"Growing Up in Meher Baba's Family" - Shireen Bonner
Shireen Bonner, Meher Baba’s niece, shares memories of her three visits with Meher Baba when she was seven- and eleven-years old, respectively. She also talks about being part of Meher Baba’s family and how her father (Adi Irani, Meher Baba’s brother) explained who Meher Baba was.
About Shireen Bonner
Shireen Bonner is Meher Baba’s niece, the daughter of Meher Baba’s youngest brother, Adi Jr., and Franey Irani. She was born in London, England, a year after her parents moved there from India. She is the only one of her generation of Meher Baba’s family to have been born in the West.
Shireen first met Meher Baba when her parents took her to India for an extended visit when she was three-months old. The next occasion that Shireen spent time with Meher Baba and the mandali — particularly her Aunt Mani Irani (Meher Baba’s sister) and her “aunties” Mehera Irani, Goher Irani and Katie Irani, with whom she always remained very close — was at the age of seven. The family spent a long time in India during this trip and had almost daily visits with Beloved Baba.
SHIREEN BONNER (center) at age seven with the women mandali and her mother. (Left to right): Mehera J. Irani, Rano Gayley, Franey Irani (her mother), Meheru Irani, and Mani S. Irani (Meher Baba's sister and Shireen's auntie). (Photo: Shireen Bonner)
At that time, the family had journeyed to India for Shireen's Navjote ceremony: an important milestone in the Zoroastrian religion. There was a large, formal ceremony and reception to celebrate the event, but Meher Baba Himself performed Shireen's true, very simple ceremony that morning at Meherazad.
The third and final time that Shireen saw Meher Baba was in 1968/1969, when Shireen was 11 years old, for the wedding of Dara and Amrit Irani. Dara is Shireen’s brother from their fatheri’s first marriage. Meher Baba dropped His body on January 31, 1969, only a few weeks after the entire family had returned to England after the wedding.
Very soon after Meher Baba dropped His body, Shireen's parents started to hold monthly meetings at their home in London (named “Meher Manzil “) for the early "new wave" of young Meher Baba lovers who had only recently come to Him. The Iranis' very close family friend and longtime disciple of Meher Baba, Delia de Leon, played an important role in these early meetings. Pete Townshend sang “O’Parvardigar” at Meher Manzil very soon after he composed the song.
Shireen grew up with many Meher Baba followers visiting and sometimes staying for extended periods. From 1969/1970 onward, many American followers, who were keen to meet Meher Baba's brother, stopped off in London en route to their first pilgrimage to India. There was an influx of people over the course of several years, and many close friends were made in this way. This is how Shireen first met her husband, Jay Bonner.
Shireen and Jay married in 1980 at Meherazad. They had the great good fortune of Mehera, Mani and many other mandali and family members arranging every detail of their wedding. After the wedding, they returned to their life in London.
Growing up, Shireen attended St.Paul's Girls' School in London, where Meher Baba had specifically wished her to go because His close English disciple, Kitty Davy had attended St. Paul’s. After school, Shireen read Italian at the University of London and then embarked on a career initially, and briefly, in children's book publishing, followed by magazine production and writing.
In 1986, Shireen and Jay’s daughter was born. Shireen’s father Adi Jr. died in 1988. In 1991, Franey, Shireen, Jay and their daughter all moved to America. They currently live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Shireen cares for her 96-year-old mother, Franey. She and Jay are doting grandparents to their daughter’s two children.