Culture Articles

The Parsi in history, imagination, life and culture

A series of events in the capital seeks to demystify the fast-dwindling community who migrated to India more than a millennium ago. By Shailaja Paramathma VoN, viewsonnewsonline.com In the Zoroastrian faith, a spiritual force called “Fravashi”, is...

Parsi Nicknames

From time to time we invite readers to contribute. This article is by Havovi Govadia. The occasion was my brother’s...

Tales from Cusrow Baug

by ShwetaTeotia Posted online: Oct 26, 2008 at 0205 hrs A peek into the Parsi bastion in Colaba, which is out of bounds for most Mumbaikars On Colaba Causeway, there is a place that intrigues the...

Sacred Space: Parsi New Year

On Ahura Mazda Ahura means the Lord Creator, and Mazda means Supremely Wise. This was the name by which Zarathushtra addressed his God. He proclaimed that there is only one God, who is the singular...

Doomed by faith

India's Parsi community is shrinking fast. For every birth, there are five deaths, prompting fierce debate between reformists and traditionalists who are concerned about ethnic purity. By...

Chaiye Hame Bawaji

This is a wonderful piece written by Ms. Natasha Viraf Deboo of Poona The word 'Parsi' is derived from the word Pars or Persia. Hence, Parsi literally means 'people who have come from...

The Parsi Wedding

By Firoze Hirjikaka The main theme and the true raison d’etre for a Zoroastrian wedding is food. Zoroastrian wedding banquets are definitely for the weight watchers. Demurring protestations to the...

The Navroze table

Parsis have a reputation for being major food lovers, as anyone attending a Parsi celebration will confirm. And that’s a reputation likely to be upheld on March 21, when Parsis the world over mark...

Sadeh Celebrations in Iran

Iran's Zoroastrian minorities gathered at their temples across Iran on Wednesday to mark Sadeh _ an ancient feast celebrating the creation of fire that has been observed since the days when their...

Among the Zoroastrians

Among the Zoroastrians

The Washington Post has a great feature titled “Among the Zoroastrians” Jackie Lyden vividly brings out the culture and lives of the few Zoroastrians still living in the desert plateau of Yazd,...

Spinning the yarn

Perveez Aggarwal tells story behind her creation: the traditional Parsi gara embroidery MUMBAI: She wears her years as gracefully as she does her saris. Parveez Aggarwal became a model by chance, at...

Ancient Persian influence on Hinduism

Ruby Lilaowala | Friday, August 17, 2007 10:28:58 IST The Aryan settlers who lived in Persia and later, in India, had a lot in common by way of phonetics, language, spirituality and reverence for...

Iranians Celebrate the New Year 1386

Right after midnight on Wednesday, 21 March, Iranians will be celebrating Norouz (new day), the start of 1386, the new Iranian year - a celebration which is at least 2,500 years old. The new year is...

Navroze Celebrations

Navruz: An evening crammed with joy For Zorastrians, Navruz is a time to eat, drink and celebrate. But in recent times, the festival has lost its zest as people leave celebrating to those precious...

Scrapbooking Projects

Although the Iranian government has condemned " Scrapbooking Projects 300" as insulting to the Persian civilization, the film has been packing them in at movie houses across the country. This is...

Parsee Matrimony in Poem

A funny poem forwarded by a friend. Read on We are all somehow related Often times even belated. At reproduction they're not the best By working in banks they get their rest. The community is...

Parsis celebrate Sanjan day

To commemorate the historic landing of the Parsis on the Indian soil at Sanjan, 1290 years ago, the Parsi residents of Sanjan will be celebrating Sanjan Day on Sunday 19 November To commemorate the...

Postcard from Penang

One of the most picturesque places in Malaysia, this island is also it's food capital since you get the finest Malay, Korean, Singaporean, Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian food for a price which won't...

Restoring the old world

Restoring the old world

At the 'Community Museum', there are plenty of things to catch your attention - rare photographs, antique porcelain vases, Gandhara sculptures and much more... The quaint Parsi colony at Hughes...