Mumbai’s historic Parsi Tower of Silence cemetery on Malabar Hill, established in 1672, has been honored with a...
Bombay Articles
Alpaiwala Museum: Of opium, fire temples, and sarees: A peek into the world of India’s dwindling Parsis BBC
Tucked away in a lane in the southern end of India's financial capital, Mumbai, is a museum dedicated to the followers...
The Birth of the University of Mumbai
On 18th July 1857, the University of Mumbai (then Bombay) was incorporated by an act of the Legislative Council of India. It was a culmination of the efforts of the prominent community members of...
Jiyo Parsi Idea Contest
ENRICH A MEMORY AND GET RICH YOURSELF Jiyo Parsi commemorates the 100th death anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji by inviting our Zoroastrian Indian viewers to participate in an Idea Contest on our...
A cause(way) that linked Mumbai’s islands
While the government struggled to collect funds to construct a causeway for better connectivity in the island city, one Parsi family took it upon itself to construct the Mahim Causeway. Before 1845,...
A Year’s Membership To J N Petit Library in Fort Mumbai Only Costs INR 1,000
Eminent Parsi historian and our dear friend Marzban Giara informs us that the J. N. Petit Library Fort was started in 1895 and not 1856 (as stated in the article below) in memory of Jamsetjee...
Dadar Parsi Colony Agiary Well Runs Dry After 89 Years
For the first time in 89 years, the well of the Rustom Faramna Agiary in Dadar Parsi Colony has run dry. Now, the chairman of the agiary has pinned his hopes on the upcoming monsoon or else...
Mumbai’s oldest, architectural landmark Banaji Limji Agiary completes 308 years
The city's heritage Fort district is globally famous for its majestic colonial buildings. But few know that it also has seven ancient Zoroastrian Parsi Fire Temples in this enclave. The oldest fire...
Untold story of Bank of Bombay
The hitherto untold story of Bank of Bombay, one of the forebears of the State Bank of India, has been finally chronicled through rare documents and photographs at a newly opened heritage gallery at...
In the city of Tata and Godrej, there’s no Parsi in BMC poll fray
For the first time in 50 years, the illustrious Mehta family won’t be contesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls from what used to be its stronghold in Mumbai Central. The Mehtas...
132-year-old Ripon Club plans partial sell-off to cut rising losses
Although the 132-year-old Ripon Club has endured the vicissitudes of time and fortune, a part of the good old Parsi bastion may suffer partial eclipse. A controversial proposal to surrender or sell...
The mystery of the clock tower deaths
A century and a quarter after two Parsi girls fell to their death from the iconic Rajabai Clock Tower in Mumbai, the shocking incident continues to intrigue On 25 April 1891, at about 4pm, Bachubai...
Remembering the 20th century theatre impresario who built Mumbai’s iconic Opera House
A slice of history is being resurrected in Mumbai this week. The Royal Opera House, an imposing Baroque building, will come alive again on Thursday after a hiatus of 22 years and following seven...
How 100 Parsi Kids Collected 12000+ Shoes under 3 Hours For the Underprivileged in Mumbai
One hundred Parsi children, who are a part of the Xtremely Young Zoroastrians (XYZ) foundation, have collected 12,199 shoes for the underprivileged within three hours in Mumbai. The shoe collection...
XYZ Making A Difference
Below is an appeal received from our good friend Hoshaang Gotla who runs the amazing kids program XYZ in Mumbai Dear members of the community, Our organisation - XYZ is organising a MAD Initiative...
Almost 150 yrs later, Cowasjee’s noble cause still prevails
A meeting on September 22, 1852, between friends of Framjee Cowasjee collected sizeable fund which was used used to construct a memorial institute to further Cowasjee’s ideals. Article written by...
Portraits, Dreams And Quirks Of Nine Young Parsis In Mumbai
There’s nothing quite like observing a creature in its natural habitat. Fortunately for us, India is one of the few places a particularly rare specimen are still fairly common. So, for the avid...
Meher Marfatia: Whose lane is it anyway?
UPDATE: An earlier version of the article stated that it was Rohinton Mistry who was taught by Moti Dalal of Sunrise building. It is now corrected to Firdaust Kanga, who was a student of Moti Dalal....
Digging up the past: Neil MacGregor
Former director of the British Museum is in the city to re-kindle his love for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya, and learn more about the Parsis' relationship with fire After successful...
Parsi School Buildings to Get an Architectural Facelift
When the Bharda High School building was established in the 19th century, its neo-classical facade looked out on the vast expanse of the Bombay esplanade. Sea breeze streamed through the louvered...
Sophocles and sizzlers at Scandal Point
Colonial class to Boutique Boulevard, the seaside strip of Breach Candy still spells midtown magic Speak of symmetry and serendipity. After 26 years of growing up on Hill Road, Bandra, I've spent a...
This Duo is Documenting Mumbai’s Fast Disappearing Irani Cafes
The culturescape of Mumbai is one that is vast and diverse and there are many elements – old and new, that make the city as you know it today. Some of these aspects are such that add...
Once upon a Hill Road
An arterial road in Bandra is as deep-steeped in general lore as it is in personal memory for someone who grew up on this street I am the Resurrection and the Life’ affirms the inscription on the...
XYZ is MAD
Our dear friend Hoshaang Gotla writes in to inform us of an excellent initiative he is putting together with the Xtremely Young Zoroastrians, a program he founded. On the occasion of XYZ's...
How a new prayer hall is changing funeral patterns in Mumbai’s Parsi community
After more than a decade of controversy, a growing number of Mumbai’s Parsi Zoroastrians are now choosing to cremate their deceased loved ones instead of consigning them to the traditional Towers of...
Mumbai Rail Metro Threatens Bhikha Behram Well
Tunnel dug for project will deplete sweet, holy water, fear trustees; authorities respond, promise meeting to allay fears The Bhikha Behram Well, one the city's oldest sunken sweet water sources,...
Iconic Kekee Manzil on Bandstand Bandra Up For Sale?
UPDATE: From a friend who knows the family, we have been informed that the information below is not accurate. The house is NOT FOR SALE. We are thrilled to hear that. May Kekee Manzil continue to...
Check in to vintage Mumbai with Simin Patel
This evening, Mumbai historian Simin Patel will discuss the hotel trade in Bombay from 1860 to 1903. Excerpts from an interview Article By Anand Benegal | Mid-Day Q. What interests you about the...
Lecture on old Bombay hotels debunks myths and unearths scandals
There has been a persistent rumour that Parsi industrialist Jamsetji Tata was denied entry to the European-owned Esplanade Hotel or in a less popular account Pyrke's Apollo Hotel. In...
BH Wadia Clock Tower in Mumbai Vandalized
How safe is Mumbai's heritage from wrecking? How safe is Mumbai’s heritage from wrecking? A theft at Fort’s century-old BH Wadia clock tower throws up uncomfortable questions Mumbai isn’t free from...
Cheers to Lal Chimney
It’s a privilege I haven’t had. Of living in a baug, that quaint yet quintessential bastion of Parsidom, the housing hub whose clusters across town are home to over half the 40,000 members of my...
Supreme Court Orders Status Quo on Parsi Lying In Hospital Case
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to all Trustees of Parsi Punchayat and managing of Parsi Lying-in Hospital and directed that there be status quo on its development after Punchayet chief...
K Rustoms and Why Google was right to pick the name Ice Cream Sandwich
This October Google is rolling out the latest version of its Android operating system, codenamed Marshmallow. This series is called after confectionery, starting alphabetically with Cupcake, Donut...
Zubin Mehta concerts granted tax exemption
The Devendra Fadnavis government on Wednesday granted entertainment duty exemption to the Australian World Orchestra concerts to be conducted by Padma Vibhushan Zubin Mehta on October 25 and 26. A...
Mumbai’s pillar: The Parsi Community
After the decay of the Armenian dynasty what followed was with gradual rise a community that is well known today as the Parsis. The Holy faith introduced by their prophet, Zarathustra is recognized...
Cyrus Poonawalla buys iconic Lincoln House in Mumbai for Rs 750 crore
Bulge-bracket property deals by the rich and the famous are not new to the land-starved megapolis, but the weekend sale of the iconic Lincoln House here to the Pune-based industrialist Cyrus...
First service at new Parsi prayer hall
The new prayer hall at Worli for Parsis, who choose burial or cremation of the dead, will see its first prayer service on Wednesday -two weeks after it received a go-ahead from the Brihanmumbai...
Will Mumbai’s 99-year-old iconic Parsi Dairy Farm shut shop ?
For almost a century, Parsi Dairy Farm has fattened generations of Mumbaikars on its high-quality milk, butter, ghee, and an assortment of mithais. Eateries across the city have for decades served...
Reformist Parsis get a funeral prayer hall of their own in Worli, Mumbai India
Barred from prayer halls inside Doongarwadi for opposing the traditional method of disposing of dead or for marrying outside the community, the liberals build their own space to pray for the dead....
The Worli Prayer Hall For Parsi Irani Zarathushtis
In Febrarury 2014 we had informed you about the allocation of land at the Worli crematorium to build a prayer hall to be used for Parsi and Irani Zarathushtis who opt for cremation upon death. The...
Open Parsi dokhmas to kin, says protesting workers’ union
The Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha, representing the Bombay Parsi Punchayet's (BPP) 220 Class IV workers, has asked the trust to allow relatives of the deceased into the roofless towers where dead bodies are...
Parsis volunteer to turn corpse-bearers
BPP Trustee Scopes Out Substitutes If Khandias Strike About 25 Parsis, normally employed as plumbers, engineers and businessmen, will don crisp white uniforms and work as pallbearers or khandias if...
Mumbai’s Parsis fight to preserve the city’s greenest space in Dadar
The Parsi colony in Mumbai’s Dadar neighbourhood is unique. It is the world’s largest concentration of Parsis, now down to its last 80,000 despite the community’s wealth and education. Article by...
Parsi Punchayet sweepers, pallbearers threaten strike
On Monday, over 230 Class IV workers including the Tower of Silence's pallbearers sported red Gandhi topis with their union's name “Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha“ emblazoned across. This was the first phase...
Khada Parsi Statue to Get a Protective Barrier and CCTV
Protection Against Beggars, Drug Addicts et al for Iconic Statue Article by Chaitanya Marpakwar | Times Of India Almost a year after it was restored at a cost of nearly Rs 1 crore, the BMC has decid...
Tehmulji Parsi Lying-In hospital may see development soon
The hospital at Fort has not been functioning for over two decades now. For the past three years, the BPP trustees and the hospital committee have been locked in a legal tussle over the...
Vulture culture atop coconut palms sends bird numbers soaring
Conservation Centre At Raigad Gets Encouraging Results In Three Years A flock of vultures swoops down on a quiet open plot, flapping their wings with gay abandon while another flock takes sudden...
Café Mondegar, others won’t vacate Colaba’s Metro House building
Despite an eviction notice from the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), the tenants of Metro House in Colaba, which houses iconic establishments such as the famed Café Mondegar, have refused to vacate the...
Dadar Parsi colony residents fight for hawker-free zone
One of the oldest area in Mumbai, the Dadar Parsi colony area's residents came out, on Sunday in large numbers for anti-hawkers protest march. The protest which began from Five Gardens had residents...
Cafe Mondegar faces eviction after Bombay Port Trust terminates building lease
The Mumbai Port Trust has served an eviction notice for all tenants of Metro House building in Colaba including the iconic Cafe Mondegar for criminal violations of the lease agreement. The 7-page...
BPP Divided Over Rs 1000 Crore Silver Oaks Property in Mumbai
While a majority of Bombay Parsi Punchayet trustees feel the property should be reserved for Parsis only, its chairman says charity funds should not be spent on legal fees to make it...
Row over Parsi hospital’s pact with private firm goes to Bombay High Court
A quaint heritage Parsi hospital property built in 1895 and lying defunct for several decades in the prime Fort area of south Mumbai will be redeveloped into an orthopaedic and neurosurgery centre....