic Committee in the Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony held at the Panathenaic Stadium.

’Tokyo 2020 Go’ was painted in bold on the special aeroplane

The word “Go”, written in Japanese having

similar pronunciation to the English word “Go!”, implied the start of a journey.  

It reflected the plane’s mission to deliver the flame to the Games and the sense of anticipation as the Games drew near. 

The Parsee gentleman watched in awe as the sight of this particular aeroplane was a treat. It was a culmination of a buzz that had been building up over days, weeks and months all over the world.

It was 2020. It was the year of Olympics.

However it was difficult times. 

A pandemic was spreading, killing hundreds of people every day around the globe. In such conditions, there was uncertainty if the games could be held as scheduled. The flame however had to be transported. 

Looking up at the skies he realised that it had arrived.

The white haired Bomi had travelled a few weeks back to Japan from India on a business trip. He had been invited over. His company was on the brink of signing a huge deal with the Japanese Air Force. His apartment which was in the vicinity of the airbase gave him a clear view of the skyline. 

Standing at his window, as he watched the special plane that carried live fire, his thoughts flew back to another special plane transporting holy live fire by air in difficult conditions around five decades back.

Air India's Boeing 707 Lhotse.

Air India had reconfigured this Boeing 707 first class cabin to carry LIVE BURNING FIRE.

For its time it was the first and only incident in the world when a plane had carried live fire in flight.

This story had been handed down to him by his parents and his family.

He got transported to Aden and India.

 

----------////----------

The story goes way beyond to 1800 when Aden on the Arabian peninsula was thriving in business and attracted various businesses. Being a port city it thrived and by end of 1900, it attracted many communities including Zarthustis. 

These adventurous and enterprising Parsee families involved in shipping and allied business settled down here.

To further their spiritual and religious needs the Parsees had built a fire temple in Aden. This agiary was built by the Cowasjee Dinshaw family who was in the business of shipping. The consecrated Atash was of Adaran grade.

Characteristic about Atash, this holy fire, is that it is an amalgamation of sixteen hearths — Fire used in burning a corpse, the fire used by a dyer, fire from a house of a king or a ruling authority, Fire from a potter, Fire from a brick-maker, Fire from an ascetic, Fire from a goldsmith, Fire from a mint, Fire from an ironsmith, Fire from an armourer, Fire from a baker, Fire from a brewer, Fire from a soldier, Fire from a shepherd, Fire produced by atmospheric lightning, Fire from the house of a Zoroastrian. Natural fire is also kindled by striking two flintstones and the spark igniting some sandalwood. This last fire is kept with the 16th fire.

Fast forward to 1967.

The British left Aden and the communist took the power of the state. As changes came in businessmen and foreigners slowly started leaving Aden. 

As the Parsees were leaving they started discussing what was to happen to their sacred fire. The Cowasji Dinshaw family who was much influential also decided to shift the Fire from the temple. As Iran and  London got crossed out due to various reasons choice was zeroed down to India.

Political intervention personally by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Indian Foreign Minister  YB Chavan persuaded the South Yemeni government to let the Parsees move the Holy Atash to India. They agreed on the condition that it would have to be moved out at midnight. 

They now had to be persuaded on some other points. The  Holy Atash could not be viewed by any non-Zarthustis. They reluctantly agreed.

Plans were now set afoot to start the ball rolling. A land route was chalked out by Field Marshal Sam Manecksha. However, this route was a problem. It was through Mecca and Medina, the holiest cities of Islam. Non- muslins are not allowed to even enter here. Also from a Zarthuists theological point of view, the land routes would entail travelling over many rivers and water routes. There is an injunction in the Denkard, a 10th-century compendium of Zoroastrian beliefs and customs, on carrying the Holy Fire over a wide expanse of waters. Another reason was that discharge from boats, ships and other pollutants in the water was not good for the sanctity of the sacred fire.

This route had to be ruled out. 

The only option left was to transport this Holy fire to India by air.

This was dangerous to the aircraft and the people accompanying it and a huge security issue. Over days this option was weighed out and a solution arrived. Air India agreed to provide a Boeing 707 on a charter basis. Plans were now drawn so that some essential purity and religious injunctions were observed. Only Parsee Zarthustis had to be onboard the aircraft. 

A call was put out for volunteers. A Parsee, Capt Sam Pedder of Air India was nominated to fly the plane. Capt. Balsara would be the co-pilot.

There would be no air hostesses. 

Instead, the aircraft would carry a batch of six priests under the leadership of the high priest of Udwada. The priests of the community who have to attend to the fire, especially at certain times of the day were also readied.

Air India’s Deputy Director of Engineering, Mr N. S. Mistry, prepared a special urn to carry the Holy Fire in. They also made a big box of aluminium and other metals that would hold the urn. All safety and emergency procedures were laid out and Air India’s Lhotse was designated as the aeroplane to fly the ‘Holy Fire’. Its first-class had to be reconfigured to carry out the task.

It would now be a special plane. 

Things were moving in speed for this major ’Fly the Flame’ operation.

However, a last-minute glitch came up.

The police commissioner of Aden, who did not see eye to eye to the operation and held a grudge against the project organisers informed the remaining few Parsees who were looking after the Fire that he would be coming over the next day to personally inspect the Fire, the urn and the box that would be carrying it. He insisted that he wanted to check it out and make sure the big box was not being used for any smuggling activity. He could not be convinced that the flame should not be subjected to the gaze of a non-Zarthusti. He was adamant about his decision.

It was a helpless situation. It would be sacrilege. They felt dejected but they continued the preparation of the flight. 

They prayed to the Holy Fire itself and asked to be delivered from this impending catastrophe.

As dawn broke an official car arrived at the agiary. The Commissioner must have arrived. There was a knock on the door They were expecting the antagonist.

However, it was not the Commissioner. The person at the door was another official with some very different news. The Commissioner had suddenly died in the night. No one else objected to the arrangements. The fire could be transported without visual inspection. The sanctity of the Atash was preserved. There was elation once again. The fire was readied for transportation.

Air India’s Lhotse arrived just then and without delay, the important entity —the live Fire ’Atash-e-Adaran’ in an urn—was carried onto the Lhotse. The aircraft, without switching off its engines, taxied back and took off with a ‘Fire’ on board.

It touched down at Santacruz Airport, Bombay at 0700 Hours on November 14, 1976. It had flown for about four hours.

The sacred fire brought in by the special plane Lhotse "rested" at Mahim's Soonawala Agiary, before being convoy-escorted and enthroned at the  Lonavla's Adenwalla Agiary, where it still glows beautifully.  

 

----------////----------

Standing on his balcony, watching the Olympic flame plane fly above in the skies, tears of gratitude welled up for the ones who years back helped transport a holy flame in the world’s first “flying” fire temple special plane.

Bomi Khambata said a prayer.   

Yatha Ahu Vairyo was chanted

After the announcement of the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the flame brought in by the special plane ’Tokyo 2020 Go’ was kept in a secure location before going on display at the Japan Olympic Museum in Tokyo on 1 September 2020.

The opening ceremony of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics finally took place on 23 July 2021 at Olympic Stadium, Tokyo.

Credit for image and details -- Internet.