For sixty years, Parsiana has documented the everyday and the extraordinary within the Parsi world — from births and...
arZan Articles
Love in the time of loneliness: Paswaar spotlights Parsi elders’ lives
The Gujarati-language film Paswaar puts a story about elder care and India’s Parsi community front and centre Dr Homi,...
Zoroastrian Research Group Online
Bakhtyar Taila of Boston, USA writes: I have started a Zoroastrian Research Group on Yahoo. This group is Dedicated to research and inquiry about Zoroastrianism and about everything Zoroastrian. If...
WZO Trust Funds Launches New Website
Good friend of Parsi Khabar, and Chairman of the WZO Trust Funds, Mr. Dinshaw K. Tamboly informs us: Dear Friends, Donors, Well Wishers, The website of World Zoroastrian Organisation Trust / WZO...
India Urges One Community to Reproduce
The Indian government, though faced with a rapidly expanding population, is trying to encourage one community to have more children. Author: Atish Patel | Source: Wall Street Journal The Parsi...
Kei Kianpoor's Cyrus the Great: A hero for all ages
In a world spiralling out of control, one man hopes that the story of one of history’s most secular leaders would prove an inspiration. Joanna Lobo talks to the man bringing Cyrus the...
Jiyo Parsi: Govt scheme to boost population of Parsis
The Parsi community that boasts of the highest literacy rate and sex ratio in India is staring at extinction. In a population of 1.2 billion in India, there are only about 69,000 Parsis. Author:...
Hosi Daruwala: Colaba’s Patchwork Man
Seated in a chair at the head of a rickety old sewing machine, Mr. Hosi Daruwala matches its battle-weariness with some of his own. Author: Reza Noorani | Source: Home Grown At 71, he is a small,...
Parsis to get govt stimulus for raising their numbers
Under the minorities’ bonanza plan, couples to get Rs 5 lakh for infertility treatment Author: Aditi Tandon Source: Tribune News Service Ahead of elections, the Congress-led UPA government is all...
Dhunjiboy Bomanji's Pineheath mansion opens a window on the past
Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji was a true son of the British Raj. A Parsee shipping magnate from Bombay, knighted for his philanthropy, he was as comfortable in the countryside of his adopted Yorkshire as...
An ode to India's Parsis
Sooni Taraporevala is not a new name in the field of photography. She is widely known for documenting her community – the Parsis – through her photographs and has come out with several exhibitions...
'Aapro Zubin's concerts a real treat'
Master conductor Zubin Mehta’s twin concerts at the NCPA might have drawn to a close on Tuesday night, but they were an event the 1,109-strong audience would replay in their minds for months....
Supreme Court to Review Gujarat High Court’s controversial decision: Goolrukh Gupta Case
A Special Leave Petition (SLP) has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Gujarat High Court’s controversial ruling that a woman who enters into wedlock, even under The Special Marriage...
Remembering Khorshed Gandhy
The Indian art community will dearly miss one of its custodians, the inimitable Khorshed Gandhy, the director of Gallery Chemould since its inception in 1963, who passed away on Friday. While her...
Mumbai’s Gallery Chemould Hits 50
Gallery Chemould in Mumbai has launched its 50th birthday celebrations with an exhibition titled “Subject of Death.” Author: Bhakti Chuganee Source: Wall Street Journal The exhibition, curated by...
Sooni Taraporevala at the National Gallery of Modern Art New Delhi
Sooni Taraporevala’s fantastic body of work shall be on exhibit at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi starting September 16th, 2013. This is one of the must see exhibitions of 2013....
Concert will happen, let music speak for itself: Zubin Mehta
The call made to his Munich hotel, as agreed, at 10.30 am, is aborted. The receptionist will not transfer the line to Zubin Mehta unless we specify the room number. "There are security...
Prominent Parsis of Karachi
The below is a short compilation of some of the prominent Parsis of Karachi, Pakistan. This write up was compiled and forwarded by Phil Masters of Canada. Baba-e-Karachi "Jamshed Nusserwanjee...
The Glory of the Gara
Part of every Parsi bride’s trousseau, the gara sari is an enchanted garden of visual delight Author: Saloni Madan | Source: Deccan Chronicle A thing of beauty is a joy forever/ Its loveliness...
The Marshalls keep the Parsi flame alive in Kozhikode
Though Marshalls, the lone family of Kozhikode keeping the lineage of the Parsi tradition, seems to have embraced the rhythm of Malabari culture, they remain intact in Zoroastrian beliefs and...
Frazan Adil Kotwal: Zoroastrian Priest at 20
When you meet Frazan Adil Kotwal, a 20-something media student it is hard to believe that he is a Zoroastrian priest. By Diipti Jhangani | DNA India To add to this he is training to become a western...
Delnaz Irani: In theatre,I do dark roles
Actress Delnaz Irani is excited about going back to her roots of a Parsi girl for the first time on-screen with the TV show Kehta hai Dil Jee Le Zara. Source: Deccan Herald Delnaz has been in the...
Goolrukh Gupta: The panchayat is inconsistent
Interview with Goolrukh Gupta, the Parsi woman who petitioned the court seeking freedom to enter Parsi religious places. By Lyla Bavadam | Source: Frontline AN ISSUE THAT HAD ITS ORIGINS IN THE...
Keeping Zoroastrianism alive after 3,000 years: BBC Report
On the occassion of the Parsi New Year, the BBC ran a special telecast of the Navroze ceremonies from the STFE headquarters in London. They also ran a short segment about Zoroastrianism Robert...
The State of the Parsi Union: Dinyar Patel
The below is an article written by good friend of Parsi Khabar, and Zoroastrian Scholar; Dinyar Patel. Dinyar Patel writes: On this Navroze, I want to share a few of my thoughts about future of...
Navroze Mubarak: Happy New Year 1383 Yz.
Dear Parsi Khabar reader We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your valued readership over the past eight years. May this be the year when we find the best in all of us as...
Everyday Parsi: Mahrukh Cama
Our eighth author in the Everyday Parsi Series Mahrukh Cama writes To this date, arrival of Fall reminds me of the muktad/gatha days when I was growing up in Karachi. While Muktad prayers took place...
Everyday Parsi: Rita Jamshed Kapadia
Our seventh author in the Everyday Parsi series. Rita Jamshed Kapadia writes: The sweet smell of flowers, the beautiful aroma of sandalwood and “loban”, the well laid out tables with...
Everyday Parsi: Perzen Patel
Our sixth author in the Everyday Parsi Series. Perzen Patel writes: Memories of Muktad and Gatha days The days of muktad and gathas have always been full of special memories for me. As a child, my...
Of frilly cutlets and wedding custard: Parsi Food Festival at the Trident
Chef Jamsheed Bhote lays down a true-blue Parsi cuisine at an exclusive food festival on at The Trident Author: PRIYADERSHINI S. Source: The HINDU Happy and effusive, Jamsheed Bhote is...
The theatre actor was also good at selling advertisement space
I boarded a train that made just four stops in 55 years. Author: Burjor Patel Source: DNA India Let me start today with my first destination: Jam-e-Jamshed, a Gujarati newspaper catering largely to...
Everyday Parsi: Shireen Palia
Our fifth author in the Everyday Parsi Series. Shireen Palia writes: I am Shireen Palia, a Clinical Psychologist working at a school for children with special needs, in Bombay. As I think back to...
New Zealand Parsis Plant Trees in Memory of Departed Ones
The Parsi community in Auckland has embarked on a very unique idea, that maybe could be incorporated back in Mumbai at the vast Doongarwadi lands. Cue Haven’s website informs : The...
Plan to boost Parsi numbers falters
IMRAN AHMED SIDDIQUI New Delhi, Aug. 9: A central scheme for sponsored fertility treatment among Parsis to arrest their dwindling numbers has found no takers, prompting plans for a new...
Everyday Parsi: Shazneen Rabadi Gandhi
Our fourth author in the Everyday Parsi Series. Shazneen Rabadi Gandhi writes: A Personal Muktad My first memory of muktad is that of the one that followed my grand-uncle Sapal kaka’s death. That...
Everyday Parsi: Khushnood Viccaji
Our next author in the Everyday Parsi series Khushnood Viccaji writes: I’m Khushnood Viccaji, staying in Mumbai, India with my wife and teenaged son. We are quite religious and traditional in our...
Everyday Parsi: Kaikhosrow Oshtori
Our second author in the Everyday Parsi Series. Kaikhosrow Oshtori writes: Dear Arzan, how nice and kind of you to think of me for your new project. I would love to participate and contribute my...
Everyday Parsi: Naz Jokhi
Our first author in the Everyday Parsi Series. Naz Jokhi writes: I am Nazneen Jokhi living currently in Copenhagen with my 10 month old son and husband Shahzad Jokhi. My husband and I both are...
The Everyday Parsi
Today is the first day of the Muktad. Over the next 10 and 18 days, Parsis around the world and especially in India remember the dear departed of their family. Special prayers are offered at the...
Zubin Mehta to Perform in the Kashmir Valley
It has been Zubin Mehta’s life-long dream to play in Jammu and Kashmir. Author: Naseer Ganai Source: The Daily Mail UK Come September, and the world famous musician and composer’s wish...
The story of Adi R. Kanga
A visionary & the birth of Navi Mumbai By Rusi Sorabji Before my email of April 30th 2013 informing friends and Zarathushti entities of the passing away of this Visionary who helped create the...
Parsi Baug Builder: Bai Jerbai Naoroji Nusherwanji Wadia
A few days ago we had posted an article titled “The Parsi Baugs of Mumbai” A Parsi Khabar reader, Mr. E. J. Kanga wrote in with further information on this topic. To All Diaspora & Bharati...
Cyrus Poonawalla: Polio vaccines – Injecting competition
WILL the world eradicate polio? If it does, some of the credit may go to a 73-year-old billionaire horse-breeder from the Indian city of Pune: he wants to provide injectable polio vaccine at a...
Parsi cafes: Custom Made in Mumbai
They once numbered in the hundreds, but the few Parsi cafes that survive in Mumbai today have lost none of their charm, writes Rosie Birkett for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong I’m...
BNHS to create Vulture Safe Zone from Doongerwadi to Dahanu
The Bombay Natural History Society to collaborate with the Parsi community, create vulture safe zone between Doongerwadi and Dahanu Author: Priyam Bagga | Source: Pune Mirror For centuries, the...
Zarathushti Day At the Metropolitan Museum New York
Cyrus Cylinder Lecture at the MET from ZAGNY on Vimeo. On Sunday July 21st 2013, over 250 Zarathushtis and friends met up at the world famous Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to celebrate...
The Everlasting Flame Exhibition SOAS London UK
The Everlasting Flame Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination Kirdir inscription at Naqsh-e Rajab. Photograph – Khojeste Mistree One of the world’s oldest religions, Zoroastrianism originated...
The Parsi baugs of Mumbai
Kaizad Bhamgara takes a closer look at some of the popular Zoroastrian settlements in the city and discovers that they are a lot more than just places to live for this closely-knit community. With...
Parsis move to court over property tax in Mumbai
The city’s Parsi fire temples’ trustees filed a petition in the Bombay high court on Monday against the new capital value-based property tax system that has been introduced by the civic body....
10th World Zoroastrian Congress 2013: Program and Various Event Updates
A detailed schedule of events was announced by the Bombay Parsi Punchayat, the hosts of the 10th World Zoroastrian Congress 2013. You can view the program in PDF format here: 10th WZC 2013 Program...
In Hong Kong, a Once Prominent Parsi Community Faces Demise
Each Oct. 12, Homyar Nasirabadwala, the gaunt, white-haired priest of Hong Kong’s Parsi community, pays a visit to the University of Hong Kong to conduct a brief ceremony of thanks on the birthday...
Shapoor Bhedwar: A Parsi Pictorialist
In the 19th century, writing on photography seemed to favour journals and magazines while entire books were more unusual. Increasingly there were more and more publications to chose from, The...