August 20, 2008 – 6:16 am
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Parsis from all over the country throng Udwada in Gujarat to celebrate new year at the oldest fire temple in the country, reports Mahafreed Irani
Known for their stylish get-ups and hairdos, the Ghunnawalas — Alamai, 65, Anahita, 48, and Armaity, 20 — make sure to visit their stylist just before Navroze, the Parsi New Year day. But this will go unnoticed as the family’s three generations - who have descended on Udwada from Golwad in Gujarat, Lucknow and Mumbai respectively — don silk, embroidered scarves in obeisance to the Iranshah Atashbehram, the fire temple at Udwada. Zoroastrians from all over the world, Parsis, Iranis, Kadmis, Shenshahis and Faslis, have on their wish list a visit to the fire temple at Udwada.
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www.independent.co.uk By : Andrew Buncombe
![[Post Image]](http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00035/parsi_35414t.jpg)
India’s Parsi community is shrinking fast. For every birth, there are five deaths, prompting fierce debate between reformists and traditionalists who are concerned about ethnic purity. A Zoroastrian girl performs a traditional dance in front of a painting of the Prophet Zarathustra
For centuries, Mumbai’s Parsis have brought their dead to the Towers of Silence to be devoured by vultures, a traditional form of “burial” the community insists is hygienic, efficient and in keeping with their faith. Yet these days, there are very few of the carrion-eaters to be seen.
With Asia’s vultures having been drastically reduced by the widespread use of toxic pesticides, the Parsis have been forced to erect solar concentrators – essentially large magnifying lenses – to help turn the corpses into dust. “There are not many vultures,” said Cyrus Siganporia, a retired engineer who helps at the peaceful, secluded site on the city’s Malabar Hill where peacocks strut and birds sing. “They come sometimes, not often. ‘Sometimes’ is the word.”
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... Nahi, meri Hindi kaafi sudhar gayi hai. See, I don’t have a problem with Hindi. Are you asking me this because I’m a Parsi? Well, if Punjabis can have a Punjabi accent and Gujaratis a Gujju one, why can’t I have a Parsi accent? ...
Shenaz Treasurywala on love and her banjaran life, in conversation with Riya V Anandwala.
There’s been talk that you’re being replaced by Perizaad Kolah on The Great Indian Laughter Challenge.. true?
False. In fact, I’m filling in for Perizaad who’s on maternity leave.
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Parsi Lagan or Wedding is marked by vibrant and joyful customs that spread over a couple of days. Unique and interesting rituals begin from the time of engagement and culminate with a lavish post wedding reception where one gets to enjoy the rich Parsi culture in the form of good music, wine and dining.
Pre-Wedding Rituals:
A number of colorful and fun-filled customs are observed as a part of pre-wedding rituals in a Parsi Wedding.
* Rupia Peravanu: Rupia Peravanu marks the unofficial engagement when both the families acknowledge the acceptance of the marriage alliance. On this day, ladies from the groom’s family pay a visit to the bride’s house. The bride is presented with a gift of silver coins with the usual shagun. Refreshments are served and the grooms family return home. The bride’s family now adds more silver coins to those presented and go to the groom’s home, where this ceremony is repeated.
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www.jamejamshedonline.com By : Kersi komissarita
![[Post Image]](http://www.jamejamshedonline.com/080508/13.jpg)
On the 22nd of March, 2008, The Parsee Girls’ School Association, a pioneering body for the cause of female education, commenced its Sesquicentennial Celebrations at Albless Baug, Girgaon, Mumbai.
Founded in 1858 by far sighted stalwarts such as Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji, Faramji Nusserwanji Patel and K. R. Cama, among others, The Parsee Girls’ School Association opened the doors to formal education for girls by setting up several schools over the years. Today, the Association runs and manages The Bai M. N. Gamadia Girls’ High School and The Bai B. S. Bengallee Girls’ High School. Both these institutions have an excellent reputation and continue to provide a sound education to girls of all communities.
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www.livemint.com By : Priyanka P. Narain
After the Hakims married, they looked forward to a quiet life, interrupted often by the laughter of children.
Five years later, none had arrived. Troubled by the void, they began visiting doctors. But nothing worked—until they stumbled upon the fertility plan of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, the apex organization in the city that offers financial support to Parsi couples who want children.
“They said they would pay for fertility tests and treatment if we went to their doctors,” says the woman, who declined to give her first name, citing sensitivities in the community.
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www.mumbaimirror.com By : Manoj R Nair
![[Post Image]](http://cms.mumbaimirror.com/portalfiles/1/15/200702/Image/080207/fp2.jpg)
It could be an event quite unprecedented in the 3000-year-old history of the Zoroastrian religion. A group of reformists in the community, called the Association for Revival of Zoroastrianism (ARZ), are planning to set up an agiary or fire temple that will be open to spouses of community members married outside the fold.
The move is likely to create a storm in the community which bars entry at fire temples to non-Parsis, including non-Parsi women married to Parsis and children of Parsi women married outside the community.
In August 2005, the group had converted a Colaba apartment into a prayer hall more liberal in allowing people to attend religious ceremonies. The hall also offered navjote or initiation ceremonies for children of Parsi women married outside the community.
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www.science-spirit.org By : Meera Subramanian
![[Post Image]](http://www.science-spirit.org/images/vulture.gif)
For millennia Zoroastrians have used vultures to dispose of their dead. What will happen when the birds disappear?
When Nargis Baria died at the age of eighty-five in Mumbai, India, her only child, a daughter named Dhun, initiated the death rituals of their Zoroastrian faith. Her mother’s body was dressed in white, prayers whispered in her ear, and after three days a summoned dog’s dismissal indicated that the spirit had moved on. It was time for the nassesalars, or pallbearers, to carry the body to the Towers of Silence, circular structures of stone located on fifty-seven, park-like acres in the heart of Mumbai, surrounded by the upscale high rises of Malabar Hill. They removed her clothing and placed her body in the middle of three concentric circles, one each for women, men and children. At the center was a well where the bones, the last of the last remains of a human body, would be swept in a few days time.
All the proper components of dokhmenashini, the Zoroastrian method of handling their dead, were in place, but the vultures that once completed the cycle by scavenging an exposed corpse in less than five minutes were missing. The custom, so ancient it was described by Herodotus 2,500 years ago, has come to an abrupt end in the past decade, as the vulture population of South Asia Read More »
April 26, 2008 – 11:21 am
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timesofindia.indiatimes.com By : Nauzer Bharucha
For the past few centuries, they have been one of Mumbai’s most important religious and architectural landmarks. On Thursday, the city’s oldest Zoroastrian fire temple-the Banaji Limji agiary-enters its 300th year.
Tucked away in a side lane called Banaji Lane opposite the Akbarallys showroom, the ancient fire was consecrated in 1709 by Seth Banaji Limji, a prosperous Parsi businessman. “It is the oldest surviving agiary in Mumbai,” said Parsi historian Marzban Giara.
Incidentally, the second oldest agiary-Manekji Sett agiary- is also located less than a kilometre away in Perin Nariman street near CST. It completes 275 years on Thursday Read More »
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