I am quizzing Eric Billimoria on the first floor of the iconic Parsi Gymkhana. Perpendicularly to my right, the...
arZan Articles
New Virginia Law Criminalizes Nazi Iconography, Protects Sacred Swastika
Virginia’s House Bill 2783 went into effect on July 1, making the public display of Nazi symbols a criminal offense...
This Parsi cook’s secret lies in her grandma’s recipes
Enter Aban Pardiwalla’s home on Pedder Road, and Kylie and Kinky scramble forth to greet you. After the ceremonial sniffs, the Lhasa Apsos ease out, allowing us to concentrate on the talk. “I am a...
Minority Rapport: Chef Kaizad Patel
Third generation Parsi chef Kaizad Patel is in town to help Delhiites nurture a taste for Parsi food “At a Parsi wedding no one remembers who the bride or groom was, but everyone remembers who the...
Aban Pardiwalla: The best home food from someone else’s kitchen
“When my mother would ferment grapes, the entire building knew that the Contractors were making wine,” recalls Aban Pardiwalla of her neighbours’ displeasure at the stench the fermentation would...
New Rules for Doongerwadi Funeral for Women
It will no longer be enough for Parsi-Zoroastrian women who are married to non-Parsis and want to be interred at the Towers of Silence to write an affidavit in their lifetime that they were...
From Nargol to Udvada: A Walk on the Beach
The following is a write-up by Homiar Hathiram and Farhad Choksi; good friends and regular readers of Parsi Khabar. They walked all the way from Nargol to Udvada following the coastline. Here is...
Falling Indian minority hopes romance can stop decline
India's ancient minority Parsi community are pinning their hopes on modern methods such as speed-dating, social networking and IVF to stop their numbers vanishing, finds the BBC. By Sanjoy Majumder...
Avestagenome project enters gene sequencing phase
Avesthagen Ltd on Monday said its ambitious Avestagenome project has entered a significant phase of sequencing 60 closely related human genomes. The project is studying the genetic make-up and...
Parsi special kids to have residential facility in Mumbai
Here’s good news for all Parsi parents with special kids. The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the biggest Parsi trust in the city, plans to setup a special residential facility for the kids. By...
Parsi Bodybuilding: A Photo Exhibition
I’ve been in this city for so long, and I found out only recently that there’s such a thing as a Parsi bodybuilding competition held here every year,” exclaims Aparna Jayakumar. By Pooja Pillai /...
Homi Sethna, Nuclear Legend Passes Away
Former Atomic Energy Commission ( AEC) chairman and one of the guiding lights behind India's first nuclear test, Homi Nusserwanji Sethna, died on Sunday at his Walkeshwar residence after a prolonged...
Desperate measures for a fading Indian faith
What do musician Freddie Mercury, the Tata family who own Corus and Jaguar, and the conductor Zubin Mehta have in common? They all descended from migrants who fled Iran more than a 1,000...
Freddie Mercury: Rock ‘N’ Roll’s Humble Showman
Freddie Mercury chose a stage name in perfect harmony with his voice. The mercurial rock star and lead singer of Queen was born Farrokh Bulsara on the East African island of Zanzibar on Sept. 5,...
Commander Firdosh Mogal Dies While Saving Indian Navy Colleague
Mumbai, Aug 31 (IBNS): An Indian Navy commander died in the sea off Mumbai on Monday while trying to rescue his colleague who was swept away by the sea. The incident happened when one of four...
A Wish List for 1380 Yz
The following is an article by Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram on Frashogard.com On 16th June, 632 AD, Yazdegard, son of Shaharyar ascended the throne of Iran as the 29th King of the Sassanian dynasty. As...
A Date With Parsis
The new saviours of a 3,500 year-old faith are hip and tech-savvy. Parsi-Zoroastrian youngsters are using Facebook, speed dating, and paintball competitions to meet, make merry and perhaps marry. By...
The Story of the Taj Mahal Hotel
The Taj Mahal Hotel was founded, according to legend, after Jamsetji Tata was refused entrance into a European-owned hotel which displayed a sign forbidding entry to dogs and Indians. He vowed to...
They’ve got the ZYNG thing
Nearly 2,000 young Zoroastrians from India and abroad have got together to tell the nay-sayers and the no-hopers, inside and outside the community that they can overcome. By Priyal Dave / Afternoon...
Parsi Theater Personality Silloo Mahava R.I.P.
The following is a write-up submitted by Dr. Arnavaz Havewala Silloo Aunty, as she was affectionately, was a well-known actor.She has acted in several English Movies – ‘TRYING TO...
BPP Chief Dinshaw Mehta in an Interview
Dinshaw Mehta, chairman, Bombay Parsi Punchayet, was a member of the group that stopped the ceremony held at the Zoroastrian College near Sanjan, Gujarat, on February 19 to make Mikhail Chistyakov,...
Baroda Agiary Priest Home to Undergo Renovation
The British colonial building, which is home to the priest of Parsi agyari built by Pastonji Contractor in 1923, is also set to get a facelift. The residence is spread across 3,500 square feet area...
A CA turned Avestan scholar
Khojeste Pudam Mistree is a frank and fearless crusader of the faith. As Trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, Managing Trustee of Zoroastrian Studies and Trustee of the Athravan Educational Trust,...
Noshir Dadrawala Reminisces about Jamshed Guzder
Jamshedji Nusserwanji Guzder’s passing away did not come as a surprise to those who were observing his deteriorating health over the last few years. Whenever I used to meet his daughter in Poona, I...
We want to break free
India's Independence month has another little-known first. It was in August 1907 that Madam Cama defiantly unfurled the first Indian flag to the world and inspired a generation of Parsi firebrand...
OBITUARY: JAMSHED GUZDER
JAMSHED GUZDER : LAST OF THE SETHIAS Jimmy Guzder, as he was popularly known, may not have been Parsi aristocracy but was certainly the last of the Parsi Sethias. With Lady Jehangir’s demise, the...
Understanding the Ratan Tata DNA
It is India Inc's most closely watched succession and there is speculation on who will, or can, fit into the shoes of the Tata group chairman Ratan Tata when he lays down office in December 2012. A...
On new year, Delhi Parsis talk change
NEW DELHI: There are 734 Parsis in the NCR Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida. And about half of them turned up to celebrate Navroze, the Parsi New Year, at Delhi Parsi Anjuman on Thursday evening. One piece...
Shaimak Davar Ties Up With Debbie Allen Dance Academy
Shiamak Davar ties up with American dance guru and takes his academy to new professional high. Shiamak Davar is in an ebullient mood. It is the Parsi New Year today. And he has a navroze gift for...
Noel smiles as clan calls grow in support of his ascent
The man who would be king smiled a lot and said very little. But it was clear as day on Wednesday that Noel N. Tata will have to spend the next few months under media limelight amid the cloying...
Pune Parsis Mark New Year with Festivities
The city's 8,000 strong Zoroastrian community is all set to bring in the Navroze or the Parsi New Year on Thursday with customary fervour "The 10 days before Navroze are marked by prayers for...
Parsis in Bangalore celebrate New Year today!
The Parsi community is one of the most peace loving and god fearing communities. Pateti which falls on today is the first day of the first month of the Zoroastrian year. And it is a time for...
Saal Mubarak
It’s unmistakable, that wonderful festive air in Parsi households today, one that only a special occasion can bring, as today marks the New Year. By Ismat Tahseen / DNA And for the denizens of that...
Ahmedabad Parsis all geared up to celebrate New Year today
Theirs was a community that blended in with the locals like sugar in milk, so goes folklore. Parsis, who're now an inseparable part of the state, are all geared up to welcome their New Year. And...
The Parsis of Ajmer
A wonderful video of the Parsis of Ajmer. The youtube video link is here.
Parsi New Year Parties Buzzing About Tata
“Navroz Mubarak,” is the traditional greeting between Parsis today as they celebrate their own New Year. Despite the fact that the Parsi community has dwindled to a tiny minority of maybe as little...
Parsi New Year blues: Salli boti over patra ni machchhi
For the Parsis, there is nothing ‘fishy’ about fish. They consider it auspicious to have it on their plates. Without fish delicacies on their menu — be it a wedding or any other occasion — they feel...
Parsis celebrate the struggle of good over evil with food, revelry
After a week of remembrance and mourning, Parsis will awake in a festive mood on Thursday to celebrate Pateti. Most Parsis had already cleaned and readied their homes by Wednesday night. By Ashutosh...
Parsi theatre blooms on New Year, struggles on other days
For Farah Ghadialy (27), Parsi New Year has always been about tradition. The day begins with prayer at the fire temple and ends with a family celebration in the one way that Parsis love — watching a...
Parsi Khabar wishes you Navroze Saal Mubarak
On behalf of all of us here at Parsi Khabar we take this opportunity to wish our readers a very happy new year today. Navroze Saal Mubarak to you and your loved ones, families and friends....
Gara Sari Sorority: Haute Fashion and Parsi Ladies
Sari sorority: Why Parsi ladies are a national fashion treasure As this small but influential Indian community has their new year this week, CNNGo's shop section celebrates the embroidered Parsi...
A Longer Wait for BPP Flats
It appears that the wait for Parsi families to move into Bombay Parsi Punchayat (BPP) flats just got a little longer. Justice (retd) B N Srikrishna, who was appointed to verify the eligibility of...
You Cannot Wish Pateti Mubarak
Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram clears a very common misnomer…that of wishing “Pateti Mubarak” on Parsi New Year. On 19th August, we Parsis will celebrate our New Year with traditional gaiety, visiting...
Succeeding a success
IF INDIA were a nation of gamblers, the betting on who will succeed Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group, would be furious. Since Tata Sons, the holding company for India’s second-biggest...
Russi Mody: ‘What an outsider would do at Tatas’
Once touted as a contender to head the Tata group before Ratan Tata took charge, Russi Mody feels that someone from the family alone should spearhead the USD 71 billion conglomerate and any outsider...
Bhikaiji Cama – Indian Independence Movement Figure
"This flag is of Indian Independence! Behold, it is born! It has been made sacred by the blood of young Indians who sacrificed their lives. I call upon you, gentlemen to rise and salute this...
Ta-Ta to TATA
When Apro Ratan goes, can doom be far behind? By Bachi Karkaria / TNN Bomsie surveyed the pall of gloom which hung over Mumbai's Dadar Parsi Colony. "Eh, Kawsie," he said, "Soo...
Sign Petition to Save Bahrot Caves
The Bahrot Caves near Sanjan, Gujarat, India hold a special place in the heart of all Parsis. This is where the Iranshah fire was hidden for 12 years while Sanjan was attacked. These caves are today...
Racing against time to preserve India’s Parsi past
High in the hills of western India, Homi Dhalla looks around the Bharot Caves complex, pointing out the cracked and crumbling stone in the roughly-hewn rocks. By Phil Hazlewood (AFP) "If we...
Ray of hope for dwindling Parsi community
Young Parsis today visit the fire temple in much larger numbers and more often than they did 30 years ago. This may not seem noteworthy to most people, but for Zoroastrians, a community, which is...
Parsis’ emotional connect with Tatas
In Indian family businesses, there is no dearth of successors. The Tatas, however, are an exception. As there's no heir apparent to Ratan Tata after he retires in December 2012, a search committee...
Noshir Gowadia Convicted for Selling US Military Secrets to China
A former B-2 bomber engineer who marketed and sold his stealth expertise to China is facing life in a federal prison following his conviction for bartering U.S. military secrets. By Associated...