Dr. Shernaz Cama the head of the PARZOR Foundation informs us.... "As we enter this Phase of the Everlasting Flame...
Month: April 2016 Articles
Recalling history
When people talk about the Parsi community, it is inevitable that the conversations turn to Fire Temples and the Parsi...
North American Zarathushti Leaders Gather in Detroit Michigan for FEZANA AGM 2016
Over 100+ Zoroastrians from all over the United States and Canada will gather this weekend for the Annual General Meeting of FEZANA, the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America. This...
Is Anahita Dhondy rewriting the future of the cookbook?
A 25-year-old chef's book may change the way recipes are served up to readers in India "When I entered I got the aroma of jasmine flowers. So I told my mum, we’ll dry a batch of jasmine and put it...
How a new prayer hall is changing funeral patterns in Mumbai’s Parsi community
After more than a decade of controversy, a growing number of Mumbai’s Parsi Zoroastrians are now choosing to cremate their deceased loved ones instead of consigning them to the traditional Towers of...
The forgotten characters of Tata Steel
IN SEPTEMBER 1945, E. M. Forster, who had been hired by George Orwell to host a literary programme for BBC’s India service, chose to discuss a slim book called “A Steel Man in India”. It was a...
Zubin: Just another Parsi boy
A nervous, awestruck gentleman had been granted fifteen precious minutes of the Maestro's time. My friend, the gentleman in question, had spent a sleepless night memorising what to say to the great...
Pakistan’s first female rally racer: Tushna Patel
Her start was very different from what she had imagined for herself. She ended up in fourth place! This was in 2013 when Tushna Patel made her rally racing debut, becoming the first woman in...
Mumbai Rail Metro Threatens Bhikha Behram Well
Tunnel dug for project will deplete sweet, holy water, fear trustees; authorities respond, promise meeting to allay fears The Bhikha Behram Well, one the city's oldest sunken sweet water sources,...
Parsi community lauded for role in nation-building
Indian High Commissioner Navtej Sarna lauded the Parsi community for its role in India's freedom struggle as well as in post-independence nation-building. Sarna was speaking at an event held under...
Of genteelness and gentlemanliness: Ratan Tata
They don't make men like Ratan Tata any more. The reason is because in today's time, you are defined by your wealth and not by your worth as a human being. They don't make men who believe in values...
Pheroza Godrej: Mumbai’s art queen
One of Mumbai's leading art historians, Pheroza J Godrej, updates Ornella D'Souza about her commitments as editor, collector, curator and member on various cultural boards Article by by Ornella...
Hamlet No Omlette: A time for Natak
Parsi theatre was the first to realise the full commercial potential of Shakespeare’s works. The result was King Lear as comedy and a farce called Hamlet No Omelette. The curtains of the spare,...
Dubai Pravasi Yatra 2016
The World Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce Middle East Chapter is organizing the Dubai Pravasi Yatra from October 7 – 11, 2016. Meher Bhesania, the powerhouse Zarathushti in Dubai informs us about...
The ancient Persian god that may be at the heart of ‘Game of Thrones’
The sixth season of HBO's hit series "Game of Thrones," starting this weekend, will likely bring into focus an important historical element from the fictive universe of George R. R. Martin's novels,...
Iconic Kekee Manzil on Bandstand Bandra Up For Sale?
UPDATE: From a friend who knows the family, we have been informed that the information below is not accurate. The house is NOT FOR SALE. We are thrilled to hear that. May Kekee Manzil continue to...
Hilla Poncha: Meet Zubin’s Jabra Fan for the last 80 years
There were still 20 minutes to go for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra to commence, and the city's nattily dressed, high profile audience - Shireen Gandy, Adi Jehangir, Smita Chrishna, Pheroza...
Intricate embroidery: Ashdeen Lilaowala’s new Parsi traditional wear series
Textile designer Ashdeen Lilaowala has adapted the traditional Parsi gara in a contemporary style. Ashdeen Lilaowala’s collection of saris, lehengas and blouses usually have customers admiring the...
Nani Palkhivala and The Constitution of India
On 16-1-1920 was born a child in Bombay whom his parents christened Nanabhoy. It was not an earth-shattering event at that time. In later years, he was known as Nani Palkhivala—a household name, not...
Marketing isn’t for the faint hearted says Marriott’s Khushnooma Kapadia
It wasn’t easy trading her stellar grades in finance for a role in communications. Khushnooma Kapadia’s passion for marketing and media led her to abruptly switch (all for good reason as she would...
Persian Cuisine, Fragrant and Rich With Symbolism
The scents of Nowruz hit me from the moment I walked in the door of Naz Deravian’s house in Inglewood, Calif. Wafts of floral hyacinth, pungent vinegar, earthy wheatgrass and perfumey rose water —...
Compliance Complete Conference by CAP India a Grand Success
The spirit of philanthropy is alive, well and in able hands The Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy (CAP), one of India’s most credible and comprehensive sources for legal advice and resources...
Check in to vintage Mumbai with Simin Patel
This evening, Mumbai historian Simin Patel will discuss the hotel trade in Bombay from 1860 to 1903. Excerpts from an interview Article By Anand Benegal | Mid-Day Q. What interests you about the...
Time to institutionalise puppetry: Dadi Pudumjee
The master puppeteer who gave life to mammoth puppets besides song and dance sequences in modern puppetry, is back with a one-of-its-kind exhibition detailing the journey of Zorastrianism,...
Zubin Mehta launches his biography
World-renowned orchestra conductor Zubin Mehta launched a biography based on his life and work on Friday. Titled Zubin Mehta: A Musical Journey by Bakhtiar Dadabhoy, the book narrates the story of...
Lecture on old Bombay hotels debunks myths and unearths scandals
There has been a persistent rumour that Parsi industrialist Jamsetji Tata was denied entry to the European-owned Esplanade Hotel or in a less popular account Pyrke's Apollo Hotel. In...
Go beyond wearing a sari
After the interest generated by #100SareePact, three women set up The Registry of Sarees to focus on Indian weaves and help set up looms Kausalya Satyakumar, Apoorva Sadanand and Ally Matthan share...
Udvada: A town on the verge of being forgotten
The Majestic Hotel at Udvada in Gujarat was a popular destination for tourists until it shut down in the 1990s. A hub of Parsi merry-making in the 1950s and 1960s, it has become a mere shadow of its...
Parsi kids revive Monajats at event
On Saturday evening, the Parsi community of Mumbai saw the recital of MonaJat songs, or religious Parsi songs, during a competition at Allbless Baug in Charni Road. This was for the first time that...
The indomitable Parsis
The Parsi story seen through three very different exhibitions in Delhi that chronicle their art and aesthetics, their early history and their unique brand of spiritualism Pestonji Bomanji’s ‘Feeding...
Sarosh Zaiwalla: The Lawyer Who Tried To Halt Iraq War
Sarosh Zaiwalla peers deeply into his phone. It pings at him. His kitchen-sitting-dining room is several shades of white; sunlight beams through large modern windows. Beyond the garden, the English...
Nadir Maneckjee: The Hatter of Bangalore
Through a gateway leading off Cunningham Road stands the Hatworks Boulevard, one of the few colonial era mansions that have survived the turn of the century. The structure, now home to about 12...
Book Launch: My Mother Used To Say
FEZANA Announces the launch of a new book My Mother Used To Say Parsi and Persian Quotations and Vignettes of their Inimitable Language and Lifestyle by Roshan Rohinton Rivetna and Dinaz Kutar...
Hard work, dedication and other life lessons from Rayomand Banajee
I’ll never forget the first five words, six if I’m being pedantic, that Rayomand Banajee ever said to me. It was back in 2008 at a prizegiving ceremony in Kolhapur after the National Karting...
Zubin Mehta: I miss my father being in the audience and criticising me later
Zubin Mehta, who returns to Mumbai to celebrate his 80th with three grand concerts, says he could still do with a bit of critiquing from his father With six decades of work behind him, Padma...
Shireen D Mistry Awarded Honorary MBE Presented by Prince William
Shireen D Mistry, former Head of Communications and Public Affairs of the British Deputy High Commission for Western India, was awarded an honorary MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by...
Britannia’s Boman Kohinoor Meets British Royalty Kate and William
You made it happen! Will & Kate met him Take a bow, internet. You backed this 2-min video and gave 93-year-old ‘Britannia Uncle’ the chance of a lifetime Photo courtesy: The British Deputy High...
Armaity Tirandaz wins Bombay Parsi Panchayat seat
Armaity Tirandaz won the one seat up for trusteeship to the Bombay Parsi Panchayat elections (BPP) held across five polling booths in the city on Saturday. An elderly lady at the Bombay Parsi...
Will the Royal family visit Britannia?
Known for his love for Queen Elizabeth and the royal family, owner of Mumbai’s Britannia restaurant Boman Kohinoor is excited about the #WillKat visit to the city this month. This is Boman Kohinoor,...
Architecture Beyond Platitude: Aspi H. Patel
Architecture Beyond Platitude is the title of a new coffee table book by Aspi Patel. Readers of Parsi Khabar will remember Aspi’s 2014 exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery by the same name. The...
Zoroastrian Bank Board re-elected for five-year term
Shareholders returned the existing management of Zoroastrian Bank to office for another five-year term Monday. Article by Bella Jaisinghani | TNN MUMBAI: Shareholders returned the existing...
Boman Irani attends The Everlasting Thread Programme of the Parsi Zoroastrian community in Delhi
Grandfather in the making: Most Bollywood celebrities just attend the program when they go for an event. But when Boman Irani recently came to Delhi for The Everlasting Thread Programme of the...
Dhansak on a banana leaf: How Chennai’s dwindling Parsi community is keeping its cuisine alive
The estimated 200 Parsis who live in Chennai are determined to keep their cuisine alive, whether inside their homes or through monthly banquets. Article By Gitika Gitanjali | The News Minute Ask any...
Anu Aga says she doesn’t favour reservation for Parsis
Former chairperson of Thermax Industries and parliamentarian Anu Aga says it would be unfair for her Parsi community to seek reservation. "We have not faced generations of discrimination and are a...
Reluctance to Intermarry Puts Zoroastrians on the Brink of Extinction
Over ten centuries after coming to India, the Zorastrians are facing the challenge of assimilation in India. Many of them fear that, soon, there won’t be any Zoroastrians left behind. The...
Crowds Throng Mumbai Venue for Zubin Mehta Concert Tickets
It was half past midnight out side Cama Hall, opposite Li on Gate, in Fort. A compact and stockier version of the great late conductor Colin Davis stood at the shuttered entrance, looking forlorn...
Tracing a way of life from the Bronze age
Tracing a way of life from the Bronze age Jaideep Deo Bhanj For a micro-minority community with a population of just 69,000 persons living in India according to the 2011 Census, the Parsi community...
Morgan Freeman embarks on an almighty quest to find God for TV documentary
The actor's new television series explores the existence of God Morgan Freeman embarks on quest to find God for TV documentary Tom Teodorczuk More than 10 years after playing God, Morgan Freeman has...
Peenaz Masani: Naaz-E-Peenaz
Bestowed with the title ‘Queen of Ghazal’, Penaz Masani has enthralled audiences around the world for quite a while now with her extensive concerts, which left audience mesmerised. The stalwart...
The Contribution Of The Parsi Community During The First World War
A new book titled “The Contribution Of The Parsi Community During The First World War (1914-1918)” by community Historian Marzban Jamshedji Giara was recently launched. This book is the culmination...