The global Zoroastrian and Iranian diaspora is celebrating a moment of immense pride as Dr. Soroosh Sorooshian, an...
arZan Articles
GCZT Writers Award Contest: A Call to All Aspiring Writers
Have you ever dreamed of seeing your words come to life and being celebrated for them? Here’s your chance! The Global...
2600 years of history in one object: The Cyrus Cylinder
A clay cylinder covered in Akkadian cuneiform script, damaged and broken, the Cyrus Cylinder is a powerful symbol of religious tolerance and multi-culturalism. In this enthralling talk Neil...
The curious case of vanishing Parsis in Hubli-Dharwad
A greatly civilised clan, which has made valuable contributions to the socio-economic growth of the twin cities, has seen such a sharp drop in its population that demographic experts fear the...
Mehrab Kaizad Bhaya Wins NCC Honour
The Maharashtra National Cadet Corps (NCC) has bagged the Prime Minister’s Banner Trophy as Champion Directorate for the 15th time in 21 years. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the...
Faramerz Dabhoiwala: The Origins of Sex
Faramerz Dabhoiwala is a Parsi boy made good — in fact, his new book on sex has very quickly become just about the hottest property in the literary world. When an online article on The Origins of...
Fereshte Sethna: Vodafone’s Lawyer and Her Take on the Tax Case
Fereshte Sethna was part of the legal team that represented Vodafone Group Plc during its successful appeal in the Indian Supreme Court of a government tax demand. The apex court’s ruling in favor...
Jumjoji: Parsi Restaurant in Bandra, Mumbai
In addition to their lineage, customs and community achievements, Parsis are fiercely proud about their food. Not surprisingly, the walls of Jumjoji, a week-old upscale Parsi diner in Bandra...
British Consul General on Parsi Weddings, Global Businesses and the Influence on Mumbai
I was fortunate recently to attend my first ever Parsi wedding. Two of the 40 or so Parsi staff in the Deputy High Commission in Mumbai, Nazneen (our press officer) and Burzin ( a member of the UKBA...
When the epochal fire lit
A peek inside Delhi’s fire temple Dar-e-Mehr at the Delhi Parsi Anjuman is the only fire temple in the entire Northern belt of India. Its fire was consecrated on 31 December 1961. The history of...
Vispi Kasad Enters Guinness Book of World Records
Vispi Kasad an academician and educator and a martial arts expert has entered the Guinness Book of World Records. As per the Guinness Book website Most layered bed of nails sandwich (1 inch)...
Judge appointed to resolve Parsi Punchayet dispute
Justice (retired) BN Shrikrishna was appointed by the Bombay high court as mediator for the resolution of a dispute between the Parsi Punchayet Trust and Properties and some members of the community...
Keeping the Flame: The hearty delights of Parsi food
An article that deals with Parsi food must, in all fairness, open with a statutory warning: this cuisine is injurious to the mental health of vegetarians. For very often the only herbivorous item...
Koolar & Co. : Brun Maska in the Land of Idli
In the hotbed of eateries serving some of the city’s best piping hot dosas, sambars and tasty chutney that is Matunga, lies an equally popular if unlikely restaurant — an Irani one. What...
Homi Khusrokhan to head Bombay Natural History Society
Former corporate executive Homi Khusrokhan, who is also a keen environmentalist, will be the new president of the prestigious Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a BNHS official said here Monday....
Jimmy Engineer’s search for ‘Al-Musawwir’
Media launching of the 612-page epic volume ‘In Search of My Master’ illustrating Jimmy Engineer’s work carried out during the last four decades by means of 500 pictures was held here at...
Jinnah Award: For Ardeshir Cowasjee, recognition of a lifetime of wit, fight and philanthropy
The Jinnah Society has presented its 11th Jinnah Award to columnist and philanthropist Ardeshir Cowasjee in recognition of his outstanding and dedicated services to the country. The ceremony was...
Three Parsis Amongst List of 129 Padma Awardees for 2012
The Indian Government announced the 2012 list of awardees for the highest civilian awards that the country bestows upon individuals. Dr. Noshir H. Wadia Padma Bhushan An eminent Neurologist from...
Growing up Parsi and gay in Bombay
Ten years of a Parsi Purgatory. But that still did not prepare me for the American ‘Paradise’. In 1958, in the proverbial sexual encounters of Bombay’s fast trains, I came to know about sex. We...
Mhow and Dahanu Agiaries Celebrate their Salgreh
Today is Adar Roj nd Sherevar Mahino, YZ 1381. Tuesday, 24th Jan 2010. The agiaries of Mhow, Madhya Pradesh and Dahanu, Maharashtra celebrate their Salgrehs. Mhow (Indore) Agiary : The Mhow Anjuman...
Khurshid Mistry Wins the Mumbai Half Marathon in the Veteran’s category.
Yazdi Tantra at Zoroastrians.net informs Ms Khurshid Mistry has won Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012- Half Marathon under the Veteran Category which was held on January 15, 2012. Ms...
Nowrojee & Son’s, McLeodganj’s 152-year-old Nostalgia Shop
For most Indians, colonial British India exists only in movies or Kipling’s novels. But in a 152-year-old shop in this Dharamsala suburb the British Raj continues to live on. Located in the...
Remembering Homai: Dinyar Patel Reminisces about Vyarawalla
Dinyar Patel, editor at Yazdgerd and good friend of Parsi Khabar has penned a personal note on the passing away of Homai Vyarawalla. "Homai Vyarawalla, India’s first woman photojournalist,...
First Indian Woman Photo-Journalist Homai Vyarawalla Dies
First Post: India’s first woman photo-journalist, Vyarawala captured a nation in transition A picture of Jawaharlal Nehru, smoking and helping Ms Simon— wife of then British High Commissioner to...
Contractor, Engineer call for fresh faces in team
Former Indian captain Nari Contractor and India stumper Farokh Engineer believe the current Indian batting line-up is ageing and that it is time to look ahead with young new faces. By V.V....
New tricks from the Todiwalas in London
Arguably the industry’s most iconic Indian chef, Cyrus Todiwala has won more awards than Jamie Oliver has opened restaurants. He has published three cookbooks, advised Government and cooked...
Gara Magic
Parsi garas, characterised by intricate needle work on them, date back to the 1800’s. By Homai Sagar | Deccan Herald According to research findings, three brothers of the Kaikhushroo Joshi family of...
Mumbai Road Named After Naoroji Pirojsha Godrej
The Godrej family was out in full strength on Sunday morning at a function to name a road after the founder of the Godrej empire, Naoroji Pirojsha Godrej, at Napean Sea Road. The road leading to...
Nosh Nalavala and MediaGlobal Receive U.N. Award
At a glittering event here Dec. 14, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon awarded the Silver Medal in the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation/UNCA Global Prize to MediaGlobal News, a...
Parsi Research Assistants Needed In Mumbai
Dear Parsi community My name is Håkon Tandberg, and I’m a Ph.D. researcher from Norway studying Zoroastrianism. I’ve earlier enjoyed a research visit among the Parsis in Mumbai (2008), and will now...
Udwada & Daman
Living in a multicultural society as we do here in India gives us a wonderful opportunity to observe a great variety of lifestyles. It is fascinating to see how people of diverse religions celebrate...
Astad Deboo: The Dancing Vagabond
There sits a man, all of 64 years, in his white splendour. At about five feet seven inches tall, despite his age, he holds himself with the same vitality he’s always had since the dawn of his career...
Consumer goods family business Godrej takes to the road
First it was Ratan Tata, head of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, who had a building in Harvard Business School named after him. But now another family business has made headlines, this time for...
Parsis Abroad More Conscious of Identity
Parsis living in the UK, USA and Canada are more conscious of their identity than their Mumbai counterparts. This statement would have been wholly incorrect, some forty years ago, in the 70’s....
Allahabad Parsis Relying on ‘temporary’ Parsi priest for rituals
ALLAHABAD: Even as the heads count of the Parsi community is diminishing, both in the Sangam city as well as across the country, the community is struggling to find a ‘Mobed’ (Priest) to...
A look at Mumbai’s dwindling Irani chai shops
UPDATE: Link to the documentary mentioned in this article is here. A lot can happen over chai. Once over 300 Irani tea-shops in Mumbai were as intrinsic to the city as streetside cafes are to Paris....
Hoshang Merchant: In Conversation
Q&A with Hoshang Merchant | ‘Liberation does not come in a day’ The poet on his autobiography, sexuality, authorial identity and Section 377 By Amirta Roy | Livemint A Parsi who has studied...
Duke’s Lemonade, Soda, Raspberry and Mangola Will Make A Comeback
The news brought back to Zeba Kohli the memories of her childhood. “I was reminded of our family’s weekend outings and trips to Matheran and Pune, when the most important part of the picnic basket...
Shaurya Chakra Awarded to Lieutenant Commander Firdaus Darabshah Mogal
Indian Navys Lieutenant Commander Firdaus Darabshah Mogal from Mumbai was awarded the Shaurya Chakra ( posthumous) on Monday for his gallant deed of attending to the call of duty at the cost of his...
Carrying Hope: The Parsis of Surat
As the world’s population crosses the seven-billion mark, the dwindling Parsi community is trying to make its contribution By Mayank Austen Soofi | LiveMint Farzana Kharadi is carrying the weight of...
Tata’s choice of chairman preserves Parsi tradition
The days when Mumbai’s Parsi community dominated a city they helped to build may have faded, but the rise of Cyrus Mistry to the helm of the Tata Group reinforces the clout it wields in some...
Champagne flows in Parsi community, following Mistry’s appointment
“I got a call from a Parsi friend of mine congratulating me about my namesake being announced as the Chairman of Tata sons,” said Mr Cyrus Dastur, founder of short-film club Shamiana,...
Cyrus Mistry Succeeds Ratan Tata at the Helm of the Tata Empire
More articles From construction to Tata empire, Mistry’s new journey begins Ratan Tata scripts an enviable legacy Young Mistry means long-term stability for Tata Group: L&T JJ Irani says...
From Persia to Bangalore
Dinshaw Cawasji, President of The Bangalore Parsee Zoroastrian Anjuman narrates the history of Parsees; how they took refuge in a small coastal town in Gujarat after agreeing to several conditions...
Doa-E-Tandorasti Prayers
Below is a video of Ervad Kobad Jamshed praying the Doa-e-Tandorasti. The prayers are being recited at the San Jose Dar-E-Mehr in California, USA. Video filmed by Rusi Sorabji.
How Iran persecutes its oldest religion
Zoroastrian worshipers pray near the central Iranian city of Yazd in 2004. By Jamsheed K. Choksy , Special to CNN Editor’s note: Jamsheed K. Choksy is professor of Iranian studies, senior...
Khushwant Singh: The Parsis have given India more than others have
I crave my readers’ forgiveness for my eccentricity. I believed that at long last I had found the right-sized condom for my pen and would produce no more. I have been proved wrong. Either it did not...
Tanaz Doshi: A Model’s life
It is not everyday that one admits to being born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Well, Tanaz Doshi is different. A successful ex-model, restauranter and someone who could pass off as the poster...
P D Zilla and the case of the Unappropriated Land
Deceased textile magnate’s niece unearths documents of sale of about 2,300 sq m of his land in Andheri (East) twice — once for a throwaway price, and another time for Rs 18 crore —...
Kersi Dubash unveils Nazakat Collection of exquisite saris
Indian designer Kersi Dubash under his brand name ‘Nazakat Collections’ unveiled on Friday a wide range of Indian saris, Banarsi cotton, antique Parsi Gararas, Garara borders and Garara Shalwar...
Zoroastrians Stepping Forward
We are happy to inform about a new initiative by a group of Zoroastrian youth. Behrose Taraporewalla informs: Zoroastrians are known for their humanitarian work around the world. However there has...
Kurshetji murder puts spotlight on Parsis
The Adi Kurshetji murder case of May 2003, which culminated in the conviction of the accused on Friday, has exposed the soft underbelly of the Parsi community. By Nauzar Bharucha | TNN With an...