Karachi’s history does not reside merely in its buildings, its roads, or the long curve of its shoreline. It lives in...
arZan Articles
Early morning fire at godown on Ezra Street ravages Calcutta’s oldest Parsi temple
Twenty-five fire tenders battled the blaze in central Calcutta for over six hours from 5.30am, when the first alarm...
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. The Christmas with Cyrus event is taking place on...
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 a can of Murree...
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 than...
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 series...
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 to...
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 definitely a part of...
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 roads...
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...
Jer Bulsara on her son Freddie Mercury
Twenty years after the death of rock’s most famous singer, and with a lavish book of rare photographs about to be published, his mother, Jer Bulsara, talks to Angela Levin about how she coped with...
Bar bids farewell to Justice Kapadia
In times of trouble, do what you are obligated to do, he tells judges The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, S.H. Kapadia, retired on Friday. At a farewell function organised here by the by...
Laughter Club
Laughter in the House shows us a community that can laugh at itself Long ago, in an interview with Bachi Karkaria, the late Adi Marzban said, “All this longhaired discussion on...
Sr citizen dies as Tardeo bldg flooring caves in
A 78-year-old polio afflicted woman, who was lying on her bed at her second floor flat in Soonawala building in Tardeo, died on Tuesday morning after the flooring gave way and she fell to the ground...
A Chief Justice of India who breathes integrity
By the time the 38th Chief Justice of India, SH Kapadia, hangs up his cloak and collar on September 29, he would have added yet another landmark verdict in the form of an ‘opinion’ in deference to...
Straight, Honest Parsimoney
The Parsi reputation for diligence and trustworthiness warms their businesses By Arti Sharma | Outlook India Compass Card Honest, straightforward Parsis will tell it like it is, whether you want to...
India’s Only Symphony Orchestra
Western classical music has historically struggled to find a place in India, a country that has its own vibrant tradition of classical music. By Khushita Vasant | WSJ Khushroo N. Suntook, chairman...
Firoz Rustomji Batliwala: Remembering the Poet on his Death Centenary
The following article was sent to us via email. It is written by Marzban Giara The music maestro who composed the Parsi anthem Chhaiye Ame Jarthosti to the tune of Good Bye My Blue Bell byMarzban...
Parsi Youth Porus Shroff Selected To Train at Manchester United
First Parsee boy from Bombay to get selected to train at the prestigious Manchester United Football Club in UK!!! KENKRE TRAINEE PORUS SHROFF MAKES IT TO MAN–U Airtel Rising Starts received 20000...
To the Batliwalas and forgotten Rustoms
During the late 70s, it was not important to personally know a Batliwala, Daruwala or Rustom to have some knowledge of the sudra (long muslin shirt) or China silk skull caps, sali boti and patra ni...
‘Flat’ lure for Parsi youths to marry
Now, this is one reality bait that realty-savvy Parsis will not be able to ignore! Surat Parsi Panchayat has neatly packaged its ulterior designs of encouraging young Parsis to get hitched in a ‘get...
Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry: A quiet billionaire
Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry, 82, is the world's most reclusive billionaire. For a man with an estimated wealth of almost $10 billion (Rs 55,000 crore), he is surprisingly invisible, rarely seen or...
For Ahmedabad Parsis, festivities go on after a week after Pateti
So what if the Parsi New Year ‘Pateti’ was celebrated last Saturday (August 18)? The mood in the Parsi community is still continues to be that of celebration. Published in DNA India And as part of...
Parsi enclave wins UNESCO award
A good-hearted initiative by the Parsi community to preserve its old architecture while securing the housing needs of poor members has earned it international recognition. By Bella Jaisinghani | TNN...
Delkash Shahriarian Launches 'Cricket for Girls' Program
The Cricket League of New Jersey (CLNJ) Youth program and DreamCricket Academy announced their support of Delkash Shahriarian’s plans to launch a 'Cricket for Girls' program starting this Fall....
Rohinton Mistry wins Neustadt Prize 2012
Rohinton Mistry, a Canadian-Indian writer, will be the 2012 laureate of the $50,000 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. The honor is sponsored by the University of Oklahoma, the Neustadt...
Tracing Dadabhai Naoroji’s Descendants: Request for Assistance
I would like to ask readers for assistance in helping trace any descendants of Dadabhai Naoroji. Letter to Dadabhai Naoroji by his young grandson, Sarosh. Dadabhai Naoroji Papers, National Archives...