Parsi Khabar

In the 10th century, a group of Zoroastrians arrived from Iran on the shores of Gujarat, India, and sought refuge in the kingdom of Jadi Rana in Sanjan.
An oft-told tale then describes a meeting between the reigning Hindu king and the community chief, Dasturji Nairyosang Dhaval. “My kingdom is like a cup of milk, full [...]

By Vineeta Pandey / DNA
Concerned about the dwindling Parsi population in the country, the ministry of minority affairs is trying to come up with a concoction to reverse the trend.
Minister Salman Khurshid said that they are soon going to meet Parsi leaders in Mumbai to figure out a plan to stop the extinction of the [...]

Activist Nergis Irani speaks with local Dahanu fisherwomen in the shadow of the power plant.
by Sara Sidner / CNN Dahanu, India
Nergis Irani is like a pit bull; once she sinks her teeth into something she won’t let go. That might explain why at 75 years old she won’t back down from a fight that has [...]

The Bombay Parsi Punchayet got a shot in the arm on Thursday with the Bombay high court declining to stay its ban on two priests from performing religious Zoroastrian ceremonies at Doongerwadi and two fire temples.
By Swati Deshpande / TNN
Two prominent Parsis in Mumbai Jamsheed Kanga and Homi Khushrokhan said they were taken aback by [...]

For almost the past eighty years he has been flying kites every day. There are very few people who manage to live their passions.
By Yogesh Chawda / TNN
Dada, happens to be one of them. Since he was seven years old at a Parsi orphanage in Surat, to this date, Homi Pestonji Ghadiyali, 86, has been [...]

More than 2,000 Parsis flocked to celebrate the anniversary of the city’s youngest fire temple last week.
The Shapurji Fakirji Jokhi Agiary in Godrej Baug, Malabar Hill, completed 10 years on December 18. The priest performed prayer ceremonies in the afternoon. Youth leaders also spoke to the people about uniting as a community. The celebrations finished [...]

Culture is our attitude to beauty and ugliness, to power, to religion, and to family. It shows in our music, in what makes us laugh. Civilization is our attitude to mankind
By Aakar Patel / Mint
Indians have culture but not civilization. Culture is how we entertain ourselves; civilization is how we entertain others. Culture is our [...]

A book review of Alice in Bhuleshwar: Navigating A Mumbai Neighbourhood by Kaiwan Mehta
While wandering through the streets of Mumbai’s old town, Kaiwan Mehta comes across a Venetian-style bust of a 19th century Bombay ‘merchant prince’ atop the Swadeshi Market along Kalbadevi Road.
A few streets way, he discovers [...]

In an internal meeting this evening, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata will address staff of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel and say a short prayer in memory of the guests and employees slain in the terror strike on November 26 last year.
"The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Mumbai  will hold a solemn and [...]

Sculptor Arzan and wife Khushnuma Khambatta along with their two kids Pezanne (14) and Tianna (11) occupy an 850 sq ft apartment with a small garden. “Our home seems small now that the kids are growing up because they want more space,” says Arzan about his cherished space in Dadar Parsi colony.
By Marina Correa / [...]

The remains of a legendary 50,000-strong army which was swallowed up in a cataclysmic sandstorm in the Sahara Desert 2,500 years ago are believed to have been found.
Italian archaeologists Angelo and Alfredo Castiglioni, twin brothers, have discovered bronze weapons and hundreds of human bones which they reckon are the remains of the lost army of [...]

Parsis in Kolkata have cause for cheer. The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a special leave petition (SLP) moved by The Assam Company
Ltd against two charitable trusts run by the community. Calcutta High Court will now hear the matter and decide whether the company should vacate an office adjacent to Olpadvala Memorial Hall on [...]

Kobad Ghandy’s recent arrest has made waves. After all, it’s not every day that one encounters a Naxal leader who hails from an affluent Parsi family, has studied in some of India’s best educational institutions and also done a CA from London. Despite his unusual background, he became a leading Naxal ideologue. In an exclusive [...]

Zoroastrian priest banned by the apex community trust challenges its decision; says he will not stop conducting rituals for mixed-marriage Parsis
A Zoroastrian priest – who was banned from praying at the Towers of Silence and fire temples because he has been conducting Navjotes (initiation ceremonies) for children from mixed marriages and offering after-death prayers for [...]

The rising waters of the Arabian Sea swallowed Girish Tandel’s ancestral home in Danti village of Valsad district some 15 years back. He is left only with memories of that home and a videograph of his uncle’s marriage that was solemnised at the family home in Danti.
- The fire temple of the Parsis in Udwada [...]