On a dark and stormy night, a ship full of Zoroastrian refugees from Persia was lashed by the wind, rain and waves off the west coast of India. The refugees in the ship, fearful for their lives, prayed to Ahura Mazda and Behram Yazad (the Zoroastrian Angel of Victory) and promised to build a fire… Continue reading Sanjan: Digging Deep into History
Category: History
Jubilee Diamond & How it Saved A Tata Company
In a country obsessed with the legend of the Kohinoor, little public attention is paid to the fact that there were far larger diamonds in India until very recently. In fact many made the Kohinoor, look like a poor cousin and they had equally interesting back stories. Take for instance the 245.35 carat ‘Jubilee diamond’… Continue reading Jubilee Diamond & How it Saved A Tata Company
The Parsi burial ground is a sign of Rawalpindi’s rich heritage
On Murree Road, in the heart of the city, a lane leads towards a heavy iron gate that opens out on an era of Parsi history Article by Ammad Ali | Daily Times Pakistan Resting place of a WWII soldier of Royal Indian Air Force at Parsi Cemetery Rawalpindi It is a sweltering morning of… Continue reading The Parsi burial ground is a sign of Rawalpindi’s rich heritage
JRB Jeejeebhoy: Mumbai has forgotten the ‘leading historian’ who once highlighted its forgotten past
JRB Jeejeebhoy, who wrote numerous pieces on the city and its heritage from the 1920s to the 1950s, has met the fate of his subjects. History unfortunately has been superseded in favour of flighty novels and trashy periodicals, with the result that the investigation and research into the ancient annals of cities and villages have… Continue reading JRB Jeejeebhoy: Mumbai has forgotten the ‘leading historian’ who once highlighted its forgotten past
The opium trader who became one of India’s richest men
On his fourth trip to China, Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy was captured by the French. It was the middle of the Napoleonic Wars and hostilities between the British and the French had carried over to the Indian Ocean. Jejeebhoy was on a British ship called the Brunswick when, off the coast of Point de Galle in present-day… Continue reading The opium trader who became one of India’s richest men
Godrej and the Ballot Boxes for for India’s First Elections
When independent India was laying the groundwork for its first elections in 1952, clueless to the rest of the world, workers at a factory in Mumbai’s Vikhroli were making history. They were manufacturing the first-ever ballot boxes to be used in the general elections. At Plant 1 of the Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd,… Continue reading Godrej and the Ballot Boxes for for India’s First Elections
The Story of Sir Hormusjee N Mody and Hong Kong University
Our dear friend and the resident dasturji of the Hong Kong Anjuman Ervad Homyar Nasirabadwala speaks about the amazing contribution of Sir Hormusjee N Mody, a distinguished Parsi businessman and a renowned philanthropist and benefactor. Sir Hormusjee N Mody made a major donation towards the founding of HKU. Without his generosity, the University’s existence may… Continue reading The Story of Sir Hormusjee N Mody and Hong Kong University
