In the cramped heart of the suburb called Andheri, the MF Cama Athornan Institute was strangely quiet. The institute, founded in 1923 to train Zoroastrian priests, is a large, M-shaped edifice with excellent infrastructure and teachers dedicated to the welfare of their students. By Samanth Subramanian At present, those students number precisely four. Classroom after… Continue reading India’s Zoroastrians dying out for lack of Parsi clergy
Category: History
The Pioneering Parsis of Karachi
UPDATE: It has been brought to our attention that the article below was originally authored by Farishta Dinshaw and published on Vohuman.org. The original article is now available here. We regret the original oversight and error in attributing the author’s name correctly. The influx of Parsis into Karachi increased after the British takeover. Many of… Continue reading The Pioneering Parsis of Karachi
Gustadji Hathiram And The Power of Prayers
Over the years Parsi Khabar has published several articles [ 1, 2, 3, ] about the tremendous, fantastic feat of Parsi Cyclists cycling around the world in 53 months way back in the 1920’s. One of the original cyclists Gustadji Hathiram; was the great uncle of our dear friends Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram and Homiar… Continue reading Gustadji Hathiram And The Power of Prayers
Dorabji Damania and Life in the Indian Railways
Below is an article by A. B. Damania who talks about his uncle Dorabji Damania. Parsis were once a very large presence in the Indian Railway system, both pre and post Independence. MY FATHER’S OLDER BROTHER, Dorabji M. Damania, after having passed his SSC from the Parsi Orphanage at Lalbaug, Mumbai, found work as a… Continue reading Dorabji Damania and Life in the Indian Railways
Dishoom: An Irani Cafe in London
Bombay’s old Irani cafes are dying a slow death, and the only people doing anything about it are in London Irani cafes — of which Mumbai has less than 20 original examples left — have recently been the subject of various books, websites and documentaries such as "Inheritance of Loss," all attempting to paint the… Continue reading Dishoom: An Irani Cafe in London
Wadias: Built Oldest Surviving UK Warship
India has been shamed in front of the world, thanks to crumbling bridges and cracking ceilings at the Common Wealth village. But, about 200 years ago the same Indian hands built for the British empire a warship which still stands tall. By Ashish Vashi / Times News Network The oldest surviving British warship — HMS… Continue reading Wadias: Built Oldest Surviving UK Warship
Desperate measures for a fading Indian faith
What do musician Freddie Mercury, the Tata family who own Corus and Jaguar, and the conductor Zubin Mehta have in common? They all descended from migrants who fled Iran more than a 1,000 years ago. They are called Parsis and settled in India where they have prospered while maintaining their religion and traditions. But… Continue reading Desperate measures for a fading Indian faith
We want to break free
India’s Independence month has another little-known first. It was in August 1907 that Madam Cama defiantly unfurled the first Indian flag to the world and inspired a generation of Parsi firebrand women patriots It became an irony the British took time to digest. A community, which was small, yet known for its loyalty to the… Continue reading We want to break free
Bhikaiji Cama – Indian Independence Movement Figure
"This flag is of Indian Independence! Behold, it is born! It has been made sacred by the blood of young Indians who sacrificed their lives. I call upon you, gentlemen to rise and salute this flag of Indian Independence. In the name of this flag, I appeal to lovers of freedom all over the world… Continue reading Bhikaiji Cama – Indian Independence Movement Figure
