A video featuring dancers sashaying to a sacred Zoroastrian prayer mixed with club music has appalled Parsis....
arZan Articles
Gujarat Governor’s Controversial Comment Labels Parsis as "Plunderers" — Sparks Outrage, Followed by Apology
On April 8th, 2025, the DHABKAR-SURAT edition of a local Gujarat newspaper reported a deeply troubling statement made...
Ties that bind
As for Zoroastrian boys planning to study in Pune at the junior college level, the soon-to-begin Seth Dadhbhoy PB Jeejeebhoy hostel for boys is the right place. Minoo Kabraji, rector of the hostel...
Zoroastrians Today
Tenaz Dubash, a documentary film maker has launched her latest project "Zoroastrians Today" Her website informs This hour-long documentary will focus on the assimilation of the Zoroastrian community...
A Moment With Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
A lot of Jews are intermarried, but few are married to Parsis. If you had to generalize, are there any similarities between the two groups? Oh, absolutely. Parsis are known as the "Jews of India."...
A year later, Wapiz continues to do its bit for Zoroastrians
Tomorrow, the World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthostis (WAPIZ) completes a year riddled with controversies. But not one without achievements though. "Of 54 anjumans (group of people heading the...
Where have all the John Crows gone?
An item in my local morning paper this week grabbed my interest because it graphically evoked something I noticed in the island a few years back. The news story was about the rapid dying off of the...
Apocalypse future: Through a glass, darkly
... She said Zoroaster was the first to teach about individual judgment, heaven and hell, the resurrection of the body, the last judgment, and life everlasting. ... Continue reading here
Meet Malabar Hill’s senior-most citizen!
Trees are dust collectors, sound dampeners and homes for birds and animals... Incredible it may seem, but it's true. In this concrete jungle of Mumbai, bang in the heart of South Mumbai, stands...
Let vultures live for our death: Parsis
A motley crowd of Parsis and nature-lovers listened with rapt attention as Dr RD Jakati, Chief Wildlife Warden of Haryana, spoke at length on his pet subject, vulture conservation. The topic, of...
Split in the Parsi Parivar
WHEN Anju Dawar, a Parsi lawyer based in Ahmedabad married a colleague, she was expelled from the community. ''At best her husband will convert but will this not dilute the very essence of the...
‘Builders want temple land’
The World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis (Wapiz) on Friday warned that fire temple lands in the city were under threat from unscrupulous developers and said one of its main objectives would be...
Lord Bilimoria
The father was an Indian Army general; the son is to be a British Lord. Karan Bilimoria, 44, founder and chief executive of Cobra Beer, popular for washing down chicken tikka masala, has been...
Going great guns, Dr Udwadia.
Mumbai's Dr TE Udwadia, Emeritus professor of surgery, Grant Medical College, consultant surgeon and the head of minimal access surgery, Hinduja Hospital, consultant surgeon of Breach Candy and...
Whats the Fuss About: Da Vinci Code
It's the Da Vinci showdown As protests against The Da Vinci Code gather momentum, Mumbai comes out strongly in favour of freedom of expression I was invited by the Censor Board to watch The Da Vinci...
Bhicoo J Manekshaw : Food Writer
Parsi Platter Bhicoo J Manekshaw has been the lone crusader of Parsi cuisine in the country. And at 83, she is still trying to popularise it through her books. She was the first Cordon Bleu chef...
Why are so many Parsis unmarried?
Minoo Shroff, chairman of Bombay Parsi Panchayat, feels most Parsis are very fussy about their choice of life partner One third of Parsis do not marry, according to a yet-to-be published study...
Shrinking flocks of vultures spoil ancient culture’s funeral rituals
Destruction of birds by a cattle drug presents the Parsis of India with a dilemma MUMBAI -- Smack in the middle of the thicket of ultramodern high-rises that make up Malabar Hill, one of Mumbai's...
Drug ban could save vultures
Vultures in danger of being wiped out by a drug used to treat livestock in India have been given a reprieve after the Government called on companies to phase out the medicine. While perhaps not the...
The Yellow Badge of Denial
The bizarre, humiliating, and enduring nature of the dress regulations imposed upon the Zoroastrian community of central Iran (Yezd) were captured in this eyewitness account by Napier Malcolm, (Five...
‘I can’t forget the killers’ faces’
A little after 8 pm on a wet night in June two years ago, inside a ground floor apartment in Dadar's quaint Parsi Colony, Keiki Karai's life changed forever. Three unidentified youths walked up to...
Run Lola
Of all her celebrity guests so far, she's loved chatting with the Parsis--Boman Irani, Homi Adajania and Perizaad Zorabian. "It's probably because Bawas and Malayalees are both a mad bunch of...
Lagan Nu Achar
Pickles preserve the historical flavours of communities like the Persian origin of Parsis in the dried fruits of their celebratory lagannu achar, or the Portuguese vinegar in which Goans preserve...
Shayan Italia: Music Sensation
Shayan Italia, a new musician in the mainstream music world is all set to release his album Deliverance. As his press release notes My name is Shayan Italia and I am the artist/songwriter of the...
New things at Parsi Khabar
New things are happening here at Parsi Khabar. First and foremost we have our own domain. Parsi Khabar now resides at www.ParsiKhabar.net The establishment of its own domain was something that was...
Rediscover the Axial Age ethos
complained to Lord Mazda (Aryan god of harmony): 'For whom did you shape me? ... Fury and raiding, cruelty and might hold me captive.' " Lord Mazda replied that Zoroaster, a priest, would protect...
Lost in time
Down a narrow lane from my school was a candy shop. It was actually a general store but a range of mouth-watering chocolates and candies in colourful wrappers were displayed on the racks visible...
Some thoughts, some reservations
A case of great constitutional significance is being argued before a bench of five justices of the Supreme Court, presided over by the chief justice of India. A few years ago both houses of...
Parsi debate: panchayat vs federation
Don't force radical changes on us: Ahmedabad panchayat to governing body Express News Service Ahmedabad, April 30: Accusing it of forcing its radical propaganda upon Parsis, the Ahmedabad Parsi...
Green Cuisine
No Parsi wedding or celebration is complete without the famous Patro na Machchi (fish in a leaf). And a famous style of Bengal cuisine called "bhapa" (meaning steam) is steaming spiced vegetables or...
Zubin Mehta Turns 70
Los Angeles, Apr 29: Zubin Mehta, one of the world's greatest conductors of Western classical music, is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Mehta, a Parsee has been the conductor of the Israel...
The Dilemma of Iran and US relations
Historically, a mass exodus of Iranians from the greater Persian plateau has occurred presumably for fear of religious persecution, by people of the Zoroastrian faith emigrating to Gujarat and...
Zubin Varla to Play Rajiv Gandhi
British Parsi actor may play Rajiv If all goes well for Jagmohan Mundhra, his film Sonia, based on Congress president Sonia Gandhi's life, will rise to a remarkable level of authenticity before a...
Subscribe to Parsi Khabar
If you like what you read, and don't want to miss out on anything, there is a new nifty way to do so. On the top of the page you will see a link that says "Subscribe". Or click here Find My...
The Times of India turns the Times of Colour
Founding fathers: A British syndicate of 11 firms, two barristers, a doctor, and the Parsi merchant prince Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. The journalists come later Continue reading here
The fairest of them all
In their constant attempt to 'make the youth mingle', the Zoroastrian community has come up with yet another all-Parsi event- the May Queen Ball, the annual beauty pageant that will be held this...
Anglicisation Of The Parsis
by Polly Noshir Chenoy My mother's contention is: "British gayan ne' opre vadhare British thai gayan" (We have become more British after the British have left). This, she attributes mostly to the...
Endangered vultures put Parsis in a fix
Hundreds of vultures once circled above a sacred area in one of India's poshest suburbs, waiting to feed on the remains of followers of an ancient religion that does not allow its dead to be buried...
The secret of embroidering a Parsi ‘gara’
The secret of embroidering a Parsi 'gara' is now being taught to those willing to learn, as a part of a five-day workshop at Khareghat Colony Parsi gara embroidery, which is a specialty of the Parsi...
Iranshah in 1909
This is a photograph of the Iranshah Atashbehram in Udwada, shot in 1909. The photograph is part of the National Geographic archives and was taken by William Thomas Fee. Image source here More info...
Its TATA every where
Its TATA every where !!! 'TATA' in your life!!! What makes you lick your fingertips, but of course TATA SALT. What makes your costumes neat and clean? TATA SHUDH. Who gives a foundation to your...
In The Song of Kahunsha
In The Song of Kahunsha (Doubleday Canada, $29.95), the second novel from North Vancouver's Anosh Irani, paradise is a place of no sadness. Or so believes his protagonist, 10-year-old Chamdi, an...
First Trip to India
We saw schools and hospitals established by the Parsis (Persians who follow the Zoroastrian faith and who migrated to India over a thousand years ago.) community. Continue reading here
From the fringes: Votes without a voice
Parsis.....Numbering about 650 in the city, the Parsis are determined to have a say in the polls. ''Yes, I vote from Burrabazar constituency. Most of our people vote. Why shouldn't we? We are...
Vultures That Vanish
Spare a thought for the scrawny vultures -- those once-familiar birds of prey that used to circle lazily high in the air, scanning for anything to scavenge. In my youth, they even perched on tall...
Flights of fancy
Parvez Damania's biggest passion is riding to school! He became a poster boy of the Indian aviation industry with Damania Airlines and he's still in the thick of things as executive director of...
Parsi triplets offer hope to the community
Khorshed Bulsara (38) is a symbol of hope for the Parsi community. Khorshed stands apart in the dwindling community as she gave birth to triplets on September 2005, after receiving IVF treatment....
Historic Kasra Arch
Preserving the historic Kasra Arch as a Persian heritage in danger and inscribing its name in UNESCO's list of endangered heritage were discussed during the third conference of Iran's History of...
Australian sculptor scraps Zarathushtra’s name
Move comes after protests by Parsi community against a nude scultpure named after the Prophet Mumbai Mirror Bureau The Australian Consul General in Mumbai has informed Mumbai's Parsi-Zoroastrians...
New jewels for Queen’s Necklace
The MMRDA's facelift plan for Marine Drive includes landscaping, re-paving, subways, better lighting and two amphitheatres Mumbai Mirror Bureau The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority...
India will be indebted to the parsi community
Ashish, a blogger from Pune, writes about the Parsis The community though very calm,composed & peace-loving, have succeeded in very walk of life, business in particular. Their business acumen is...
Celebrating old age by making a difference in society
"Problems of the aged are not confined to the elderly but also impact the younger generation," A.M. Sethna, president of Parzor Foundation that deals with issues of the Parsi community, told IANS....