Today marks the start of the Shehenshai New Year, when Parsi Zarathushtis all over the world welcome the “Navu Varas.”...
arZan Articles
Everyday Parsi: Xerxes Commissariat
Today is the Vahishtoishti Gatha, the fifth and final Gatha day of this year’s muktad. And in the 2025 Everyday Parsi...
A Navjote Ceremony with full security
Two children of a Parsi woman and her Catholic husband were initiated into the Zoroastrian community on Friday under police security as the Parsi community had objected to the Navjyot Ceremony....
The Great Parsi Gender Divide
Why Sauce For the Parsi Goose Is Not Sauce For the Parsi Gander? By Noshir H. Dadrawala Parsis have been in the National news again and as usual for all the wrong reasons. The current dispute is...
The Private Papers of Sir Dinshaw Wacha
Below is a request by Dinyar Patel, a PhD candidate at Harvard University. Dinyar Patel writes… I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at Harvard University and the grand-nephew...
Protest Against Jame Jamshed
The below is a copy of the letter to the Editor of Jame Jamshed. This letter is written by good friend Ervad Marzban J Hathiram, who is the head priest of the Behram Baug Agiary and the editor of...
Kainaz Messman at Theobroma
I am a waitress… a cleaner… whatever my business needs me to be’ As patisserie Theobroma opens its second outlet we talk to owner Kainaz Messman about the toils and joys (not to...
Parsi lady seeks cop cover for Navjot of kids
Wants protection for the initiation ceremony of her children born of a Catholic father after threats from disapproving community elders By Manoj Nair / Mumbai Mirror A Parsi woman and her...
Parsi charity needs overhaul: Study
TISS Report Advocates Home-Based Services For Senior Citizens From The Community Manthan K Mehta I TNN Mumbai: A study on Parsis has recommended a complete overhaul of the charity aimed at the...
100 Year Celebrations Of Patel Agiary in Andheri
Below are some pictures from the 100 years celebration of the Patel Agiary in Andheri, Bombay, India. These were distributed on a newsgroup and there is no mention of the original photographer....
Delhi Parsi Anjuman New Year Celebrations
Parsi New Year celebration in Delhi Uploaded by Newsxlive. – Watch the latest news videos.
Obituary: Dr (Mrs) Katy F Dalal
Today is the Public Condolence meeting to mourn the death of Dr. Katy Dalal, who passed away recently. Details below. The following is an obituary written by Homai N. Modi and printed in the Mumbai...
Much noise over names at Towers of Silence
Bombay Parsi Panchayet declares that funerals of woman married outside community will not be allowed at towers. After refusing permission to an inter-caste married Parsi woman to let her body be...
Pallonji Mistry is Ireland’s richest person
Pallonji Mistry, an Indian origin business magnate, has topped Ireland’s rich list with a worth of 3.9 billion pounds ($5.93 billion) Mistry, who became an Irish citizen in 2003 through his...
Shelter over their heads, Surat Parsi couples enjoy parenthood
It may be pleasing news for the members of the Parsi community that many of the newly-wed young Parsi women are in the family way in Surat, which has a population of 3,500 of the total 90,000 Parsis...
Priceless Tata heirlooms to see the light of day
Though City Museum Has Permanent Exhibit, Not All 5,000-odd Artefacts Are On Display Bella Jaisinghani | TNN The story seems to be the stuff of legend. Over a hundred years ago, the two sons of...
Dahanu Road by Anosh Irani
“Death and time are like two clowns,” Shapur Irani, the patriarch of Dahanu Road, tells his grandson, Zairos. “They play pranks only they find funny.” By Kate Wallace /...
Zoroastrianism: Its Stewardship for all Creation, the Animate and the Inanimate.
Below is the text of presentation by Pervin J. Mistry at the Parliament of Worlds Religions, Melbourne, December 5th, 2009. This was circulated by the author via email to a newsgroup. All copyrights...
Two eyes, two ears, one mouth
There needs to be a willingness among people of every faith to sit with someone of a different religion and listen. By Cyrus Bahrassa /Student Life I am going to be skeptical and assume you’ve never...
Ervad Mody: Show the strong will to survive
About 100 Parsis were on Sunday reminded again of the need to show the will for survival. The message was communicated to them by one of the most learned members of the community, Ervad Navad Modi....
Nina Godiwalla: A Zoroastrian’s walk through Wall Street
“What?!” is usually the response I get when I explain I’m Zoroastrian. It’s that vocabulary word you may have learned in your seventh-grade history class when you read about...
Valsad’s Parsi Woman Seeks Court Help to Worship
A Parsi woman married to a non-Parsi has sought the Gujarat High Court’s intervention to avail the fundamental right to worship and to access the religious places of Parsis she was denied by...
Hyderabad Parsis: Occasion to revel, relish and reconnect
Bright rangolis, colourful ‘torans’, chilled ‘faluda’ and a divine aroma of ‘patrani machi’, greeted all those who walked into the Seth Viccajee Seth Pestonji...
On Navroze Parsis Fight For Survival
Adil Fatakia literally lives in the past; the 65-year-old bachelor takes great pride and interest in the rich legacy of his community. In fact, he can trace his family tree 13 centuries back to when...
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...
Matrimony: The Great Parsi Pursuit
An enterprising 55-year-old bachelor claiming to have almost made it to the portals of the Forbes list of billionaires was reluctantly but firmly refused entry to an exclusive party last Saturday....
Parsis welcome New Year with prayers, treats
On Sundays, most people in the city like to wake up late, chill out and postpone work to a weekday. But on March 21, a Sunday, many Parsis in the city shrugged off their lethargy and started their...
Zoroastrians Keep Old Traditions Alive in Australia
It’s a Sunday morning. A fire is burning on a silver urn in the sanctum sanctorum as about 30 children pray with a priest in the main hall of the Darbe Meher, the place of worship and...
Iranians celebrate spring equinox as their new year begins
Jamshid Goshtasbi got the call at 1:25 p.m. Saturday from his younger brother in Kerman, a city in southeastern Iran. By Tara Bahrampour /Washington Post Were he and his family ready? Was the...
Parsis celebrate Navroze today
It’s a joyous morning at the Shapoorji Fakirji Jokhi Agiary at Malabar Hill, awashed with a fresh look on the morning of the most special day of the year – Jamshedi Navroze – the...
Jamshedi Navroze Mubarak 2010
On the occasion of Jamshedi Navroze, Parsi Khabar wishes all our dear readers a very happy and prosperous Navroze Mubarak. We wish you and your families and loved ones the best in the coming year....
Parsis in Bangalore gear up for their New Year
Though small numbers camouflage their presence, Parsis in Bangalore city are an active community.Come March 21, the city will feel their presence as they gear up to celebrate the most important day...
ZYNG Creates Platform for Youth Interaction
Although a modest Rs 1 crore was allocated in the Union budget to impede dwindling population of minority communities, city’s Parsis believe self-help is the best help. The community, under...
Katy Dalal Passes Away
Parsi Khabar is saddened to announce the passing away of Dr. Katy Dalal yesterday. Katy Dalal is legendary for her culinary skills especially with Parsi cuisine. Over the years we as a family have...
Parsis and Yoga
Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram over at Frashogard.com makes a compelling case about Parsis and Yoga. Today’s fast paced and chemical-laden life has brought, in addition to the comforts and conveniences...
The Sandalwood Controversey at Udwada Atash Behram
A few years ago, our entire family was at Udwada to offer prayers after my wedding. Just as we were about to give the “sukhad” to the “boiwala” dasturji, he refused to take it saying that its not...
2010 Survey of Next Generation Zarathushtis
Below is a request from good friend Jim Engineer over at NextGenNow. Please do take the survey. Dear friends, Nowruz Pirooz va har rooz Norooz! Navroze Mubarak! We hope this e-mail and upcoming new...
Ardashir Vakil: Having the write stuff
You don’t become an award-winning author without having a flair for words, and London-based Ardashir Vakil is certainly a good example of that. His impeccable sentences, tinged with the lilting...
The Zarathushtra Effect
His admirers claim he was the first to teach monotheism, the existence of heaven and hell and the final triumph of good over evil. Plato and Aristotle revered his wisdom. Raphael included him among...
Wadias: Gujarat’s philanthropic architects
Masterstrokes, an exhibition of models of the iconic works of Richard Meier, was held at the Sir J J College of Architecture. The college is a fine example of Parsi philanthropy by Sir Jamshedji...
Firuza Parikh: In Conversation
As a devout Zoroastrian, I try to live by our prophet’s adage of ‘good thoughts, good words and good deeds.’ I have learnt the profound truth of this guiding principle. By Times News Service Good...
Nanabhoy made mota-bhai Mumbai
Fleeing from tormentors in the Middle-East, this community first found refuge in Gujarat. They speak the Gujarati language and every chronicle of Mumbai’s history has them at the centrestage. By...
Tata is Everywhere in India
Yesterday was another dull day on Wall Street. The Dow rose 2 points. Oil held at $81. Gold didn’t move enough for us to remember, one way or another. By Bill Bonner The recovery...
Steel frame of standards: Jamshedji N Tata
Given the kind of factionalism that India is witnessing today, and the general air of intolerance that sweeps our land, there are very few things we can truly be proud of. One of them happens to be...
Diaspora: A Talk by Khojeste Mistree
What the Diaspora can do for India and what India can do for the Diaspora A talk given by Khojeste P Mistree at the 10th World Zoroastrian Congress, Dubai on 31st December 2009 Good Morning Ladies...
Saving Miss Pestonjee
Pranab Babu’s pioneering budgetary allocation for threatened communities wasn’t met with the raising of a Parsi peg or gongs resounding from Mumbai’s fire temples. A community that...
Is It Too Little Too Late
Mahatma Gandhi once said of them, “In numbers Parsis are beneath contempt, but in contribution, beyond compare.” By Nauzer K Bharucha, TNN, Never has the contrast been starker. The community that’s...
Navroze Recognition by United Nations
The UN has acknowledged the festival of Navroze as a Heritage of Humanity. The below is an email forwarde by Mickie Sorabjee. Dear All, You will be happy to know that finally, after some years of...
Indian Govt Budgets for Dwindling Parsi Population.
Not much is known about what can be done to check the dwindling number of Parsis. There has been much concern, even heartburn, but solutions have proved elusive. But the Centre has decided to step...
Parsis storm Zoroastrian College to stop conversion of a Russian
Bombay Parsi Punchayet chairman alleged the institute’s head Meher Master-Moos was indulging in ‘wrongful’ conversion, which is reserved for only sons of priests By Manoj R Nair and Ram Parmar /...
The Life of Bai Jerbai Nusherwanji Wadia
An ordinary lady with an extra-ordinary vision: Bai Jerbai Nusherwanji Wadia (1852-1926) This is a simple story of an ordinary Zarathushti lady, who possessed an extraordinary vision.. Born in 1852,...
Parvin Jungalwala Escapes 17-year Confinement
For 17 years, Parvin Jungalwala, 40, a Parsi widow, allegedly spent her life in home confinement. However, she decided to end her torture and the reason for this his is her daughter’s...