From Field Marshal Manekshaw to ‘Grand Old Lady’ Bhandari, philanthropic community has had a notable impact on state’s...
Blog Articles
Redevelopment creeping in, yet Dadar Parsi Colony has retained its charm
In the 1920s, when municipal corporator and civil engineer Muncherji Edulji Joshi, initiated a housing project for...
Everyday Parsi: Sarosh J. Collector
Our first author in the Everyday Parsi 2014 series Sarosh J. Collector writes Muktad and what it has meant to me. Dear Parsi Khabar, I am humbled, that you have asked me to reflect on the Muktad...
The Everyday Parsi in 2014
August 8, 2014 is the first day of Muktad or to call it correctly “Farvardegan” per the Shehanshahi Parsi Calendar. Parsis around the world and especially in India remember the dear departed of...
Cafe 792 Opens in Dadar Parsi Colony
Be it cold cuts, set lunches or quick bites, Café 792, tucked inside Dadar’s leafy Parsi Colony, offers a variety of delicious chow, especially when you are on the go. We treaded on a gravel-laden...
Screening of “Legacy of the Flame” in Mumbai
The Museum Society of Bombay Cordially invites you to a Film Screening on Wednesday 13 August 2014 at the Visitors Centre Auditorium, CSMVS, (Prince of Wales Museum) at 5.30pm sharp Dr Homi...
Spotlight on the Yazidis and their plight in present day Iraq
Iraq's jihadis have vowed to wipe out the Yazidis. Who are they? The ancient religious group, concentrated in Iraq, have been targeted for extermination by the so-called 'Islamic State' that seized...
The Khada Parsi Statue: In Animation
Sandwiched between the famous Byculla flyovers is the 152-year old cast iron statue of Shet Cursetjee Manockjee. The long forgotten 40 feet tall statue, once known to be a famous landmark, is back...
Dadysett Atash Behram Turns 232
The oldest fire temple in Mumbai turned 232 years old on Monday August 4, 2014. The Dadysett Atash Behram at Chira Bazar in south Mumbai entered its 232nd year on Monday. It is the city's oldest...
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw: The Man and His Times
We are happy to present a full write-up from the authors of this amazing book on India’s Greatest Soldier and a proud Parsi Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw: The Man...
Noshir Dadrewala on the Banning Priests Controversey
Noshir H. Dadrawala writes I have read with interest the response of sitting BPP trustees, Mr. Khojeste Mistree and Mr. Yazdi Desai to the open letter written by former BPP trustee Mr. Dinshaw...
Banning Priests Controversey: Dinshaw Tamboly Further Clarifies
From Dinshaw Tamboly to Parsi Times with c.c. to BPP July 28. 2014 Editor, Parsi Times, 102, Vikas Building, 11, Bank Street, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. Madam, This is in response to the write up by...
Joss Opens in Santacruz, Mumbai
The much-loved South Mumbai landmark Joss will re-open in the ’burbs. But the restaurant has changed more than its location, as its menu will now take on a surprising, multi-sensory approach to...
Jamsheed Kanga and Homi Khushrokhan on the Banning Priests Controversey
From Jamsheed Kanga & Homi Khushrokhan to BPP Jamsheed G...
Khojeste Mistree & Yazdi Desai Respond to Dinshaw Tamboly
From Khojeste Mistree & Yazdi Desai to Parsi Times This case goes much beyond just banning 2 Renegade Priests……. Khojeste Mistree and Yazdi Desai, BPP Trustees In recent days, some members of...
Parsis and their cars
Why are Parsis into cars? Why do their prized possessions enjoy a unique brand equity in India? We meet a few Parsis to learn about their passion for their mechanical mistresses. From the archives:...
Feud with the Wadias begins to pinch Bombay Parsi Punchayet
Feud with the Wadias begins to pinch - Parsi Punchayet runs out of funds, stops two grants With the Wadias unhappy over the administration of Parsi colonies freezing Rs 120 crore in banks, the...
In Conversation with Khushru Pocha: Just Call for Blood
Khushroo Poacha, Founder – Indianblooddonors.com “Help each other One to One. Do not depend on our Leaders”.- Mother Teresa KHUSHROO POACHA, an office superintendent with the Indian railways,...
Farrokh Khambata’s JOSS to Open in Santacruz Mumbai
Long after shutting down Joss at Kala Ghoda, owner Farrokh Khambata will now open an outpost at Santacruz (W). Launching in place of Two One Two All Day, next to the Mini Cooper showroom, the Pan...
Jiyo Parsi Workshop: Family Life in the 21st Century
Dear friend of Parsi Khabar, Dr. Shernaz Cama informs Dear All, I would be grateful if this Notice could be given wide publicity. It is the 1st in a series of Workshops in the Advocacy section of...
Royapuram: Wheel of time takes the sea away
In the 1970s, Ajit Diaz’s family was among the very few non-Anglo Indian families to make Royapuram their home. Article by Serena Josephine M | The Hindu What he vividly remembers about this north...
BBC: Mumbai’s Disappearing Irani Cafes
Mumbai's grand old Parsi cafes have long been a symbol of the city's diverse cuisine and culture. They were first opened in the 19th century by settlers moving to India from Iran and most of them...
Vaccine Billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla Joins Race For London’s Grosvenor House Hotel
Cash-rich pharma billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla who got wealthy making low-cost vaccines that his Serum Institute of India sells around the world, has put in a $937 million bid for London’s Grosvenor...
Pirojsha Godrej – Name build on his billionaire’s family
Pirojsha Godrej the scion of the Godrej Properties is the genius behind the Godrej Properties outstanding reputation for quality and innovation. Having degrees from Wharton and Columbia University...
Ban on Priests: An Open Letter By Dinshaw Tamboly
Published herewith is a letter received from good friend of Parsi Khabar; and ex-BPP Trustee Mr. Dinshaw Tamboly. July 14, 2014 Trustees, Bombay Parsi Punchayet, Mumbai. Ladies &...
PARZOR Exhibition in Chennai
Preserving the grand ethnic culture Parzor Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that works towards preserving the Parsi culture, will be organising a crafts exhibition for the first time in...
Bhabha museum was planned near Gateway of India: Gerson da Cunha
Reacting to demands for Homi Bhabha’s bungalow to be converted into a museum, author and social worker Gerson da Cunha says it was already planned at Old Yacht Club, Anushakti Bhawan Article by...
This monsoon, make bombils “boomla” Parsi-style!
The way Parsis enjoy Bombay Duck is distinct from other communities. Article by Ismat Tahseen, TNN Says Pervin Marzban Bilimoria who loves to cook the fish, "Vinegar is the trick here. It must be...
An Open Letter to BPP Sr Executive Mr Pheroze Patel
From time to time, Parsi Khabar will publish letters it receives from readers on community matters. Below is one such letter sent to us by a regular Parsi Khabar reader Arzan J. Ghadially. ...
Cyrus Mistry’s New Short Stories Reveal the Cruelty of Ordinary People
Best known for his book about the marginalized community that deals with the dead, award-winning author Cyrus Mistry released his long-awaited collection of short stories this week. Article by...
Found & lost: Tata villa in Shanghai
A hundred and ten years ago, Parsi businessman Bejan Dadabhoy Tata, a distant relative of the founder of one of India’s oldest corporate houses, sailed from Mumbai to Shanghai to further his...
Judges should not shirk cases, says Fali Nariman
Coming down on judges who excuse themselves from hearing certain cases, senior Supreme Court advocate Fali S Nariman said on Sunday that judges should not ‘shirk’ cases. “When they recuse themselves...
Homi Dastoor: Musical Journeys
"Beethoven's was a tempestuous, interesting life" By Fiona Fernandez |Mid Day Age is just a number for Bandra resident, nonagenarian Homi Dastoor who has just released his labour of love — Musical...
‘Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw: The Man and His Times’
The army headquarters had recommended that the Republic Day parade in 1972 be cancelled but the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wanted the pageant to take place to celebrate the Indian Army's...
Udvada and Navsari Atashbehrams: A Report by Berjis Desai
Our annual pilgrimage to the Navsari and Udvada atash behrams made us pensive. Although it was not one of the "big days” of the Parsi calendar, there was no sitting space at Iranshah. Occupancy...
Khada Parsi stands tall again, but do his values still hold?
It may have taken close to a decade to accomplish it, but the BMC needs to be complimented for restoring the Khada Parsi statue at Byculla: at the very least, the BMC cannot be accused of being...
What would you prefer: a museum or a thriving art centre?
In the news entirely for the wrong reasons is the Bhabha bungalow. (A little aside here: is anyone or anything ever in the news for the right reason?). The newspapers are full of it, and TV channels...
Mumbai Samachar: Going strong at 192
On July 1, Mumbai Samachar, the city's second most circulated Gujarati paper, will reaffirm its position as the oldest surviving newspaper in Asia. When copies of the Mumbai Samachar (MS) hit the...
After restoration, Khada Parsi stands tall
After over two years of tedious restoration work, the iconic 150-year-old “Khada Parsi” statue, a Grade I heritage monument in Mumbai, was unveiled on Friday in the presence of Shiv Sena chief...
Parsis to meet Heptullah in July over reservations
The trustees of the Bombay Parsee Punchayet (BPP) will meet minority affairs minister Najma Heptullah in the first week of July to discuss reservations for the community in medical and engineering...
Hafeez Contractor: The Slumdog Millionaire Architect
The offices of Hafeez Contractor, India’s most commercially successful architect, are on Bank Street, just around the corner from the Mumbai Stock Exchange. By Daniel Brook | New York Times The...
Billionaire NRI Dadi Balsara found dead in his Taj room
One of the richest NRIs from Singapore, 71-year-old Dadi Balsara, who had been living in a suite of Taj Mansingh Hotel, died late Wednesday. Prima facie, it appears that he had suffered cardiac...
Jamshed Nasarwanjee Rustamjee Mehta: The Real Father of Karachi
'Ownership', as defined by Oxford English Dictionary is ‘the act, state or right of possessing something’. In Urdu, it translates into Milkiyyat, while in Sindhi the alternative is Maaliki. When...
Smita Crishna-Godrej buys historic Bhabha bungalow for Rs. 372 cr
Smita has assured friends that the iconic home where brothers Homi and Jamshed grew up will not be torn down to make way for a highrise and will only be used as a family home. Dr Jamshed Bhabha's...
Law and Identity in Colonial South Asia
The Parsis, or Zoroastrians, are an ethnoreligious community unusually invested in the colonial legal system of British India and Burma. In this interactive slideshow, Mitra Sharafi, the author of...
Dr. Keiki Mehta Honored at American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Congress 2014
Two Luminaries in the Field of Ophthalmology Named Honored Guests at the 2014 Annual ASCRS-ASOA Symposium and Congress in Boston Two physicians who have made significant contributions to the field...
Homi Bhabha’s iconic home on the block today
Mehrangir on Malabar Hill, the bungalow where the father of India's atomic energy programme, Homi Bhabha, once lived, will go under the hammer on Wednesday afternoon. Article by Nergish Sunavala...
For Parsi population, eight small beginnings: Jiyo Parsi
Less than a year after the government launched “Jiyo Parsi”, a scheme to check the alarming decline in the country’s Parsi population, the stork is set to visit eight couples from the community who...
Hvovi Minocherhomji: Chennai halts traffic to save life
When a human heart was being loaded into an ambulance at the General Hospital around 6.40pm on Monday, 6km away, at Light House, traffic inspector Uday Kumar's walkietalkie crackled to life. He had...
Spenta Kandawalla Remembers Wellesley classmate Hillary Clinton
Spenta Captain Kandawalla, who was the only Pakistani student in Hillary Rodham's class at Wellesley College in 1969, talks about her longtime friend with "Sunday Morning" correspondent...
Iran’s Zoroastrians celebrate Persian roots
In this Saturday, June 14, 2014 photo, a Zoroastrian man prays in Setipir Shrine in Yazd about 405 miles (675 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran. Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic...
Mumbai’s famous Parsi chefs to cook for Delhi
Celebrities such as John Abraham and Bomani Irani (as well as several non-Parsi personages) swear by their patra ni machchi, their dhansak is considered among the best in Mumbai and, for the past...