A bright blue lamppost in the gallery feels like it’s been brought in off the street and given a fresh lick of paint....
Blog Articles
140-Year-Old Ripon Club At Kala Ghoda Faces Eviction From Landlords; Court Hearing Scheduled On November 24
After a furore over the proposed sale of the Sanjan sanatorium, Parsis have raised concerns about the future of...
If boys will be boys, girls will be girls: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal
In a year when our collective consciousness has been shocked by the horrific treatment of women across the country, Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal – one of the India’s best-known feminists and...
Nagpur Parsi youths collecting relief for Nepal victims
Lending a helping hand to the Nepalese population in this hour of crisis, a group of city youngsters from the Nagpur Parsi Gymkhana are collecting relief material for those affected by the...
Farokh Engineer: Still Firmly On The Front foot
One may quit cricket, but apparently it cannot be the other way round. This was was well illustrated by Farokh Engineer, a trained pilot, who chose cricket as a career, to represent India in 46 Test...
Code of Conduct to govern BPP Elections
Dinshaw Tamboly writes in regarding the Code of Conduct for the Bombay Parsi Punchayet Elections. Trustees, Bombay Parsi Punchayet, Mumbai. Ladies & Gentlemen, Some of us (former trustees...
Mehallasha E Pavri : The First Great Indian Cricketer
In his late 19th-century book A Chronicle of Cricket, writer Shapoorjee Sorabjee vividly described how the Parsis began playing cricket: ‘Some enthusiastic boys at first only gleefully watched from...
The artist and more: Jimmy Engineer
At a Harvard talk, Jimmy Engineer talks about the various aspects of his life, as an artist, social worker, human rights and peace activist Article by Beena Sarwar | The News On Sunday “There is a...
Tehmulji Parsi Lying-In hospital may see development soon
The hospital at Fort has not been functioning for over two decades now. For the past three years, the BPP trustees and the hospital committee have been locked in a legal tussle over the...
Kim Canteenwalla: When the Cake Boss came calling
Immigrants often compose a large portion of a country’s struggling population. But for Karachi-born and Montreal-raised chef Kim Canteenwalla, success literally came knocking on his door when Buddy...
Bawas and Their Bhonu
Ask any stranger about Parsis and the first thing that will come to mind is the Tata family. The second? ‘Dhansak’ – a Sunday favourite in Parsi households and the dish that has made Parsis famous....
Six Parsi Aunties You’ll Want For Company !
Brownpaperbag knocks on doors from Cusrow to Behram Baug to scout six Parsi ladies with hobbies and businesses that you should know about. 30.04.2015 Ranging from suspicious and wary to chatty and...
Without vultures, fate of Parsi ‘sky burials’ uncertain
It is a thorny issue that beleaguers this fast diminishing community daily – how to preserve a 3,000-year-old ritual of giving “sky burials” to the Parsi dead amid a nearly extinct vulture...
Flyways of fortune
The Zoroastrian diaspora as we know it today is spread across the globe. As a mercantile community the Parsis have been traders and no place was considered too far or too dangerous to venture, if it...
Manekshaw for Bharat Ratna: Will you undo this wrong, Mr Modi?
Dear Prime Minister Allow me as a citizen of the Republic which has the good fortune of having you at the helm of affairs, to thank you for the bold decision to create a memorial for the...
Clarifications in The Banning of Priests Case
Clarification issued jointly by Jamsheed Kanga & Homi Khusrokhan There appear to be several misunderstandings concerning the Settlement entered into on 17.02.’15 in the matter of the Notice...
Activist’s Idea of Composting Bodies as an Alternative to Dokhmenashini
With vultures fighting for their survival, the Zoroastrian community finds itself at a crossroad. A Parsi community activist has triggered a debate by suggesting an alternative method to dispose off...
Tinaz Pavri: Author of Bombay in the Age of Disco
An interview highlighting our newest author, Tinaz Pavri and her book Bombay in the Age of Disco. Keep an eye out for its release this spring! 1. In a brief summary describe your transition from...
Vulture culture atop coconut palms sends bird numbers soaring
Conservation Centre At Raigad Gets Encouraging Results In Three Years A flock of vultures swoops down on a quiet open plot, flapping their wings with gay abandon while another flock takes sudden...
Vahbiz Dorabjee: Playing a Parsi
Vahbiz Dorabjee was last seen in Saraswatichandara and now she will be seen in an episode of Code Red. She talks about her cameo, playing a Parsi and Nach Baliye. What is special about the episode...
Ruttie Petit and Bella Captain: The Tale of Two Parsi Women
Mitra Sharafi, the amazing author at South Asian Legal History Resources writes: I was recently struck by the strangely inverted but parallel lives of two young women, both tragic figures in early...
Banaji Limji Agiary, Mumbai’s oldest fire temple, turns 306
Parsis-Zoroastrians will celebrate The Feast of Fire, held on the ninth day of the ninth month (roz adar, mah adar) of the Shenshai or Shahenshahi calendar. It is an important day for the community...
BPP trustees at loggerheads over allowing Film shootings in Parsi baugs
The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees are sparring over allowing film shootings in the city’s Parsi baugs. While a majority of the seven BPP trust ees are against allowing film and...
Tales of the haft seen table
It’s been a while since Navroze has passed us by. The more-than-usual excitement over Parsi food is over, the pantry re-filled and the fridge is no longer bursting at its seams with endless packs of...
Rustomji H. Vania Builds Supercomputing "Ferrari" Machine at Southern Illinois University,
In the age of information, data rules. A new supercomputer has been installed in the basement of the Wham Education Building to keep SIU on the cutting edge of technology. SIU is the second Illinois...
Café Mondegar, others won’t vacate Colaba’s Metro House building
Despite an eviction notice from the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), the tenants of Metro House in Colaba, which houses iconic establishments such as the famed Café Mondegar, have refused to vacate the...
Longing and Loss at Dadar Parsi Colony
The heritage precinct is both, a tree spangled island and the last bastion of a threatened community. To its residents, the BMC’s move to fill its streets with hawkers has become a metaphor of...
Dadar Parsi colony residents fight for hawker-free zone
One of the oldest area in Mumbai, the Dadar Parsi colony area’s residents came out, on Sunday in large numbers for anti-hawkers protest march. The protest which began from Five Gardens had...
Eating in Thousands: The Parsi Gahambars
It’s a fight for a seat, and sometimes, a chicken leg, at the Parsi gahambar that celebrates an age-old tradition of praying and feasting. Article By Meher Mirza | Mumbai Mirror At 8 pm on...
Persian Parade 2015 in New York City
Here are some pictures from the Persian Day Parade that went down Madison Avenue, in Manhattan; New York City today. See the full set of images on Parsi Khabar’s Facebook Page
Bawi Bride Brings Parsi food at your doorstep
Catering service the Bawi Bride Kitchen, which serves Parsi food, will launch its delivery services next month. sunday mid-day samples a meal, which comprises old Parsi favourites including Sali per...
Bordi: In Search of Serenity
‘Chikoos’, ‘aamras’, Parsi food and empty beaches—Bordi offers a restful break from the city rush When you’re driving in Mumbai, you never get to speed, or even feel the wind in your hair. Road...
Cafe Mondegar faces eviction after Bombay Port Trust terminates building lease
The Mumbai Port Trust has served an eviction notice for all tenants of Metro House building in Colaba including the iconic Cafe Mondegar for criminal violations of the lease agreement. The 7-page...
The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism
Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina, eminent Zoroastrian scholar at Stanford University and a good personal friend of Parsi Khabar brings out the much-awaited Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism...
The World Zoroastrian Symphony Orchestra at XVII NAZC 2014
The World Zoroastrian Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Adil Mehta performed at the XVII North American Zoroastrian Congress in Los Angeles. Below is the video recording of the event that way...
Parsi Mumbai: The Legacy of Zoroastrianism in India’s Urban Fabric
An Iranian visitor can’t help but notice the Zoroastrian symbols that dominate old Mumbai. In the historic Fort District toward the southern end of this metropolis of twenty million souls,...
BPP Divided Over Rs 1000 Crore Silver Oaks Property in Mumbai
While a majority of Bombay Parsi Punchayet trustees feel the property should be reserved for Parsis only, its chairman says charity funds should not be spent on legal fees to make it...
Jehangir Sarosh Takes over as Interim General Secretary of ECRL–RfP
Seasoned RfP activist Mr. Jehangir Sarosh OBE is the new interim General Secretary of European Council of Religious Leaders-RfP (ECRL-RfP). He replaces Mr. Stein Villumstad who has stepped down to...
Rustom’s of Delhi: The Taste of a Parsi Home Fare
It is not every day that you see someone wanting to serve their family recipes in a restaurant setting. It is even rare if this restaurant is not a quick service restaurant (QSR) but a humble...
Ahmedabad’s Vakil Anjuman Adarian to move out of Old City
The Bukhara Mohulla at Khamasa Crossroads in the Walled City is home to two shrines. One is the Parsis’ Vakil Adariyan Agiyari fire temple. And the other is the only Jewish place of worship in...
The Dabu Couple wins over Syracuse theater scene, 20 years running
Hints of spice waft in swirls of steam. Pastel teacups brimming with brewed Indian chai rest on the sanded wood of a low table. Binaifer Dabu and her husband Navroz Dabu sit side-by-side on their...
Daryush Mehta: Zoroastrian Chaplain at Harvard and MIT in Boston, USA
From Harvard’s website: Daryush Mehta It is with great humility that I represent the Zoroastrian community as a Chaplain at Harvard University. Dr. Cyrus Mehta has diligently represented the...
Mercenaries and merchants: A short history of the strong ties between India and Yemen
As Houthi rebels overran the Yemeni capital of Sana’a in March, the embattled government shifted its capital to Aden. For many Indians, and especially for residents of Mumbai, the name of the city...
Dr. Navroze Kotwal and Urdu Poetry
Why can’t a Parsi pen Urdu poetry, asks orthodontist When he is not fixing his patients’ teeth, he is penning Urdu couplets. But orthodontist Dr Navroze Kotwal’s passion for Urdu poetry,...
Death and Legal History on Sunday Afternoons
Cemeteries as Historical Evidence In Law and Identity in Colonial South Asia , Mitra Sharafi argues that rather than trying to maintain collective autonomy and integrity by avoiding interaction with...
Row over Parsi hospital’s pact with private firm goes to Bombay High Court
A quaint heritage Parsi hospital property built in 1895 and lying defunct for several decades in the prime Fort area of south Mumbai will be redeveloped into an orthopaedic and neurosurgery centre....
Enlarged Compendium of Zoroastrian Calendars
Rohinton Erach Kadva writes in Appeal to preview and purchase my book entitled ‘Enlarged Compendium of Zoroastrian Calendars’. I am a civil engineer settled with my wife in Bangalore for the past 36...
Setback to Wadia in land battle as Supreme Court upholds old Act
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a law made in Maharashtra in 1977, which requires that before courts get into the facts of a case, they should decide on jurisdiction when...
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...
Rattana Pestonji: Pioneering Thai film director
Rattana Pestonji was a Thai Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer and is regarded as the father of contemporary Thai film. Although his filmography was brief, his...
The steady, inspiring rise of Zia Mody
You’ve seen them at the peak of their careers — P Chidambaram, Dimple Kapadia, Rajdeep Sardesai, Shashi Tharoor and many more. But what were they like when they were 25? What was India...
Mumbai City Development Plan forgets to mark as many as 24 fire temples as heritage structures
Parsis were among the first settlers in Mumbai in the 17th century and they started consecrating their fire temples (Agiaries and Atash Behrams) over the next 200 years. In the past decade, the...