Farrukh Dhondy, noted writer, talks about religious funeral practises in a recent article in the DNA India. It talks about a petition filed by a Hindu UK resident to be allowed in death to be cremated on a pyre of firewood on the banks of a river he chooses in the UK. Farrukh wonders if… Continue reading Dokhmenshahi in UK: A contrarian view
Category: Issues
BPP trustee supports needy Parsis
After years of fighting for a home under the Bombay Parsi Punchayet’s (BPP) homes-for-the-needy scheme, needy Parsis found support from an unexpected quarter. A trustee of BPP, Noshir Dadrawala, on Monday wrote to the charity commissioner that those names cleared by the earlier trustees should be given the houses. Dadrawala said, “The allotments have been… Continue reading BPP trustee supports needy Parsis
Bombay Parsi Punchayat May be Dissolved
The newly-elected Bombay Parsi Punchayet faces dissolution. The over 350-year-old trust, among the oldest in the city, had for the first time conducted a universal adult franchise to elect trustees recently. The punchayet’s only hope is a writ petition filed in the high court that comes up for hearing on March 17, in which they… Continue reading Bombay Parsi Punchayat May be Dissolved
Warnings From Vanishing Vultures
KARACHI, Feb 25 (IPS/IFEJ) – “The thought of my carcass being pecked at by vultures isn’t at all pleasant,” said Bapsi Sidhwa, a leading Pakistani diasporic writer now living in the United States. She was referring to the ancient Parsi funerary rite of ‘sky burial’. “There are many Parsis like me in Pakistan and in… Continue reading Warnings From Vanishing Vultures
Controversial Renovations at Iranshah in Udvada
We have received a note from Geve Eruch Narielwalla regarding the recent renovations at the Iranshah Atashbehram in Udvada. Geve has put up a website about the same issue The most sacred Zoroastrian Iranshah Fire Temple building, “makaan,” has ornamental additions made, in very poor imitation, inaccurate, with synthetic materials, of Zoroastrian symbols. This is… Continue reading Controversial Renovations at Iranshah in Udvada
Inside the young Parsi mind
Cosmopolitan or confused? Liberal or conservative? For almost every term that can describe the Parsi youth, the opposite also holds true. To understand the mindset of the young Parsi, Lata Narayan, associate professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, carried out a pan-India study over four years. It was commissioned by the Parzor Foundation,… Continue reading Inside the young Parsi mind
Parsis reduced to tears for homes
As if the 25-year wait for a house was not enough, allegations that she and many like her lied to get a house became too much for a 55-year-old Parsi woman at the charity commissioner’s office on Wednesday, and she broke down. She, along with at least 30 other people from the community, have consistently… Continue reading Parsis reduced to tears for homes
