The Parsi community’s connection with the steel city dates back to its earliest days. Following the establishment of...
Heritage Articles
Now reopened, the Parsi Museum in Mumbai offers a compelling insight into Zoroastrianism
Pheroza Godrej, co-curator of the Framji Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla Museum, gives AD a special tour of the Parsi Museum in...
Quetta Parsis: The Untold Story
In the heart of the city, surrounded by beautiful mountains, Quetta’s Parsi Colony is picture-perfect. The lush green trees sway in the breeze. There is a rare feeling of trust: instead of the...
Cozy Building And the story of an iconic Indian Family Photograph
Indian writer and photographer Sooni Taraporevala, best known as the screenwriter of The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay, took a picture of her family in a Mumbai balcony 31 years ago....
Mr. Alpaiwalla’s Legacy: India’s Parsi Museum
Housed in a quiet corner of the Kharegat Parsi Colony, the Alpaiwalla Museum of Mumbai opens its doors willingly to all curious visitors. And there can be no better guide than Ms. Nivedita Mehta,...
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...
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...
Nostalgia
There are certain incidents and memories that are forever imprinted in your mind’s eye. It just needs a trigger to awaken those memories and then you remember as though that incident took place just...
Banajee Agiary in Calcutta is now an Electrical Market
The huge Rustomjee Cowasjee Banajee Agiary (Agiary – is a fire temple in which Parsi Zoroastrians pray) at 26 Ezra Street in Central Kolkata has been turned into an electrical market of sorts, but...
Keka the Quintessential Ogre
He was the quintessential ogre. To my 6-year-old eyes there did not exist a more ferocious giant than Keka. When I first saw the Bollywood movie ‘Sholay’ and Gabbar boasting about his notoriety and...
Birds and Bees: Growing Up
The girl gang consisting of tweens was growing up fast. Every evening and earlier on holidays, we would meet, talk, play, cycle around, exchange school news and happily pass our time together. In...
Concert Between M and N
I woke up at 8 that day since it was a Saturday and a school holiday. As was my habit, I headed straight for the balcony, ignoring my Mum’s pleas to first brush my teeth and finish my morning...
Crime steals Parsi heritage town Udvada’s thunder
Could flagrant and repeated armed robberies in the Parsi Mecca of Udvada, a sea town 177 kms from Mumbai mar the glint of Modi’s 20-crore development boost, including December’s grand Iranshah...
Heroes forgotten: Searching for the Dinshaws of Karachi
This is the story of a Parsi father and his son; their services for the city of Karachi long forgotten by the non-Parsi community of the city or the country. The father was Edulji Dinshaw, and the...
Neighbors
I had gone to stay with my daughter in one of the Mumbai suburbs. I casually inquired about her neighbors. I had not seen her visiting any of her neighbors or any neighbors coming over to visit us....
Gulbai
Married at an early age, she came to live with her husband in Bombay from Surat. She was a worthy partner. She bore him 6 children, brought them up, married and settled them. Gulbai was now the...
Childhood Visits to Nargol
Sleep had eluded me the night before due to sheer excitement, but a light tap and I was wide awake. The summer vacation had begun. Today, we were going to Nargol, my Mum’s native village. This was a...
Parsi-Iranian way of life and a journey to the roots
While lamenting the lack of interest on Zoroastrian religion, the mother-in-law mentioned that there are opportunities to learn the Avesta language and Zoroastrian scriptures. Article by Natasha...
New Delhi To Host First Ever Large Scale Festival on Parsi Culture in 2016
A mega festival, with exhibits being brought from world over, is being proposed by Minority Affairs Ministry for March next year Article by Sobhana K Nair | Bangalore Mirror New Delhi: In March next...
Dying Iranian language gets boost
BORI, in collaboration with London University, to hold 10-day course in Avestan, an ancient language now fading into oblivion. In an attempt to resurrect the ancient Iranian language Avestan,...
Parsigutta A cluster of basthis in Hyderabad
Parsigutta is one of the popular suburban areas in the city. It comes under Boudhanagar Municipal Division. Parsigutta is surrounded by Ram Nagar, Padma Rao Nagar, Musheerabad, Warasiguda and...
In Udvada: The Maha Kumbh of the Parsis
The anniversary of the Atash Behram, the most sacred fire, at the sleepy town of Udvada, is when the community opens up to all comers, and with free delicious food for everyone. Article by Madhulika...
Six Parsi Aunties You’ll Want For Company !
Brownpaperbag knocks on doors from Cusrow to Behram Baug to scout six Parsi ladies with hobbies and businesses that you should know about. 30.04.2015 Ranging from suspicious and wary to chatty and...
Longing and Loss at Dadar Parsi Colony
The heritage precinct is both, a tree spangled island and the last bastion of a threatened community. To its residents, the BMC's move to fill its streets with hawkers has become a metaphor of loss....
Bordi: In Search of Serenity
‘Chikoos’, ‘aamras’, Parsi food and empty beaches—Bordi offers a restful break from the city rush When you’re driving in Mumbai, you never get to speed, or even feel the wind in your hair. Road...
Death and Legal History on Sunday Afternoons
Cemeteries as Historical Evidence In Law and Identity in Colonial South Asia, Mitra Sharafi argues that rather than trying to maintain collective autonomy and integrity by avoiding interaction with...
Emperor Akbar’s Parsi counsel: The First Dastur Meherji Rana
Established in 1874, the first Dastoor Meherjirana Library in Navsari is named after the first Parsi high priest of India. The most priceless manuscript at the library is a framed original document...
Navroz in New Delhi: Shernaz Italia
While a dwindling community struggles to survive, filmmaker Shernaz Italia documents the little-known lives of the Delhi Parsis who moved to the capital at the turn of the 19th century “Aavoji,...
Jamsetji Tata’s residence wins UNESCO honour
“A good conservation job is like a root canal,“ says architect Vikas Dilawari.“It does not happen quickly and requires many sittings.“Recently , one such root canal took Dilawari 10 years. His hair...
Heritage enclave cracks open its door to redevelopment
At the entrance to Parsi Colony in Dadar, two new towers signal the changes creeping into this low-rise, historic neighbourhood. Article by Nergish Sunavala | Times of India One is Parsi builder...
Jiyo Parsi Heritage Walk
The Jiyo Parsi Heritage Walk of 3 km flagged off with 125 Parsi-Irani Zoroastrians from Bhikha Behram Well at Fort from 9 am onwards on Sunday, January 25 and ended at Kayani Restaurant for tea and...
Bombay Heritage Walks for Tata Employees
The business group takes staff back in history by organising Bombay Heritage Walks every week in an effort to reacquaint them with the company's storied links to the city. By Anirban Chowdhury |...
Nobody learns Parsi history in schools, says historian
On just a short stretch of Veer Nariman Road in Fort, beginning at the stained glass enclosure of the Bhikha Behram Well and ending at the v-shaped Eros Cinema with its Art Deco dome, six Parsi...
A winter time walk in Dadar Parsi Colony
Many moons ago, the bead-like red seeds that emerge from the tiny star shaped yellow flowers were used by Arabian Jewellers as units of weight because all of them have identical weights. These are...
East India Company, Bombay Talkies, Tatas… a family tree forms
As assistant professor of history at the Ramnarain Ruia College is set to give Mumbaikars with a yen for the city’s history a delectable account of the lineage of one of Mumbai’s oldest notable...
Chennai and its old Parsi flame
Its legacies far outnumber this fast-dwindling community with two centuries of ties to the city In North Chennai’s populous and noisy Royapuram area, the tranquil 104-year-old Jal Phiroj Clubwala...
Pakistani Zoroastrians Must Keep The Fire Ablaze
Funerals are the only constant for Zoroastrians in Pakistan. For a community of less than 1,800 — last recorded in 2006 in a research conducted by KE Eduljee — the announcement comes faithfully...
Motherhood matters: Tehmulji’s Parsi Lying-In Hospital
We unravel the history behind the crumbling Parsi Lying-In Hospital on Prescott Road Article by Meher Mirza | DNA India The Parsi Lying-In Hospital at Fort In the 19th century, young Parsi women...
Marzban Colony: Springing forth from history
The Marzban Colony in Agripada, south Mumbai, gets a new lease on life Article by Meher Mirza | DNA India The story of 'The Lal Chimney Compound' begins in the 19th century, with Mancherji Marzban,...
The Difference between- Shenshai, Kadmi and Fasli Zoroastrian Calendar.
We have received the below from our regular reader and good friend Pesho Kotwal. He received this as a forward. Pesho writes One notices from time to time that "we" do not have an accurate and...
Parsis and their cars
Why are Parsis into cars? Why do their prized possessions enjoy a unique brand equity in India? We meet a few Parsis to learn about their passion for their mechanical mistresses. From the archives:...
Mumbai Samachar: Going strong at 192
On July 1, Mumbai Samachar, the city's second most circulated Gujarati paper, will reaffirm its position as the oldest surviving newspaper in Asia. When copies of the Mumbai Samachar (MS) hit the...
After restoration, Khada Parsi stands tall
After over two years of tedious restoration work, the iconic 150-year-old “Khada Parsi” statue, a Grade I heritage monument in Mumbai, was unveiled on Friday in the presence of Shiv Sena chief...
Smita Crishna-Godrej buys historic Bhabha bungalow for Rs. 372 cr
Smita has assured friends that the iconic home where brothers Homi and Jamshed grew up will not be torn down to make way for a highrise and will only be used as a family home. Dr Jamshed Bhabha's...
Homi Bhabha’s iconic home on the block today
Mehrangir on Malabar Hill, the bungalow where the father of India's atomic energy programme, Homi Bhabha, once lived, will go under the hammer on Wednesday afternoon. Article by Nergish Sunavala...
B. Merwan and the Irani Cafe: A Fading Icon
Recently the news about B. Merwan the iconic Irani cafe with the best Mava cakes in the world, shutting down; has brought a sense of gloom over all those who love the restaurant and in fact the...
Divine Songs of Zarathushtra by Dr. Irach J. S. Taraporewala On FEZANA website
Dear friend of Parsi Khabar and senior member of the Zarathushti community in North America, Ervad Soli P. Dastur writes in Hello all FEZANA friends: In 1951, Dr. Irach J. S. Taraporewala, an...
Parsis and the Art of Automobile Maintenance
The intense relationship that the community shares with its cars explains the premium they command in the second-hand market By Lhendup G Bhutia | OPEN In 1970, an American economist named George...
Stars in the milky way: Parsi Dairy Farm
Relative Value: Sarfaraz K Irani, 28, and Bakhtyar K Irani, 31 Meet the two boys who gave Mumbai's iconic dairy a steroid shot of success. Brothers Bakhtyar, 31, and Sarfaraz K Irani, 28, can't...
Persepolis – The Lost Worlds
One of the impressive locations of the ancient world, Persepolis was burnt and destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BC and lay forgotten for over 2000 years. This film travels to Iran to bring...
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...
Parsi community to teach their fold how to make the sacred cord
Anxious to preserve a dying art of their diminishing community, the Bombay Parsi Punchayat is promoting kustiweaving classes for those in their fold; 67-year old Dolly Mistry's sessions have been...