Their community comprises barely 600 in Kolkata, but what the Zoroastrians lack in numbers, they make up through their enthusiasm. Over the last couple of days, the Parsi community brought the curtains down on year-long celebrations to mark the centenary of the only Fire Temple in the city. On Tuesday evening, community members turned up in their colourful best to watch ‘Ghar Ghunghro Ne Ghotalo’, a traditional Parsi ‘natak’ by the Karanjia Group of Surat.

By Jayanta Gupta, TNN

“Celebrations carried on till Wednesday evening. In the morning, our chief guest Dasturji Ervad Dr Firoz M Kotwal held the Jashan and Machi ceremonies at the Fire Temple. In the evening, the high priest and scholar spoke to community members on ‘The Position of the Exalted Holy Fires of Our Faith’. This was followed by a community dinner,” a senior member of the community said.

The Fire Temple in Kolkata, known as The Late D B Mehta’s Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash Adaran, is located on 91, Metcalfe Street. The holy fire inside has been burning non-stop inside since 1912. Special care is taken to maintain its purity as it is not any common fire. In case it is desecrated, elaborate ceremonies have to be held to light a new flame. On Wednesday, the religious leaders paid homage to the eternal flame, praying for peace and the victory of good over evil.

“It is the time of the Hindu festival of Dussehra where people celebrate the victory of good over evil. Our prayers also speak of the same thing. Just as fire is sacred to the Hindus and a flame has to be lit during all festivals and ceremonies, the eternal fire is sacred to us. During special occasions, we feed the fire with special items like sandalwood,” explained Manchi Mancherji, another community member.

Wednesday’s dinner was special as well. A cook from Navsari in Surat came to Kolkata to prepare a special menu of Parsi-style mutton pulav, mutton curry, dal and murabbo (a kind of jam).

Parsis began to settle in Kolkata from the 18th century onwards. Dadabhoy Behramji Banaji is recorded as the first Parsi to have arrived in Kolkata from Surat in 1767. He came to Kolkata to trade and open commerce with East Asia. In 1839, R C Banaji built the first fire temple or Agiari in Kolkata at 26, Ezra Street. Before long, the area around Banaji’s fire temple began to be inhabited by the Parsis and came to be known as the Parsi Church Street. In 1890, Dhunjibhoy Byramji Mehta maintained a sacred fire in his house at 65, Canning Street on behalf of the Parsis. In October, 1912, the Mehta family and the Parsi community of Kolkata funded a fire temple in Byramji’s honour at Metcalfe Street.Rich Text AreaToolbarBold (Ctrl + B)Italic (Ctrl + I)Strikethrough (Alt + Shift + D)Unordered list (Alt + Shift + U)Ordered list (Alt + Shift + O)Blockquote (Alt + Shift + Q)Align Left (Alt + Shift + L)Align Center (Alt + Shift + C)Align Right (Alt + Shift + R)Insert/edit link (Alt + Shift + A)Unlink (Alt + Shift + S)Insert More Tag (Alt + Shift + T)Toggle spellchecker (Alt + Shift + N)?
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Their community comprises barely 600 in Kolkata, but what the Zoroastrians lack in numbers, they make up through their enthusiasm. Over the last couple of days, the Parsi community brought the curtains down on year-long celebrations to mark the centenary of the only Fire Temple in the city. On Tuesday evening, community members turned up in their colourful best to watch ‘Ghar Ghunghro Ne Ghotalo’, a traditional Parsi ‘natak’ by the Karanjia Group of Surat.
By Jayanta Gupta, TNN
“Celebrations carried on till Wednesday evening. In the morning, our chief guest Dasturji Ervad Dr Firoz M Kotwal held the Jashan and Machi ceremonies at the Fire Temple. In the evening, the high priest and scholar spoke to community members on ‘The Position of the Exalted Holy Fires of Our Faith’. This was followed by a community dinner,” a senior member of the community said.
The Fire Temple in Kolkata, known as The Late D B Mehta’s Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash Adaran, is located on 91, Metcalfe Street. The holy fire inside has been burning non-stop inside since 1912. Special care is taken to maintain its purity as it is not any common fire. In case it is desecrated, elaborate ceremonies have to be held to light a new flame. On Wednesday, the religious leaders paid homage to the eternal flame, praying for peace and the victory of good over evil.
“It is the time of the Hindu festival of Dussehra where people celebrate the victory of good over evil. Our prayers also speak of the same thing. Just as fire is sacred to the Hindus and a flame has to be lit during all festivals and ceremonies, the eternal fire is sacred to us. During special occasions, we feed the fire with special items like sandalwood,” explained Manchi Mancherji, another community member.
Wednesday’s dinner was special as well. A cook from Navsari in Surat came to Kolkata to prepare a special menu of Parsi-style mutton pulav, mutton curry, dal and murabbo (a kind of jam).
Parsis began to settle in Kolkata from the 18th century onwards. Dadabhoy Behramji Banaji is recorded as the first Parsi to have arrived in Kolkata from Surat in 1767. He came to Kolkata to trade and open commerce with East Asia. In 1839, R C Banaji built the first fire temple or Agiari in Kolkata at 26, Ezra Street. Before long, the area around Banaji’s fire temple began to be inhabited by the Parsis and came to be known as the Parsi Church Street. In 1890, Dhunjibhoy Byramji Mehta maintained a sacred fire in his house at 65, Canning Street on behalf of the Parsis. In October, 1912, the Mehta family and the Parsi community of Kolkata funded a fire temple in Byramji’s honour at Metcalfe Street.
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