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 chose India’s most celebrated festival day for the headline to mark a milestone in national pride after the country embraced a march towards… Continue reading Zubin, Freddie, Ratan: The Parsi conquests
Month: November 2006
Flavours of fusion
Parsis too, ever since they adopted India as their own land, have, as a community, constantly and quite consciously enriched their food through a process of deliberate fusion. Their recipes are truly eclectic–a veritable cultural confluence-Hindu, Islamic, Iranian and European. Others too have been flirting with fusion off and on. Denizens of Old Delhi–notorious for… Continue reading Flavours of fusion
Hall of Fame: Farokh Engineer
Name the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman who was explosive with the bat, superbly efficient and athletic behind the stumps, started off as a goalkeeper, and was famous for his hair, sex-appeal, and penchant for motorcycles? If you said Mahendra Singh Dhoni you’d be wrong, for this is a question not of the present but the past. The… Continue reading Hall of Fame: Farokh Engineer
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 they lay the body on top of the Parsi tower for the vultures to pick clean. We could see the towers… Continue reading Discovering some curiosities in Mumbai
Parsi Cooking in New Zealand
At Half Moon Bay Restaurant and Function Centre, new owners Faranak and Sohrab Irani have brought their own special touch to this lovely venue overlooking the water. Retaining a predominantly modern Kiwi menu with just a hint of Indian cuisine, the restaurant rests in good hands — Faranak is a well known guest chef on… Continue reading Parsi Cooking in New Zealand
