How Mumbai’s first music club transformed Hindustani classical from an imperial privilege into a cultural movement...
arZan Articles
Rhode Island School of Design Exhibition traces the Parsi gara’s passage across oceans, trade, and time
This exhibition traces the Parsi gara’s passage across oceans, trade, and time Ashdeen Lilaowala and Bhasha...
Bombay Parsi Punchayet’s annual deficit sliced in nearly half
At the time of its implementation this February, it could have been argued that the Bombay Parsi Punchayet’s (BPP’s) decision to hike the service charge for its colonies and baugs was...
Amchi Farida Master Abroad !
A typical Bandra girl with a disciplined upbringing under the strict eye of Roman Catholic nuns, Farida Master moved to the pensioner’s paradise of Pune in the eighties to start the iconic Citadel...
AGITATION AGAINST BPP’s INCREASE OF Rs. 750 IN MONTHLY SERVICE CHARGES
After the meeting of the office bearers & Committee Members of the Associations of all BPP Baugs, its activists and residents with the Board of Trustees of BPP on 25th April 2017 regarding the...
Ashdeen Brings Creations to New York and Los Angeles
In his debut trunk show in United States, Ashdeen Lilaowala brings his collection to New York and Los Angeles this June. Good friend of Parsi Khabar and a brilliant textile designer and...
Preserving Parsi Traditions
In the highly competitive food and beverage business environment of Delhi–National Capital Region, the restaurant brand SodaBottleOpenerWala is just another name where customers expect a fine dining...
Karan Bilimoria: The First Parsi in Britain’s House of Lords
Even though he is one of the youngest members in the Britain’s House of Lords, yet India-born Karan Bilimoria stands out among his peers. This young Indian Lord wears many hats. His credentials as...
Vada Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor Appointed as Member of National Minorities Commission of India
Parsi Khabar is happy to announce that Vada Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor of the Iranshah Atashbehram in Udvada has been appointed as the Zoroastrian representative on the National Minorities Commission...
Intermarry and be damned 2 Parsi women challenge bias
India’s Parsis are so respected because they alone have never been involved in communal skirmishes. Ironic then that our own ugly wars are hurtling us to our doom. The most divisive issue is...
Parsi Dairy Farm: Mumbai’s Gold Standard in Milk & Milk-Based Products
I was at a modern food superstore in Bandra, Mumbai’s swish suburb, the other day. I walked past rows of imported gourmet cheeses, pastas and meats when I suddenly spotted a group of blue coloured...
The little-known history of how Zoroastrian merchants helped create the old Silk Route
China’s designs to build a massive network of land and sea links connecting four continents have revived popular interest in the old Silk Route, whose success was in small part owed to Zoroastrian...
In Conversation With Darius Chinoy, Director-JETRO and Actor, Screenwriter/Director
Darius Chinoy works as a Director with Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) , New Delhi and manages the ‘Invest Japan’ program and communications for CHief Director General and agency in India...
A Year’s Membership To J N Petit Library in Fort Mumbai Only Costs INR 1,000
Eminent Parsi historian and our dear friend Marzban Giara informs us that the J. N. Petit Library Fort was started in 1895 and not 1856 (as stated in the article below) in memory of Jamsetjee...
Vada Dasturji Khurshed K Dastoor & Lord Karan F Bilimoria on board INS Tarkash launch HMS Trincomalee Bicentenary
Vada Dasturji Khurshed K Dastoor, High Priest of Iranshah Atash Behram, Udvada, ZTFE patron Lord Karan F Bilimoria CBE DL and ZTFE President Malcolm M Deboo led the the ZTFE delegation on board the...
Parsis can soon knock on temple doors for counselling
A Parsi priest could soon be your counsellor, too. On May 13, the first of a series of workshops begins in Mumbai to help priests take up community roles that go beyond the religious. They will be...
Amar Akbar Akoori: Play at the NCPA
Amar Akbar Akoori is a hilarious Gujarati play meant not just for the Parsi community, but to be enjoyed by anyone who speaks Gujarati. The story revolves around three boys – a Gujarati, a...
In Hot Blood By Bachi Karkaria: A Book Review
Sticky Towels and a Newspaper with an Agenda: Bachi Karkaria’s New Book Brings Alive the Nanavati Murder Case Madness Bachi Karkaria’s new book on the infamous Nanavati murder case of 1959 should be...
Left, Right, and a little bit of the Centre
Community politics and mud-slinging has hit the Parsis’ representation in the National Commission for Minorities ONCE again, in the battle between the conservative Right and liberal Left, the...
Sandunes To Open For Bonobo In Manchester This July
To anyone who’s been keeping an eye on her career, it’s evident that Mumbai-based electronic musician Sandunes (Sanaya Ardeshir) has been waist-deep in a career surge of sorts. The Mumbai-based...
The Parsi Caregivers of Kolkatta
I have a dreaded fear that I am sharing in the open. When I grow old, I may become feeble. When I become old, my children may be far from me. When I grow old, I may become lonely. In perhaps no...
173-year-old agiary adds to Pune Camp’s pluralism
From the exterior, the Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Agiary looks anything but 173 years old or remotely as ostentatious as the life of the person this agiary or fire temple is named after. Article by...
Le Bon Magot Exciting New Specialty Food Brand Wins 5 SOFI Awards
Naomi Mobed is the person behind the award-winning speciality food startup Le Bon Magot. As the business proudly states “Le Bon Magot is the culmination of one family’s culinary journey.” Le Bon...
Zerbanoo Gifford & Farida Master Embark on USA Book Tour
FEZANA informs us about the upcoming book tour by Zerbanoo Gifford and Farida Master in the United States. They will be starting in Los Angeles, and making their way through Houston, Chicago,...
Keeping alive memory of ‘Mother of the Indian Revolution’ for decades
According to several accounts written by Parsis, the All India Women’s Conference wanted to pay homage to Cama during her birth centenary, and keep her memory alive in post-Independent India Named...
Astad Deboo To Perform in New York
The legendary Indian contemporary dancer and choreographer Astad Deboo returns to New York for two performances this month. Astad Deboo | Eternal Embrace May 25, 2017 – May 26, 2017 La Mama...
How the Nanavati murder became India’s most sensational and glamorous trial
It’s in poor taste to describe a murder trial as glamorous. And yet, no case in India commanded this much public attention and involved as many high-profile characters—before social media and...
Dadar Parsi Colony Agiary Well Runs Dry After 89 Years
For the first time in 89 years, the well of the Rustom Faramna Agiary in Dadar Parsi Colony has run dry. Now, the chairman of the agiary has pinned his hopes on the upcoming monsoon or else...
In Houston FEZANA Bestows Lifetime Achievement Award to Ervad Dr. Jehan Bagli
At a glittering 30th Anniversary Gala in Houston, FEZANA bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award to Ervad Dr. Jehan Bagli. The Gala was hosted by the Zoroastrian Association of Houston at its...
Obituary: Maneck Dalal
Maneck Dalal, the man responsible for expanding Air India into an international operation, began his career with the airline looking after celebrity passengers. In the late 1940s, when the Hollywood...
Jiyo Mobed Workshop
Dear Friends, For many years we have been discussing the importance of giving respect to our Priests and enabling them to become Pastors to the Parsi community, as are the Catholic Priests as well...
Neomi Rao Picked to be Regulatory Czar in Trump White House.
Neomi Rao who has been picked to become the “regulatory czar” in the Trump White House, is the second Zoroastrian Parsi to head an office in the current US Administration. Readers of Parsi Khabar...
Book on Parsis traces their demographic decline
Four-volume compendium highlights issues plaguing community A four-volume compendium that traces the demographic decline of the Parsi community in India was released recently at the Max Mueller...
Mumbai’s oldest, architectural landmark Banaji Limji Agiary completes 308 years
The city’s heritage Fort district is globally famous for its majestic colonial buildings. But few know that it also has seven ancient Zoroastrian Parsi Fire Temples in this enclave. The oldest...
Untold story of Bank of Bombay
The hitherto untold story of Bank of Bombay, one of the forebears of the State Bank of India, has been finally chronicled through rare documents and photographs at a newly opened heritage gallery at...
Supreme Court of India to examine Parsi woman’s right of religious identity
The Supreme Court today agreed to examine a contentious issue whether a Parsi woman can be deprived of her religious identity, acquired by the virtue of her birth, after marrying a man of different...
Kozikhode: Parsi culture still has its fire glowing
On April 18 which is observed as World Heritage Day, among the several monuments with a story to tell in Kozhikode is its only Parsi temple in Kerala. The local people are not well aware of this...
Not many takers for the Mobedyar scehem in Mumbai
Last week’s column on the ordainment of two deacons in Mumbai’s Catholic Church attracted a lot of interest among Parsi-Zoroastrians. Unlike members of the clergy, who need to be celibate, deacons...
A book on the Singapore Parsi community launched
Labour of love started by late wife comes to life as book on local Parsi community launched After his wife Suna died in 2015, retired pilot Mr Rustom Kanga knew what he had to do. He and his two...
The British, Portuguese and French influence on Parsi cuisine in India
Despite their dwindling population, the Parsis strive to preserve the legacy of their rich, robust and wholesome cuisine by even using social media to popularise it among food lovers around the...
Discover The Chinese Roots Of This Traditional Parsi Embroidery
Chinese Roots And Silk Routes “People tend to forget that it is not just a craft, but also a visual identifier of the Zoroastrian community and its achievements,” says Ashdeen Z. Lilaowala of...
Still Chuckling After All These Years
Parsi revue Laughter in the House 2 is a cornucopia of guilty pleasures One would perhaps not have imagined the Bee Gees song ‘Stayin’ Alive’ to be as felicitous to the boulevards of Ballard Estate,...
New Innings of JSA’s Former Senior Partner Berjis Desai
Following in the footsteps of Jyoti Sagar, J. Sagar Associates’ Senior Partner Berjis Desai retired from the firm on March 31 this year. Having followed the firm’s retirement policy, the senior...
Motorcycle Diaries
My journey into the two wheeler world began in 1948 when my youngest uncle Shapoor bought a war- surplus Matchless 350 cc, with a rigid frame. I don’t remember if it had shock absorbers at the back,...
Jamsheed Marker: Indians were furious we managed to secure the Americans first
Sitting with, and listening to, Jamsheed Marker is a fulfilling experience. History, diplomacy, anecdotes about politicians, music, culture, and a lot of cricket — he enlightens his audience in many...
When Pakistan census officials came to my home, they didn’t know what a Parsi was
A policeman, an army ranger and a government schoolteacher come to the home of a Parsi married to a Christian. If you think that sounds like the beginning of a joke, you are partially right. Article...
Parsis and Indian Classical Music: The secret history
The Parsis are associated today solely with Western classical music. The Swar Sadhana Samiti’s annual festival this week reminds us that this tiny community also led the way in promoting Hindustani...
Maneck Dalal: Air India’s Legendary London Head Passes Away
Our dear friend Meher Heroyce Moos draws our attention to the passing away of Maneck Dalal, who headed Air-India in London for many years and was a truly amazing person. Maneck Ardheshir Dalal OBE...
Dinyar Anklesaria: A Culinary Journey
If you happen to travel to Sacramento California and ask any one where one finds a good restaurant serving Parsi food, they will tell you not to miss the restaurant operated by Dinyar Noshir...
The obscure religion that shaped the West
Talk of ‘us’ and ‘them’ has long dominated Iran-related politics in the West. At the same time, Christianity has frequently been used to define the identity and values of the US and Europe, as well...
Zarahushtra’s Vision and Zoroastrianism Today: Prof. K. D. Irani
The Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY) invited it’s founding member and past President Professor Kaikhosrov D. Irani to deliver a talk about “Zarathushtra’s Vision and...
Priest converts from Zoroastrianism to baptize his mother
It is not often that a priest has the opportunity to baptize his own mother, but Father Hezuk Shroff will get to do just that this Easter. Shroff comes from a Parsi family. The Parsis are an Indian...