Mumbai's Malcolm Baug, a Parsi colony, celebrated its centenary this year, with residents praising its serene...
Heritage Articles
BJPC Institute: Mumbai’s Parsi heritage school draws admiring glances after restoration
An elegant, historic school building opposite Charni Road railway station has been drawing admiring glances from train...
Bombay Heritage Walks for Tata Employees
The business group takes staff back in history by organising Bombay Heritage Walks every week in an effort to reacquaint them with the company's storied links to the city. By Anirban Chowdhury |...
Nobody learns Parsi history in schools, says historian
On just a short stretch of Veer Nariman Road in Fort, beginning at the stained glass enclosure of the Bhikha Behram Well and ending at the v-shaped Eros Cinema with its Art Deco dome, six Parsi...
A winter time walk in Dadar Parsi Colony
Many moons ago, the bead-like red seeds that emerge from the tiny star shaped yellow flowers were used by Arabian Jewellers as units of weight because all of them have identical weights. These are...
East India Company, Bombay Talkies, Tatas… a family tree forms
As assistant professor of history at the Ramnarain Ruia College is set to give Mumbaikars with a yen for the city’s history a delectable account of the lineage of one of Mumbai’s oldest notable...
Chennai and its old Parsi flame
Its legacies far outnumber this fast-dwindling community with two centuries of ties to the city In North Chennai’s populous and noisy Royapuram area, the tranquil 104-year-old Jal Phiroj Clubwala...
Pakistani Zoroastrians Must Keep The Fire Ablaze
Funerals are the only constant for Zoroastrians in Pakistan. For a community of less than 1,800 — last recorded in 2006 in a research conducted by KE Eduljee — the announcement comes faithfully...
Motherhood matters: Tehmulji’s Parsi Lying-In Hospital
We unravel the history behind the crumbling Parsi Lying-In Hospital on Prescott Road Article by Meher Mirza | DNA India The Parsi Lying-In Hospital at Fort In the 19th century, young Parsi women...
Marzban Colony: Springing forth from history
The Marzban Colony in Agripada, south Mumbai, gets a new lease on life Article by Meher Mirza | DNA India The story of 'The Lal Chimney Compound' begins in the 19th century, with Mancherji Marzban,...
The Difference between- Shenshai, Kadmi and Fasli Zoroastrian Calendar.
We have received the below from our regular reader and good friend Pesho Kotwal. He received this as a forward. Pesho writes One notices from time to time that "we" do not have an accurate and...
Parsis and their cars
Why are Parsis into cars? Why do their prized possessions enjoy a unique brand equity in India? We meet a few Parsis to learn about their passion for their mechanical mistresses. From the archives:...
Mumbai Samachar: Going strong at 192
On July 1, Mumbai Samachar, the city's second most circulated Gujarati paper, will reaffirm its position as the oldest surviving newspaper in Asia. When copies of the Mumbai Samachar (MS) hit the...
After restoration, Khada Parsi stands tall
After over two years of tedious restoration work, the iconic 150-year-old “Khada Parsi” statue, a Grade I heritage monument in Mumbai, was unveiled on Friday in the presence of Shiv Sena chief...
Smita Crishna-Godrej buys historic Bhabha bungalow for Rs. 372 cr
Smita has assured friends that the iconic home where brothers Homi and Jamshed grew up will not be torn down to make way for a highrise and will only be used as a family home. Dr Jamshed Bhabha's...
Homi Bhabha’s iconic home on the block today
Mehrangir on Malabar Hill, the bungalow where the father of India's atomic energy programme, Homi Bhabha, once lived, will go under the hammer on Wednesday afternoon. Article by Nergish Sunavala...
B. Merwan and the Irani Cafe: A Fading Icon
Recently the news about B. Merwan the iconic Irani cafe with the best Mava cakes in the world, shutting down; has brought a sense of gloom over all those who love the restaurant and in fact the...
Divine Songs of Zarathushtra by Dr. Irach J. S. Taraporewala On FEZANA website
Dear friend of Parsi Khabar and senior member of the Zarathushti community in North America, Ervad Soli P. Dastur writes in Hello all FEZANA friends: In 1951, Dr. Irach J. S. Taraporewala, an...
Parsis and the Art of Automobile Maintenance
The intense relationship that the community shares with its cars explains the premium they command in the second-hand market By Lhendup G Bhutia | OPEN In 1970, an American economist named George...
Stars in the milky way: Parsi Dairy Farm
Relative Value: Sarfaraz K Irani, 28, and Bakhtyar K Irani, 31 Meet the two boys who gave Mumbai's iconic dairy a steroid shot of success. Brothers Bakhtyar, 31, and Sarfaraz K Irani, 28, can't...
Persepolis – The Lost Worlds
One of the impressive locations of the ancient world, Persepolis was burnt and destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BC and lay forgotten for over 2000 years. This film travels to Iran to bring...
The Story of Two Mumbai Riots in the 19th Century
In 19th century Bombay, Parsis and Muslims fought each other on the streets on two separate occasions but eventually buried the hatchet and moved on. In 2013, we are still grappling with the problem...
Parsi community to teach their fold how to make the sacred cord
Anxious to preserve a dying art of their diminishing community, the Bombay Parsi Punchayat is promoting kustiweaving classes for those in their fold; 67-year old Dolly Mistry's sessions have been...
Kei Kianpoor's Cyrus the Great: A hero for all ages
In a world spiralling out of control, one man hopes that the story of one of history's most secular leaders would prove an inspiration. Joanna Lobo talks to the man bringing Cyrus the Great's story...
Prominent Parsis of Karachi
The below is a short compilation of some of the prominent Parsis of Karachi, Pakistan. This write up was compiled and forwarded by Phil Masters of Canada. Baba-e-Karachi "Jamshed Nusserwanjee...
The Marshalls keep the Parsi flame alive in Kozhikode
Though Marshalls, the lone family of Kozhikode keeping the lineage of the Parsi tradition, seems to have embraced the rhythm of Malabari culture, they remain intact in Zoroastrian beliefs and...
The Parsi baugs of Mumbai
Kaizad Bhamgara takes a closer look at some of the popular Zoroastrian settlements in the city and discovers that they are a lot more than just places to live for this closely-knit community. With...
In Hong Kong, a Once Prominent Parsi Community Faces Demise
Each Oct. 12, Homyar Nasirabadwala, the gaunt, white-haired priest of Hong Kong’s Parsi community, pays a visit to the University of Hong Kong to conduct a brief ceremony of thanks on the birthday...
Lucknow Parsis: A wish that is breathing its last
Till a couple of years back, few elderly Parsis in Lucknow nursed the desire of breathing their last in Mumbai, thanks to the 'Tower of Silence', the last abode where bodies are left for the...
Wear it Parsi style: Lady Gara
Parsi girls become women the day they wear a sari. The sari perawanu or sari-wearing ceremony is a rite of passage. At the centre of the celebration are five married women who help the girl wear a...
Kainaz Amaria in Conversation: Being Zoroastrian
Photographer Kainaz Amaria has been born and brought up in America. As a child, when she’d tell her friends at school she was a Zoroastrian, they thought she was pretending to be a superhero....
A community poise: The Bngalore Parsis
he sun is at its peak, and so is the city’s maddening rush on the roads. The traffic policeman, who takes refuge under the shades of myriad trees that adorn the premises of the Fire Temple, is...
Khada Parsi: Restoring the ruptured heritage
We have done so many things to our heritage and history which we were not expected to do. We have distorted it, twisted it and have disrespected it. Realising what we have done is the least we can...
Toilet near Bhikha Behram Well to be Razed
The Bombay high court has directed that a toilet built close to a religious place near Cross Maidan – the over-280-year-old Bhika Behram well, a grade 1 heritage structure – be demolished. The Parsi...
Sassanian: Legendary Irani Restaurant Turns 100
There was a time when you could do an Irani café crawl in the Dhobi Talao area. by Pronoti Datta | Mumbai Boss You could start with chai at Edward Restaurant behind Our Lady of Dolours Church, hoof...
Amitav Ghosh on Navsari
Amitav Ghosh the famous Indian writer was recently in Navsari for the Conference organized to celebrate the 140th Anniversary of The First Meherjirana Library in Navsari. He has some interesting...
A treasure trove for antique lovers
The Parsi community paper has ads on old items for sale Relic hunters, collectors, dealers and researchers search a weekly newspaper for antiques By Prabhat Sharan | Deccan Herald They are objects...
Fresh bids for Tehmulji Parsi Lying-in hospital revamp next month
The tussle between the managing committee and the Bombay Parsi Punchayat (BPP) over the future of the Parsi Lying-in Hospital at Fort notwithstanding, the Punchayat has again decided to invite bids...
Dome Sweet Dome: Contractor House, Vadodra
Renowned Parsi lawyer and philanthropist Jeru Contractor's grand old mansion, located on Vadodara's RC Dutt Road, may not be formally labelled as a heritage building, but it is definitely a part of...
Teenaz Javat: Sandcastles and Fire Temples
Udvada is a coastal town in Gujarat, about 240 km north of India’s bustling commercial capital, Mumbai. It is a small town but for Zoroastrians (Parsis) it is as venerable as the Kaaba in Makkah and...
Parsi enclave wins UNESCO award
A good-hearted initiative by the Parsi community to preserve its old architecture while securing the housing needs of poor members has earned it international recognition. By Bella Jaisinghani | TNN...
Surti gave mystical insights into the Avestha
After Mumbai, Surat has the largest number of Parsis in India. The city has also played an important role in the religion of the community as it is the birthplace of a school of Zoroastrian...
Flashback: Like sugar in milk
Gulbano Bamji talks to Moniza Inam about her golden childhood in Quetta: Legend has it that when the Zorastrian king of Persia, Yazedird, was defeated in the Battle of Nehavand, many Parsis fled...
Atashkadeh in North America: A Paper by the North American Mobeds Council
At the request of many FEZANA Associations, NAMC have been working on a paper: Atashkadeh in North America which gives guidelines for constructing an Atashkadeh (Dar-e-Maher, Agiary, etc.) in...
Nargol and Sanjan: Fire, water and a holy calm
The sandy shores of Nargol and Sanjan along the Maharashtra-Gujarat coast offer respite and a quiet escape, as well as a look at the Zoroastrian community's strong ties with this land. Chikoos,...
Thread Bare: The Art of Kusti Weaving
An unusual book on the weaving of the sacred thread worn by the Parsis adds to the craft revival stories in India Few, even among textile conservationists, would imagine a book deconstructing kusti,...
The Carriage of Pestonjee Press of the Fort Coach Company Exhibited in San Francisco Museum
An ornate silver carriage, built in 1915 by Pestonjee Press of the Fort Coach Company for the Maharajah of Bhavnagar, was featured at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum’s “Maharaja” exhibit that...
Do Parsis lack a proper sense of history?
Our good friend Dinyar Patel asks a very valid and pertinent question Do Parsis lack a proper sense of history? It is a question that I have often wondered while traveling and conducting research...
Pervez Damania In Conversation: ‘Udvada is a microcosm of the Parsi way of life’
Parvez Damania, offers a glimpse into the Parsi community through a photography exhibition in the city. By Jayeeta Mazumder | DNA What prompted you to go on a photographic documentation of the...
The compilation that could save a community
Two members of the Zoroastrian community have taken the initiative to preserve the community's oral history by compiling a book on Parsi-Gujarati idioms. You can contribute too By Aviva Dharmaraj |...
The Parsis, Once India’s Curators, Now Shrug as History Rots
In the course of over one year of archival research in India, I have been heartened to see how, in a few institutions like the National Archives, the country’s rotting history now has a fighting...
Remembering Parsi greats on Navroze
Today Parsi’s celebrate Jamshedi Nauroze and will engage in celebrations, largely featuring good food and drink. They are possibly the smallest but most visible Indian minority. You will find a...