Who were the dynamic duo of collectors who contributed rare finds to the city’s only centre dedicated to Zoroastrian...
History Articles
A Memorial to Pestonji Nowroji Kharas in Bastar village honours tragic love, vengeance
Every New Year’s Day, the remote village of Kutru in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, comes alive with a poignant ritual that...
Parsi Journeys: The Gara, Lost Crafts
By PUSHPA CHARI for the Hindu Where have the old Parsi garas gone, with their bewitching stitches and magnificence? How does one describe the sheer perfection of Parsi gara embroidery in which birds...
Parsi Prayers and their Significance
The following is from a series titled "What is Prayers" on Frashogard.com written by our godo friend Ervad Marzban Hathiram, Of the many gifts given to Parsis by their Prophet...
Zoroastrian Anthropology Museum in Kerman, Iran
The idea of establishing the museum goes back to the year 1983, when the library of the Kerman Association of Zoroastrians was established. Head of the association Parviz Vakhshuri and library...
Gandhi: Parsi Link to Indian Politics
In the true notion of democracy, the most powerful name in India, the epicenter of Indian politics is a Parsi name. Below is quoted text from an op-ed. The name Gandhi comes not from the Mahatma but...
BVS Parsi High School Karachi celebrates 150 years: Postal Stamp Issued
KARACHI - On the eve of completion of hundred and fifty years of Bai Virbaiji Soparivala Parsi High School, Karachi, the Pakistan Post has issued the commemorative stamps of Rs. 5 each. The stamps...
A Peep into Parsi Lives a 100 years ago
This article is taken from a book “A Manual of Khshnoom” by P.N. Tavaria. [Often people ask today, where has our “PARSIPANU” gone and what are the reasons of our gradual decline as an ethnic group?...
The Origins of Zoroastrian Priesthood in India
By Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram, Panthaky, Ustad Saheb Behramshah N. Shroff Daremeher, Jogeshwari, Mumbai. All Parsi priests of India draw their origin from Mobed Shahpur Mobed Sheriar, who is...
An Overview on Zoroastrianism
This is a very well compiled overview on Zoroastrianism by Khushnaz Bode. Life before birth of Zarathushtra Thousands of years ago a race called the Aryans settled near the Middle-Asian Valleys....
Cambridge Univ to observe 1,000 years of Shahnamah
Cambridge University will observe 1,000 years of the Shahnama or book of kings by the Persian poet Firdausi in 2010. This epic verse was compiled in 1,010 AD which narrates the history of the...
Action Plan for Udvada proposed by Dr. Meher-Homji
Dr V M Meher-Homji outlines a proposed action plan for the small fishing town of Udvada on the west coast of India. BEACH EROSION which has ravaged Kerala and other parts of the west coast of India...
Parsis Reminisce about Karachi of yore
Karachi’s finest mayor: it’s not who you think By Sabeen Jamil If there is anyone who can comment on the administration of Karachi in its early days, it is the elderly members of the Zoroastrian, or...
Vintage Flour Mills of Karachi
The following is an article by Ghulam Baloch in the Dawn (link to article below) ACCORDING to a recent media report, there are a total of 77 flour mills in Karachi, out of which 72 are currently...
The Last of the Zoroastrians
Postcard from Yazd By Deena Guzder Tuesday, Dec. 09, 2008 Far removed from Tehran's bustling tin-roofed teashops and Isfahan's verdant pomegranate gardens, the deserts known as Dasht-e Kavir and...
Parsis of Navsari Want Taj in Original Form
As the restoration work of the ravaged Taj Mahal Hotel has kicked-off, Parsis of Navsari are worried over something that is very dear to their heart - the beauty of the heritage structure. They want...
Rebuilding the House of Tata
By Richard Orange When Vehran Irani, a senior staff member, stepped for the first time into the central stairway of the Taj Palace hotel on Saturday, what he saw broke his heart. The walls were shot...
A monument to love – Mumbai’s Taj Mahal
By Russi M. Lala A horrific terrorist attack has ravaged one of Mumbai’s most-loved symbols and taken the lives of many of its dedicated staff. This heritage hotel was not started as a commercial...
Pasargade: Plant Growth at Tomb of Cyrus
Iranfara reports on growth of mold and plants at the Tomb of Cyrus. See more pics and read text (in Farsi) here.
The Roots of a Name: What is Barack?
This is an article I read on a email newsgroup. The original author is Parviz Varjavand Tonight was a very special night as Barack Obama became the president of the United States of America. May the...
Mahatma Gandhi’s Respect for the Parsis
via email from Maneck Bhujwala distributed to a newsgroup. Mahatma Gandhi had great respect for all communities and religions, including that of the Parsi Zarthushtis. Some examples that come to...
The Parsis of South Bombay
By Aakar Patel No Indian community internalised the civilising mission of the British as did the Parsis. Only 50,000 remain, mainly in South Bombay, the most disciplined and cultured part of India....
The journey of the holy fire
India’s western coastline boasts of vast stretches of untouched beaches dotted with gently swaying palm and coconut trees. It is also home to several imposing forts that have been witness to several...
Satara Agiary: The tale of a fire temple and two families
The agiary may not attract many devotees, but those that come are full of faith SATARA: Situated in the heart of the district town of Satara, some 300 km from Mumbai, stands a grand old Parsi fire...
Iran: A Call to the Emperor
Recently we linked to a National Geographic article on Persia. Here is a further analysis of the same by regular Parsi Khabar reader Zubin Wadia National Geographic (awesome photos) ran a story on...
The Harbour That Gave the Name ‘Bombay’ to Mumbai
Mumbai harbour has been the gateway to the world for commerce and travel since the British took control of the island city from the Portuguese in 1660s. However, the group of seven islands acquired...
Persia: Ancient Soul of Iran
The August 2008 issue of the National Geographic has "Persia: Ancient Soul of Iran" as its cover story. I just finished reading the printed issue. The photographs as usual are fantastic. The stories...
The Last Parsis: Tales of Survival and Extinction
Kaevan Umrigar, a filmmaker, and good friend of Parsi Khabar runs his own blog. His latest article in on Uran Next on my itinerary was Mora Bunder at Uran, a small fishing village across the harbour...
Shahnameh: The Great Poem That Came Out of Persia
By ROYA HAKAKIAN My earliest memories of the Shahnameh, the greatest work ever written in the Persian language, belong to my childhood in Iran. I and other girls in my elementary school recited...
2200-year-old gemstones found in Iran
Ancient priceless gemstones and jewels belonging to postdated Achaemenid era have been unearthed in Iran's southern province of Fars. Archeologists succeeded in discovering over 20 pieces of...
Eeda Par Agiary
Eggs and toddy jars for a fire temple? The good-life-loving Parsis are not finicky about mixing the sacred and the secular. Still, I was intrigued by the E&T detail in Nauzer Bharucha's report on...
Around the world bicycle trip memoirs to be released after 80 yrs
Vadodara, April 18 One of the three men was a Barodian; almost 80 years after it was first published, his son will release a new edition of the book today Just in their twenties and living off a...
Around the World in 53 months
Recently we reported about the launching of the book that chronicles the bicycle trip around the world by Parsi cyclists. Below is an article by Ervad Marzban Hathiram, a good friend of the Parsi...
With Cyclists Around The World: Book Review
With Cyclists Around The World (Roli, Rs 350) by Adi B. Hakim, Rustom B. Bhumgara and Jal P. Bapasola It is the fascinating memoir of three young Parsi men of a group of six from the Bombay...
Making statues smile
Statues make it to the news in Mumbai mostly when miscreants use them to stoke trouble in the city. At other times, they stand on busy road junctions or watch dusty playgrounds, derelict and often...
The Tomb of Cyrus in Danger of Fungus and Lichen
What experts have warned and feared for the past few years about the humidity level at the world heritage site of Pasargadae after the inundation of Sivand dam, has now become a bitter reality as...
Khada Parsi may stand elsewhere
Away from the noise and pollution in Byculla, BMC plans to shift the century-old statue to Five Gardens The landmark Khada Parsi statue may find a new home at Five Gardens near Dadar. The statue now...
Global warming may douse Iranshah fire at Udvada
UDWADA (VALSAD): If there is one place the Parsi community considers holiest of holy in India, it is the small town of Udwada on the Gujarat coast. For two-and-a-half centuries, it has been home to...
Parsi fascination
I first went to Bombay when I was 14 or 15. An uncle worked for an antique store inside the Taj, then the grandest hotel in India, and lived in a rented flat in Bandra. The journalistic offerings of...
New class at Stanford explores Zoroastrianism
New class explores ancient religion Popular faiths rooted in Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism, the world’s oldest revealed religion, is the focus of an introductory course this quarter taught by...
Bid to exploit Kappawala agiary land thwarted
An attempt to commercially exploit a portion of Tardeo’s Kappawala agiary (fire temple) land by one of the trustees has been scuttled after the charity commissioner rejected an application seeking...
Iran Plans on Destroying Tomb of King Cyrus, Friend of the Jews
Iran is planning on submerging the tomb of King Cyrus (Coresh), the Persian King known for authorizing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Holy Temple. According to a report by...
With courage let us all combine
Friyana Billimoria - Friyana Billimoria, in year 11 at Kingswood College, Box Hill, is Youth Ambassador for the Metropolis Migration works if everyone embraces it wholeheartedly. MANY centuries ago,...
Experts to determine fate of Naqsh-e Rustam
Experts to determine fate of Naqsh-e Rustam TEHRAN, Sept. 23 (MNA) -- A week-long study by experts will determine the fate of the Achaemenid site of Naqsh-e Rustam in southern Iran's Fars Province....
Kangelu Fortress waterproofed for Anahita rituals
Archaeologists surmise Kangelu Fortress waterproofed for Anahita rituals A team of Iranian archaeologists working on the Kangelu Fortress in northern Iran's Mazandaran Province have put forward the...
Railway Construction near Naqsh-e Rostam Stopped
Following strong oppositions made by Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) with construction of railway near Naqsh-e Rostam, security guard of ICHHTO has stopped...
Zoroastrian Fires and Temples
Standing before a sacred fire, Zoroastrians pay homage to a creation that represents life and the power of Ahura Mazda. There are three kinds of sacred fires in Zoroastrianism, each standing for one...
Stalwarts of Our Past: Dadabhai Naoroji
Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) At some point, his picture stared out from our history textbooks. A bespectacled man with a stiff Parsi hat, Dadabhai Naoroji was the Grand Old man of India. He was the...
Celebrating Parsi New Year
BY Rakshande Italia If I cherished one special day during the year, besides my birthday, it was the New Year - not Jan. 1, but a day in August when members of my tiny Zoroastrian community in...
Naqsh-E-Rustom In Danger Due to Railway Track Construction
Despite all oppositions made so far by Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) against construction of Isfahan-Shiraz railway only in 500-meter distance of Naqsh-e...
The Story of Polson Butter
It is a quirk of technology that occasionally, instead of advancing as usual, it gets stuck at a certain stage. The QWERTY keyboard is the best example, a layout of letters that made sense for a...
Conversation From Karachi
Talking to 80-year-old Dhanjishae H. Munderji, an occupant of the he Parsi general hospital, over a cup of tea, turned out to be quite an elucidating experience. Speaking on a host of issues, we...