Mumbai police have filed an FIR against three individuals accused of forging a Parsi priest’s signature to transfer...
arZan Articles
Why the Parsi community is fading away| From the India Today archives
This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated September 27, 2004 The wooden steps leading to...
Jokhi Agiary at Godrej Baug Celebrates 10 years
The Shapurji Fakirji Jokhi Agiary in Godrej Baug, Malabar Hill, completed 10 years on December 18. The priest performed prayer ceremonies in the afternoon. Youth leaders also spoke to the people...
Priest killed, friend hurt in mishap
A young Parsi priest was killed and his friend seriously injured while riding a bike on the Palm Beach Road early on Sunday. The deceased, Kaiwan M Dastoor (22), resided in Dadar’s Parsi...
Ratan Tata: Exit Stage Right
With just a fortnight to go for his retirement on December 28, Ratan Tata is getting ready for a new life. His multi-storey, sea-facing house opposite Mumbai’s Colaba Post Office is being...
Dr. Yuhan Vevaina: Khorshed Jungalwala Memorial Lecture at the XVI NAZC 2012
Dr. Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina delivered the Khorshed Jungalwala Memorial Lecture at the 16th North American Zarathushti Congress 2012 held in New York in August 2012. Below is the video recording...
Parsis may have to stop using certain painkillers
Parsis in the city, particularly those who offer their dead to the vultures, may be asked to do away with some popular painkillers like Voveran, if their vulture breeding program is successful. By...
‘The biggest test for Cyrus is to stay true to the Tata code of ethics’
Having steered over hundred companies of the Tata group for more than two decades,Ratan Tata, who retires on December 28 as the group’s chairman, says he has always tried to do the...
Oklahoma University Professor Travels to India to Research Zoroastrianism
Afshin Marashi, OU professor of International and Area Studies, will travel across the globe to further his research on Iranian nationalism and Zoroastrianism, the religion of most Iranians before...
Celebrating a Treasure: 140 Years at the First Dastoor Meherjirana Library, Navsari
This is the title of an international conference being organized by the Meherjirana Library and PARZOR. The conference is being held from January 12 to 15, 2013. The conference has a power-packed...
Irani Restaurants: Bye-bye to Brun maska?
A little of Iran blossomed on the streets of South Bombay in the form of restaurants and bakeries in the late 19th century. A few have closed down owing to various pressures. What about those that...
Parsi Money, Not Bodies, Key to Vulture Survival, Expert Says
Ask the director of the Bombay Natural History Society about vultures, and he will discuss the issue endlessly. Ask him about Parsis and their corpse disposal practices, and he will roll his eyes....
The Cyrus Cylinder travels to the US
‘First declaration of human rights’ to tour five cities in the United States The British Museum today announces that one of its most iconic objects, the Cyrus Cylinder, will tour to five major...
10th World Zoroastrian Congress 2013
Mumbai will be host to the 10th World Zoroastrian Congress is to be held in December 2013. Hosted by The Bombay Parsi Punchayat; it will be held from December 27 to 31st 2013. The website for the...
Giving New Life to Vultures to Restore a Human Ritual of Death
Fifteen years after vultures disappeared from Mumbai’s skies, the Parsi community here intends to build two aviaries at one of its most sacred sites so that the giant scavengers can once again...
Ancient Persian religion on the decline in Pakistan
The Parsis, who fled Iran in the face of the country’s Muslim conversation centuries ago, settled across India and Pakistan. But in recent years, the prominent Karachi religious minority is...
Eat Live Pray: A Celebration of Zarathushti Culture and Cuisine
FEZANA the umbrella Zoroastrian organization in North America celebrates it’s 25th year in 2012. On this occassion they have come out with a wonderful e-book titled “Eat Live Pray: A...
Emirates Parsees Gahambar 2012
Come Festive Season and we have reason to celebrate. Every year in December, United Arab Emirates Parsees organise a Get Together Lunch, a Typical Parsi Gahambar. This event is sponsored by...
Ardeshir Cowasjee RIP: Mourning a man who mourned for Pakistan
A year ago, an obituary appeared on the pages of Dawn of someone called A. Cowasjee. Many well-meaning fans and friends of famous columnist and social activist Ardeshir Cowasjee, rushed to non...
Special Edition Newsletter of the XVI NAZC 2012
The XVIth North American Zarathushti Congress was hosted by ZAGNY in New York in August 2012. ZAGNY has this month come out with a commemorative special edition of their Newsletter that covers the...
The bygone era of Parsis still alive at SoBo club: Rippon Club
Now you need to know someone at the Ripon Club to pig out on the best Parsi cuisine in town. By D.K. Bose | Asian Age After my hints and pleas for months, an acquaintance of an acquaintance finally...
An up-close view of Parsis at Harvard exhibit
Sooni Taraporevala’s photographs make clear how much like everyone else Parsis are A man stands with his back to the camera, looking look at the sea. It’s the photograph that begins Sooni...
Vadodra Parsis cremated as vultures dwindle
Vadodara: When Dara Hakim, 89, a former Indian Navy deep-sea diver and prominent member of Vadodara?s Parsi community passed away recently, his family chose to cremate him. Though he did not leave...
Christmas with Cyrus Todiwala in London
Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and its signature restaurant, Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen, are offering Christmas party dining experiences.
Banned at home, Pakistan brewery seizes Hollywood moment
(Reuters) – What have Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, underage drinking and Pakistan’s only beer maker got in common? It was the arrest of the Hollywood stars’ daughter in New York with...
On Sanjan Day, Parsis dwell on future
As you travel north on the railroad route from Mumbai towards Surat, the first station beyond the Gujarat border is Umargam. The second is a small, unassuming coastal settlement named Sanjan. By
A Who’s Who of Persian History.
Who was Who in Persian History. All the ancient Iranian historical events/facts are taken from a century old book. This list is compiled by Phil Masters. [Hat Tip: Mickie Sorabjee] 1)...
Purity makes Parsis an endangered species
IN a country where 70,000 babies are born every day, young Zahan Daruwala’s birth three months ago was a relatively rare event. As the child of two Indian Parsi parents, Zahan is one of fewer...
A treasure trove for antique lovers
The Parsi community paper has ads on old items for sale Relic hunters, collectors, dealers and researchers search a weekly newspaper for antiques By Prabhat Sharan | Deccan Herald They are objects...
When Air India Was Efficient, Profitable and Growing Fast
In a manner of speaking, Air India, India’s foundering national airline, turns eighty on Monday – an octogenarian that started life with a spry hop from Karachi to Bombay. It should be a proud...
Khada Parsi: City’s grand old Parsi to get Rs 1.1 Crore facelift
The long wait of the Khada Parsi, the iconic heritage statue at the Byculla flyover junction, for restoration will soon be over. The BMC has decided to refurbish the 151-year-old cast iron statue of...
The first team from India to visit England
In 1886 Fifteen Parsees toured England in 1886, and though the results weren’t great, they were well received India are currently preparing to take on England, 79 years since the first Test...
Harvard Alum Sooni Taraporewala’s Show Opens At The Carpenter Center
Sooni Taraporevala ’79 bought her first camera with money she borrowed from her roommate. Decades later, she has returned to Harvard for the opening of her photography exhibition. By Nikki D....
Union govt okays free fertility treatment for Parsis
The Union government has approved a proposal by the minority affairs ministry to bear the cost of fertility treatment in order to arrest the decline of Parsi population in the country. A similar...
Endangered Minorities: The 21st Century's Ignored Tragedy
Ifyou thought Europe’s demography was sluggish, spare a thought for India’s Parsis, declining at such a rate that the government is allocating money for fertility clinics. By Ed West | The Telegraph...
Fresh bids for Tehmulji Parsi Lying-in hospital revamp next month
The tussle between the managing committee and the Bombay Parsi Punchayat (BPP) over the future of the Parsi Lying-in Hospital at Fort notwithstanding, the Punchayat has again decided to invite bids...
Parsis and Body Building
When the annual Mr Zoroastrian contest in Mumbai was cancelled due to a lack of entries earlier this year, it signalled the fading out of the Parsi bodybuilder. The Parsis were among the first to...
Hormazd Narielwalla: Dead Man’s Patterns
Discarded suit patterns from dead Savile Row customers form the foundation of the Hormazd Narielwalla’s PhD student’s work. Article by Lily Bonesco | DAZED Digital Hormazd Narielwalla is about...
Race to save dwindling Parsis
Facing extinction, the Parsi population has something to cheer about. The Planning Commission has granted sanction to set up fertility clinics for the Parsis. The Minority Affairs Ministry will now...
Burjor Patel: Back in Service at 82
Actor Burjor Patel, Adi Marzban’s collaborator on modern Gujarati theatre, gets back to Mumbai, and acting after 20 years Ayaz Memon | TNN Burjor Patel resurfaced in viewer consciousness when an...
Jerry Pinto: The Parsis
In the 1970s, Victoria High School, Mahim, was a melting pot, as state-aided Roman Catholic schools tended to be. The majority of the students were Hindu, the second largest group was the...
Sooni Taraporevala’s Exhibition At Harvard
Back-to-back podium finishes for Shahaan Engineer
Indian racer Shahaan Engineer manages two podium finishes in as many races in F 2.0 Northern European Cup My goal is to race in Formula One.” When 17-year-old Shahaan Engineer said what any budding...
Dome Sweet Dome: Contractor House, Vadodra
Renowned Parsi lawyer and philanthropist Jeru Contractor’s grand old mansion, located on Vadodara’s RC Dutt Road, may not be formally labelled as a heritage building, but it is...
Kolkatta Parsis Look Forward to Iran Trip
The Parsis may be reduced to 600 families in the city and 70% of them are senior citizens. But they are not short of excitement when they get a chance to visit homeland. Parsis in the city are...
Teenaz Javat: Sandcastles and Fire Temples
Udvada is a coastal town in Gujarat, about 240 km north of India’s bustling commercial capital, Mumbai. It is a small town but for Zoroastrians (Parsis) it is as venerable as the Kaaba in Makkah and...
Parsis in Kolkata celebrate Fire Temple centenary
Their community comprises barely 600 in Kolkata, but what the Zoroastrians lack in numbers, they make up through their enthusiasm. Over the last couple of days, the Parsi community brought the...
Tabla player Aban Mistry passes away
Aban Mistry, a musician and scholar, known as the first woman solo tabla player in India, passed away in Mumbai on Sunday evening. She was 72. Mistry, one of the few members of the Parsi community...
Armin Wandrewala: SOOR Sanity On Our Roads: An Interview
Below is an article on Armin Wandrewala’s initiative “Sanity On Our Roads” called SOOR. Listen to her radio interview on Radio ONE here. Now, you can enforce traffic discipline on Mumbai’s...
Yazdani Restaurant and Bakery: Where time stops for cutting chai
Mumbai’s Parsee cafés – bakeries run by the city’s Zoroastrian community – have long been an institution in the city. Most of them have been wiped out, replaced by identikit fast-food joints and...
Sooni Taraporevala: Photography Exhibition at Harvard University
Not very often does an occasion come where two legendary Zarathushti women photographers have exhibitions of their works on the eastern seaboard of the United States. However now is one such time....
Jennifer Kotwal: Oprah Winfrey Inspires Me
Oozing with confidence, this model-turned-actor is chirpy as ever. Jennifer Kotwal, who started her career as a model at the age of 15, has over the years gained a name for herself. By Uthra...