Living legacy, one room at a time Anil Mulchandani | New Indian Express Standing discreetly in Gujarat’s historic town...
arZan Articles
Parsi Tower of Silence gets plaque with a view
Mumbai’s historic Parsi Tower of Silence cemetery on Malabar Hill, established in 1672, has been honored with a...
Strife over death at Parsi meet
Punchayet will form panel to decide alternative ways to dispose dead The body disposal issue reared its head last month when Dhun Baria clandestinely shot a video and took photographs of Tower of...
Perizaad Zorabian all set to marry Boman Irani
How did you know?”was Perizaad Zorabian’s reaction when we congratulated her on the news of her wedding. December 7 will see the actress tying the knot with beau Boman Irani – not...
Breeding revives fortunes of India’s rare vultures
Indian conservationists have successfully bred a rare species of vulture, brought near to extinction by a drug used to treat cattle but which is highly toxic to the scavenging birds. Eighteen...
Kennedy Center to Honour Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is among the five stalwarts from the arts and entertainment field who will be honoured by the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts this year. Apart from Mehta, the others are...
Dr. Homi Dastur, Eminent Neurosurgeon Turns 80
Dina Mehta, the power-house Indian blogger writes to inform that My dad, Dr. Homi Dastur, is 80 today … and you’d never know it if you met him. He’s a neurosurgeon and still...
Dinyar Vania At the NY City Opera
Dinyar Vania, a Parsi tenor performs at the NY City Opera on October 14, 2006 and again the following Tuesday. As per the announcement “Dinyar Vania is making his lead tenor role debut with...
Ancient religions clash in modern Iran
It’s one of the world’s oldest religions, but Zoroastrianism is treated with suspicion by Iran’s Islamic state, writes Robert Tait The village of Chak Chak consists of a shrine...
Iran’s last Zoroastrians worried by youth exodus
TEHRAN: Flicking through photographs of immigrant Zoroastrian friends in sunny California, 40-year-old Farzad Dehnavizadeh sighs and wishes the young people of his faith stopped leaving Iran for the...
The family business that helped build Indian industry
Starting over a century ago and against considerable odds, the Tatas virtually single-handedly built Indian industry. Theirs was the country’s first Indian-owned textile mill, India’s...
Mumbai’s Irani hotspots
With distinctive ambience and mouth-watering fare, Irani cafes enthrall Mumbaikars. Largely frequented by the working class, these cafes are a big draw because they are reasonably priced and...
Tata: the Indian industrial giant with a core of steel
Tata Steel was set up in the teeth of racist scorn and the incredulity of many servants of the Raj Both groups are headed by Indians and both are hungry to take over non-Indian steel companies. But...
Dasturji Jamasp Asa achieves fifty years of service
Tuesday was an important day for Mumbai’s Parsi community. The high priest of the community, Vada Dastur Saheb Khaikhusroo Dastur Minocher Pamasp Asa, of the 109-year-old Anjumana Atash Behram...
Zorastrians Today
Lily Don’t be Silly
For Parsis, the New Year play is an annual family tradition…and there’s one enthusiast who’s giving out 500 free tickets! August 18: Philandering husband Savak finds it tough to...
Pray, atone and feast
That’s what Parsis will do on Pateti today, a day before celebrating Navruz. If you plan to wish your Parsi neighbours “Happy Pateti” on Saturday, don’t. That is, unless, you...
Capturing golden moments
Meet Armaity Bamanbehram, the first Parsi lady to have completed 25 years as a videographer Armaity Bamanbehram is no stranger in the world of videography. And is quite a renowned name among the...
Tata Tea, Godrej to sip in local…
Two of India`s top business houses owned by Parsis, the Tatas and the Godrej group are eyeing some of the strongest regional tea brands to gain a decisive edge over each other in the Rs 45 billion...
No Fire Temple, but Lakhnawi warmth
The Parsi community is one of the smallest ‘communities from outside’ in Lucknow. There are just 71 Parsis in town! “We started trickling into the city and found Lucknow welcoming...
Biologists to help breed vultures
The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology aims to rescue the ancient Zoroastrian practice of corpse disposal (writes Ashling O’Connor). Biologists are to inseminate artificially the...
A Parsee passionate about sidecar bikes!
Standing in one corner of Jer Baug, Byculla, the BSA B31 350cc motorbike with sidecar waits for the rains to end. It is only then, that its owner Neville Choksi will lift the covers from this...
Madame Cama’s call for Bande Mataram in…
By V SUNDARAM She was a fiery patriot who first unfurled India’s flag at an international assembly. She turned away from a life of luxury and lived in exile abroad in Europe for 29 years to...
Scientists to help breed Vultures
Parsis worried about the growing pile of bodies in their ‘Towers of Silence’ can take heart. The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has decided to take up, on an express...
Surat Residences get a new face
SURAT: The babbling and wails of infants from apartments in Bai Bamasipore Memorial Zarthosthi building in Saiyedpura in Surat have begun to raise the hopes of the local Parsi community, dogged by a...
Amritsar’s Tehmi Bhandari: 100 years and going strong
100 cheers to Amritsar’s pride Tehmi Bogga Bhandari — the only pure Parsi left in Amritsar — turned 100 on August 15. Born into a rich conservative Parsi family in Amritsar in...
Periodicals of protest
Over the decades, Parsi journalism has managed to fiercely guard its democratic character By Manoj R Nair for Mumbai Mirror The terms, ‘cosmopolitan newspapers’ or ‘community...
NYT: Zoroastrianism Slide Show
Turn on the sound and listen to this very interesting slide show on Zoroastrianism. This appeared on the NYTimes website, as an interactive accompaniment to the article Zoroastrians Keep the Faith,...
Parsi Dead: A Video of the Towers of Silence Controversey
The video below is the segment that appeared on the Indian cable news channel CNN-IBN. The video has some disturbing imagery and therefore caution is needed when viewing the video. The controversey...
Religion and Materiality
Isn’t it strange how Rs.200/= seems like such a large amount when you donate it to a fire-temple, but such a small amount when you go shopping? Isn’t it strange how 2 hours seem so long...
Parsi Anthem
We received this via an email tip. It makes interesting reading. Author Unknown When my time has come, when my race is run I want to go that very way of my Fathers and their Sons. When my breath has...
Udvada on Behram Roj
This write up was forwarded to us by email. I don’t know the author or the source. However it makes fascinating reading, and something that a lot of people will relate to. The 20th day of the...
Parsis remember their dear departed 10 days prior…
Parsis remember their dear departed 10 days prior to New Year, community observes Muktad ceremony at city agiaries The Parsi New Year is nine days away. But much before the celebrations begin, it is...
Remembering Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta
Mr. Mehta was popularly known as the uncrowned king of Karachi and the prophet of the poor… Celebrating the 54th death anniversary of Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta (who served as the mayor of...
Muktaad
Ruby Lilaowala remembers Muktaad, in the Afternoon D.C. Muktaad are the ten days preceding the Parsi new year which are devoted to intense prayers and elaborate rituals for the departed souls...
Photogallery: Zoroastrians of Yazd, Iran
The above is one of a series of 55 photographs taken by Gilles Crampes. These are pictures of the Zoroastrians of Yazd. Check out the entire gallery here [Hat Tip: Vikram J. Parekh]
ZTFE Jashan/Reception to honour Lord Karan F. Bilimoria of Chelsea
The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (Inc) invites you to join in a Jashan and reception to honour Lord Karan F. Bilimoria CBE of Chelsea at the Zartoshty Brothers Hall, on Sunday 15th October 2006...
Blog World Responds to NYT Article
Sepia Mutiny the power house Indian group blog points out to a response by a blogger to the NYTimes article. Amardeep at Sepia Mutiny writes Perhaps the reluctance by more conservative Parsis to...
Bury funeral ritual: Parsi woman
A centuries old custom has triggered off a bitter debate within Mumbai’s influential Parsi community. The Parsi community is now divided over how to dispose off their dead. The bodies are kept...
Zoroastrians Keep the Faith, and Keep Dwindling
In his day job, Kersey H. Antia is a psychologist who specializes in panic disorders. In his private life, Mr. Antia dons a long white robe, slips a veil over his face and goes to work as a...
Karan Bilimoria, first Parsi in House of Lords
India-born beer baron Karan Bilimoria will on Monday formally “take his seat” in the House of Lords, making him the first Parsi to enter the British Parliament’s upper house....
Zoroastrian MP proposes changing name of the month
Zoroastrian MP proposes changing name of the month of Mordad to Amordad TEHRAN, July 24 (MNA) On Saturday, MP Kurosh Niknam, who represents the Zoroastrian community in the Majlis, presented a...
‘Parzania’ yet to find distributor in India
After making the rounds of film festivals abroad, Rahul Dhalokia’s film “Parzania” on the 2002 sectarian violence in Gujarat is yet to find a distributor in the country. The movie...
First India-born Parsi to enter House of Lords
London, July 23 (IANS) India-born beer baron Karan Bilimoria will on Monday formally “take his seat” in the House of Lords, making him the first Parsi to enter the British...
Funny Irani
Whatever role Boman Irani takes on, it’s guaranteed he’ll have you in splits. From the hero’s bete noir in Munnabhai MBBS, to a mean Parsi son in Being Cyrus, Irani has come full...
Mumbai university set for anniversary
President APJ Abdul Kalam will unveil the 150th anniversary of Mumbai University, the oldest in the country. The University’s convocation hall just restored for the event is a stunning symbol...
Parsi orthodontist who writes Urdu poetry!
Dr. Navroze S. Kotwal is a qualified orthodontist but his true passion lies in writing Urdu ghazals. Which is rather unusual, we don’t know many Parsees … Dr. Navroze S. Kotwal is a...
Bachi Karkaria : Navroze Mubarak everyone!
An article by Bachi karkaria….at her hilarious best .. Parsi to Past-si … By Bachi Karkaria Soli Solicitor shuddered at the Census sentence, knowing there was no reprieve. Nusli had an...
Saal Mubarak
Today is the Parsi New Year. The first day of the parsi calendar. Parsi new year brings with it the hopes for a new, happy healthy and prosperous new year. A year where hopefully there shall be more...
Fire Chief Meherwanji Passes Away
The Mumbai Fire Brigade turned up to say goodbye to their former chief at the Doongerwadi yesterday For scores of firemen of the Mumbai Fire Brigade, the death of L. S. Mehervanjee came as a shock....
A Parsi who was a fire fighter! …
A Parsi who was a fire fighter! L. S. Mehervanjee, who passed away on Tuesday at 81 of illness following a paralytic stroke, was one of Bombay’s most famous Fire Brigade chiefs. I knew him...
The burden of a song
By Farrokh Dhondy The Archbishop of Canterbury wants to kill the tradition of singing hymns in colonial places. I can’t imagine Bishops School, Pune, without the hymns, alien songs to the alien...