Today is the Spentamainyu Gatha, the third Gatha day of this year’s muktad. And in the 2025 Everyday Parsi series we...
arZan Articles

Everyday Parsi: Mahtab Dastur
Today is the Ushtavaiti Gatha, the second Gatha day of this year’s muktad. And in the 2025 Everyday Parsi series we...
Punchayet can sell Panthaki flats at market rates: Court
The Bombay high court on Thursday set aside the joint charity commissioner’s (CC) order preventing the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) from selling the flats it has built in Panthaki Baug in...
Prayers Offered at ancient Azargoshasb Fire Temple
From Amordad News. The sound of Avesta, on 27 Shahrivar (18 September) once again filled Azargoshasb Fire Temple. In Azargoshasb Fire Temple Zoroastrians recited the Avesta and prayed for a...
Zarine Kharas Chief Executive of Justgiving
By Andrew Davidson Take two women: one a City lawyer turned banker, the other a multilingual journalist turned charity boss. Shake gently. And out pops Justgiving, the charity fundraising dotcom...
India’s Parsis use new technology to keep ancient religion alive
India’s Parsis, the modern-day descendants of migrants who fled persecution in Iran more than 1,000 years ago, are turning to new technology to keep their ancient Zoroastrian religion alive....
Charity Commissioner can’t deny info in age of RTI
By Nauzer Bharucha, TNN In the age of the Right to Information Act, the charity commissioner could not refuse to furnish documents under the cover of the Official Secrets Act, said the Bombay Parsi...
Dr. Keki Gharda: In Conversation with Shernaaz Engineer
Noted journalist Shernaaz Engineer recently interviewed Dr. Keki Gharda. A small snippet of the interview is below In recent months, the papers have been buzzing with the news that Gharda Chemicals,...
Ratan Tata bags award from The Economist
UK-based news magazine, The Economist, today named Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata as the winner of the eighth edition of its annual ‘Business Process Innovation Award’ for the successful development...
BPP no to charity chief’s demand of Rs 1.2 crore fee
By Nauzar Bharucha / TNN Charity Commissioner (CC) M K Choure, who invoked the Official Secrets Act to deny information to the Bombay Parsi Punchayat (BPP), on Tuesday agreed to give a hearing to...
Kobad Gandhi: Maoist Leader Sent to 14 Days Judicial Custody
Kobad Gandhi, a top leader of CPI (Maoist), who is in charge of spreading the organisation’s influence in urban areas, was today sent to 14 days judicial custody by a Delhi Court. Gandhi,...
Parsi Cyclists to celebrate centenary in unique way
By Pradeep Vijayakar, TNN One of the glamorous teams of Mumbai’s maidan cricket, Parsi Cyclists plan to celebrate their centenary in a unique way on October 10. There will be a ˜jashan” a...
For Helping the BPP, Minister accused of code violation
The article below is a little disturbing. It clearly brings out the motives of Percy Patel who has a vendetta and is going to all lengths to get his pound of flesh. It is such people that will bring...
Life in a Parsi Baug
SHERNAAZ ENGINEER peers into the minutiae of life in the Parsi colonies (or our baugs bustling with busybodies) and dishes up some delightfully saucy details. Forget ‘Life in a Metro’....
Nari Contractor on the Decline of Parsi Cricket
Parsi Cyclists, one of Mumbai’s oldest clubs, will complete its centenary in early October. The club which has produced some fine cricketers in Nari Contractor, Polly Umirgar, Rusi Surti,...
Report of FPZAI meeting of Sept. 2009
The below is a Report of FPZAI meeting of Sept. 2009 sent via email by Mr. Marzban Giara. A meeting of the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India was held after a lapse of three years at...
Farrokh “Frank” Yazdani Behind the Counter in San Diego
There’s So Much More to ‘Frank’ Behind the Counter By KELLY BENNETT for Voice of San Diego At mid-morning on a hot summer day, the customers filing into a convenience store on the...
On the road in rural Iran
Rural Iran has startlingly beautiful landscapes that are largely unexplored by outsiders By Jini Reddy The Guardian, Saturday 12 September 2009 [Hat Tip: Jim Engineer via NextGenNow@Linkedin ]...
Law Department seeks details of notice to Parsi Punchayet
By Naresh Kamath / HT MUMBAI: On the heels of the Charily Commissioner issuing n show-cause notice to the trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) the stale’s law department has intervened...
Tributes paid to Firoz Gandhi on his 49th death anniversary
Glowing tributes were paid by Congress leaders to veteran freedom fighter late Firoz Gandhi on his 49th death anniversary on Tuesday by lighting candles and placing wreaths on his grave in Parsi...
Parsi Punchayet faces the axe over audit row
By Ashutosh Shukla/DNA Barely six months after the charity commissioner (CC) warned the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) of dismissal, a similar show-cause notice has been served on its trustees. The...
Voter I-card demand lands Jeejeebhoy’s great grandson in a spot
Vijay V Singh | TNN Mumbai: His great grandfather, Jamshetji Jeejeebhoy, is mentioned in history books as one of Mumbai’s biggest philanthropists but businessman and real estate tycoon Byram...
Govt control over Parsi Punchayet?
TRUST with properties worth Rs 5.000 cr in city laces funds misuse charge. By Naresh Kamath for the Hindustan Times. MUMBAI: The Charity Commissioner has issued a show-cause notice to all...
The Role of the High Priests of Parsis in India
This article is written by Kersee Kabraji of Pune, India and published with his permission. At the outset, I like to make it clear that I am neither a priest nor a scholar of our religion. With some...
Hawkers Evicted from around Bhikhabehram Well
After 30 years, 100 hawkers evicted from Cross Maidan It was jubilation on Saturday for local residents, who finally succeeded in ridding the southern tip of Cross Maidan of a major nuisance By...
Parsis push on with sops to boost birth rate
By Rathin Das | Surat At a time when most countries are engaged in controlling the population explosion, the miniscule Parsi community here is busy taking steps to increase its fast-dwindling...
Parsis moot Waqf-like body to protect land
By Nauzer Bharucha, TNN 7 September 2009, 12:47am IST Large-scale encroachments on properties belonging to Parsi trusts across the country led to suggestions during a two-day meet over the weekend...
Parsis fight to keep Sanjan coastline clean
Over a thousand years ago, Parsis landed on the shores of Sanjan on the Gujarat coast, seeking shelter and were welcomed by the local raja who allowed them to settle on his land. The descendants of...
Zoroastrians: Mapping Our Future: A Survey
Sam Balsara of Madison Advertising is putting together a presentation for the World Zoroastrian Congress in Dubai at the end of this year. As part of that he would like as many Zoroastrians to fill...
Authentic Irani Food in Bombay: Cafe Universal
It’s funny that the only Irani features in an Irani cafe are black tea and its owner. The menu usually has Parsi food, which has more in common with Lucknow than Tehran. It’s ironic that...
Go forth and multiply in Punchayet flats
By: Alisha Coelho for Mid_Day Bombay Parsi Punchayet hopes its new scheme to give priority in housing allocation to engaged couples with a wedding date will bear fruit In a desperate attempt...
Religious Adultery and Parsis
Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram, a good old friend, editor of Frashogard.com and the Panthaki at the Jogeshwari Daremehr has written a hard hitting post on religious adultery. Marzban writes My...
The Parsis in Colonies
This is a hilarious forward sent to us by dear family friend and regular Parsi Khabar reader Bakhtavar Mistry. BE PROUD as After the the British colonies there is only the parsi colonies on which...
Zoroastrians hope ‘Facebook for Parsees’ will revive religion
By Rhys Blakely in Mumbai for the Times UK. During their brief history, social networking websites have united millions of long-lost school friends and diverted millions of office workers from,...
Parsis refuse to do the poll dance
See corporator’s attempt to include representatives of the community in the upcoming Assembly elections as a gimmick A proposal from a Malabar Hill corporator to include representatives from...
Parsis call for revival of business skills
Concerned over the community losing its entrepreneurial knack over the years, a group of Parsis has decided to inject the much-needed impetus. The World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC), a...
Parsi Theater Revival
A dearth of new scripts may have theatre veteran Sam Kerawalla worried about the decline of Parsi theatre, but on the eve of Parsi New Year, he’s decided to leave Mumbai laughing with a 1970s...
It Pays to be Parsi at the Taj
India’s Top Chef Hemant Oberoi gets a hefty annual remuneration of over Rs. 6 million but a 60-year old Parsi senior laundry operator at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai earns a net salary...
Jamva Chalo Ji at Zamu’s Place
The Guide drops in at Zamu’s Place to celebrate the Parsi New Year Today’s Special at the 22-year old Parsi eatery on DP Road is a mouth-watering spread of Kid Gosht, Sali Chicken,...
Swine flu se darna kya
Parsis plan to celebrate their New Year today with usual fervour despite the pandemic Swine flu and all the hype around the virus notwithstanding, Mumbai’s Parsi community is determined...
Nargol to host a Parsi Festival
Nargol is set to become the first village in the country to host a Parsi festival. This will be similar to government sponsored annual fests like Tarnetar fair, Kutch festival and kite festival. The...
Vadodra Parsis celebrate Navroze
Members of Parsi community celebrated the Pateti (Parsi New Year) with fervour here today. Parsis visited the Fire Temple in traditional dresses and greeted each other with sweets. J H Parabia, a...
India”s Parsis celebrate ”Navroz”
India”s Zoroastrian Parsi community celebrated the New Year day, ”Navroz”, with usual fervour here on Wednesday. Members of the miniscule Parsi community flocked at the Fire Temple...
Homai Vyarawalla gets Nano car as ‘Pateti’ gift
Vyarawalla gets Nano car as ‘Pateti’ giftThe country’s first woman photographer, who had cancelled her booking for a Nano car as it was not delivered to her on time, has accepted...
PM Manmohan Singh Greets Nation on Navroze
New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday greeted the nation on the “joyous occasion” of Navroz, the beginning of the Parsi New Year. In his message, the prime minister said...
The Influence of Early Parsi Theater
The early influences of Parsi Theater on the film scene today… The dominance of Urdu has a lot to do with the origins of the film industry in Bombay. There were roughly two major influences — the...
Sapat Makers: Kerawalla and Company
Somewhere in the noisy lanes of Dhobi Talao stands a picturesque shop; a little old fashioned, with a small cosy bench, and loads of memories. The owner is a fourth generation Parsi; but the heavy...
Saal Mubarak: Happy Parsi New Year 2009
!! Saal Mubarak !! August 19th is the first day of the Parsi New Year. A time of happiness and rejoicing for all members of the small Parsi community in India and worldwide. This is one of my...
Site Issues
We would like to bring to the notice of our readers that for a period of 6 – 12 hours our site was hacked. In a routine check I found out that the homepage had been hacked and a photograph of...
Chef Farrokh Khambata: Eat Drink and Be Merry
By Dipti Nagpaul D’souza For a true foodie, there isn’t a feast bigger than the Parsi New Year. On the day of the feast, you’ll find a non-follower for every Zoroastrian queued up outside city...
Former Ranji trophy cricketer Soli Patel dies
Jamshedpur, Aug 12 (PTI) Former Ranji trophy cricketer of undivided Bihar, Soli Patel passed away after losing his battle with throat cancer here. Patel was 81 and who was keeping unwell for the...
Parsis seek apology from Arjun Rampal over ‘hurtful’ remark
Arjun Rampal should apologise to the Parsis. This is the demand from sections of the Parsi community who are scandalised with the actor for stating in a recent interview to a men’s magazine...
