Among the plans are a project to do up the compound, a small museum, a photo gallery, an arch, and a new drinking...
Bombay Articles
Mumbai Samachar, since 1822: Know about India’s oldest continuously published newspaper
Mumbai Samachar had its humble origins in the form of a handwritten weekly publication.Article by Khushboo Ali |...
Parsi Zoroastrian Guards of the Holy Fire
To take care of Parsi fire temples across the country and fight for the preservation of their sanctity if need be, solicitor Berjis Desai has floated the idea of forming a body whose primary...
Parsis oppose toilet block near Dadyseth Atashbehram
UPDATE: The contents of the article are not current. Senior journalist Nauzer Bharucha, in a facebook post had informed that he had spoken to the authorities and this proposal has been scrapped. Vow...
Vada Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor: “Was misled about tunnels by Metro officials”
Vada Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor of Udvada, who until last year was in favour of Metro III, says high priests were misinformed about alignment and demands for the proposed tunnels to be realigned...
Parsi community against Metro tunnels passing underneath ancient temples
Burying their differences, traditional and liberal Parsis on Friday came together at a packed public meeting and passed a unanimous resolution against the Metro 3 underground tunnels planned to pass...
Mumbai Metro 3 project: HC directs MMRC board to meet Atash Behrams’ high priests, petitioners
In a significant order, the Bombay high court on Wednesday directed the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRC) board to give a hearing to five high priests and trustees of two Atash Behrams...
Mobeds move online under new programme
After breaking away from the Jiyo Parsi programme in February, Jiyo Mobed will debut on Sunday in its new avatar as 'Empowering Mobeds,' through a workshop Article by Gaurav Sarkar | Mid Day After...
Parsis say no to flight path over Tower of Silence
Airports Authority of India may now have to revise the path flights will take to the Navi Mumbai airport. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) may have to alter the flight path for the Navi Mumbai...
Dadar Parsi Colony on Instagram
It is impossible not to be taken up by the verdant beauty of Dadar Parsi Colony, and it may so happen that the next time you are sauntering through its lanes or driving past its parks, you may take...
Parsi Gate At Marine Drive Mumbai to be restored soon
The Parsi Gate, a heritage structure located just opposite Taraporewala Aquarium at Marine Drive, will soon be restored by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The place is used by Parsi...
Dadar Parsi Colony: A Photo Tour
My first encounter with Dadar was back in 2004 when I used to travel from Churchgate to Dadar during the evening rush hour. Most of my journey would go in planning my exit strategy from the crowded...
Bombay Parsi Punchayet okays Parsi General Hospital deal that kicked up row
The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has endorsed the tie-up between B D Petit Parsee General hospital and Gurgaon-based Medanta chain of hospitals. As reported by TOI last November, a Hong Kong-based...
The Fire Temple vs The Mumbai Metro: Bachi Karkaria
In early October, a petition was sent to the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, about the latest phase of the Mumbai metro – a 33.5km stretch that is currently under construction. The petition...
Mumbai Parsis offer ‘solution’ to prevent Metro-3 tunnel from passing under their shrine
Community proposes that MMRC reduce space between two tunnels by 20 feet so that one of it does not pass under Wadia Atash Behram on Princess Street Offering a ‘solution’ to their objections against...
Rs 150 crore donation to Parsi General Hospital kicks up row
A Hong Kong-based Parsi businessman is donating Rs 150 crore to rescue the financially ailing Parsi General Hospital at Breach Candy here, exclusively meant for Parsi patients. The philanthropic...
Christians, Parsis discuss Metro threat to structures
The controversy over the proposed underground metro rail tunnels at Jagannath Sunkersett Marg in Girgaum has brought together Christians and Parsis for the first time to discuss the project at a...
Milind Deora meets Mumbai Metro brass over Parsis’ fire temple issue
A delegation of Parsis led by former south Mumbai Congress MP Milind Deora on Friday met senior officials of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) to express concern about the rail tunnel...
Bhikha Behram Trust wants 292-year-old well in south Mumbai to be protected during Metro-3 work
The Bhikha Behram trust wrote to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) on Wednesday, seeking a fresh survey be conducted to ensure that their centuries-old well will not be damaged by the...
Metro III: Unveiling All The Facts You Need To Know
There has hardly been a more confusing time for the Community than today, when once again we seem to be divided. But this is not just any other issue – it is one that is most intrinsic to the...
Parsis up in arms over ‘damage’ to temples due to Metro construction
Parsi priests Vada Dasturji Dr Firoze Kotawal and Vada Dasturji Khursheed Dastur met the CM and Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) officials to express their concerns over the underground tunnels...
Two Parsi high priests petition PM to realign Metro-III tunnel
Two Parsi high priests have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to realign the tunnel of the upcoming Metro-III rail project because it threatens two of the most sacred fire temples...
Parsi high priests in a debate over Metro 3 route
Metro 3 is from Colaba to Bandra to SEEPZ which passes by two fire temples and a well A difference of opinion — with a trace of lack of trust — broke out between Parsi high priests, with one saying...
Parsis upset over Agiary land
Sethna Agiary (left) and Boyce Dhana Patel Agiary are more than 130-years-old and have been demarcated under the new road-line plan of DP 2034 Article by Anagha Sawant | DNA Under the civic body's...
Parsis protest against MADC flying proposal
The city’s Parsi community staged a protest on Friday against a proposal by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) that recommends that the no-flying zone be reduced from one nautical...
Mumbai Parsis to meet Uddhav Thackeray for help
Members of the city-based Parsi community will meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray over the Metro-3 project’s alignment that passes below three of its fire temples in south Mumbai. According to...
Parsis protest Metro line alignment, cutting through an ancient Fire Temple
Contractors of the underground Metro III rail project on Thursday morning arrived to inspect the 187-year-old Wadia fire temple (Atash Behram) at Princess Street in south Mumbai. However, they were...
Alpaiwalla Museum Gets Rs 4 Crore Grant from Government of India
The Alpaiwalla Museum in Khareghat Colony in Mumbai, is probably the only Zoroastrian Museum of its kind in the world. It has some amazing artefacts in its collection. However in the recent past it...
Govt of India Wants to Reduce No Fly Zone Over Doongarwadi
‘Reduce no-fly zone over Tower of Silence’ Airport development body's proposal to reduce the prohibited zone around the Tower from 1nautical mile to 500 metres does not fly with Bombay Parsi...
Parsi-only Ripon Club’s plans to give full membership to women, faces protests in Mumbai
Currently, non-Zoroastrian guests, who want to eat the club’s fabled Parsi food, have to be accompanied by Parsi members Parsi-only Ripon Club’s plans to give full membership to women is being...
Elderly couple files police complaint against tenants
The Engineers, who stay in an ancestral bungalow on Warden Road, say their tenants assaulted their security guard on September 3, but police yet to file an FIR An elderly Parsi couple, who lives in...
Masina ties up with Apollo to start new 300-bed hospital
Masina Hospital, one of Mumbai's old est charitable health institutions, has signed an agreement with the Chennai-based Apollo to set up an allnew 300-bed hospital. The new hospital, which will be...
Under the Over: Meher Marfatia
Hughes Road, the street name that city cabbies recognise only with its mispronounced version, is as quick changing as it is arterial Pervin Vajifdar (left) and Katy Patel work expert fingers over...
The Birth of the University of Mumbai
On 18th July 1857, the University of Mumbai (then Bombay) was incorporated by an act of the Legislative Council of India. It was a culmination of the efforts of the prominent community members of...
Jiyo Parsi Idea Contest
ENRICH A MEMORY AND GET RICH YOURSELF Jiyo Parsi commemorates the 100th death anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji by inviting our Zoroastrian Indian viewers to participate in an Idea Contest on our...
A cause(way) that linked Mumbai’s islands
While the government struggled to collect funds to construct a causeway for better connectivity in the island city, one Parsi family took it upon itself to construct the Mahim Causeway. Before 1845,...
A Year’s Membership To J N Petit Library in Fort Mumbai Only Costs INR 1,000
Eminent Parsi historian and our dear friend Marzban Giara informs us that the J. N. Petit Library Fort was started in 1895 and not 1856 (as stated in the article below) in memory of Jamsetjee...
Dadar Parsi Colony Agiary Well Runs Dry After 89 Years
For the first time in 89 years, the well of the Rustom Faramna Agiary in Dadar Parsi Colony has run dry. Now, the chairman of the agiary has pinned his hopes on the upcoming monsoon or else...
Mumbai’s oldest, architectural landmark Banaji Limji Agiary completes 308 years
The city's heritage Fort district is globally famous for its majestic colonial buildings. But few know that it also has seven ancient Zoroastrian Parsi Fire Temples in this enclave. The oldest fire...
Untold story of Bank of Bombay
The hitherto untold story of Bank of Bombay, one of the forebears of the State Bank of India, has been finally chronicled through rare documents and photographs at a newly opened heritage gallery at...
In the city of Tata and Godrej, there’s no Parsi in BMC poll fray
For the first time in 50 years, the illustrious Mehta family won’t be contesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls from what used to be its stronghold in Mumbai Central. The Mehtas...
132-year-old Ripon Club plans partial sell-off to cut rising losses
Although the 132-year-old Ripon Club has endured the vicissitudes of time and fortune, a part of the good old Parsi bastion may suffer partial eclipse. A controversial proposal to surrender or sell...
The mystery of the clock tower deaths
A century and a quarter after two Parsi girls fell to their death from the iconic Rajabai Clock Tower in Mumbai, the shocking incident continues to intrigue On 25 April 1891, at about 4pm, Bachubai...
Remembering the 20th century theatre impresario who built Mumbai’s iconic Opera House
A slice of history is being resurrected in Mumbai this week. The Royal Opera House, an imposing Baroque building, will come alive again on Thursday after a hiatus of 22 years and following seven...
How 100 Parsi Kids Collected 12000+ Shoes under 3 Hours For the Underprivileged in Mumbai
One hundred Parsi children, who are a part of the Xtremely Young Zoroastrians (XYZ) foundation, have collected 12,199 shoes for the underprivileged within three hours in Mumbai. The shoe collection...
XYZ Making A Difference
Below is an appeal received from our good friend Hoshaang Gotla who runs the amazing kids program XYZ in Mumbai Dear members of the community, Our organisation - XYZ is organising a MAD Initiative...
Almost 150 yrs later, Cowasjee’s noble cause still prevails
A meeting on September 22, 1852, between friends of Framjee Cowasjee collected sizeable fund which was used used to construct a memorial institute to further Cowasjee’s ideals. Article written by...
Portraits, Dreams And Quirks Of Nine Young Parsis In Mumbai
There’s nothing quite like observing a creature in its natural habitat. Fortunately for us, India is one of the few places a particularly rare specimen are still fairly common. So, for the avid...
Meher Marfatia: Whose lane is it anyway?
UPDATE: An earlier version of the article stated that it was Rohinton Mistry who was taught by Moti Dalal of Sunrise building. It is now corrected to Firdaust Kanga, who was a student of Moti Dalal....
Digging up the past: Neil MacGregor
Former director of the British Museum is in the city to re-kindle his love for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya, and learn more about the Parsis' relationship with fire After successful...
Parsi School Buildings to Get an Architectural Facelift
When the Bharda High School building was established in the 19th century, its neo-classical facade looked out on the vast expanse of the Bombay esplanade. Sea breeze streamed through the louvered...
Sophocles and sizzlers at Scandal Point
Colonial class to Boutique Boulevard, the seaside strip of Breach Candy still spells midtown magic Speak of symmetry and serendipity. After 26 years of growing up on Hill Road, Bandra, I've spent a...