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 Silence to be consumed by vultures. Article by Aarefa Johari, scroll.in Before 2015, barely 6% of the city’s 45,000 Parsis opted for cremation,… Continue reading How a new prayer hall is changing funeral patterns in Mumbai’s Parsi community
Author: arZan
The forgotten characters of Tata Steel
IN SEPTEMBER 1945, E. M. Forster, who had been hired by George Orwell to host a literary programme for BBC’s India service, chose to discuss a slim book called “A Steel Man in India”. It was a memoir by John Keenan, the recently-retired general manager of the Tata Steel Iron and Steel Company. Then the… Continue reading The forgotten characters of Tata Steel
Zubin: Just another Parsi boy
A nervous, awestruck gentleman had been granted fifteen precious minutes of the Maestro’s time. My friend, the gentleman in question, had spent a sleepless night memorising what to say to the great man. The moment arrived. They met. Fifteen minutes flew. My friend emerged walking on air. His first reaction said it all : “My… Continue reading Zubin: Just another Parsi boy
Pakistan’s first female rally racer: Tushna Patel
Her start was very different from what she had imagined for herself. She ended up in fourth place! This was in 2013 when Tushna Patel made her rally racing debut, becoming the first woman in Pakistan to take up the sport which till then was restricted to only male drivers here. Driving her Vigo 3,000cc… Continue reading Pakistan’s first female rally racer: Tushna Patel
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, Grade I heritage structure and holy to the Parsis, near Cross Maidan and Churchgate, may be threatened by the Metro Rail Line 3 plan. There… Continue reading Mumbai Rail Metro Threatens Bhikha Behram Well
Parsi community lauded for role in nation-building
Indian High Commissioner Navtej Sarna lauded the Parsi community for its role in India’s freedom struggle as well as in post-independence nation-building. Sarna was speaking at an event held under the aegis of the Zoroastrian All Party Parliamentary Group, in association with the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE), in the committee hall of the… Continue reading Parsi community lauded for role in nation-building
Of genteelness and gentlemanliness: Ratan Tata
They don’t make men like Ratan Tata any more. The reason is because in today’s time, you are defined by your wealth and not by your worth as a human being. They don’t make men who believe in values and are willing to sacrifice pecuniary gains for remaining steadfast on their values. They don’t make… Continue reading Of genteelness and gentlemanliness: Ratan Tata
Pheroza Godrej: Mumbai’s art queen
One of Mumbai’s leading art historians, Pheroza J Godrej, updates Ornella D’Souza about her commitments as editor, collector, curator and member on various cultural boards Article by by Ornella D’Souza, dnaindia.com Your stint as chairperson of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai. ended in October 2015. Did you manage to get enough done?… Continue reading Pheroza Godrej: Mumbai’s art queen
Hamlet No Omlette: A time for Natak
Parsi theatre was the first to realise the full commercial potential of Shakespeare’s works. The result was King Lear as comedy and a farce called Hamlet No Omelette. The curtains of the spare, elegant sitting room have been drawn against the April sun, and the noise of traffic on the busy Veer Nariman Road is… Continue reading Hamlet No Omlette: A time for Natak
