On Feb 25, 1885, over a dozen prominent Parsis, including Dorab Tata, son of Tata empire founder Jamsetji Tata, met at...
Bombay Articles
Century-Old Visitors’ Pavilion At Doongarwadi – Tower Of Silence In Malabar Hill Restored
The Panday Pavilion, named after the family that originally built it, is one of the two seating areas in the cemetery...
Ignoring community’s help, Parsi family lives on footpath
They were given monetary assistance and put up at a dharamshala, yet the family of three have, for four years, been embarrassing the community by living outside the Petit Sanatorium at Cumballa...
A Will To Live
By six in the evening, dozens of senior citizens assemble on concrete benches across the seven-acre vicinity of Cusrow Baug, the queen of Parsi colonies. Sprawled by the sea in South Mumbai's posh...
The Story of Two Mumbai Riots in the 19th Century
In 19th century Bombay, Parsis and Muslims fought each other on the streets on two separate occasions but eventually buried the hatchet and moved on. In 2013, we are still grappling with the problem...
Five Parsi trusts move court over civic authority’s notices on property tax
Five Parsi trusts based in Mumbai have approached Bombay High Court challenging the civic authority's notices on property tax levied on the base of capital value as against ratable value. The...
Mumbai’s Gallery Chemould Hits 50
Gallery Chemould in Mumbai has launched its 50th birthday celebrations with an exhibition titled “Subject of Death.” Author: Bhakti Chuganee Source: Wall Street Journal The exhibition, curated by...
Parsi Baug Builder: Bai Jerbai Naoroji Nusherwanji Wadia
A few days ago we had posted an article titled “The Parsi Baugs of Mumbai” A Parsi Khabar reader, Mr. E. J. Kanga wrote in with further information on this topic. To All Diaspora & Bharati...
Parsi cafes: Custom Made in Mumbai
They once numbered in the hundreds, but the few Parsi cafes that survive in Mumbai today have lost none of their charm, writes Rosie Birkett for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong I'm eating...
BNHS to create Vulture Safe Zone from Doongerwadi to Dahanu
The Bombay Natural History Society to collaborate with the Parsi community, create vulture safe zone between Doongerwadi and Dahanu Author: Priyam Bagga | Source: Pune Mirror For centuries, the...
The Parsi baugs of Mumbai
Kaizad Bhamgara takes a closer look at some of the popular Zoroastrian settlements in the city and discovers that they are a lot more than just places to live for this closely-knit community. With...
Parsis move to court over property tax in Mumbai
The city’s Parsi fire temples’ trustees filed a petition in the Bombay high court on Monday against the new capital value-based property tax system that has been introduced by the civic body....
Toilet near Bhikha Behram Well to be Razed
The Bombay high court has directed that a toilet built close to a religious place near Cross Maidan – the over-280-year-old Bhika Behram well, a grade 1 heritage structure – be demolished. The Parsi...
Potential Radiation from Cell Phone Towers Cause Panic in Dadar Parsi Colony
6 cancer cases in 3 yrs, residents call meet to devise strategy. Freny Kavarana, a resident of Shree Samarth building in Dadar’s Parsi Colony, says that she feels “horrible” when sitting in her...
Refresher Program for Ervads, Ostas, Behdins and Pasbaans at the Cama Athornan In Mumbai
Below is a public service announcement received via email. WITH THE BLESSINGS OF LATE SETH MERWANJI MUNCHERJI CAMA – OUR BENEFACTOR, The EX-STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION of THE M.F. CAMA ATHORNAN INSTITUTE...
Fresh bids for Tehmulji Parsi Lying-in hospital revamp next month
The tussle between the managing committee and the Bombay Parsi Punchayat (BPP) over the future of the Parsi Lying-in Hospital at Fort notwithstanding, the Punchayat has again decided to invite bids...
Armin Wandrewala: SOOR Sanity On Our Roads: An Interview
Below is an article on Armin Wandrewala’s initiative “Sanity On Our Roads” called SOOR. Listen to her radio interview on Radio ONE here. Now, you can enforce traffic discipline on Mumbai's roads...
Yazdani Restaurant and Bakery: Where time stops for cutting chai
Mumbai’s Parsee cafés – bakeries run by the city’s Zoroastrian community – have long been an institution in the city. Most of them have been wiped out, replaced by identikit fast-food joints and...
Parsis in the city gear up for new year
Navaz Master, a Napean Sea Road resident, will not eat any traditional Parsi food on Saturday. Master and her husband will instead eat at a regular restaurant to celebrate the Parsi New Year....
BPP Chairman Responds to Reforming Parsi Matrimonial Law
The below is a response from Mr. Dinshaw Mehta, Chairman of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat. This is in response to an Article to 'OVERHAUL MATRIMONIAL LAW' appearing in your esteemed newspaper...
The Parsi Feast: NDTV Documentary on Parsi Cuisine in Mumbai
Join Aneesha Baig as she digs out the quintessential Parsi cuisine hot spots in Mumbai.
Dire demographics of Parsi-Zoroastrians
Between 1951 and 2001, when the country’s population increased by 185%, the number of Parsi-Zoroastrians fell by 37.7%. This probably explains why no other community in India watches its...
Jeh Wadia : Bombay Realty has maintained a straight line in prices
Jeh Wadia, managing director of Bombay Realty, spoke on conceptualizing projects in a tough real estate scenario and the impact of changing building norms in Mumbai By Madhurima Nandy | Livemint.com...
Water Wastage Complaint at Bhabha Sanatorium Compound
200 ways to waste water For three months, allege residents, a Bandra family has been committing water carnage by pouring upto 200 litres of water out of their fourth floor flat for no reason; BMC...
ZYNG Organizes A Summer Celebration for Differently Abled Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians
Name: SPECIAL STARS Tagline: A Summer Celebration for Differently Abled Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians Organizers: ZYNG - Zoroastrian Youth for the Next Generation Senior Citizens Ladies Group of Rustom...
A year on, JJ Hospital finally gets Rs. 52 Lacs from Maneck Sanjana’s Estate
In January 2011, JJ received an email that a Parsi woman had left 100,000 Canadian dollars for it. But the hospital authorities thought of it as an elaborate online fraud By Santosh Andhale | Mumbai...
Bombay HC asks Parsi Panchayat for help
Taking a sympathetic view, the Bombay High Court has asked the Parsi Panchayat whether it could provide temporary accommodation to a man who is in a custody dispute with his wife. By Urvi Mahajani |...
A One Day Workshop for Parsi Irani Zoroastrian Girls and Boys
Learn all about your religion — Zoroastrianism • Ask all the questions you ever wanted to ask • Find out what it means to be a true Zoroastrian. VENUE : The Alexandra Girls’ English...
Should Parsis promote funeral alternatives?
The discovery of a desiccated human body part in the garden of a fire temple on Napean Sea Road last week caused a lot of distress and deliberation among the city’s Parsi-Zoroastrians. By Manoj Nair...
Bun maska at Kyani
Here lies the old-world charm of home-baked bread and earthy chai. “Khosh aamadi! Ke khoshaamad maraa ze aamadanat. Hezaar jaan e geraami, fedaa ye aan qadamat” (Welcome! For your presence has...
Need for a Facility for Mentally Challenged Parsi Children and Adults
Below is a letter by our dearest friend and neighbor Dr. Katayun Palia to the Editor of Jame Jamshed. Dr. Palia talks about the need for a residential facility for mentally challenged Parsi...
The Khada Parsi: Mumbai’s oldest Parsi set for makeover
Four years after promising to restore the city's heritage fountains, BMC will commence work on the Khada Parsi fountain at the onset of this financial year; work on Flora Fountain will also begin...
PARZOR Exhibition in Mumbai: Hand Embroidered Products at the Women’s Week Festivities
Information forwarded to Parsi Khabar by regular reader and good friend Dr. Arnavaz Havewala.
Jumjoji: Parsi Restaurant in Bandra, Mumbai
In addition to their lineage, customs and community achievements, Parsis are fiercely proud about their food. Not surprisingly, the walls of Jumjoji, a week-old upscale Parsi diner in Bandra...
Koolar & Co. : Brun Maska in the Land of Idli
In the hotbed of eateries serving some of the city's best piping hot dosas, sambars and tasty chutney that is Matunga, lies an equally popular if unlikely restaurant -- an Irani one. What is it...
Mumbai Road Named After Naoroji Pirojsha Godrej
The Godrej family was out in full strength on Sunday morning at a function to name a road after the founder of the Godrej empire, Naoroji Pirojsha Godrej, at Napean Sea Road. The road leading to...
Parsi Research Assistants Needed In Mumbai
Dear Parsi community My name is Håkon Tandberg, and I’m a Ph.D. researcher from Norway studying Zoroastrianism. I’ve earlier enjoyed a research visit among the Parsis in Mumbai (2008), and will now...
A look at Mumbai’s dwindling Irani chai shops
UPDATE: Link to the documentary mentioned in this article is here. A lot can happen over chai. Once over 300 Irani tea-shops in Mumbai were as intrinsic to the city as streetside cafes are to Paris....
P D Zilla and the case of the Unappropriated Land
Deceased textile magnate's niece unearths documents of sale of about 2,300 sq m of his land in Andheri (East) twice -- once for a throwaway price, and another time for Rs 18 crore -- after he died...
Kurshetji murder puts spotlight on Parsis
The Adi Kurshetji murder case of May 2003, which culminated in the conviction of the accused on Friday, has exposed the soft underbelly of the Parsi community. By Nauzar Bharucha | TNN With an...
The Empty House: Jehangir and Meherbai Bhabha’s “Meherangir”
Colonial India condemned Indians as a people without history, often quoting John Stuart Mill who argued that for “rude nations”, like India, “fable stands in place of fact” and “the times over which...
A Treasure Chest For An Opera House
Jamshed Bhabha's NCPA will remain on song thanks to a generous endowment. Until a few years ago, at most concerts held at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai, two plum seats...
Bombay Parsi Punchayet Halts Coversion of Tehmulji Lying-In Hospital to Medicine Centre
Plans to convert the defunct Parsi Lying-In Hospital in Fort into a super-specialty orthopaedic and sports medicine centre has been rejected by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the lease-holder of...
Dababhai Naoroji’s House in utter disrepair
Fellow Zoroastrians, Is this how we remember one of the greatest Zoroastrians of recent times, by letting his ancestral house fall into ruins and then be sold off to a builder?...
High Court stays order on Dadar Parsee Gymkhana
The Bombay high court on Monday interimly stayed an order passed by the Lokayukta which restrained the Dadar Parsee Colony Gymkhana from letting out its ground for social functions and marriages. By...
Film shoot turns nightmare for Khareghat Colony
For 4 nights residents of Khareghat Colony have been kept awake; film crew say they have Parsi Panchayat permission By Lata Mishra | Mumbai Mirror Nowadays, if you drive by Pedder Road at night, you...
Tehmulji Hospital: Parsi Lying-In Hospital caught in revamp row
Talks about revamping the century-old Tehmulji Parsi Lying-in Hospital has led to sparks flying between the managing committee of the hospital and a section of the Parsi community. By Ananya...
Mumbai’s Parsis helped pave way to Mount Mary
hat Mumbai's Parsi community has a connection to the Bandra fair is a fact known to few. Fr Francis Correa, a local historian, tell of how one of the most famous Parsis of the city Sir Jamshedji...
Britannia Restaurant in Mumbai Serves Up Nostalgia on a Plate
For Nowruz, the Parsi New Year, which this year fell on August 19, a particularly long queue spilled out of Britannia Café’s doors and onto the wide boulevard of Mumbai’s elegant Ballard Estate. A...
MLA funds Doongerwadi repairs
Malabar Hill MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who spent Rs10 lakh from his funds to repair three pavilions inside the Parsi Towers of Silence in Malabar Hill, seems to have hurt the sentiments of the...
Mumbai’s original transformers: 5 superheroes you should know
Dadabhai Naoroji As I walk down the road past the maidans, at Flora Fountain Dadabhai Naoroji, book held open in his hand, asks me in Parsi Gujarati, “Are you going to Kala Ghoda? That’s where I...
100th Year of B.D. Petit Parsee General Hospital
On this happy occasion we are proud to inform you that on 27th March, 2011 our Hospital entered its 100th year of caring for our sick and less fortunate community members. Having reserved 53.6% of...