Dear friends, I woke up today to the pleasant news of longevity and resilience—my high school located in the beautiful...
Institutions Articles
Mumbai’s Parsi Dairy milks modern retail, with nostalgia and social media
Once an iconic Mumbai landmark and cafe, the 102-year-old brand is reinventing itself Article by Amritha Pillay |...
The Successors: Isphandyar Bhandara
CEO Murree Brewery, Isphanyar Bhandara is powering Pakistan’s only alcoholic beverage company into unchartered waters as he diversifies into the non-alcoholic beverage industry. Click here to...
Untold story of Bank of Bombay
The hitherto untold story of Bank of Bombay, one of the forebears of the State Bank of India, has been finally chronicled through rare documents and photographs at a newly opened heritage gallery at...
The mysterious man who owns one solitary share in the unlisted Tata Sons
When the corporate battle at Tata Sons was being fought out a few months ago, a strange mystery came to light. In the list of Tata Sons shareholders made public, the Tata Trusts owned 266,610...
The K.R.Cama Oriental Institute Turns 100
Institute houses Madam Cama’s will, and oldest image of Zarathushtra Today, images of the prophet Zarathushtra with his flowing beard, soft brown eyes, and golden halo, are ubiquitous in fire...
Parsiana Magazine: A Window Into A Vanishing Culture
Sustaining Parsiana’s high-quality journalism is quite a task given the declining numbers of people interested in the Parsi way of life. “The Parsi community is such a marvel that it does not need...
AirAsia unveils aircraft with JRD Tata livery
JRD Tata was a visionary who established civil aviation in India for the benefit of its people, Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata said on Saturday after unveiling an AirAsia India aircraft with...
Wadia Group: Two centuries and beyond
Perhaps India’s oldest conglomerate, the Wadia Group traces its roots back to at least 200 years before the country’s independence. The group’s journey from 1736 till date Article by P.R. Sanjai...
Godrej group: Unlocking entrepreneurship
The Godrej group’s journey, from making locks and safes to selling processed food and property under the third and fourth generations of owners Article by Madhura Karnik | Live Mint ...
Pakistan’s Institute of Business Administration names centre after Ardeshir Cowasjee
In memory of Ardeshir Cowasjee, one of Pakistan’s most renowned columnists, social activist, and philanthropist, the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi has launched the Ardeshir...
JRD Tata: The father of commercial aviation in India
Hardelot is a beach town in the north of France. It is in the Pas de Calais, a region along the English Channel where the distance to Britain is short and, unlikely as it may seem, this is why it...
Sorabji N. Pochkhanawala And His Wild Ambition: Barons of Banking
In 1910, a young Parsi assistant accountant with the Bank of India in Bombay had the far-fetched idea that he could set up a bank of his own. When news of this alarmingly ambitious enterprise...
WZOT India Senior Citizen Center Navsari: An Overview in 2013
The Senior Citizen Center run by the WZO Trust Funds India is one of its most important activities. Below is a preface of a detailed brochure describing in text and photographs, the various...
Ratan Tata elected to National Academy of Engineering
Washington: Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata along with eight Indian Americans has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering, which is the highest professional...
Zoroastrian Stree Mandal of Hyderabad and Secunderabad: Sticking together
There is probably an inverse relation between a community’s population and its togetherness. The Parsi community doesn’t defy this relation and is an exceptionally close-knit community. With a...
Get a glimpse of Gujarat’s fire temple in city
For the next ten days, the city’s art and history enthusiasts can get a glimpse of the timeless charm of the Zoroastrian pilgrimage capital, Udvada, enclosed in 60 odd photo frames. As part of the...
The Parsis, Once India’s Curators, Now Shrug as History Rots
In the course of over one year of archival research in India, I have been heartened to see how, in a few institutions like the National Archives, the country’s rotting history now has a fighting...
K R Cama Oriental Institute
Not just Parsi: The K R Cama Oriental Institute, soon to turn 100, has a wealth of resources and a willingness to share By M Saraswathy | Business Standard Parsi culture and art are dying out — so...
Tata’s choice of chairman preserves Parsi tradition
The days when Mumbai’s Parsi community dominated a city they helped to build may have faded, but the rise of Cyrus Mistry to the helm of the Tata Group reinforces the clout it wields in some...
The fun of being a Parsee
It lies in many things…. It’s like belonging to an exclusive Club worldwide. Birth, the only credential and consideration; nothing, but nothing else works, no sirree! No waiting lists,...
Retirement home: Ratan Tata chooses elegance over extravagance
An elegant sea-facing house at Colaba is getting ready to welcome Ratan Tata, as he prepares to hand over the reigns of the salt-to-steel-to-software business group to his successor. The house, yet...
Godrej Typewriters: End of the Road
Just Not My Type Godrej and Boyce to shut typewriter production Godrej and Boyce silenced the click-ding of its iconic typewriter last week. The company stopped production at its last typewriter...
The Journey of Rasna
In the 80s, anyone switching on to the national television channel Doordarshan for their daily dose of programmes — be it mythological, children’s programme or even Chitrahaar — were greeted...
India’s Tata Succession Struggle
Ratan Tata: Can’t anybody do this job? Indian way of succession leaves something to be desired India’s largest conglomerate — the US$71-billion salt-to-steel behemoth Tata Group,...
The Tatas Without Ratan
He’s packing his bags — again. December 2012, when he turns 75, is the third scheduled retirement for Ratan Tata. The Tata Group has been at this inflection point twice earlier, and...
Tata Group endows $50 Million to Harvard University
Harvard Business School on Thursday announced it received a $50 million donation from India’s diversified conglomerate Tata Group, the largest gift the school received from an international...
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 —...
Succeeding a success
IF INDIA were a nation of gamblers, the betting on who will succeed Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group, would be furious. Since Tata Sons, the holding company for India’s second-biggest...
Parsis’ emotional connect with Tatas
In Indian family businesses, there is no dearth of successors. The Tatas, however, are an exception. As there’s no heir apparent to Ratan Tata after he retires in December 2012, a search...
Ratan Tata Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
One of India’s leading industrialist and two Indian American researchers have been elected as members of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Article by Indian Express Ratan...
Khorshed Maneck Bharucha: Tribute to a Teacher
The junction of Mancherji Joshi Road and Lady Jehangir Road near Five Gardens in Dadar was formally named "Principal Khorshed Maneck Bharucha Chowk" on August 14, 2009. Social worker...
Religious Adultery and Parsis
Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram, a good old friend, editor of Frashogard.com and the Panthaki at the Jogeshwari Daremehr has written a hard hitting post on religious adultery. Marzban writes My...
Parsi Officers Rememberd as Bombay Police CID Turns 100
On the 100th year of the Bombay Police CID, here is some interesting trivia on Parsi officers in the CID over the last century. .The first Indian DCP of the CID: In 1928, that laurel was won by...
Ratan Tata, India’s humble business king
From the Times Online Ratan Tata has a taste for buying British. But he has a battle on his hands to steer his latest purchase, Jaguar Land Rover, through the crisis Ratan Tata is tired but has a...
Mumbai Samachar: Asia’s Oldest Newspaper
Bombay’s oldest newspaper is also Asia’s oldest and that is The Bombay Samachar. Owned by a family of Parsis for the last 80 years, this Gujarati paper was started in 1822 and has been...
Ratan Tata Industrial (RTI) Institute
The below is an article by Kayezad Adajania on his blog slashfundas. Where is my Ratan Tata Industrial (RTI) institute? If you are a Parsi, then the words RTI shouldn’t be Greek and...
A monument to love – Mumbai’s Taj Mahal
By Russi M. Lala A horrific terrorist attack has ravaged one of Mumbai’s most-loved symbols and taken the lives of many of its dedicated staff. This heritage hotel was not started as a commercial...
Out of this world: Bombay Theosophical Society
The Bombay Theosophical Society turns 129 today. Kareena N Gianani pays a visit Blavatsky Lodge at Grant Road doesn’t quite echo the enthusiasm of its ex-president and a much-respected speaker, Keki...
Dr. Homi Bhabha Birth Centenary
Article contributed by Parsi Khabar reader Percy Kavarana The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on Thursday celebrated Dr Homi Bhabha’s 99th birth anniversary amidst its Founder’s Day...
Tales from Cusrow Baug
by ShwetaTeotia Posted online: Oct 26, 2008 at 0205 hrs A peek into the Parsi bastion in Colaba, which is out of bounds for most Mumbaikars On Colaba Causeway, there is a place that intrigues the...
Ratan Tata’s words of inspiration
Ratan Naval Tata has been called many things. Quiet. Reticent. Humble. A businessman par excellence. Tenacious. And a tiger, when pushed to the wall. As we all witnessed when it looked like the...
Aslaji Agiary Trustees in a Legal Battle
Grant Rd agiary caught between two sets of trustees Aslaji Bhikhaji Agiary’s trustees are embroiled in a legal battle over control of the temple management and funds One of the most frequented Parsi...
Mcleodganj’s famous Parsi shop on its last legs
One of the oldest landmarks of this town, the Nowrojee General Merchants shop set up in 1860, is taking a beating from time. Owned by a Parsi family, it is almost on its last legs commercially and...
Karanjia and his Blitz
by Vir Sanghvi in the Hindustan Times When my mother phoned on Friday to tell me that Russy Karanjia had died, I was both sad and worried. I was saddened by his passing: I had, after all, grown up...
Britannia Restaurant
Berry berry good The eatery still maintains its worth with a menu card right out of Iran. You’ll never know what the fuss is about until you actually eat here. This 83-year-old Parsi-Irani eatery is...
Godrej is all set to unlock greater value in Mumbai
The Godrej business group recently commissioned a London marketing agency to redesign its brand image. The aim was to dust down the dowdy Godrej of Almira cupboards to something smarter befitting...
Faces of enterprise: Ratan Tata
After celebrating his 70th birthday on Friday, Ratan Tata would in the normal course of affairs be facing mandatory retirement from the Tata Group. Two years ago, however, India’s most...
Ratan Tata turns 70 today
Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata turns 70 today (December 28, 2007). Among Asia’s business titans, Ratan N. Tata stands out for his modesty. The chairman of the Tata Group – India’s...
Zoroastrian Fires and Temples
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...
Youth, entrepreneurship are focus of ancient faith
The world’s oldest monotheistic religion has taken steps to empower its youth and preserve the faith for the future. Zoroastrians, as they wound up their 14th North American Congress in...
Taking pride in caring for elders
The ageing of population is inevitable and an obvious consequence of the process of demographic transition. However, as the country faces a steady growth of the elderly, facilities or institutions...