"[3] Dhalla himself merely acknowledged that "in replying to questions concerning ceremonies and conventions I do not give my personal opinion as a thinking individual or as a humble scholar or as a reformist, because I have no authority to do so.

[citation needed] Dhalla completed his clerical training on 21 March 1895 at the age of 20 and his first lecture as a full-fledged priest was on atash, fire.

[citation needed] The lecture series made him famous among the Parsi community, and in August 1901 Dhalla was accepted at the postgraduate degree program in Avestan and Pahlavi studies at the Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Madressa (today the J. J.

Even with the preparatory assistance of Shapurji Saklatvala and Jivanji Jamshedji Modi, New York was initially quite a culture shock for Dhalla, who until his arrival in the United States had never even worn "foreign attire.

"[6] Nonetheless, and with great pecuniary discipline, for the next three years Dhalla studied Iranian languages and Sanskrit as majors with minors in philology and philosophy.

[citation needed] The experience at Columbia University gave Dhalla "a new outlook on life"[7] and he began "observing religious literature from a new angle.

[citation needed] In September 1921 Dhalla, accompanied by his wife and son (Nariman, who would eventually also study at Columbia), again proceeded to New York, this time to have his book Zoroastrian Civilization published.

Although Dhalla was appalled at the living conditions (not just of Zoroastrians), he found that the still-medieval infrastructure afforded him with opportunities for closer contacts with the people that he would have had with more modern forms of transportation.

Following the publication of his book, Dhalla and family returned to Karachi via London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Milan, Rome, and Naples, and felt the effects of the war that had ended only three years previously.

[citation needed] In 1929, Dhalla journeyed again to New York to attend Columbia University's 175th anniversary celebrations, and at which he received an honorary Doctor of Letters (Litt.D.).

[citation needed] Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla's works include: Atma Katha, his autobiography (written in Gujarati) was published in Karachi in 1942.