Parsi elections begin today

By Mahafreed Irani
Saturday, October 04, 2008 04:00 IST
For the past one month, 83-year-old Peshotan Unwala has been bombarded with pamphlets. But unlike the usual leaflets announcing the opening of a new store or a sale, these are part of the large scale campaigning undertaken by candidates vying for post of trustees of the Bombay [...]

Parsi punchayat gears up for polls

Otherwise known to be a genteel people, the Parsi community is likely to witness mud-slinging, name-calling and character assassination over the next two months as the 350-year-old Bombay Parsi Punchayat (BPP) prepares to get itself a fresh bunch of trustees.
With elections scheduled over three weekends in October, the race has formally begun for the coveted [...]

Roshan Peiris: Challenge-loving scribe who quizzed world leaders

She was in the twilight of her professional life as a journalist when she joined The Sunday Times, in the early ’90s, but even at that stage of her career she was a formidable force, and soon earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues.
She had in earlier times reached the highest echelons of the [...]

Marguerite Del Guidice: In conversation

Last week we pointed you to the National Geographic Story on Iran. Below is an interview with the author Marguerite Del Guidice in the Persian Mirror.

If you are concerned with all things Iran, you have probably already received a few emails from your friends, telling you about the amazing cover story on Iran by National [...]

Bapsy Sidhwa in Lahore

“Every time I come to Lahore, I find it more beautiful than my previous visit,” said novelist Bapsi Sidhwa during an interview with Daily Times.
Sidhwa, who spent her early years in Lahore, said that the city was beautiful and full of creativity. “You breathe here and feel the creativity in the air. It is the [...]

The Parsis October Revolution

Those Russians call it double - 10 from 10th October, when the Tsars were overthrown. We, Parsis, will call it the October Revolution. When a frustrated, fed up, angry, exasperated, irate, end of patience but determined community will vote, in thousands, to see the last of the Mandarins and Mandrakes and usher in seven new [...]

What is the secret behind the Parsi-Zoroastrians’ longevity?

Bangalore-based biotech company trying to solve riddle opens Pune chapter, seeks blood samples
Bangalore-based biotech company Avesthagen Ltd, which is carrying out a large-scale study to decipher the riddle behind the Parsi-Zoroastrians’ longevity, has launched a Pune chapter and has appealed to members of the community to provide blood samples in large numbers. The reason the [...]

Sam Manekshaw: Obituary in The Economist

His most famous remark was not, strictly speaking, true. On the eve of the war with Pakistan in December 1971 that led to the creation of Bangladesh, India’s prime minister, Indira Gandhi, asked her army chief, Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, if he was ready for the fight. He replied with the gallantry, flirtatiousness and [...]

Kaoos Rustom Sethna: To Be with Nature

K R Sethna who gave up a thriving career as a horse-race jockey in Poona and came to the Western Ghats just to be with Nature.
Everyone is talking about the disappearance of sparrows from our neighbourhood. Well, the sparrows are gone because people who love and care for them are gone or pushed into [...]

The last of the Punjabi Parsis

By Ajay Bharadwaj
With the passing away of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw on Friday, none of the Parsis who had made Amritsar their home are alive today
CHANDIGARH: Amritsar has been in deep mourning after the only tender link it had with the Parsi community was severed with the passing away of Field Marshal Sam HFJ Manekshaw.
It [...]