Zoroastrians.net

The Great Indian Parsis

yazdi — Sat, 07 Nov 2026 05:08:17 +0000

Dear Proud Parsi Friends,

We are inviting you to contribute an article for our forthcoming coffee table book

THE GREAT INDIAN PARSIS

for the Chapter:

‘Being a Parsi!’

You can write your memoirs / experiences / thoughts in 300 to 400 words.

Email us your article at theheritagebooks@gmail.com latest by 15 November 2026.

The first ten best entries will be selected for this book which is scheduled to be published in December 2026.

Capt Prasoon Srivastava / Yazdi Tantra

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WZCC Talk in Manhattan November 14th: Register Now, Spots Limited!

yazdi — Sat, 07 Nov 2026 00:07:37 +0000

Wonderful members of the WZCC NY Chapter,

Another talk is coming up – and this time in the heart of Manhattan! Jacob Brown is a young finance professional who worked at Deutsche Bank and started his own hedge fund – all before the age of 30! The moderated discussion will focus on how we can use agentic AI to streamline creating businesses, and how to invest intelligently during times of geopolitical turmoil. Then we will have time to network and socialize over lunch as well!

Join us on Saturday November 14th from 12-2pm at Nomadworks (1216 Broadway, right near Penn Station). The event will be limited to 50 people, so please register soon. WZCC is covering the cost of the space; there will be an additional $15 fee to cover food – please send this to Jivahn Moradian via Venmo (@jmoradian) or Zelle (970-430-8051).

Also, Mailchimp doesn’t let the flyer have links, so please RSVP at this link!

If you have any questions, let me know via email or WhatsApp.

Warm regards,

Jivahn

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The Parsi Behind Thai Cinema – Rattana Pestonji

yazdi — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 23:35:27 +0000

One of the masters of Thai cinema was a Parsi, born in Bangkok.

Meet Rattana Pestonji. His Parsi parents came to Thailand as railway contractors in King Rama V’s time and wanted him to take a safe, conventional path. He became an engineer, but the camera was his real love, and he chose it anyway.

In 1937, a film he shot won a top prize in Glasgow, with Alfred Hitchcock as jury president. His 1954 film Santi-Vina went to a film festival in Tokyo, was lost for decades, and was found again in 2014. After restoration, it played at Cannes in 2016. Today, a top prize at the Thai Short Film and Video Festival carries his name.

A South Asian story that is also a very Thai one.

Rattana Pestonji (born Rattan Pestonji; May 22, 1908 – August 17, 1970) was a highly influential Thai filmmaker, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer who is widely celebrated as the “father of contemporary Thai cinema”.

Despite born to an Indian Parsi family in Bangkok, he became one of the ultimate pioneers of Thailand’s film industry. Pestonji fiercely advocated for artistic independence and technological advancement at a time when the domestic market was heavily saturated by foreign imports.

Key Facts & Legacy

Technological Pioneer: He was one of the very first directors in Thailand to champion the transition from 16mm silent film to 35mm film with direct sound sync, vastly upgrading the technical standard of local cinematography.

Global Recognition: His 1954 tragic love story Santi-Vina was the first Thai film to win international acclaim, picking up awards at the Asia Pacific Film Festival in Tokyo. [1, 2]

Tragic Passing: He suffered a fatal heart attack on August 17, 1970, while passionately giving a speech to government officials urging them to support and protect the domestic Thai film industry from being completely overshadowed by Hollywood.

Click Here to read more….

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ZTFE – Armistice Day

yazdi — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 23:59:36 +0000

Dear ZTFE Members and Well-Wishers,Please join us for this years annual Armistice Day Webinar where we come together to give gratitude to the Armed Forces and all those who protect world peace and work towards Sustainable Development.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87259742118?pwd=Xvig6zejHxeEwejW1DJ3Up2qG6yRbz.1
Passcode: peace

We have held these webinars annually for several years. Last year our speakers shared personal experiences and perspectives about Military life, including discussions about service, family challenges, and the professional standards of the Armed Forces.Participants included military personnel and civilians, attending from different parts of the World and included people of different Faiths and Beliefs. They shared their insights about the military’s role in peacekeeping, historical contributions, and the impact of military service on families and communities.
The discussions emphasized the importance of promoting peace and well-being.
The speakers highlighted the professionalism and ethical standards of the Indian Army, emphasizing its contributions to UN peacekeeping missions, while expressing gratitude for the freedoms maintained by Armed forces.

https://zoroastrians.net/2025/11/02/marking-armistice-day/
Gratitude to Mr. Yazdi Tantra for sharing this recording on Zoroastrians.net.With best wishes and warm regards,
Dr. Karishma Koka
ZTFE Communications Officer.

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Sanjan Day – 14 Nov 2026

yazdi — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:28:25 +0000

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Dewan Bahadur Manekji Mulan of Balaghat

yazdi — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 23:33:50 +0000

facebook_2-mp4

https://hindi.news18.com/news/madhya-pradesh/balaghat-who-is-danveer-diwan-bahadur-manekji-mulna-history-and-legacy-local18-9785788.html

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The Sadra Project

yazdi — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:14:28 +0000

The FEZANA Talks # 33

Presents

The Sadra Project

Artist Ziya Tarapore

In Conversation with

Tanya Hoshi

Saturday, November 7, 2026

9 AM Pacific | 12 Noon Eastern | 5 PM London | 9:30 PM Mumbai

JOIN ON ZOOM

The Sadra Project

Can the pain of impermanence be softened by making something beautiful?

This question sits at the heart of The Sadra Project. For the Parsi community, the sadra is the most intimate of garments: white muslin worn close to the skin, every day, as a quiet act of faith. It is not displayed. It is not discussed. It is simply worn, until it begins to fall apart.

The project began with the sadras of Ziya Tarapore’s father. As they grew thin and threadbare, Ziya found herself facing a harder truth: that the man who wore them was growing frail too. She could not set the garments aside. Instead, she cut them into small pieces, removing the sacred sections carefully before processing them in a Hollander machine until the cloth gave way to fibre. That fibre became paper. That paper became fire, water, roots and sky.

Inspired by the Zoroastrian ethos of preserving the natural world, of recycling, the themes resonate with the Elements. In Atash, fibres of banana and mulberry are processed with the cotton until they splay and curl like flames, rising from bases cast in sadra pulp. In Anahita, pulp dyed in deep blues, greens and the grey-white of sea foam holds the memory of rivers, deltas and the ocean floor. Giah and Vraksh turn to the plant kingdom and the Tree of Life. Fire that began as cloth. Water held in something that once held a body.

What began as a way to honour Ziya’s father became a way to hold him a little longer. His sadras were the catalyst, but the project did not stay his alone. As word spread, friends and family began offering their own. Each garment carried a different life, a different body, a different faith quietly kept. All of them, and the energies they hold, are present in the work. The Sadra Project began as an experiment in January 2023; what is presented is the culmination of three years of work.

It matters that this work comes home to Mumbai from Ziya’s studio in New York. Here, the sadra needs no explanation. Many visitors will think of someone in their own lives who wore one.

Perhaps that is what this show is really about. Not holding on to what we must inevitably lose, but discovering how love can take it forward and make it beautiful.

THE ARTIST

Ziya Tarapore

Drawing from colors, textures, and forms inherent in nature, Ziya Tarapore utilizes the unexpected versatility of found and recycled materials to create three-dimensional paper pulp paintings.

Tarapore repurposes worn garments, and sometimes packing material, to construct abstracted, figurative work that seeks to criticize mass production, instant gratification, and consumerism present across cultures. In keeping with the Zoroastrian ethos of preserving the natural world and recycling, Tarapore alludes to the present crisis on the planet we live on. She challenges the viewer to consider the ironic duality of her subject matter and chosen media, as the trees that Tarapore often seeks to evoke are the same trees that must be displaced in order to make paper commercially.

Tarapore pulls her own paper mainly from recycled muslin which she layers, melds, and dyes. She scrapes and tears the surface to form the textured bark of tree trunks, the form and color of gossamer petals, the sun-baked planes of old walls, or the rocks that color mountains and canyons. She incorporates texture and sculptural depth using wet paper, encaustic, and muslin; her background in design and woven textiles informs her practice, as she manipulates dyed and bleached paper as though it were textiles. More recently she has begun using alternative photography techniques to create a visual story based in the cultural aspects of the Parsi community to which she belongs.

Tarapore received a BA in Woven and Knitted Textiles in Manchester, UK, and a diploma in woven textile from Bombay University. She learned hand papermaking at the Penland School.

Tarapore is currently a member of North American Hand Papermakers as well as a board member of the International Artist and Papermakers Association.

Tarapore lives in New York and is an active member of the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY) a FEZANA Member association

IN CONVERSATION WITH

Tanya Hoshi

Tanya Hoshi is an award-winning Canadian filmmaker focused on producing bold, socially driven stories across documentary and scripted formats. Her projects have been acquired by networks including CBC, CNN, and NBC, and had premieres at Oscar-qualifying festivals such as Hot Docs and TIFF.

Since 2020, Tanya has held the role of Head of Communications for FEZANA, where she has produced over 1,000 pieces of original digital content featuring stories about Zoroastrianism and the Zoroastrian community. Tanya is currently on the Board of the Zoroastrian Return to Roots Program and is an alumna of the World Zoroastrian Youth Leaders Forum. Tanya’s commitment to her community and achievements in her career led her to be awarded the Outstanding Youth Award at the 2022 World Zoroastrian Congress in New York City.

JOIN ON ZOOM

The Sadra Project: The Exhibition

Memory. Material. Metamorphosis.

If you’re in Mumbai, you can see the work in person.

The Sadra Project opens at

47-A, Khotachi Wadi in Girgaum, presented with Art Mumbai Gateway and Baro Art.

Opening Party: Friday, November 13, 2026, 6–9 PM IST

Venue: 47-A, Khotachi Wadi, Girgaum, Mumbai
On view through: December 13th, 2026

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Invitation to Society of Scholars of Zoroastrianism Conference on November 14 in Chicago

yazdi — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 23:47:38 +0000

Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Chicago

proudly hosts the

2026 Society of Scholars of Zoroastrianism (SSZ) Conference

at the

Rustam Guiv Dar-e-Mehr

8615 Meadowbrook Drive, Burr Ridge, IL 60527
on

Saturday November 14, 2026
9 am to 9 pm Central Time (8:30 pm to 8:30 am IST)

supported by

Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA)
FEZANA Information Research Educational System (FIRES)

and

World Zoroastrian Organization US Region

All community members, students, scholars and members of interfaith communities are invited and encouraged to participate.

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The morning session (9:00 to 2:00 pm) is the scholarly “Academic Symposium. Includes breakfast and lunch. The afternoon session (2:00 – 6:00 pm) is the “Community Forum” , in person at the Dar e Mehr, where our youth and community “scholars” will participate. Cocktails and dinner will follow at 7 pm.

Yazdi, please put a box here labelled “Program” where they can click and see the full day’s program and speaker details – attached below)

Registration

If attending in person: $20 per person. $25 after November 3 (No charge for youth 18 and under). Pay at the door. Please RSVP to Zarin Karanjia (zarin.karanjia@yahoo.com) with:

– Name

– Age (if 18 or under)

– Will attend Morning session (Academic Symposium) with Breakfast and Lunch

– Will attend Afternoon Session (Community Forum) with tea, cocktails and dinner.

If attending only on ZOOM there is no fee.

ZOOM link for the Academic Symposium and Community Forum: https://bit.ly/2026-SSZ
Registration for the Academic Symposium is recommended at:
https://ZoroastrianAcademics.eventbrite.com

For SSZ Conference information contact: Rohinton Rivetna (Rivetna@aol.com, 630-248-4387). For Academic Symposium information contact: Zal Taleyarkhan (773-677-1110, zaltaleyarkhan@gmail.com).

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