Parsi Khabar

WZO : London Divorces India

arzan sam wadia — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:01:46 +0000

With deep regret, the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) wishes to announce that it can no longer be associated with WZO (India). By Darayus S. Motivala / The Bombay Samachar This decision was taken after very careful consideration of the actions of the committee of WZO (India) which has taken such a divergent path that they [...]

Life was quite a drudgery in my childhood: Ratan Tata

arzan sam wadia — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:43:59 +0000

Unless you talk to the man, you don’t get a taste of the subtle sense of humour that he has. Industrialist Ratan Naval Tata has a very simple definition of going to school. “It seems terrible when you are there, questionable when you get out of it, and cherishable in the later years of your [...]

Chennai Parsi Fire Temple Celebrations: 100 Year Anniversary

arzan sam wadia — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:10:54 +0000

There are just 250 of them in the city, so it’s no surprise that all members of the Parsi community here have their demographics at their fingertips. By Kamini Mathai / TNN No one seems to need to riffle through history books for specifics. For instance, they can tell you offhand that there were no [...]

Dalal Estate Mumbai: Transformation

arzan sam wadia — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:42:02 +0000

One of the oldest and largest residential complexes in south Mumbai is all set for a makeover. By Nauzar Bharucha / TNN Dalal Estate, the more than seven-decade-old landmark residential enclave along the Mumbai Central bridge, will be demolished later this year to make way for a 64-storey skyscraper, TOI has learnt. The project is [...]

Zoroaster: Forgotten Prophet Of The One God

arzan sam wadia — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:30:23 +0000

The Abrahamic religions were preceded, and decisively influenced by, followers of an earlier prophet By John Palmer / Guardian UK The tiny world wide communities of Zoroastrians are no doubt pleased to get any mention in Cif belief – even if it is only to provide alphabetical balance to a list starting with the Bahá’ís. [...]

Ferdowsi, the Reviver of Persian Language

arzan sam wadia — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:46:00 +0000

The United Nations cultural body (UNESCO) has named the year 2010 as 1000th anniversary of the composition of The Shahnameh, the renowned national epic of the Persian-speaking world which has been traditionally a source of honour and a manifestation of ancestral identity to the Iranian people and nations such as Tajikistan and Afghanistan who have [...]

Nariman Point: Never Concede On Principles

arzan sam wadia — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:39:00 +0000

By Khushwant Singh / Hindustan Times As I read Fali Nariman’s memoirs Before Memory Fades, an autobiography (Hay House), I kept thinking about Nani Palkiwala who I had the privilege of befriending during my years in Bombay. Both men were Parsis from the middle class families with modest means. Both rose to the top of [...]

Eminent Parsis fight for liberal priests

arzan sam wadia — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:23:15 +0000

Anu Aga and Dr Hector Grant, among others, to support priests who were barred from praying at the Towers of Silence by the Bombay Parsi Panchayat after they conducted Navjots of children from mixed marriages By Manoj R Nair / Pune Mirror Fault lines in the 50,000-strong Parsi community were thrown into sharp focus once [...]

Range of antique Parsi Garas attracts visitors in Islamabad

arzan sam wadia — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:46:26 +0000

An exhibition by Kersi Dubash, displaying a wide range of antique Parsi Garas, Gara borders and Gara shalwar kameez suits, French chiffons, Lucknow saris and shalwar kameez suits, Kantha saris and pure cotton saris, is attracting large number of visitors especially women. The exhibition that would continue till July 14 at a local hotel is [...]

By The Way: Mumbai Restaurant With A Cause

arzan sam wadia — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:37:46 +0000

Sitting in this quaint restaurant, just gullies away from the furious churn of the Arabian sea, watching the rain steam up the glass double doors that open up to a leafy Grant Road lane, it’s hard not to fall in love with the monsoons again. By Mahithi Pillay / DNA The quiet clatter of cutlery, [...]

Fali’s enduring life

arzan sam wadia — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:33:33 +0000

Its authors sought to dismiss the June 1975 Emergency as an event of no consequence in four famous words: “not a dog barked”. The bench and the bar, which are regarded as the fair and fearless custodians of the fundamental rights of citizens were ridiculed as spineless. Coincidentally, on the 35th anniversary of the Emergency [...]

Chennai Parsi Fire Temple Celebrates Centenary

arzan sam wadia — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:21:27 +0000

On Saturday (July l0), there will be celebrated in Royapuram the centenary of the consecration of the only Parsi Fire Temple in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala. Gracing the commemoration of the establishment of the Jal Phiroj Clubwala Dar-e-Meher will be former President of India Abdul Kalam. Reported in The Hindu The first Parsis arrived [...]

Fali Nariman: Mea Culpa And Other Stories

arzan sam wadia — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:51:13 +0000

Three Zoroastrians (Parsis) have dominated our jurisprudence through the last four decades: Nani Palkhivala, Soli Sorabjee and Fali Nariman. Fali Nariman lets memory strike its own patchwork path, and presents his final case on the Bhopal tragedy By Mani Shankar Aiyar / Outlook India This is of a piece with what this community, given refuge [...]

Unused Urinal At Cross Maidan Behind Bhikha Behram Well Raises A Stink

arzan sam wadia — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:36:08 +0000

Residents want the toilet block – locked in a dispute since 1996 as Parsis fear it would contaminate water in their sacred well, located at Bhikha Behram – demolished By Manoj Nair / Mumbai Mirror With a section of the Cross Maidan showcasing a new, green look, Oval residents want the urinal near Bhikha Behram [...]

BM Masani passes away

arzan sam wadia — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:32:43 +0000

Veteran constitutional expert and noted advocate, BM Masani passed away yesterday at the Parsi General hospital in Mumbai. He was 86. Family sources at Mhow said today that Masani was suffering from lung ailments for the last six weeks and had gone to Mumbai for treatment

Art films not my scene right now: Jennifer Kotwal

arzan sam wadia — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:49:44 +0000

Kannada actress Jennifer Kotwal wants to continue to star in entertainment films and not really looking at art films as of now. “Art films are not my scene right now,” the model-turned actress who is currently working in three Kannada films, she said in Bengaluru. Published in the Indian Express “I love entertaining people,” and [...]

Bombay Panjrapole

arzan sam wadia — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:54:00 +0000

If you aren’t looking for it, you’d probably miss it. Tucked somewhere in the by-lanes of the crowded Bhuleshwar bazaar is the Bombay Panjrapole, a 176-year-old infirmary that primarily looks after 350 cows and other stray animals like donkeys, hens, birds, dogs, goats, parrots and ducks. By Humaira Ansari / DNA The shelter, painted bright [...]

Pasta on the patra

arzan sam wadia — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:35:01 +0000

The Parsi lagan nu bhonu, the last of the purist community wedding feasts in the city,is also going the mishmash way By Mahafreed Irani | TNN When Sam and Freny Satha were preparing to send out the invitations for their son Marks wedding recently, they felt an unstoppable surge of nostalgia. Their own wedding had [...]

Boman Irani wants to become a singer

arzan sam wadia — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:21:28 +0000

Boman Irani, who started life as a photographer, just loves exploring different avenues. After some crackling performances, including in comic roles, the hugely talented actor is trying his voice as a singer. He is touring five Indian cities with music director Shankar Mahadevan but says he does not want to make a career out of [...]

Bahman – Bestows Divine Wisdom

arzan sam wadia — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:06:01 +0000

In the Zoroastrian calendar, the second day of every month as well as the eleventh month of every year is dedicated to Bahman Amshaspand. By Noshir H. Dadrawala Bahman is the Persian form of the Pahlavi word Wahman and the original Avestan – Vohu Manah, a term which most scholars translate as the ‘Good Mind’, [...]