On a linked in post Lord Karan Bilimoria writes: Last Friday was very special. We made history at Mansion House, the...
Diaspora Articles
In a first, London’s Lord Mayor hosts Parsi dinner
The event acknowledged and celebrated the substantial contributions the Zoroastrian community has made to the British...
Zoroastrians Build New Religious And Cultural Center In New York
Zoroastrians, or Zarathushtis as they are traditionally called, are fighting stereotypes about the community’s decline, opening a new religious and cultural center in Pomona, N.Y. this March, and...
FEZANA And The 60th Commission On The Status Of Women (CSW)
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. This was a historic step taken be UN Member States in...
American Desis: In conversation with Freya Motafram
The Indian Subcontinent is dominated by three religions: Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. But just there are thousands of dialects, there are also many different religions. This week we bring to...
7th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress to be held in 2019 in United States
The Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America, in a recent website update informs: FEZANA wishes a Happy NewYear 2016 to all Zarathustis globally in North America and around the world....
Zarathushti Wedding Ceremony in Australia shows love must overcome fear
Cronulla couple Rutty Talati and Tristan Harley were married according to the rites of the Zoroastrian religion, one of the world’s rarest faiths.The multi-cultural aspects of the marriage included...
Neville Shroff Talks About Parsi Contributions On Hong Kong TV
Neville Shroff, one of the trustees of The Incorporated Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hongkong, Canton and Macao was recently on Hong Kong’s prestigious TVB in a segment about Parsis and their...
Saving the Zoroastrians: An Australian Perspective
Here is a clip from SBS Australia aired in May 2013 “Have you ever heard of Zoroastrianism? If not, that’s because there aren’t many Zoroastrians left. Jeannette Francis talks to a...
Zarathushtis of Los Angeles Break Ground for their new Atash Kadeh
The Zarathushtis of Los Angeles have broken ground on their Atash Kadeh in Orange County. This is truly a momentous occasion and a continuation of the trend of Zoroastrianism spreading and finding...
The Parsi community is shrinking but not in Singapore
Globally, the Parsi community is shrinking so fast from an ever- declining birth rate that India is now campaigning for Parsis to make childbearing a duty. One such campaign advertisement earlier...
A Mistri gift to A Singapore Hospital
In the third instalment of a five-part series on Singapore’s oldest communities, The Straits Times looks at the warm, laughter-loving Parsis. Here, Noshir Mistri explains why his...
Challenges of being Parsi in a mixed marriage
At 20, India-born Dilnawaz Zaveri nee Bharucha was gasping to see the world. The daughter of a retired engineering company manager and a doctor, she was looking for a ticket out of India. Now 46,...
Loyalty to Lahore
Variously described as “The Pearl of Punjab” or “The Heart of Pakistan,” Lahore brings to mind different images. Whilst Niloufer Bilimoria relates her recent experiences across the...
In Toronto Zoroastrians’ passing of priesthood and traditions
When Hormuz Mahveer Javat was 8, his parents popped an unusual question to the Mississauga boy: “Do you want to become a priest?” Although he always attended all the religious services and...
Cooper Union’s President Jamshed Bharucha Quits
The fight over the future of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, an arts and engineering college in New York City, came to a head this week as five members of its Board of...
A House for Mr Tata – An Old Shanghai Tale tells us something new about China and India
In 1904, Bejan Dadabhoy Tata, a distant cousin of the founders of the House of Tata, left India’s shores for Shanghai. He set himself up in the textile trade and displayed the legendary business...
In New Zealand Zoroastrians try to beat extinction
World youth congress in Auckland in December is a bid to get followers to marry within the faith, writes Lincoln Tan. One of the world’s oldest religions is facing extinction, and will be...
Jehangir Sarosh Takes over as Interim General Secretary of ECRL–RfP
Seasoned RfP activist Mr. Jehangir Sarosh OBE is the new interim General Secretary of European Council of Religious Leaders-RfP (ECRL-RfP). He replaces Mr. Stein Villumstad who has stepped down to...
Daryush Mehta: Zoroastrian Chaplain at Harvard and MIT in Boston, USA
From Harvard’s website: Daryush Mehta It is with great humility that I represent the Zoroastrian community as a Chaplain at Harvard University. Dr. Cyrus Mehta has diligently represented the...
Orange County Temple at heart of Zoroastrian Community in Los Angeles
The three sheets of papers taped to a window, spelling ZAC, give little indication of the growing temple housed in a former church on Walnut Avenue. The Zoroastrian Association of California Center,...
The 2015 Zoroastrian Return To Roots Tour Kicks Off
The 2015 Zoroastrian Return To Roots kicked off today in New Delhi, India. This is the second tour after the widely acclaimed first one in December 2013. The program organized under the aegis of...
ZAGNY Ties up with Lladro for Zarathustra Votive
Lladro Lithophane Votive: Zarathustra ZAGNY is excited to announce an exclusive partnership with Lladró to bring you a stunning Zarathushtra votive. Released and designed by Lladró in 2014 as part...
Mehernosh Pastakia: Taste of India set to spread roots and flavor in China
You could call it a gut feeling. It was certainly a taste for adventure. Mehernosh Pastakia was sitting down at a well-adorned table at his restaurant in the China Overseas Plaza in Jianguomen Wai...
From Living in a Mumbai Brothel to Seeing the World
Zaneeta E. Daver is a young Zoroastrian living in Washington D.C. Last year she did ….for a second time !!….something we all dream of….sailing around the world. And now she is trying to give the...
FEZANA Announces 2014 Zarathushti Awards
The 2014 FEZANA North American Zarathushti Community Awards The FEZANA Awards Committee is pleased to announce the 2014 FEZANA North American Zarathushti Community Awards. The Awardees for this...
Dreams Come True: A Parsiana Editorial
Dreams come true Parsiana Editorial Viewpoint on New Zoroastrian Centers in the Diaspora In the 1970s as more formal Zoroastrian associations sprung up in North America (NA), the notion of having...
Dinyar Wadia Inducted into New England Design Hall of Fame
Architect Dinyar Wadia has been selected as one of the 2014 Inductees into the New England Design Hall of Fame. This award was created to honor the work of professionals who have made a significant...
New Zoroastrian Community Centers in North America
Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America held a panel discussion earlier in 2014 on the theme of New Zoroastrian Community Centers in North America. This was a Pre-AGM event before...
Parsi Presence at the Narendra Modi Megaevent at Madison Square Garden in New York City
Sunday September 28th, 2014 was the perfect Fall Sunday in New York City. It was like any other Sunday except for the fact that 20,000 Indians swarmed like bees to a honeypot. Madison Square Garden;...
Kamran Dar e Mehr Opens in Washington D.C. USA
The birth of a new Dar-e-Mehr is a rare and momentous occasion. We were lucky to witness the inauguration of the newest Dar-e-Mehr in all of the Zoroastrian world on September 20th, 2014 in Boyds,...
Ancient faith seeks good to balance the bad
Zoroastrianism puts the onus for morality on the individual Every morning, Farhad Mistry wraps a kastri, a small rope made up of 72 strings, around his waist like a belt while saying his morning...
Spenta Kandawalla Remembers Wellesley classmate Hillary Clinton
Spenta Captain Kandawalla, who was the only Pakistani student in Hillary Rodham’s class at Wellesley College in 1969, talks about her longtime friend with "Sunday Morning"...
Tata Hall at Harvard: A new jewel along the river
Harvard Business School dedicates Tata Hall, which will support executive education program Harvard Business School (HBS) officials marked the completion of the campus’ executive education quad with...
Lord Bilimoria: Beer emperor’s plan to boost small firms
Lord Bilimoria, founder of the Cobra Beer company, has an innovative idea of how to create jobs and he should know: his firm is growing Article by Andrew Cave | Telegraph UK Help for small...
Jamshed R. Ghadiali Honoured By Free Masons of New York
Jamshed R. Ghadiali Honoured by The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York On April 16, 2014 Jamshed R. Ghadiali, former Vice President of ZAGNY, was honoured...
Dhun Noria: Indian-origin doctor honored in Canada
Dr Dhun Noria, who heads the Lab Medicine Program lab at Scarborough Hospital, is set to receive Global Lifetime Achievement Award for her impressive professional accomplishments and community...
Agiary Connect: Request a Liturgical Ceremony Online
Good friend of Parsi Khabar Dinsha Mistree, and Benafsha Shroff are using the power of the internet to bring a service to the Zarathushti diaspora the world over. Their new venture Agiary Connect is...
UK Zoroastrians Celebrate Noruz In Parliament
This week 200 Zoroastrians came together with a few lords, baronesses, sirs, ladies, MP’s and friends of their community at the House of Parliament to celebrate their annual spring welcoming...
Sarosh Zaiwalla: He Fired Tony Blair and…
His clients include everyone from Saddam Hussein to the Gandhis… He’s saved millionaire tycoons Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz from going to jail, sued the UK government and won, and fired Tony...
The Power of Cultural Influences and Inspirations for Success: ZAGNY
In celebration of 40 years, ZAGNY has invited an elite group of prominent Zoroastrians who are innovators, leaders and trail-blazers in their respective field of Music, Academics, Social Change,...
Canadian Parsi body decries its leader’s speech
The Zoroastrian Society of Ontario (ZSO) has denounced a controversial public speech made by its president Sarosh Bharucha, suggesting that Mumbai Parsis should migrate to Canada if they object to...
Bakewell: UAE’s Only Parsi Bakery in Dubai
Here is a short video report on Bakewell Bakery of Dubai, UAE. It is the only Parsi bakery in the UAE, and has been run for a few decades now by Rustom Sorab Wadia, originally of Bombay, India...
Launch of Zoroastrian All Party Parliamentary Group in the U.K.
Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, CBL, DL and Gareth Thomas MP are pleased to announce the establishment of the Zoroastrian All Party Parliamentary Group. The event, hosted in the Members’ Dining Room of...
Dina Pestonji: Stroke patient to run in Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
After 10 months of therapy, goal of completing half-marathon within reach After suffering a severe stroke that required emergency brain surgery to remove part of her skull, 29-year-old Dina Pestonji...
Dhunjiboy Bomanji's Pineheath mansion opens a window on the past
Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji was a true son of the British Raj. A Parsee shipping magnate from Bombay, knighted for his philanthropy, he was as comfortable in the countryside of his adopted Yorkshire as...
Keeping Zoroastrianism alive after 3,000 years: BBC Report
On the occassion of the Parsi New Year, the BBC ran a special telecast of the Navroze ceremonies from the STFE headquarters in London. They also ran a short segment about Zoroastrianism Robert...
New Zealand Parsis Plant Trees in Memory of Departed Ones
The Parsi community in Auckland has embarked on a very unique idea, that maybe could be incorporated back in Mumbai at the vast Doongarwadi lands. Cue Haven’s website informs : The...
Zarathushti Day At the Metropolitan Museum New York
Cyrus Cylinder Lecture at the MET from ZAGNY on Vimeo. On Sunday July 21st 2013, over 250 Zarathushtis and friends met up at the world famous Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to celebrate...
The Everlasting Flame Exhibition SOAS London UK
The Everlasting Flame Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination Kirdir inscription at Naqsh-e Rajab. Photograph – Khojeste Mistree One of the world’s oldest religions, Zoroastrianism originated...
In Hong Kong, a Once Prominent Parsi Community Faces Demise
Each Oct. 12, Homyar Nasirabadwala, the gaunt, white-haired priest of Hong Kong’s Parsi community, pays a visit to the University of Hong Kong to conduct a brief ceremony of thanks on the birthday...
Zubin Mehta Awarded Tagore Award by Indian Government
Zubin Mehta, an Indian-Parsi conductor of western classical music, will be felicitated with Tagore Award for cultural harmony. A four-member jury led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and comprising...