Melbourne’s Zoroastrian community has reason to celebrate as Dilnaz Billimoria was recognised with the Promotion of...
arZan Articles
The Bizarre Connection Between a Cow Painkiller and the Disappearance of India’s Vultures
On a hill in Mumbai surrounded by banyan trees lies the Doongerwadi grounds. It is home to the city’s ancient Towers...
ABC For Zarathushtis
Anaheet Gazder is the author and illustrator behind this new beautiful book ABC For Zarathushtis. This is a self-published book put together painstakingly over 6 years. In an email Anaheet informs...
The Parsi demi-god of Israel: Zubin Mehta
Biographies written about artist-celebrities by Indian writers often read like extended Wikipedia pages. Or like a résumé running into hundreds of pages. Most of the information is either known, or...
This Duo is Documenting Mumbai’s Fast Disappearing Irani Cafes
The culturescape of Mumbai is one that is vast and diverse and there are many elements – old and new, that make the city as you know it today. Some of these aspects are such that add...
Murree: The legendary Pakistani beer that wants to come to India
Murree, which sells around 90,000 hectolitres annually, has been looking beyond Pakistan. “Murree Beer is made from high quality Australian barley/malt and European hops. In my humble opinion, it...
Art in the British Parliament: Dadabhai Naoroji
Artwork of the Month: On 30 June 1917, Dadabhai Naoroji, the first Asian Member of Parliament died. Dadabhai Naoroji Dadabhai Naoroji was the first Asian Member of Parliament elected to the House of...
Becoming my mother’s priest: keeping Zoroastrianism alive in Canada
At the young age of eight, did you know what you wanted to do with the rest of your life? Well, Hormuz Javat knew what he wanted to be. He made a choice, and he's sticking with it: Hormuz decided to...
Neville Bharucha: Parsi piano man to bring Western Classical notes to Bengaluru
A Steinway pianist at 23, Neville Z Bharucha has spent considerable time in the West – earning his chops at the Trinity College in London and performing across the United States, for starters....
Kawas M Nanavati Case: How An Affair Turned Friends Into Foes
This is a story involving an extra-marital affair that resulted in a murder. The trial of the murderer generated unprecedented media coverage and the circumstances in which the murder took place...
Ancient links, modern lessons
The recently concluded exhibitions in New Delhi on Zoroastrianism and the story of the Parsis in India were eye openers on many fronts. Sadly, these excellent collections of what can be called...
A box of tissues for Mr. Jehangir Patel please!
Yesterday we published an editorial by Jehangir Patel titled "A Parsi Trupti Please". Below is a rebuttal to the same by Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram, Editor of Frashogard The ubiquity of Whats-app...
A Parsi Trupti, please
Parsi women have tolerated discrimination for over a century, and there's no-one to fight for them. Trupti Desai's efforts to seek equality between the sexes in matters of worship have been on the...
Prof. Almut Hintze of SOAS awarded European Research Council grant of €2.5 million to study core ritual of Zoroastrianism
Professor Almut Hintze FBA, Zartoshty Brothers Professor of Zoroastrianism at SOAS University of London, has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Investigator Grant of just under...
Cyrus Todiwala embraces the spice of life
HE'S the Indian chef who takes the guesswork out of cooking with spices, but Cyrus Todiwala is at home in Wales as he is in his native India. For now, at least… WHEN it comes to familiar faces at...
Jehangir Art Gallery set to gift more room to artists
When the beloved Café Samovar shut shop in the March of 2015, the city's cognoscenti mourned. The Jehangir Art Gallery's (JAG) chairperson Adi Jehangir, however, was determined to make something...
Dasturji Kotwal In Conversation with Shernaz Cama
Here is a 2007 interview where Dastur Dr. Kotwal is in conversation Dr. Shernaz Cama; Chair of the UNESCO PARZOR Project. This interview originally appears on the PARZOR website Dastur Dr. Firoze...
Dates Announced for 11th World Zoroastrian Congress 2018 in Perth Australia
Chalo Perth !! The 11th edition of the World Zoroastrian Congress will be held from June 1 to June 4th 2018 in Perth, Australia Firoz K Pestonji who heads the organizing team of the 11th World...
Remembering Nari K Rustomji
May 16 was Meghalaya’s first chief secretary Nari K Rustomji’s birth anniversary. Glenn C Kharkongor recalls his contribution to the Northeast NARI K Rustomji studied classical Latin and Greek, was...
How Dilshad Master Applied Learnings From Launching A Television Channel To The Travel Business
In 2014, just weeks after a major surgery for a cancer diagnosis that two-years earlier had thrown Dilshad Master’s life into some sort of chaos, she found herself leading a trip to the Everest Base...
Speaking Tree: Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda
Threads of Continuity — an exhibition on philosophy and culture of Zoroastrians in India is currently on in Delhi. MONA MEHTA reports on what she learnt about the Parsis from the show Half way...
The Parsi phenomenon
As one of the smallest communities in number, the Parsis have made a phenomenal contribution in India. Firstly in business enterprise, and then richly in the fields of the visual arts, film,...
Amitav Ghosh: Of Facts and Fiction
Author Amitav Ghosh shared unknown facts about the roots of trade between India and China and the role played by the Parsi community. Sharang Bhaskaran reports That the Parsi community was at the...
Phiroza Anklesaria: In Conversation
I wanted to be the Attorney General”, Anuj A in conversation with Phiroza Anklesaria She does not look like it. She simply does not. You would be forgiven for mistaking Phiroza Dhanjishaw Anklesaria...
Lt Gen Faridoon N Bilimoria: A Soldier’s General
Endearingly called Billy by his friends, Lt Gen FN Bilimoria, PVSM was undoubtedly one of the most distinguished and dedicated soldiers in the Indian Army. His family lineage too was uniquely...
Encounters with Zoroaster at the National Museum
Delhi residents, and visitors lucky enough to be in the city right now, have a week left to visit a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the National Museum. The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in...
Female Entrepreneur: Zeenia Master | Founder, Xenia Hospitality Solutions
Female Entrepreneur: Zeenia Master | Founder, Xenia Hospitality Solutions Interview by Ashish Bhardwaj, wearethecity.in Tell us a bit about yourself, background and what you do currently Being...
KF Rustamji: India’s iconic police officer
His centennial birth year is an opportunity to celebrate the man who set up the Border Security Force and laid the ground for the first Public Interest Litigation case Though he was born a Parsi on...
Trial by fire: Women chefs and the challenges they face in kitchens
THE YOUNG BOSS: ‘I HAD TO DEMAND TO BE HEARD’ At 23, Delhi-born Anahita Dhondy took up her first job in a professional kitchen. Armed with a grand diplome from Le Cordon Bleu, London, she joined as...
The Parsee Cemetry of Darjeeling India
HERITAGE LOST: The Parsee Cemetery Author: Faiyaz Shafique Ansari The Parsees– one of India’s smallest minorities – have been worried about their dwindling numbers for decades. During British Raj...
Ariana Vafadari: Gathas, Songs My Father Taught Me
Ariana Vafadari is a singer and along with her team at Quart de Lune has produced a new album of music titled: Gathas, Songs My Father Taught Me. Here is a youtube trailer of her album. Ariana...
Ancestral Affairs: Poet Daruwalla’s latest novel is a runaway romp
When I begin reading Ancestral Affairs, my only reference point is Rohinton Mistry’s Family Matters — a Parsi family saga that had left me with much heartache. Keki N. Daruwalla’s second novel, with...
How I Got There: In Conversation with Tanya Balsara
CAP India’s blog features an interview with Tanya Balsara, CEO of Tanya Computer Center in Mumbai India. I met Tanya Balsara five years ago, while co-authoring my book, Cuisine for A Cause. If I...
Dr. Hirji Adenwalla: Adding Smiles To Lives
Smile Train partner surgeon Dr. Hirji S. Adenwalla is, quite possibly, the only surgeon in the world who has been exclusively performing cleft surgeries for the last 15 years. He is the head of The...
Prof. Spenta Wadia to Speak at PARZOR Film Festival
As The Everlasting Flame International Program enters the last two weeks PARZOR invites you to a great film and not to be missed talk by Prof Emeritus Spenta Wadia of TIFR Bangalore, one of those...
With 95 candles on cake, Mama Parsi still going strong
UPDATE: This article was erroneously published again. The original publication date is April 2013. Mama Parsi Girl’s High School was decorated with garlands of marigold, rangoli and handmade posters...
Chef Jehangir Mehta’s Graffiti Earth Takes Sustainable Approach to Duane Street Hotel
It seems as if one can’t find a new restaurant that doesn’t label itself as “intimate” and “sustainable,” but Graffiti Earth is taking those terms a step further. Led by chef Jehangir Mehta, the...
Colaba’s Piccadilly is now Persepolis
If in the last seven months, you’ve missed the fatoush at Colaba’s 58-year-old Irani café, your wait’s over. And there’s a bonus: extra Continental and Parsi dishes, and possibly, a new name The...
The Ninety First Symphony: Homi Dastoor’s Musical Journey
The Ninety First Symphony is a beautiful documentary on Homi Dastoor’s Musical Journey. Readers of Parsi Khabar are familiar with Homi’s work which was featured here and here. His...
Nagpur Parsis succour for parched Latur
Carrying the initiative taken by the staffers of Nagpur Central Railway, the members of Nagpur Parsi Gymkhana are now taking arduous efforts to quench the thirst of people from parched lands....
Adi Godrej: Beef ban, prohibition are hurting economy
Adi Godrej first to speak out: Beef ban, prohibition are hurting economy Clever democratic leaders make sure disadvantages are minimised, advantages maximised, says Godrej chairman. INDUSTRIALIST...
Parsis on Indian Stamps
1st March, 1958 – 50th Anniversary of Steel Industry, Jamshedji Tata – Steel Plant 15th April, 1959 – Sir Jamshetjee Jeejeebhoy (1783-1859), Philanthropist – Death Centenary. ...
Petition: Secure the future of Persian GCSE and A-level qualifications
100,000 signatures are required for the UK Parliament to pay attention to Secure the future of Persian GCSE and A-level qualifications Sign and share with anyone you know. ZTFE President Malcolm...
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...
A legacy lost and found
An ongoing exhibition in the Capital showcases works by and on Parsis and their rich contribution to films, poetry, arts, and children’s literature Article by Rana Siddiqui Zaman | The Tribune They...
The Parsi in history, imagination, life and culture
A series of events in the capital seeks to demystify the fast-dwindling community who migrated to India more than a millennium ago. By Shailaja Paramathma VoN, viewsonnewsonline.com In the...
Threads of Continuity: Exhibitions on Parsi Life and Culture
Ongoing exhibitions – “The Everlasting Flame” at the National Museum, “Painted Encounters, Parsi Traders and the Community” and “No Parsi is an Island” at the National Gallery of Modern Art and...
Udvada finally gets a police station, near fire temple
Cops got their act together seven months after mid-day reported that a series of break-ins and burglaries were taking place in the Parsi town Nearly seven months after mid-day reported about the...
Parsi surnames & the places they are derived from
Ever wondered where all the Parsi surnames come from ?? Well our friend Kaevan Umrigar did and here’s his attempt at plotting it on a map ! Via Facebook, Kaevan writes The etymology of Parsi...
Chef Cyrus Todiwala: Indian food is part of British way of life
Chef Cyrus Todiwala is among the clutch of Indian chefs whose names and faces are recognisable in Britain. It could be due to his Café Spice Namasté chain, frequent appearance in television and...
XYZ is MAD
Our dear friend Hoshaang Gotla writes in to inform us of an excellent initiative he is putting together with the Xtremely Young Zoroastrians, a program he founded. On the occasion of XYZ's...
It’s Raining Zarathushti Kids in Seattle
Nestled in the northwest corner of the US lies a city where not only does the rain come pouring down, but so do adorable Zoroastrian babies. Our once small ZSWS (Zoroastrian Society of Washington...