Who were the dynamic duo of collectors who contributed rare finds to the city’s only centre dedicated to Zoroastrian...
Heritage Articles
Re-Opening of the F D Alpaiwala Museum in Mumbai
Below is the video recording of the function to inaugurate the F D Alpaiwala Museum after the full restoration.
BMC again eyes Bandra agiary land
The Parsi agiary on Hill Road, Bandra (west), is in danger of losing its porch and part of its compound yet again. The civic administration is making another effort to acquire land for widening...
Tower of Silence trees to stay
Assuring the protection of the trees in the Towers of Silence, the Zoroastrian crematorium, better known as Doongerwadi, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked the BMC to submit an undertaking to...
Funeral billboards raise cash, ire in India
Some might see the towering billboards that rise out of a centuries-old Bombay funeral ground as a message from beyond the grave. But the signs -- which exhort motorists to "Rev up your night life"...
Bringing up the mediums: Parsi Mobeds
Parents make the heartbreaking decision to send their children to residential schools for various material reasons. It's seldom for a cause. But last year, parents of 30 Parsi children decided that...
Tehmulji Parsi Lying-In Hospital May be Demolished
Parsi maternity home on the block Tucked away in a quiet lane off D N Road is one of the city's oldest infirmaries--the charmingly named Dr Tehmulji's Parsi Lying-in hospital. Built more than a...
Zoroastrianism dying out in modern times
Many young boys being trained as priests will instead follow other careers Like most 12-year-old boys, Rayan Dastoor watches movies, goes to school and surfs the Internet for the latest tunes by...
Discovering the Zoroastrian Temple of Yazd
The historic city of Yazd in central Iran is home to a Zoroastrian temple built nearly 1,500 ago. The holy fire which the Zoroastrians hold sacred is ritualistically preserved in the temple. Its...
The Islamization of Europe
Excerpt from a longer article here Mary Boyce, Emeritus Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of London, has confirmed the external validity of Bat Ye'or's analytical approach in her...
Persepolis Today
Two videos showing Persepolis today and a glimpse of the grandeur of what it was in its day.
Apropos of absolutely nothing at all
Apropos of absolutely nothing at all, I would like to say that whereas the Parsis laid the foundation of Mumbai and gave it some of its most beautiful buildings and colonies, the Gujaratis gave us...
Persepolis Recreated
An amazing video of Persepolis, completely recreated digitally.
Mumbai: Parsi community celebrates Navroze
The Zoroastrian community in India, particularly those in Mumbai, is all set to celebrate the beginning of the New Year or Navroze. For Mehrad Faroudi, this day is special as his grandmother Audokht...
Avesthagen initiates Parsi genome project
Avestha Gengraine Technologies (Avesthagen), a Bangalore-based integrated biotech company, has launched 'Avestagenome', a project to build a complete genetic, genealogical and medical database of...
The Persian king who is remembered every year
He was one of the most illustrious kings of ancient Iran (then called Persia) On 21st March, Parsis and Iranis the world over celebrate Jamshedi Navroze named after the Persian king Jamsheed of the...
Millions Needed for Iranian Archeological Sites
$3M. Budget Requested for Iran’s Archeological Salvation Projects Archeologists studying remains of a palace denoted to Achaemenid king Darius the Great, at Bolaghi Gorge Archeology Research...
Parsis to import, breed vultures
The Parsi tradition of cremation by keeping the bodies in the Tower of Silence to be devoured by vultures was under threat as birds of prey had gone almost extinct in Mumbai. The Bombay Parsi...
Tonight Iranian people will celebrate the ancient festival…
Tonight Iranian people will celebrate the ancient festival of fire or Chahar Shanbeh Soori in all Iranian cities. Chahar Shanbeh Soori, literally means Red Wednesday, is an ancient festival, dating...
Iran readying for New Year
From Tehran to Isfahan to Mashad to Shiraz, businesses, shops and government offices are getting ready to close as Iran sets out to celebrate the country's New Year, called Nowruz. Iranians are...
Persian king a barbarian: Parsis are not amused
Unknown to many, Hollywood's biggest blockbuster of the year 300 , which has caused a major uproar in Shia Iran because of its depiction of a historical battle, denigrates a much-revered Persian...
Warring over ‘300’
In a scathing attack on the producers of the movie 300, Maneck Bhujwala comments Barry Koltnow's article, the "Mighty Spartans" [Entertainment, March 9]quotes comic-book artist Frank Miller saying,...
A Forgotten Empire
What has the Persian Empire done for us lately? It is the arrogance of the present to imagine that all of human history reaches its culmination, and unveils what was all along its hidden purpose, in...
A Glimpse of Things to Come
Architect Jimmy Mistry's daughter's Navjote is the setting for the Parsi community's vast and varied cultural heritage serving as a precursor to his May festival "The Parsi youth today have become...
The Nation’s Consciencevala
Eminent jurist, outspoken critic, Nani A. Palkhivala devoted his life to upholding the Indian Constitution By T.R. Andhyarujina "God's gift to India" is what C. Rajagopalachari called this...
Air India Symbol Undergoes Change
“People trust Air India to carry those nearest and dearest to them, even when they themselves might fly on another airline!†Recognising from carriers like Singapore Airlines how valuable a...
Sorabji Byramji Sanatorium residents allege harassment from BPP…
The 46 Parsi families residing there live in deplorable conditions and according to them the BPP Trust does nothing about it. Instead they want them to vacate the premises, they declare The Parsi...
Hill Road hawkers
Hill Road has long since been a bone of contention between the shopkeepers, the residents, the ward officers and the hawkers. Protests were evident when the BMC announced their plan of widening the...
Yazdani Bakery Fights Inflation and Globalization
The nearly century-old bakery, set amid crowded streets lined by massive stone Victorian-era buildings near the city’s Stock Exchange, looks like a gingerbread house and stands out in sharp...
Ancient religion may face extinction
This article appeared in the Boston Globe. I cannot seem to find the online direct link. However, read on... As screaming children raced around the hall in joyous play, adult workers readied food in...
Aden to India: Shifting of the Parsee Fire Temple
Shifting of the Parsee Fire Temple from Aden to India (Aden 1886 - 1976) The Flames of Faith: A Historical Saga by Pervez Daruwala Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly, Parsi New Year Special Published originally...
Heads of UNESCO National Commissions to Finalize Norouz File
Heads of UNESCO's national commissions in ten countries sharing the Norouz tradition will get together in Tehran in April 2007 for a final review of Norouz file to be sent to UNESCO for inscription...
Out with the Old
A similar situation exists across the 120-foot Road at Parsi Colony where as many as 45 out of 225 four-storey building plots have been cleared. A multi-storey building, complete with a swimming...
Redevelopment doesn’t enthuse all
Sporting a fresh court of paint, a group of 70-year-old cessed buildings at Dadar and Churchgate are enjoying a new lease on life. Even as incentive floor space index (FSI) lures landlords and...
Parsees protest redevelopment on Tardeo agiary land
Members of Parsi community fear that the sanctity and ambience of the Kappawala agiary in Tardeo may soon be lost. Reason: An age-old structure in its compound that is the house to the priest of the...
Parsi apex body seeks universal franchise
By Nauzer Bharucha MUMBAI: Parsis may be one of the most literate and progressive communities in the country. But for the past 350 years, a vast majority of them in Mumbai had no stake in appointing...
Fars Railway Path Changed
Transportation Ministry Obliged to Change Fars Railway Path One of the bas-reliefs of Naqsh-e Rostam, depicting Sassanid king Ardeshir I with defeated Roman emperors Valerian and Philip at his feet...
Zoroaster’s Kaba: A Potential Victim of Railway Construction
Studies on the map of a railway which is planned to pass close to the historic site of Naqsh-e Rostam in Fars province show that it would for sure result in destruction of Achaemenid monument of...
Ibad lauds role of Parsis in development
KARACHI: Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad has said that the services rendered by Parsis in the development of Pakistan and particularly Karachi and their welfare work will never be forgotten. He was...
A Parsi Wedding
A good friend of Parsi Khabar and problogger Manish Vij of Ultrabrown fame was invited for a Parsi Wedding. He has some great observations and wonderful snaps. Check them here Incidentally, the...
Naqsh-e Rustam site in danger
The railroad project had been stopped on the order of the Marvdasht public prosecutor some time ago, but he revised his ruling and the road construction machines recently resumed operations at the...
Bandra residents want BMC chief’s written promise
The Bandra Hill Road Citizen's Committee movement to save old heritage structures, including the Tata Parsi Agiary, St Peter's Church, St Stanislaus' High School and St Andrew's Church, from being...
First Iranian Kings of Persian Poetry
By Manouchehr Saadat Noury, PhD - Persian Journal INTRODUCTION: According to a great number of eminent scholars and highly respected experts in Persian Literature and Poetry, there are many Iranian...
It’s a small but powerful community and Parsis…
It's a small but powerful community and Parsis in Mumbai are joining hands to protect a 123-year-old community temple. Built by the Tatas, the agiary on Bandra's Hill Road is under threat from the...
1400 people turn up to save Bandra Agiary
Parsis from Mumbai gather at agiary gates after SMS campaign Never underestimate the power of people. That's what the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) discovered on Saturday morning. About 1,400...
Bandra Agiary Wall Demolition Stopped
BMC defers demolition at Bandra agiary As anger built up among residents and activists of Bandra (W) against the proposed widening of Hill Road, the civic administration on Friday called off its...
Tower of Silence gets clean chit
By Nauzar Bharucha Setting to rest the controversy over the Parsi Towers of Silence at Malabar Hill, the health department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which inspected the...
Bordi: A bit of Parsi Heritage
A bit of Parsi heritage near Mumbai. This week, we move west. I've lived in Mumbai long enough to have become an honorary Mumbaikar, and one of the privileges of this position is that I have access...
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...
Zubin, Freddie, Ratan: The Parsi conquests
When Ratan Tata made that big Diwali-eve announcement to pitch for India's biggest overseas acquisition yet, he sent a unique cultural message with a trait so typical of his Parsi community. He...
Discovering some curiosities in Mumbai
Nearby is the Parsi Tower of Silence. Parsis follow the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism. They believe in the purity of the four elements and are not allowed to bury or cremate their dead. Instead...
Mumbai’s Irani hotspots
With distinctive ambience and mouth-watering fare, Irani cafes enthrall Mumbaikars. Largely frequented by the working class, these cafes are a big draw because they are reasonably priced and...