They were few, but far ahead of their time. In a country still grappling with child marriage and female illiteracy,...
arZan Articles
Now reopened, the Parsi Museum in Mumbai offers a compelling insight into Zoroastrianism
Pheroza Godrej, co-curator of the Framji Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla Museum, gives AD a special tour of the Parsi Museum in...
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 heart of...
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 for...
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 perform...
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 of...
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 strong...
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 fellow of...
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 -- after he died...
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...
Yazdgerd: Next Generation Scholars of Zoroastrianism
We are happy to learn that a project that we had heard of, is finally taking off. Yazdegard.net is a website that looks to impart and disseminate scholarly research and work on Zoroastrianism, done...
Innovator Educator Jamshed Bharucha Inaugurated As 12th President of The Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art ushered in a new era for the esteemed 152-year-old institution with the inauguration of its 12th president, cognitive neuroscientist Jamshed...
Zubin Mehta Reminisces About the Shah of Iran’s Invitation to Parsis
Darius Kadivar over at Iranian.com writes about legendary conductor Zubin Mehta meeting the Shah of Iran in 1967. The Shah of Iran personally asked Zubin to spread the word that Parsis were welcome...
Parsi films that never made it to the big screen
Here are some Parsi films that never made it to the big screen...not forgetting the classic Shakespearean remakes: Rumi and Juliet Two Gentlemen of Udwada Much Bhonu about Nothing The Taming of the...
Parsi Woman Cricketer To Represent USA at the World Cup Qualifiers
Delkash Shahriarian, a New York based architect and cricketer has been selected to represent the USA in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2011. The event is scheduled to be played across four...
BBC Report on Prince Philip’s visit to ZTFE 150 Years Celebration
Below is a BBC video segment on the recent visit of Prince Philip to the ZTFE's 150th year celebrations in London.
BPP Chairman Clarifies Doongerwadi Film Shooting Issue
CHAIRMAN CLARIFIES ABOUT DOONGERWADI FEASTING & FILM SHOOTING Sir, The Khareghat Colony “film shooting” is over but the guns are still firing away. So many different versions are circulating all...
Marzban’s Dark Laughter
In my boyhood in Pune, the West End cinema would, at least once a year, transform itself into a live theatre to host a Parsi natak by a visiting troupe from Bombay. The wooden benches of the...
The Freddie Mercury we didn’t know
To his legions of fans, Freddie Mercury was a flamboyant, and very British, rock star. But in the background was a much more complex sense of identity, summed up by one picture, a black and white...
For Navi Mumbai Parsis, fire temple a distant dream
Unable to raise enough money to buy land for their first fire temple in Navi Mumbai, Parsi-Zoroastrians have asked the government to extend the deadline for payment by a month. By Manoj Nair | DNA...
Bachi Karkaria on the Kolkata Agiary Turning 100
The name is bond. Sacred bond. And it is licensed to send a warm thrill up the spine of every Kolkata Parsi. Not just of only the 550 who still remain, but all of us who had grown into our...
The Empty House: Jehangir and Meherbai Bhabha’s “Meherangir”
Colonial India condemned Indians as a people without history, often quoting John Stuart Mill who argued that for “rude nations”, like India, “fable stands in place of fact” and “the times over which...
A Treasure Chest For An Opera House
Jamshed Bhabha's NCPA will remain on song thanks to a generous endowment. Until a few years ago, at most concerts held at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai, two plum seats...
Bombay Parsi Punchayet Halts Coversion of Tehmulji Lying-In Hospital to Medicine Centre
Plans to convert the defunct Parsi Lying-In Hospital in Fort into a super-specialty orthopaedic and sports medicine centre has been rejected by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the lease-holder of...
Parsi Author Rohinton Mistry wins $50K Neustadt Award
Toronto-area writer Rohinton Mistry has won the $50,000 US Neustadt International Prize for Literature, awarded for outstanding achievement in poetry, fiction or drama. Published on CBC News An...
Authentic Parsi Cuisine: Part 1
What constitutes authentic Parsi cuisine is a matter of great debate. One of our colleagues who hails from a blue blooded Parsi family contends that any vegetable ma gosht and any vegetable pur...
Authentic Parsi Cuisine: Part 2
This columnist’s maternal grandfather, Behramji Baria of Navsari, was a bad businessman but a great cook. He ran a catering business between the two World Wars. Article by Berjis Desai | Mumbai...