Jini Dinshaw, violin virtuoso and founder of the Bombay Chamber Orchestra (BCO)—India’s oldest indigenous Western...
Blog Articles
Jini Dinshaw: A one-woman institution for whom music was life itself
Jini Dinshaw (1930-2025), the founder of the Bombay Chamber Orchestra – India’s oldest active Western classical...
The Irani Brothers: Last Two Parsi Police Officers Left in Mumbai
There is an update to the article since it was first published. See below Decades ago, on the last Wednesday of every month, the Mumbai police commissioner would take a group of senior officers —...
Bombay Meri Hai : Hot Beat for Bombay
Bom bom bom bom“ the staccato rang out. How my brother and I chuckled as children to first hear that syllabic quartet. Our giggles muffled by mouths stuffed with an edge of the living room curtain...
Qissa e Parsi : The Parsi Story
Legend has it that when the Parsis arrived on the shores of Gujarat sometime between the 8th and 10th century, they promised the local King Jadhav Rana that they would sweeten the Indian community...
Soldier extraordinaire: Book Review
A riveting account of the life and times of the first Field Marshal of India. Review By PURNIMA S. TRIPATHI | Frontline IN April 1971, General Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, the Chief of...
New Zoroastrian Community Centers in North America
Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America held a panel discussion earlier in 2014 on the theme of New Zoroastrian Community Centers in North America. This was a Pre-AGM event before...
Parsis are not interested in politics anymore
The Parsi community no longer has a say in electoral battles because of their dwindling numbers and apathy towards politics. But in the last century many Parsis were at the forefront of state and...
Unaccounted cash at Parsi trust office: The theories don’t add up
MULTIPLICITY ast week, trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the largest representative organisation of ParsiZoroastrians, found nearly Rs22 lakh and some gold jewellery in a locked cupboard...
Architect Cyrus Jhabwala Passes Away
Parsi Khabar is sad to hear about the passing away of Cyrus Jhabwala. Below is a write up by Ram Rahman. The architect who designed the Delhi Parsi Dharamsala, the Bhiwandiwalla Hall & the...
The Parsis and the Reserve Bank Of India Connections
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is nearly eight decades old and was one of the first central banks in the developing world. While a lot has been written about this institution, little is known...
Danesh Irani: The Last Parsi
Why this Parsi stand-up comedian doesn’t want to be seen in a pair of shorts! Danesh Irani in conversation with Glynda Alves | The Economic Times Describe yourself in 140 characters....
Parsi Presence at the Narendra Modi Megaevent at Madison Square Garden in New York City
Sunday September 28th, 2014 was the perfect Fall Sunday in New York City. It was like any other Sunday except for the fact that 20,000 Indians swarmed like bees to a honeypot. Madison Square Garden;...
The dying profession of disposing of the dead
The gradual disappearance of vultures years ago almost led to the collapse of the Parsi ‘s doongerwadi system of disposing the dead. While the tradition now continues with the help of solar...
Adi Sadar: 86-year-old has cast his vote in every poll since ’51
Adi F Sadar, an 86-year-old resident of Byculla’s Rustom Baug,has not missed a single election -be it general, assembly or corporation election. “My father once told me, never miss your right...
Mapping Mumbai: Gardens With Something To Tell
What could a Parsi knight and a Cross-crowned fountain on the grounds of the city’s first Anglican Church possibly have in common? Article by Meher Marfatia | Times of India To answer this...
Police on the lookout for source of cash recovered from Parsi Panchayat CEO
he MRA Marg police have initiated investigations to trace the source of the cash found in the cupboard of deceased Bombay Parsi Panchayat (BPP) CEO, Mehlo Colah, last week. Rs 20 lakh in cash was...
How BMC completely lost the plot: Wadias Demand Land Back
The BMC is on the verge of losing a 40-acre parcel of land worth Rs 1,300 crore in Aarey Colony. The city corporation obtained the tract from the FE Dinshaw Trust in 1972 and reserved it in 1993 to...
That’s the Parsi way
There is something to be said about Parsis their sense of humour is unique. Maybe they tend to make fun of themselves before others do, as a defence mechanism, considering their minuscule...
Kamran Dar e Mehr Opens in Washington D.C. USA
The birth of a new Dar-e-Mehr is a rare and momentous occasion. We were lucky to witness the inauguration of the newest Dar-e-Mehr in all of the Zoroastrian world on September 20th, 2014 in Boyds,...
Bombay Parsi Punchayet finds Rs 21 lakh, gold jewellery in late CEO’s cupboard
The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has found Rs 21.43 lakh and gold jewellery in a cupboard belonging to its late CEO, Mehli Colah. The discovery has set tongues wagging in the community as earlier...
The Buckingham Secret: Review
Writer-director Meherzad Patel’s latest stage offering, The Buckingham Secret, couldn’t have made its debut at a better time. After all, the British Royal Family is once again in the...
Meherzad Patel: Celebrating the Parsi way of life via theatre
Through all its plays, Meherzad Patel’s theatre company, Silly Point Productions, celebrates the Parsi way of life. As the company turns six, we look at its journey, and how Patel created a...
Darius Pardiwala: Young Badminton Star
Today, even the under-10 category in badminton is not recreational. With the way Darius Pardiwala (Bombay Scottish) and Bhargav Chavan (Bhavan’s Wadia) were guided throughout the final of the...
Why Delhi’s Parsis don’t want non-Parsi spouses in their cemetery
The community is likely to vote against a proposal to allow the husbands and wives of those who marry outside the faith to be buried in the Parsi graveyard. The Parsis – one of India’s smallest...
Meet the Women Fighting the Islamic State
MAKHMOUR, Iraq — Avesta enters the cramped room in a teachers’ residence turned temporary military base, ready for a meeting with her fellow fighters. The six commandos rise to shake her hand....
Marzban Colony: Springing forth from history
The Marzban Colony in Agripada, south Mumbai, gets a new lease on life Article by Meher Mirza | DNA India The story of ‘The Lal Chimney Compound’ begins in the 19th century, with...
Ancient faith seeks good to balance the bad
Zoroastrianism puts the onus for morality on the individual Every morning, Farhad Mistry wraps a kastri, a small rope made up of 72 strings, around his waist like a belt while saying his morning...
Shahnameh, a Persian Masterpiece, Still Relevant Today
Long before HBO’s wildly popular Game of Thrones was created, Iranians turned to the national literary epic ‘Shahnameh” (The Book of Kings) for intriguing tales of knights, nobility and mystical...
Raise the curtains: The Buckingham Secret
This new play is a comedy on the secrets of Buckingham Palace Secrets will be revealed at the premiere of NCPA’s fifth production. The Buckingham Secret, set against the backdrop of Buckingham...
Lord Karan Bilimoria: An Pulling No Punches.
Lucy Tobin interviews Lord Bilimoria founder of Cobra Beer. He pulls no punches in this interview. The lager lord who is speaking up for Britain. Cobra’s Lord Bilimoria has strong views on running...
Zubin Mehta: In Conversation with the New York Times.
Zubin Mehta is an Indian-born conductor who has directed many of the world’s finest orchestras. He is the music director for life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the chief conductor of the...
Parsi Natak, Jivto Reh
After a long lull, Parsi-Gujarati theatre gets a shot in the arm with young talent from the community dishing out fresh stories, Bawa-flavoured. Article by Reema Gehi, Mumbai Mirror Last Saturday on...
The Story Behind Kaizad Hansotia and Gurkha Cigar Company
urkha Cigar Company is known around the world as one of the most luxurious brands of premium cigars. With many different blends and lines, there is a Gurkha cigar to fit almost any occasion and any...
Requiem For A Bird: Documentary on the Towers of Silence
Requiem for a Bird currently stands as a last chance to document the singular relationship of the Parsi and the vultures. The two have been linked through death for centuries, with the bodies of...
An Excerpt from the life of Dosebai Cowasjee Jessawalla
Old school English stands proud Article by Bhavani Krishna Iyer | The Sun Daily Malaysia THERE have been generous outpourings of all things women in the past weeks, among others, and I...
MLA seeks sop from Indian Prime Minister for Parsis to visit Iran
Member of legislative assembly, Mangal Prabhat Lodha has written a letter to prime minister, Narendra Modi asking for subsidy for Parsi community to help them visit their “place of...
A candid chat with restaurateur Farrokh Khambata
He gave Mumbai its first taste of Oriental cuisine, especially the Burmese dish of Khow Suey. With Joss, his first restaurant at Kala Ghoda, finding a new home in the western suburbs last month,...
Sarosh Zaiwalla: the first non-white lawyer to start a practice in London
The head of a trail-blazing City law firm found that aiming high works Sarosh Zaiwalla has represented some of the most powerful people in the world, from members of the Gandhi family to the...
Well-known hotelier Jehangir Cama dies at 76
Leading hotelier Jehangir Cama, 76, passed away at a private hospital in Ahmedabad on Monday evening. Cama, chairman of Cama Group, was admitted to HCG Medisurge Hospitals at Mithakali for the past...
The Difference between- Shenshai, Kadmi and Fasli Zoroastrian Calendar.
We have received the below from our regular reader and good friend Pesho Kotwal. He received this as a forward. Pesho writes One notices from time to time that “we” do not have an...
Navroze low key for lone Parsi family in East Maharashtra
Chandrapur: Even as their community members celebrated ‘Navroze’ in Mumbai on Monday with fervour, the new year was not that boisterous for ‘Gundevias’, the only Parsi family...
Power of Three: Parsis who shaped Modern Indian Art
An upcoming exhibition thrives on nostalgia, exploring the relationship between two gallerists and a collector who shaped the destiny of modern Indian greats. Passionate collector Jehangir Nicholson...
Sooni Taraporevala: 10 Tips For Screenwriters
DearCinema organized IndieTalk with renowned screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala on July 19 in Mumbai. This is what the writer of films like Salaam Bombay!, The Namesake and Mississippi Masala had to...
New documentary explores the Parsi community
Unique to India, there is no other community like the Parsis. Divya Cowasji and Shilpi Gulati, postgraduates from TISS and documentary filmmakers, get the community to share their most sacred spaces...
Dossabhai Oliaji: RIP
We are sad to inform the passing away of Dossabhai Oliaji one of the legends of Parsi Hospitality. Good friend and reader of Parsi Khabar Zarir Oomrigar informed us of this sad news. Image...
Who Are the Yezidis: Are they Zoroastrians ?
The article below is an edited and abridged version of the original article that apepared in the Deen Parast. We thank Soonu, good friend and regular reader of Parsi Khabar for editing the article....
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 ...
Parsi New Year Celebrations in New Delhi and Hyderabad
Parsis in Delhi come together to ring in New Year There were 275 guests expected, with Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla as chief guest, and Rohinton Fali Nariman, newly appointed judge...
Administrator appointed by HC to safeguard estate of Purvez Dalal in Rs 200 crore dispute
Two sides-‘heirs’ and ‘confidantes’-are in tussle over properties of Purvez Dalal, who died in 2011. In a dispute pertaining to two wills, both of which list properties worth...
All that Mawa drama
An age-old Parsi eatery announces that it’s going to shut down. Soon, media houses start speculating about the reasons and publish reams of stories glorifying the outlet and its rich history. In no...