India’s ancient minority Parsi community are pinning their hopes on modern methods such as speed-dating, social networking and IVF to stop their numbers vanishing, finds the BBC. By Sanjoy Majumder / BBC Inside a small classroom, a group of young boys sways back and forth, reading aloud from the ancient scriptures of the Zoroastrian faith… Continue reading Falling Indian minority hopes romance can stop decline
Category: Current Affairs
Much noise over names at Towers of Silence
Bombay Parsi Panchayet declares that funerals of woman married outside community will not be allowed at towers. After refusing permission to an inter-caste married Parsi woman to let her body be consigned to the Towers of Silence after her death because she had assumed a ‘Hindu’ name, the Bombay Parsi Panchayet (BPP) has declared that… Continue reading Much noise over names at Towers of Silence
Ervad Mody: Show the strong will to survive
About 100 Parsis were on Sunday reminded again of the need to show the will for survival. The message was communicated to them by one of the most learned members of the community, Ervad Navad Modi. By Ashutosh Shukla / DNA India Modi was talking on the subject ‘How to increase numbers without decreasing quality’… Continue reading Ervad Mody: Show the strong will to survive
Zoroastrians Keep Old Traditions Alive in Australia
It’s a Sunday morning. A fire is burning on a silver urn in the sanctum sanctorum as about 30 children pray with a priest in the main hall of the Darbe Meher, the place of worship and community activity for Zoroastrians, in the Sydney suburb of Annangrove. By Neena Bhandari, Womens Feature Service Nestling amidst… Continue reading Zoroastrians Keep Old Traditions Alive in Australia
Thinking Big
In the 10th century, a group of Zoroastrians arrived from Iran on the shores of Gujarat, India, and sought refuge in the kingdom of Jadi Rana in Sanjan. An oft-told tale then describes a meeting between the reigning Hindu king and the community chief, Dasturji Nairyosang Dhaval. “My kingdom is like a cup of milk,… Continue reading Thinking Big
Oldest Parsi high priest is a lawyer, flautist
By Nauzer K Bharucha / TNN Perhaps for the first time in the more than 1,300-year history of the Parsis in India, the community’s oldest high priest at age 83, was anointed at Navsari in Gujarat on Tuesday. Kaikhusro Navroz Dastoor Meherjirana, a respected scholar priest, is interestingly also an advocate, author of two books… Continue reading Oldest Parsi high priest is a lawyer, flautist
The Exodus
She calls it the U-Trip. Setting out from Karachi, 15-year-old Rosheen Birdie plans on visiting every major hub of Zoroastrians in the world, just so she can find one to marry. It’s not so easy to locate a ‘match’ in her homeland anymore. Colloquially known as Parsis, Zoroastrians in Pakistan seem to be on a… Continue reading The Exodus
