Standing before a sacred fire, Zoroastrians pay homage to a creation that represents life and the power of Ahura Mazda. There are three kinds of sacred fires in Zoroastrianism, each standing for one sector of ancient society: Atash Dadgah, Adur Aduran, and Atash Behram. Atash Dadgah is associated with the householder class and burns in… Continue reading Zoroastrian Fires and Temples
Category: History
Stalwarts of Our Past: Dadabhai Naoroji
Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) At some point, his picture stared out from our history textbooks. A bespectacled man with a stiff Parsi hat, Dadabhai Naoroji was the Grand Old man of India. He was the first man publicly to voice the demand for swaraj in 1906. Naoroji felt British misrule in India was the result of… Continue reading Stalwarts of Our Past: Dadabhai Naoroji
Celebrating Parsi New Year
BY Rakshande Italia If I cherished one special day during the year, besides my birthday, it was the New Year – not Jan. 1, but a day in August when members of my tiny Zoroastrian community in Mumbai, India, celebrated the beginning of their calendar year. Colloquially referred as Parsi New Year, the day was… Continue reading Celebrating Parsi New Year
Naqsh-E-Rustom In Danger Due to Railway Track Construction
Despite all oppositions made so far by Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) against construction of Isfahan-Shiraz railway only in 500-meter distance of Naqsh-e Rostam historic site, based on latest reports some measures have been undertaken for marking the railway path according to its original route. Based on earlier agreements between authorities of… Continue reading Naqsh-E-Rustom In Danger Due to Railway Track Construction
The Story of Polson Butter
It is a quirk of technology that occasionally, instead of advancing as usual, it gets stuck at a certain stage. The QWERTY keyboard is the best example, a layout of letters that made sense for a long forgotten typewriter design, but which has persisted because too many keyboard users are too used to it to… Continue reading The Story of Polson Butter
Conversation From Karachi
Talking to 80-year-old Dhanjishae H. Munderji, an occupant of the he Parsi general hospital, over a cup of tea, turned out to be quite an elucidating experience. Speaking on a host of issues, we eventually came to the topic of Karachi in terms of the city as we know it and how it once was.… Continue reading Conversation From Karachi
Rolling in gold but still poverty-stricken
IN 1865, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata – a one-time opium trader and scion of a sparkling line of Parsee priests, Zoroastrians who had fled to western India from persecution in Iran – attended a lecture in Manchester given by Thomas Carlyle. Carlyle, a cantankerous Scot, was known for his historical and philosophical essays, but he also… Continue reading Rolling in gold but still poverty-stricken
