Heard of Zoroastrianism? The ancient religion still has fervent followers

National Geographic Magazine | May 2024

Article by Kristin Romey

Once the faith of millions, a small but devoted number of adherents in Asia and North America keep the flame of faith burning.

Farzin Yezishne, a Zoroastrian mobed (priest), performs a blessing ceremony at a home in Karachi, Pakistan. He wears a veil to protect the purity of the fire.

Photograph by Matthieu Paley

ByKristin Romey

April 22, 2024

Early one morning last December, Aaria Boomla rose from her hard guesthouse bed in the small coastal town of Udvada, India.

It was nothing like her soft bed at home, seven hours away in Pune. She dressed and brushed carefully around her two missing front teeth while silently practicing the lines of scripture she’d been memorizing for months. At age seven, the elder of two children, she was about to join her family as a follower of one of the world’s oldest religions.

The sun came up hot and hazy as Aaria and her family and friends walked along a dirt road to the Iranshah Atash Bahram, a large white stone-and-wood temple complex enclosed behind high walls. The entrance gate, flanked by two enormous sculptures of human-headed, winged bulls, was minded by an attendant who ensured that only those of sufficient ritual purity could enter the temple precinct—one of the most sacred places in all of India.

According to tradition, Aaria’s Zoroastrian ancestors had arrived on the Gujarat coast 1,300 years ago seeking protection from religious persecution by invading Arab Muslims. Here, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, they revived the tenets and rituals of their faith, including a fire sourced from 16 different fires, sparked by everything from a blacksmith’s forge to lightning. That fire has burned continuously ever since, under the careful tending of white-veiled mobeds, or priests. Today it’s for an ever dwindling community of faithful.

Inside the temple precinct, Aaria bathed in sacred water, took three sips of purified bull’s urine, donned a fresh set of white clothes, then joined the mobeds. They gathered around the fire, which burned in a silver urn. Prayers rose into the air, words from a language last in everyday use 3,500 years ago. “Fravaraane mazdayasno Zarathushtrish Vee-daevo Ahura-tkaesho,” Aaria recited: “I confess myself to be a worshipper of the Creator Ahura Mazda, a follower of the religion revealed by the Prophet Zarathushtra.”

In Mumbai, India, Parsi mobeds confer after seven-year-old Shayaan Gazdar’s initiation ceremony, or navjote. Among the most orthodox Parsis (Indian Zoroastrians of Persian descent),only children of Zoroastrian parents can take part in religious rituals.

Photograph by Matthieu Paley

Aaria and her family are among a small and shrinking number of orthodox believers in the corner of the world where Zoroastrianism first appeared and spread. Fewer than 100,000 adherents remain in and around the fringes of the former Persian Empire, in Iran, India, and Pakistan. But in the past century, the faith has traveled far from its origins—to places like Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Stockholm—and inspired new, progressive communities where anyone who follows the tenets of the ancient prophet Zarathushtra can be considered a Zoroastrian.

In much of the world’s imagination, Zoroastrianism conjures up something ancient, and maybe a bit exotic. But the basic tenets are fundamental to people everywhere: good versus evil, resurrection, and the afterlife. At its core is humata, hukhta, hvarshta: “good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”

According to tradition, Zarathushtra—Zoroaster in Greek—was a disillusioned priest of an ancient polytheistic religion who, after immersing himself in a river, received a revelation from Ahura Mazda, the Supreme Being. It’s unclear where and when Zarathushtra might have lived. Many scholars draw clues from Zoroastrian scripture, the Avesta, to place him in Central Asia, possibly modern Afghanistan or Tajikistan, around 1700 to 1000 b.c. He was said to have led just one follower at first, his cousin. But by the sixth century B.C., Zoroastrianism had become tied to the Achaemenian Persian Empire, one of the world’s oldest and largest superpowers, and the tenets of Zarathushtra would eventually spread to lavish Silk Road entrepôts in western China and tiny mountain shrines in the Balkans.

The Zoroastrian belief in one supreme being and good versus evil had a profound influence on the Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenian Persian Empire, freed the Jews from captivity in Babylon in 539 b.c. and returned them to Jerusalem, where they rebuilt their temple. Their exposure to Zoroastrianism in Babylonia and Persia, many scholars believe, helped solidify basic elements of Jewish belief, including an afterlife and final judgment. The ancient Greeks noted the wisdom of Zoroastrian sages, which gave rise to the Three Wise Men of the New Testament. And scholars note the similarity between Zoroastrian and Muslim practices of praying five times a day, and the ritual ablution that accompanies these prayers.

The Zoroastrian god is not a negotiating or punishing deity. There’s no notion of original sin that requires repentance. Rather, the Zoroastrian god is more like the force of gravity, indifferent to your daily well-being. Your job is to fight for asha (truth, righteousness, and order) and against druj (filth, lies, and chaos). After death, your soul, or urvan, reunites with your guardian spirit, or fravashi, and lives on in a world of song or a world of purgatory. Then comes the final battle, when good triumphs over evil and everyone is resurrected to live in a perfect world free of war, hunger, and earthly desires.

The teachings of Zarathushtra, in a sense, created the “bookends” of the Abrahamic faiths, says Jamsheed Choksy, a professor of Central Eurasian studies at Indiana University Bloomington. “You start with the discussion of good versus evil, and that humans have a role—that we’re not just walking through life. And at the other end, the reward is that everything will be made right; evil will be defeated.”

An image of the Prophet Zarathushtra hangs in a shrine built around an old well in Mumbai. Scholars believe Zoroastrianism influenced the Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—with concepts of heaven and hell, resurrection, and a single, all-powerful deity.

Photograph by Balazs Gardi

For non-Zoroastrians like me, there’s only so much of the community that’s accessible. Strict purity laws prohibit outsiders from entering the Iranshah temple complex as well as the other smaller fire temples in Udvada. On the morning of Aaria’s initiation, Zarine Bharda pulled up to another fire temple on a white scooter, with a daughter around Aaria’s age in her sidecar. Bharda, dressed all in white, declined my sweaty handshake with an apologetic smile. “If I shook your hand, I’d have to give myself another head bath before I enter the temple,” she explained, pointing to the white kerchief tied around her hair.

A former engineer from a Zoroastrian family in Canada, Bharda is now a women’s wellness coach. Because she’s married to a mobed at the Iranshah temple, she must observe the strictest purity obligations. During menstruation, for instance, she leaves her home for another apartment in town, with separate sets of clothes and dishes. “It’s easier,” she said.

More white-clad worshippers approached the temple, and Bharda’s daughter tugged impatiently at her mom’s sleeve. It was time to go inside.

Seven-year-old Aaria Boomla departs the Iranshah Atash Bahram, one of India’s holiest sites, after being formally inducted into Zoroastrianism. The sacred fire at this temple has burned for 1,300 years.

Photograph by Matthieu Paley

Ramiyar Karanjia, the principal of a seminary in Mumbai, guides future mobeds as they memorize some 350 pages of the Gathas—accounts of the Prophet Zarathushtra. In Parsi communities, only sons of mobeds may enter the priesthood, though women are taking on priestly  roles outside of India

Photograph by Matthieu Paley

India’s Zoroastrians—known as Parsis—claim to be the true custodians of the religion. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the former center of the Persian Empire, Zoroastrians have been persecuted and forced to take many of their practices underground. Zoroastrianism claimed millions of followers at its height; now there are possibly 15,000 to 25,000 adherents left in Iran. Parsis number around 50,000 in India, concentrated mostly around Mumbai and the state of Gujarat, with less than a thousand more in neighboring Pakistan. The most orthodox of them consider only the children of Zoroastrian parents to be true Parsis, and they frown on marriage outside the faith. These restrictions, coupled with a decreasing birth rate, have led to a rapid decline of the Parsi population.

Ramiyar Karanjia is the principal of a Parsi seminary in the leafy enclave of Dadar in central Mumbai, where the sons of mobeds undergo rigorous training in religious literature and rituals alongside classes in math and geography. A lean, soft-spoken man, Karanjia attended the same boarding school as a child 50 years ago, memorizing scripture and undergoing arduous purification ceremonies required of future mobeds. These include a 25-day isolation inside a fire temple where prepubescent boys are prohibited from touching anything or anyone, or eating between sunrise and sundown.

Eroding citadels in Uzbekistan harbor remnants of a fire temple built by Zoroastrians, who revere fire as  a sacred element.

Photograph by Matthieu Paley

The core scripture, the Avesta, contains 17 Gathas, the words delivered from Ahura Mazda to his prophet, Zarathushtra. The oldest passages are in Old Avestan, a language believed to have been spoken in Central Asia during the Bronze Age some 3,500 years ago. Then there is the Vendidad, mostly a compendium of ecclesiastical and social laws that’s considered to be one of 21 books that made up the original Zoroastrian corpus. It’s the only one that survived fully intact following the sack of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great—or “Alexander the Accursed,” as he’s known in these parts—in 330 b.c. Maybe 10 percent of Zoroastrian scripture in Avestan survives to this day, said Karanjia.

Zoroastrian communities look to their mobeds for leadership. In Parsi tradition, only the sons of priests can become priests. A mobed may make only 50,000 rupees a year, Karanjia explained—about $600, a meager sum even in the poorest parts of India—and there’s no medical plan or pension. So most mobeds serve part-time and enter other professions.

Not long ago, more than two dozen students attended the Dadar seminary. “Presently we have just 14,” lamented Karanjia. The only other Parsi seminary hasn’t had any students in almost a decade.

The small number of seminary candidates is a reflection of a low fertility rate in Parsi communities. Religious leaders and researchers note that Parsi men and women tend to marry older, if at all, and have fewer children than they once did. It’s estimated that for every Parsi born into the community, four pass away. Jiyo Parsi, a program launched in 2013 and sponsored in part by the Indian government, promoted larger Parsi families with financial incentives, counseling, fertility treatments, and cheeky ad campaigns. “Be responsible. Don’t use a condom tonight,” urged one poster. Some Parsis are humorously fatalistic about the future of their community. “You know that movie Four Weddings and a Funeral?” a Parsi journalist asked me. “With us, it’s Four Funerals and a Wedding.”

Rohinton Nariman, a mobed and former Indian Supreme Court judge, conceded that bias against intermarriage will doom the Parsis. “North America is the only place now which is accepting both the spouses as well as the children,” he said. “And I’m sure Zoroastrianism will flourish there.”

Behmam Abadian’s trophy warehouse sits in an unassuming industrial park in Glendale, California. Inside, the shelves are filled with dazzling bronze, glass, and zinc confections bound for corporate executives, professional athletes, and Scientologists. Abadian is a civil engineer who left Iran the day Iraq invaded in 1980, eventually marrying “a Muslim woman in a Catholic church in New York City,” he said. Today he’s a trustee of the California Zoroastrian Center, and he distributes progressive-minded books on the faith for his brethren in North America. Apart from the books, Abadian is particularly proud of his latest work: a 10-foot-tall bronze statue of Cyrus the Great.

I joined Abadian and his friend Arman Ariane for lunch at a popular Persian restaurant near the trophy warehouse. Inside, waiters carrying platters of flatbread and grilled meats maneuvered between packed tables of dressed-up families. It was the weekend of Nowruz, the Zoroastrian New Year that begins on the spring equinox in March.

Family and friends celebrate Nowruz (Zoroastrian New Year) at the home  of Arman Ariane (second from right) in Claremont, California. In contrast to India’s Parsis, who don’t seek or accept converts, most Zoroastrian groups in North America are open to all.

Photograph by Balasz Gardi

Praying before the flame of their faith, Setareh Mandegarian and son Kiyan Khadem light a candle in celebration of Nowruz at the California Zoroastrian Center in Westminster.

Photograph by Balasz Gardi

While it’s impossible to say how closely Cyrus the Great followed the tenets of Zarathushtra, modern Zoroastrians point with pride to the way the Persian king restored the temples of many faiths under the guardianship of one of the world’s first superpowers—creating, essentially, the first multireligion empire. “And it led to the world’s first declaration of human rights,” said Ariane, a fashion designer and owner of Xerxes for Gents, a clothing store in nearby Claremont. Originally from Iran, Ariane was attending boarding school in Austria when Ayatollah Khomeini seized power in early 1979. Ariane found himself without a home, so he worked as a truck driver for a year, then restarted his life in Los Angeles delivering pizza.

While the first Zoroastrian populations appeared in North America in the 1950s following the independence and partition of India and Pakistan, they saw exponential growth during the 1970s and ’80s, fueled both by Iranians fleeing the 1979 revolution and subsequent war with Iraq and by the economic migration of Zoroastrians from South Asia. Today it’s a stable community rather than one declining under the burden of ethnoreligious restrictions, notes Choksy, the professor of Central Eurasian studies. Families are younger, intermarriage more common. “The perspective is very much one of a younger community that sees possibilities,” Choksy said.

The Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) was established in 1987 as a sort of umbrella for two dozen Zoroastrian groups across Canada and the United States. Ariane plays a role in a number of Zoroastrian organizations in California and beyond, and helps run a Facebook group for converts. The group is one of many Zoroastrian communities that thrive online, including the Norway-based Great Return, which is initiating Zoroastrians around the world.

Younger Zoroastrians tend to meet up on WhatsApp and Instagram, according to Arzan Sam Wadia, a New York–based architect and current president of FEZANA who also runs Return to Roots, which connects young Zoroastrian adults in the diaspora to their ancestral communities in India.

Today more than 25,000 Zoroastrians live in North America. How many more, and how quickly that number is growing, is hard to say. Iranian Zoroastrians don’t necessarily want to be counted, Wadia explained: “They’ll say, ‘Here is my membership money, don’t take my phone number, don’t take my email address.’ They still have the Big Brother kind of fear.”

At the same time, newly arrived Indian Zoroastrians in North America as well as second- and third-generation descendants may avoid joining their local communities because of the looming influence of Parsi orthodoxy. “They’ll say, Oh, but I married a Hindu, I married an American guy, so I’m not going to be allowed,” said Wadia. “I’ll say, Who told you that? Everybody is allowed. Even non-Zoroastrians can enter our place of fire and actually worship. We are not going by the same set of standards and rules that we have in India.”

Ariane calls himself a Zoroastrian by choice, having grown up in a secular household with Muslim parents. He finds solace in the faith’s emphasis on free will and personal responsibility.

“We are in the driver’s seat, and we have to take control. We can make this a better world and not have to wait for a savior to show up,” he said. “Many religions are waiting for a savior to come and solve all the problems. And you’re forgetting that it’s us who needs to make the move.

“We were given brains and knowledge,” he continued. “It’s our responsibility to use it for good things.”

To progressive followers like Ariane, Zoroastrianism is open to all, unencumbered by the restrictions and rituals put on the religion in later literature. The focus of the faith rests on the Gathas, hymns reflecting the conversations between the Prophet Zarathushtra and the Supreme Being, Ahura Mazda. Gathas are devoid of commandments. Zoroastrian prayer is mostly a series of meditations on what one should do. “What do the millennials call it?” Ariane asked. “Manifesting?”

Malabar Hill is one of the priciest neighborhoods in the growing megacity of Mumbai, where more than 20 million residents vie for living space in ever higher apartment buildings. But Doongerwadi forest, 55 acres of wooded calm where Parsis have disposed of their dead for centuries, remains a respite in the center of the chaos. “These are the lungs of Mumbai,” said Rashneh Pardiwala, waving her hand at the tall banyan and mango trees around us. Pardiwala, a Parsi, is the founder of India’s Centre for Environmental Research and Education. She grew up near these woods as a practicing Zoroastrian.

The faith’s scriptures outline the care that must be taken to avoid defiling water, earth, and fire. One way Zoroastrians did this for millennia was by placing dead bodies on mountaintops and in dakhmas, or “towers of silence,” where the flesh is eaten by scavengers. The Parsis started building their towers of silence three centuries ago in Doongerwadi, on what was then the outskirts of Mumbai. Today, the five circular towers are overshadowed by enormous apartment blocks. A stone wall encircles the precinct, accessed by a single road that ends atop a hill dotted with a few low-slung buildings.

To prevent de composing bodies from defiling earth, water, or fire, Zoroastrians here in Karachi and in India expose their dead to the elements in circular towers known as dakhmas, where the remains break down naturally.

Video by Matthieu Paley

Non-Zoroastrians attending burials in Doongerwadi are allowed only in two open-air guest pavilions and are prohibited from going anywhere near the towers. Even Parsis are prohibited from exploring the forest and disturbing the purity of the soil beyond the paths to the towers. But Pardiwala persuaded the community board that manages the forest to allow her to study a five-acre parcel. Since then, she’s revived parts of the forest with more than 12,000 saplings from more than 50 types of native trees.

In the hushed, green expanse of Doongerwadi, surrounded by the vastness of modern Mumbai, there’s a constant reminder of the endless march of progress and its unintended consequences, which can alter even the most ancient of religions. The native vultures that Zoroastrians have relied on to dispose of their dead are long gone from the forest, inadvertently poisoned by a drug used to treat Indian cattle in the 1990s. Caretakers now rely on solar concentrators to hasten decomposition—and reduce complaints from neighbors.

Pardiwala and I settled in on heavy wooden benches in Doongerwadi’s century-old guest pavilion, recently renovated by her family. Her mother, she quietly noted, died just before its completion and was unable to see how it turned out. “Look at the stained glass,” she said, pointing up at a colorful panel depicting mobeds praying over a sacred fire and a dog—believed to be a steadfast spiritual friend of Zoroastrians, which helps guide the human soul from this life to what follows.

For more than three millennia, followers of Zarathushtra have memorized and repeated the Ashem Vohu, one of the faith’s most important prayers. One translation goes like this:

Righteousness is the best good and it is happiness.

Happiness is to her/him who is righteous

for the sake of the best righteousness.

In the chaotic first decades of the 21st century, as old orders collapse and truth, asha, is increasingly difficult to discern from lies, druj, there’s solace in this prayer, both in the simplicity of its message and the challenge it poses. It’s a challenge that Zoroastrians have aspired to meet for millennia—from the spiritual leaders of an empire and the tenders of centuries-old fires to modern generations trying to nudge the universe toward a more perfect order.

Enormous crows swooped between Doongerwadi’s soaring trees, filling the air with their insistent caws. Suddenly, two white-veiled mobeds emerged from a nearby building with a leashed dog. They’re followed by the body of a recently deceased Parsi, wrapped in a white shroud and carried on a metal bier. “Stand up,” Pardiwala whispered. The funeral procession moved past us and up the hill toward a tower of silence. A handful of other dogs lazing in the shade got up and trotted behind the procession. Then all disappeared into the forest and the golden afternoon light.

This story appears in the May 2024 issue of National Geographic magazine.

Matthieu Paley, an Explorer since 2019, specializes in photographing little-known communities, including Zoroastrians. Much of his coverage spotlights the people and peaks of the western Himalaya.

Why Mumbai’s 300-year-old Bhikha Behram Well is more than just a sacred site for Zoroastrians

A year short of turning 300, the Bhikha Behram Well in the heart of Churchgate is not only sacred to Parsis but is a city institution. Here’s an insight into the wells history and recent restoration by AD100 architect Kirtida Unwalla.

Article By Khorshed Deboo | Photography by Rhea Talati | Architectural Digest India

The traffic intersection of Churchgate Street (now Veer Nariman Road) and Mayo Road (now Bhaurao Patil Marg) in Mumbai—where the Bhikha Behram Well is rather unassumingly located—is a notoriously busy one. On weekdays, a sea of office-goers rush from Churchgate station to their workplaces in Fort, while lawyers in black robes speed-walk to one of the many legal firms, or perhaps for a hearing in the nearby courts.

AD100 conservation architect Kirtida Unwalla’s firm undertook the restoration of the Bhikha Behram Well in 1999, and refurbished it in 2023.

Sitting behind a five-feet-high wall at this intersection, around the corner abutting the Cross Maidan, the Bhikha Behram Well turns a ripe old 300 next year. Sacred to the city’s Parsis and hemmed in by a thicket of palm and banyan trees, it is hidden in plain sight for passers-by. While the canopied premises of the well can be accessed only by Parsis, the well water—available via taps located on the rear side—can be used by all communities.

Witnessing A City Take Shape

In 1715 CE, a Parsi gentleman named Bhikhaji Behramji Panday came to Bombay from Broach (present-day Bharuch). His arrival wasn’t without its predicaments: he managed to escape the wrath of the Marathas but found himself in the crosshairs of a skirmish and was eventually imprisoned. Once released, he went on to establish trade relations in the English Bazaar in Fort, currently Medows Street. His philanthropic disposition led him to sink a well for the people in 1725 CE, known as the Bhikha Behram Well. A separate shallow water trough was built alongside for cattle and horses. The well was not only a source of water for weary travellers but also a pitstop to take in the breeze from the Arabian Sea. “The Western Railway headquarters building [then Churchgate Terminus] was erected only in 1899, so the seawater reached right up to its site. There were wind mills here, and people from the islands of Colaba and Old Woman’s Isle arrived on bullock-carts to get wheat and maize ground. The well and its peripheral area was where they could rest,” says AD100 conservation architect Kirtida Unwalla, whose firm undertook the restoration of the well in 1999, and refurbished it in 2023.

Until about the early 20th century, public wells in Bombay were common, especially before the Powai and Tansa Lakes began to supply water to the Island City. The Fort precinct itself had several fresh-water wells, most defunct today. If one were to cross the road from the Bhikha Behram Well, a now-shuttered well, closed off with concrete, is spotted in the compound of the Bombay High Court. Older pyaus (drinking water fountains) in the city are still functional. For instance, one at Char Null in Dongri, and the Seth Gangalal V. Mulji Nandlal Pyau at Horniman Circle which is believed to have catered to opium and cotton traders in the early 19th century.

In the early 1860s, Governor of Bombay Sir Bartle Frere’s decision to demolish the Bombay Fort heralded the Victorian Gothic era in the city. Frere’s foresight to expand Bombay through reclamations, a range of public buildings, civic infrastructure and transport, earned it the axiom of Urbs Prima in Indis. All this while, the Bhikha Behram Well stood as a quiet witness to the growth of a modern metropolis around it. In the decades following Frere’s term, numerous robust public buildings came up within a radius of a few metres of the well. The Central Telegraph Office was completed in 1874 with designs by W. Paris and James Trubshawe, and Muncherjee Murzban as the assistant engineer; the High Court was designed by British engineer JA Fuller in 1878; the University Library and Convocation Hall was built between 1869-74 to the designs of British architect Sir Gilbert Scott; and the Secretariat in 1874 by Henry St. Clair Wilkins. The 1900s saw the arrival of the Art Deco-style: the Eros cinema designed by Sohrabji Bhedwar in 1938 and the NM Petit Fasli Agiary by Gregson, Batley & King in 1939. “Surprisingly there isn’t much documentation of the well even though the surrounding structures have been extensively written about,” points out Unwalla.

More Than A Sacred Well

For most Parsis, faith is woven into the everyday. While one witnesses a panoply of rituals at the Bhikha Behram Well—from reciting kusti prayers to gently touching one’s forehead against the well’s rim as a mark of veneration—some devotees merely sit on one of the benches to seek refuge. The compound also houses a stray dog, and squirrels scurrying about isn’t an uncommon sight. The sunburst-patterned stained glass on the canopy creates orange-and-yellow ripples in the well—an almost magical sight. “The canopy and pavilion were built only in 1944; until then the well was open to the sky. The compound wall was also added later,” says Unwalla.

Unwalla tells us that the canopy and pavilion were built only in 1944; until then the well was open to the sky.

The pavilion design was undertaken by architect Jamshed Aga of Shapoorji N. Chandabhoy & Co. While there isn’t a precise architectural style, the construction material is typical of several newly built structures in Bombay during this period. Comprising a roof raised over four stone columns, the pavilion is in Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) and finished in Malad crete plaster, imitating ochre-hued Malad stone.

Come March and among a dawdling dance of palms and a spurt of bougainvillea, the footfalls of devotees at the well are at an annual high. According to the Zoroastrian calendar, it is the month of ‘Avan’—a period when water is worshipped. The air is tinged with the scent of roses and lilies, string after string laden with marigolds jostle for space on a filigreed Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) screen, and flickers of oil lamps are aflame well past sunset. Offerings of coconut, rose water and the traditional sweet dar ni pori are made.

The parapet of the well is constructed in brick masonry with stone coping.

Once upon a time, bhishtis (water-carriers) filled up their mashaks (leather bags) with the well water, supplying it in the neighbourhood.

The tranquil sanctuary of the well goes beyond the need to assert an identity; it is a living embodiment of safeguarding heritage whilst retaining its original purpose of providing water to a thirsty passer-by. While in the past, the water from the well—believed to be naturally sweet despite its proximity to the sea—was distributed across Fort and Churchgate, today, it is not without its impurities. “The Trust makes sure the water goes through a filtration process before being piped to the taps outside [to drink],” says Viraf Kapadia, one of the trustees of the Bhikha Behram Well Trust, a non-profit organisation that maintains the site. Several hawkers lining Fashion Street also use water from these taps.

A Humble Design Language

The restoration work of the well was first undertaken by Unwalla in 1999. Back then, the compound wall had to be made secure, the pavilion needed attention, and ancillary utilities had to be accommodated too.

The external face of the parapet wall, earlier clad in in-situ marble mosaic, was clad in in-situ Malad crete plaster following the restoration.

The parapet of the well is constructed in brick masonry with stone coping. The external face of the parapet wall, earlier clad in in-situ marble mosaic, was clad in in-situ Malad crete plaster following the restoration. The rough Kota stone flooring beyond the pavilion was retained in 1999. However, with the accumulation of rain water, conducive paving with an adequate slope for drainage became pivotal. “In 2023, along with the peripheral flooring tiles, the tiles within the pavilion were also changed. Moreover, as the levels of the roads outside rose significantly, there emerged a problem of ingress of water into the compound during the monsoon,” explains Unwalla. The ground level was then raised with cement screeding of 100 mm and laying new tiles. This posed another challenge: the height of the parapet wall of the well had to be risen by 250 mm. The existing stone coping was carefully removed and bricks were laid to increase the height of the wall. It was finished in limecrete plaster, with the stone coping reused.

Details in stone, resonant with the corbel at the upper portion of the columns, were introduced at the base once the ground was levelled.

Adding the cement screeding meant the details of the original design at the bases of the four columns were no longer visible. To rectify this, the cement concrete intervention was filled with lime concrete. Details in stone, resonant with the corbel at the upper portion of the columns, were introduced at the base once the ground was levelled.

Stained-glass panels with Zoroastrian imagery.

During the first phase of restoration in 1999, the area for lighting lamps was restructured.

During the first phase of restoration in 1999, the area for lighting lamps was restructured. A stained-glass panel of prophet Zarathustra was installed. Space was made for devotees to circumambulate around the well. More benches were added, and taps were fitted along the outer side of the north-facing compound wall. Just a few years later, the leaded glass panels installed in the pavilion were vandalised and were replaced with ordinary coloured glass. The slender Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) frames—added in 1999—supporting the glass are still intact. “Over 20 years ago, GRC was new in India; not too many architects were using it,” shares Unwalla.

Originally a Grade I structure, the Bhikha Behram Well was assigned the status of Grade II A by the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) in 2019. “But the well is a rare monument—located at a busy junction yet offering so much quiet. And it is remarkable that its original function—to provide water to people—continues, 300 years later,” says Unwalla.

Eminent retired Supreme Court Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman delivers a scholarly lecture on “The Zoroastrian Kusti Prayers” on the occasion of the Iranshah Udvada Atashbehram Salgreh in April 2024.

Avabai Wadia’s remarkable journey from a pioneering legal luminary to a trailblazer in family planning stands as a testament to her unwavering commitment to social progress.

Article on Her Circle

Born in 1913 into a progressive Parsi family in Colombo, her life’s work would leave an indelible mark on India’s landscape of women’s rights and reproductive health. We delve into the multifaceted career of Avabai Wadia, highlighting her pivotal role in shaping India’s family planning policies and advocating for women’s autonomy.

Legal Luminary To Social Advocate

Avabai Wadia’s journey began with her historic achievement in 1933, when she became the first woman from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to pass the bar exam in the United Kingdom.

Despite facing entrenched gender biases, Wadia’s determination propelled her forward as she carved out a distinguished legal career in London and Colombo. However, it was during her time in Bombay (now Mumbai) amidst the tumult of World War Two that she discovered her true passion: advocating for social change, particularly in the realm of family planning.

Founding The Family Planning Association of India (FPAI)

In 1949, Wadia played a pivotal role in establishing the Family Planning Association of India (FPAI), a ground-breaking organisation aimed at revolutionising India’s approach to reproductive health.

With a focus on promoting contraceptive methods and providing fertility services, the FPAI under Wadia’s leadership became a beacon of hope for countless Indian women seeking autonomy over their reproductive choices.

Through innovative initiatives and community engagement, Wadia and the FPAI transformed societal attitudes towards family planning, paving the way for significant policy shifts in the years to come.

FPAI’s work ranged from promoting contraceptive methods to providing fertility services – the latter gave Wadia “a real sense of satisfaction” since she had suffered miscarriages and had no children. It was in large part due to Wadia’s efforts that the Indian government became the first in the world to officially promote family planning policies in 1951-52.

Under Wadia, FPAI adopted a decentralised, community-based approach, working with the urban poor and villagers from some of the most impoverished regions of India.

Linking family planning with a holistic agenda of education, skill development and health, Wadia and her team employed creative communication techniques such as singing bhajans (devotional songs) with social messaging and organising a family planning exhibition which zipped across the country by train.

Global Impact And Advocacy

Wadia’s influence extended far beyond India’s borders as she emerged as a leading voice in the international discourse on reproductive rights. As a prominent figure in the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), she advocated tirelessly for women’s autonomy and dignity worldwide. Her staunch opposition to attempts to restrict access to abortion underscored her unwavering commitment to upholding basic human rights, even in the face of political pressure and controversy.

Navigating Political Challenges And Controversies

Wadia’s advocacy journey was not without its challenges, particularly in navigating the complex intersection of politics and reproductive health.

From condemning coercive population control measures during the Emergency era to challenging the Reagan administration’s stance on abortion funding, Wadia remained steadfast in her principles.

Her unwavering commitment to voluntary participation and human rights principles served as a guiding light amidst turbulent political landscapes.

Legacy And Contemporary Relevance

Today, Avabai Wadia’s legacy continues to inspire generations of activists and policymakers alike. Her pioneering efforts in family planning and women’s rights serve as a poignant reminder of the transformative power of individual dedication and advocacy. As debates surrounding reproductive rights and population policies persist, Wadia’s life and work remain a testament to the enduring importance of championing autonomy, equity, and justice for all.

The Parsi community wants the MP from Lucknow to allocate funds for maintenance of Hormazd Bagh (a building in the cemetery) which is in a debilitated state. The community also demands them to provide recurrent funds for maintenance of old graves in the aramgah (cemetery).

Parsis began settling in the city during the times of king Mohammad Ali Shah (1837-42).They have always been significantly low in population but their contributions to the development of the city have been immense. At one point there were about 200 Parsis in the city but today only 45 reside here.

Due to their low numbers, it is getting difficult for the community to pool enough money for the maintenance of Hormazd Bagh (a building in the cemetery).

“We want our MP to get this building renovated,” said president, Lucknow Parsi Anjuman, Zarine Viccajee. “A fund of a few lakhs would serve the purpose. We also want a recurrent fund for the maintenance of old graves in the aramgah (cemetery) as the graves get a grass cover during monsoon and reaching them gets difficult,” said Viccajee.

In 1998 Rediff spoke to Nani Palkhiwala, India’s greatest constitutional expert and one of the great legal minds in history. 27 years later as India is in the midst of yet another general elections, let’s look back at what this legal giant had to say all those years ago.

The Rediff Special/ Nani Palkhivala

Does the 48-year-old Constitution require modification? Should India abandon the Westminster model and opt for a Presidential system?

Rediff On The NeT continues the debate on whether the Constitution needs change and if the Indian people are ready for it by speaking to Nani Palkhivala, India’s leading Constitutional expert. Interview conducted by Archana Masih.

‘We are third rate, unfit to be a democracy’

If you publish this as it is it would be a great service to India. But how many Indians will read this? What’s the point if people in America are reading it, it is Indians who need to read it more,” Nani Palkhivala asked in despair. India’s best known constitutional lawyer — a frail figure sitting across the table — is a man completely disillusioned by an Indian system that has failed — and leaders who have not delivered.

On the review of the Constitution — a topic that has emerged and subsided, depending on the fancies of the government in power — Palkhivala has written extensively. The typed sheets of paper on his desk carried the gist of his thoughts. Yet, the 78-year-old jurist somehow knows his suggestions don’t stand a chance with the government. “I have suggested the type of things that I would like but they are not the changes they would like to make.”

Palkhivala feels it will take a minimum of three years for the recommendations to come into place. By when, the present government may be out of power. Another quick glance at the papers in front of him, and his thoughts give way to more frustration. “These are third rate men. They are not people with vision. The members of the Constituent Assembly were first class men. People like Ambedkar framed the Constitution. Compared to the people in power today, I don’t I think I am in the same country.”

After having lived in pre- and post Independent India; authored several books; and served as Indian ambassador to the United States, Palkhivala has a deep insight into India and its polity. The understanding of which is the cause of greater pain — of a democracy that failed to improve the lot of its people. “We are not made for democracy. We are made to be ruled by a strong man. Like Kemal Ataturk. I have said repeatedly that India needs a strong man, not adult franchise. I haven’t seen anyone yet. I hope it does happen in my lifetime.”

Palkhivala reiterates that an India that votes on the basis of caste and community was not the India the framers of the Constitution envisioned. An India where more than half of the populace is uneducated does not deserve adult franchise. “I am totally disillusioned. I don’t believe in adult franchise at all. We have no reverance for our Constitution. We have no distinction between ordinary and Constitutional law. We are third rate, unfit to be a democracy. People blame the Constitution today to shift the blame from their shoulders. Because the people who framed the Constitution are dead and gone. You think this is a country to live in?”

At this point, he marvels that the young people of today are brave enough to start a career in India. He flips through those papers again, pauses and answers a query on Article 370. “You cannot remove 370, because that was a condition Kashmir became a part of India. If Article 370 is removed, I don’t see why Kashmir should continue to be a part of India.”

“This is a gist of what I have been saying for years and years…”

We have no reverence for our Constitution. Our Constitution has been amended no less than 78 times in 50 years, unlike the United States constitution which is regarded by the Americans with such reverence that it has been amended only 27 times in 209 years. It is my firm conviction that it is not the Constitution which has failed the people but it is our chosen representatives who have failed the Constitution. Dr Ambedkar poignantly remarked in the Constituent Assembly that if the Constitution given by the people unto themselves in November 1949 did not work satisfactorily at any future time, we would have to say that it was not the Constitution which had failed, but that man was vile.

Every right minded person would agree that the integrity and unity of the country, and the secular character of our country, which have been our greatest accomplishments since 1947, should never be disturbed.

There is a cavernous gap between India’s tremendous potential and the depressing reality. Our economic accomplishments have been woefully inadequate to eradicate poverty and enable the underprivileged of this country to rise above their ageless squalor.

However, it is time that, having regard to the lack of character and calibre in the overwhelming majority of our politicians, we should think of making some changes in our constitutional law.

The expression ‘constitutional law’ comprises not only the Constitution, but also other parliamentary laws which supplement the Constitution and are concerned with subjects that are constitutional in nature.

There are three ways of amending the constitutional law.

The first is to change those parliamentary laws which qualify to be treated as constitutional law –without amending the Constitution itself.

The second is to amend the Constitution, without altering its basic structure, in accordance with Article 368 of the Constitution.

The third way is to amend the Constitution so drastically that its basic structure is altered; and this can be done, having regard to the Supreme Court’s judgment in Kesavananda Bharati’s case (AIR 1973 SC 1461), only by setting up a new Constituent Assembly or by a referendum.

The third way of amending the Constitution may be ruled out as being clearly inadvisable at the present juncture. When the dangerous divisive forces are so pronounced, this is hardly a time to call a Constituent Assembly or to call for a referendum for changing the basic structure of the Constitution. Convening a Constituent Assembly would be a step fraught with the greatest danger to the unity and integrity of India. Even a small country like Belgium took twelve years (1967 to 1978) to revise the fundamental laws of that state. Our problems are far more complex and more numerous than those of Belgium. We are, therefore, left with the first two alternatives.

There are four desirable changes in our fundamental laws which can be implemented without amending the Constitution.

First, no political party should be recognised by the Election Commissioner or by any other authority unless the party maintains audited accounts of all its receipts and expenditure. I have been writing and speaking publicly on this particular change over the years. Such a law is in force today, but the law on this point remains only on paper like several other Indian laws.

Secondly, it seems essential to introduce partial proportional representation in the Lok Sabha. Half of the Lok Sabha candidates should be elected on the basis of proportional representation, which is the system in force in several countries including Germany. In order to prevent the mushrooming of political parties and splinter groups, it should be provided that the benefit of proportional representation would be available only to those political parties which secure a certain percentage, say, 5 per cent of the votes cast in a region. The advantage of proportional representation is that it would enable the voice of minorities, regional parties, and order significant segments of the public, to be heard in Parliament, and thus allay the feelings of frustration and discontent among them.

Proportional representation in the Lok Sabha is permissible under Article 81 of the Constitution which only requires “direct election.” Therefore, the desired change can be accomplished by amending the Representation of the People Act.

Thirdly, some minimum qualifications should be prescribed for those who seek election to Parliament. This, again, can be done without amending the Constitution. Article 84 already provides that the qualifications for a person who seeks to stand for election to the Lok Sabha are — he must be a citizen of India; he must be 25 years old; and he must possess such qualification as Parliament may, by law, prescribe. The first qualification is usually an accident of birth; and the second is inevitably the result of the inexorable passage of time. Up to now Parliament has prescribed only disqualifications. I would advocate some positive qualification for aspirants to a parliamentary career.

Fourthly, a salutary change can be made in our constitutional law, without amending the Constitution itself, to reduce to a minimum the detestable exhibitions of the toppling game which has been a craze among our frolicsome politicians over the years. Legislative rules or other laws can be so amended as to provide that a vote of no-confidence against the government would be inoperative unless the legislature passing the vote of no-confidence chooses at the same time the leader who is to take the place of the prime minister or the chief minister. Such a system prevails in Germany where a vote of no confidence in the chancellor has to take the form of a resolution choosing another person as the chancellor.

‘It is not the Constitution which has failed the people, but our chosen representatives who have failed the Constitution’

Let us now deal with those changes which would require an amendment of the Constitution, but would not affect its basic structure.

First, Article 75 requires that a minister at the Centre should be, or become within six months, a member of Parliament. An amendment should provide that while the existing provision would apply to the majority of ministers, a minority of ministers may be selected by the prime minister from outside Parliament at any time. Even the ministers who are not members of Parliament would have the right to address, and would be responsible to Parliament. Thus the principle of collective responsibility of the Cabinet to the legislature would not be impaired.

In Japan, for example, which has a democratic constitution on the Westminster model as we have, the majority of the ministers are selected from the Diet, but it is open to the prime minister to select a minority of the ministers from outside. The advantage of such a system is that it enables the prime minister to have in his Cabinet some of the best talent available in the country.

There is a second reform which can be adopted in the alternative, or in addition, to the one referred to above. When an MP is nominated to the Cabinet, he should be required to resign his seat in Parliament. There are several advantages in having such a law. The minister would then be able to concentrate on the task of governing the country, and his energies would not be dissipated in politicking and in discharging his time-consuming duties as an MP.

In France a person has to resign from the legislature upon his appointment to the cabinet, and this system has worked extremely well in that country. It is true that in France the presidential system prevails. But this particular feature is equally compatible with the Westminster model, because it does not derogate from the principle of the responsibility of the Council of Ministers to Parliament.

The third suggestion would be to alter Article 75 to provide that every one of the 26 states of India should be entitled to send two representatives to the Lok Sabha who would not be elected on the basis of adult franchise, but would be elected by universities and professional bodies. A similar provision should be made to have one representative so elected from each major Union Territory. This way we would have about 52 MPs who would represent the professions and the faculties and would be able to improve the tone and standard of debate in Parliament. Conceivably, they may hold the balance of power among the warring political parties which are chronically engaged in contending for the plums of office.

There are four advantages in having the presidential system patterned on the liberal, democratic model:

First, it enables the President to have a cabinet of outstanding competence and integrity, since the choice is not restricted to Parliament. A wise President can substitute excellence for the deadwood which passes for government today.

Secondly, since Cabinet ministers are not elected, they are not motivated to adopt cheap populist measures which are so costly to the country in the long run. For instance, they would not resort to nationalisation which is the last refuge of inefficient administrators.

Thirdly, the presidential system permits Cabinet ministers to be absorbed in the job of governing the country, instead of wasting their time and potential in endless politicking.

Fourthly, it would stop defections and desertions on the part of legislators, which are in most cases motivated purely by thirst of power and hunger for office. In France, prior to 1959, and in Italy in recent years, governments lasted on an average less than a year, while in Belgium there were three governments in 1980. Such is the instability to which the Westminster model of parliamentary democracy lends itself.

If the people of India were ever to decide to have a presidential system, they will have to consider the various forms of the system which are in force in other free democracies. Having regard to the experience of those countries and our own peculiar needs, we will have to evolve a presidential model of government specially tailored to suit our own requirements. The crucial point is that any presidential system which we choose must be one which is in total conformity with the philosophy of freedom and liberalism underlying our Constitution: it must be one which will preserve and promote all the fundamental rights. In sum, it must be the very antithesis of an authoritarian state.

It is difficult to say, without a study in depth and without a full and detailed examination of the arguments put forward by the proponents and the opponents of the presidential system, whether India would be well advised to scrap the present Westminster model and switch be well advised to scrap the present Westminster model and switch over to the presidential system. No final and conclusive view can be expressed either way, without an exhaustive and dispassionate examination.

The country is facing political, economic and social problems of an unparalleled magnitude, which can never be resolved merely by substituting a presidential system for the Westminster model. Any number of examples can be cited of countries where the presidential system prevails but which still continue to have poverty and the type of problems which plague India today.

The presidential system is no substitute for national character. It does not afford any alternative to vision, knowledge and moral standards in political life. Besides, the whole nation is today in such turmoil that an intelligent and dispassionate discussion without rancour is impossible either within or outside Parliament. When your house is on fire, you do not pause to consider whether the living-room should be converted into a bedroom.

There are a number of changes in our constitutional law which need to be effected to root out corruption and to prevent further degradation of our political life. These are changes on which it would be far easier to get a national consensus than on the question of switching over to the presidential system and which deserve far greater priority than the question of the presidential system. A sense of priorities would dictate that consideration of the benefits of the presidential system can wait till the more urgently required reforms in our constitutional law are first carried out.

To my mind, the greatest danger facing India is that of disintegration. Unfortunately, there are strong tendencies among the states to go their own way and any tinkering with the Constitution would only bring about a disintegration of the country.

As regards a Uniform Civil Code, it is the ideal which India should enact. There can be equally no doubt that in trying to reach the ideal at this stage, the country runs a greater risk of being disintegrated.

First, the minorities like the Muslims would think that it is an attempt to make them subject to the rules and regulations which apply to Hindus.

Secondly, even among Hindus the same jurisprudence does not apply to the entire community because there are some who are governed by the Mitakshara school, and others who are governed by the Dayabhaga school. Clear proof of usage will outweigh the written text of the law.

Thirdly, even in one community you will not be able to have a Uniform Civil Code. How can you have such a Code for all the communities at one stroke?

It was impossible to have one or two states enact a Uniform Civil Code as was envisaged, some time earlier, to be done in Gujarat and Maharashtra. It would be very difficult to do so for the whole country.

Our dear friend and Head of ESG at VFS Global Shireen Mistree speaks about “Navigating the Evolution of ESG in Service Industries.” The session focused on the current ESG landscape, uncovering trends and regulatory developments shaping the sector’s trajectory. Conversations dealt with discovering practical strategies for integrating ESG frameworks into day-to-day operations, from supply chain management to fostering meaningful client relationships and nurturing a supportive employee culture.

Our dear friend and legendary automotive journalist, author and expert Adil Jal Darukhanawala put together the

The Art of The Motorcycle | India’s newest vintage motorcycle show

The inaugural edition of The Art of The Motorcycle vintage bike show took place in Pune and it was nothing short of incredible. Curated by our Edior-at-large Adil Jal Darukhanawala, The Old School Riders and Spats Garage, it saw 135 of the finest original, restored, and resto-modded two-wheeled works of art from around the country. Watch the video to have a look at those beauties!

The dismantling of the monument, built in the early 20th century by Parsi philanthropists, had created a furore in the Parsi-Zoroastrian community which uses the site for religious rituals associated with water.

Redressing worries about the delay in restoring the ‘Parsi Gate’ on Marine Drive which was dismantled for the Mumbai Coastal Road project, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that work has started on the sacred site.

The gate, which consisted of two elaborately carved five-meter-high stone columns, was removed in April 2021. The dismantling of the monument, built in the early 20th century by Parsi philanthropists, had created a furore in the Parsi-Zoroastrian community which uses the site for religious rituals associated with water.

Explaining the plans to rebuild the site, Vijay Zore, engineer in the Mumbai Coastal Road project, told the Free Press Journal that the new site will be 75 metres to the north (towards the Worli end of the Coastal Road) of the old location. The site was moved because the canopy built on the road would have obstructed views of the columns from across the road. The new site has been approved by members of the Parsi community, said Zore.

“We are now laying the steps, parapet, and the balustrade. Once that is completed, the columns will be installed,” said Zore. “We could have set up the columns now, but there is movement of machinery near the site. We are worried that the columns could get damaged during the shifting. So, we have kept the erection work to the last.”

The new site can be accessed by devotees by crossing a road signal that will be 50 metres away. The pillars are now stored below the Princess Street flyover. Worried about the delay, members of the Parsi community have been writing to the BMC for an update on the restoration. Activist Zoru Bathena wrote two letters to municipal officials in April to find out about the restoration but received no reply. “I have sent them several reminders. And each officer keeps forwarding it to another officer. But no reply yet,” said Bathena.

The columns themselves are not listed as heritage monuments, but the Marine Drive precinct is a protected area. The new site for the columns has received the approval of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), an independent body of conservation architects and other experts, whose nod is needed for the restoration and shifting of heritage-listed sites. Though the tentative date for the completion of the restoration is May 31, it may take more time, the BMC said.

The decision to dismantle the columns had spurred petitions against the plans. An online petition ‘Save the Parsi Gate’, on change.org in 2020 received nearly 7500 signatures. The site was also used by Hindus for religious rituals.

Though the BMC’s assurance that the columns will be restored soon has reassured the community, there are still questions. Farah Polad, who was among the group that started the campaign to get the site restored, said, “If it was not for citizens, the columns would have gone. We would still like to know if devotees will be able to step into the water as the rituals require offerings to the sea,” said Polad.

The MHCC said that the community should not be concerned about the new designs for the site. “The devotees are expected to go down into the water to place their offerings. The approved plans have taken into consideration all these requirements,” said architect Chetan Raikar, a member of MHCC.

Suggestion to shut down fire temple comes after former trustee of Bombay Parsi Punchayet wrote in community newspaper that community should sell off some of its 48 fire temples and use money from sales for charity.

Manoj Ramakrishnan | Free Press Journal

Fire Temple | Manoj Ramakrishnan

Mumbai: Suggestions to shift a 150-year-old holy fire from a fire temple in central Mumbai that has very few visitors and sell it off has incensed a section of Parsis. A Bombay High Court lawyer has sent a legal notice to the chairman of the community’s largest public trust after a newspaper associated with his family discussed the idea.

The Ervad Sorabji Hormusji Ranji Ranji fire temple on Pathe Bapurao Marg, also called Falkland Road, was used by the once-thriving Parsi community that lived in the area. Dinshaw Mehta, a former trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the community’s largest trust, suggested that the agiary, built in 1867, should be sold and the sale proceeds used for charity.

As holy fires cannot be extinguished, Mehta suggested that the fire should be shifted to another agiary. He said that the area once had at least six buildings with nearly a hundred Parsi families. “There are no Parsis in the area. People have migrated abroad, some have moved to the suburbs, others have died. The flats have been sold to members of other communities. There are no worshippers but as the fire has to be preserved, priests from the Cama Baug agiary come there five times a day to tend to the fire. There is no sense in maintaining the agiary when there are no Parsi worshippers,” said Mehta.

Mehta said the area where the agiary is located has become part of the city’s red-light district. “But we can optimise what we have and use the proceeds for the upkeep of other agiaries,” he said.

When fire temples are planned to be closed, the fire – which forms the centre of worship – is usually shifted to another shrine. These fires are consecrated after elaborate ceremonies and when shrines are closed, their fires are either shifted to other shrines or merged with the fire there. Mehta has suggested that the fire at the Ranji agiary should be shifted to the fire temple at Cama Baug, Girgaon. “I am positive that 90 per cent of the community will agree to the sale; it is only a small group that is protesting,” added Mehta.

However, the plan has angered other Parsis. Rayomand Zaiwalla, an advocate and activist, said that there was no need to shut down the fire temple. “There have been instances earlier where a fire temple in Abu Road (Rajasthan) was planned to be shut down because of lack of funds to maintain it. We created four shops that provided rent for the fire temple’s upkeep. Where there is a will, there is a way,” said Zaiwalla.

About claims that the agiary’s trustees have left a will stating that the holy fire should be shifted to another agiarry, Zaiwala said, “A trustee of a public trust has no power to will away through his will, a 150-year-old public trust agiary of which he is just a trustee since it is not his private property.”

Khushru Zaiwala, another Bombay High Court lawyer and Rayomand’s father has sent a legal notice to BPP chairman Viraf Mehta, son of Dinshaw Mehta. “To advocate the closing down of sacred fire temples, in proportion to rising or falling numbers of the community is not only ridiculous but an act of blasphemy. In no community in the world the sacred temples are advocated to be closed down in equal proportion to the rise or decrease in number of worshippers,” Zaiwala said in the notice.

“I hope and trust that the BPP Chairman will not use its publication for promoting the liquidation of our holy agiaries,” the notice said.

The suggestion to shut down the fire temple comes after Mehta wrote in the community newspaper ‘Parsi Junction’ that the dwindling community should sell off some of its 48 fire temples in Mumbai and use the money from the sales for charity. Mehta had said that the Parsi population in the city has declined by 60% from its peak of nearly one lakh a century ago and the community did not need so many fire temples. 

Our dear friend Nairika Cornett speaks about the The Transformative Power of Art: Appreciating Art’s Range of Impact on a podcast with Phil Bonelli.

If art were our mental diet, we’d be very healthy people. – Nairika Cornett

Nairika Cornett, Director of the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, joins host Phil Bonelli as our special guest on this segment of North Georgia Business Radio. She is a true advocate for the transformative power of art in education. Nairika emphasizes the role of early exposure to art in developing children’s problem-solving abilities, creativity, and memorization skills.

She and Phil also talk about the detrimental effects of removing the creative portion from education, highlighting the potential impact on teens’ mental well-being. Nairika’s passion for integrating the arts into education offers a compelling perspective on the critical role of art in shaping young minds and fostering well-rounded individuals.

Nairika also discusses how visual arts can create social change and foster community engagement, how art can be a unique and rewarding financial investment strategy, the role the Arts and Education play in India, and how cultural influences shape artistic interpretation.

If you’re an art lover, get excited! Did you know that The Quinlan offers an annual family membership (2 adults / 4 kids) for only $100 a year?

Membership includes invitations to all exhibition receptions, discounts on classes and camps, membership in the North American Reciprocal Museum Association (over 1100 participating institutions), and so much more.

Connect With Nairika and The Quinlan Visual Arts Center:

https://www.quinlanartscenter.org/

https://twitter.com/TheQuinlanArts

https://www.facebook.com/QVAC.org

https://www.instagram.com/thequinlan/

The ASHA Centre is a magical place in the Forest of Dean in the United Kingdom. Founded by our dearest friend and mentor Zerbanoo Gifford it is an oasis of calm and beauty espoused on Zoroastrian principles.

The ASHA Centre, a sanctuary for Zoroastrians in the Forest of Dean, needs your support. Post Brexit threaten its future. Please help us save it. Every little donation helps.

Asha is the force of creation, life and hope. Some prayers are recited through action – please lend your voice to this chorus and save your home.

Dear Friends,

Nestled in the same Forest of Dean that inspired J. R. R. Tolkien to write the Lord of the Rings, The ASHA Centre has achieved the miraculous feat of becoming a sanctuary for Zoroastrians (Parsees and Iranians) globally, where dreams flourish, connections deepen, and lives transform. For years, ASHA has cultivated an environment where our young people can explore the most important issues of our age – achieving inspiration and connection to Zoroastrianism, generating interfaith dialogues for harmony, justice and peace, and learning to cultivate biodynamically to live in sustainable balance with our Earth.

Diasporic people lose many things with the passage of time. They lose the places their ancestors called home, they lose the people that inhabited those places, and if they are not careful, they lose their rich and vibrant communities. Homes away from home where all are welcome – safe harbours in a turbulent and uncertain world. The ASHA Centre is, has been, and with your support, will continue to be, that safe harbour and hub for Zoroastrianism from which a stronger global community can flourish. It is your home.

Today, we are reaching out with a heartfelt plea. ASHA is navigating a new chapter in its story in the UK, a post-Brexit chapter defined by austerity and economic headwinds. To continue our mission and keep this haven, we urgently need to raise funds to allow the ASHA Centre to adapt and continue its vital work. Without this support, the essence of Asha, which has touched so many lives, is in jeopardy.

The Asha Centre is not just a place—it’s a lifeline, a home where countless individuals have found solace, growth, and a sense of belonging. Your donation, no matter the amount, will help us maintain this beautiful space, support our passionate staff, and provide transformative experiences to those who need them most.

Imagine the young person who finds their voice through our arts programs, the community member who discovers new perspectives through our interfaith initiatives, or the individual who learns to live sustainably, inspired by our environmental education. Your generosity can make these stories continue.

We invite you to join us in safeguarding the Asha Centre. Together, we can ensure that this unique and magical place remains a source of inspiration and transformation for future generations.

With all our hearts, we thank you.

The Asha Centre Team

Why Your Support Matters:

1. Life-Changing Education: Your donation supports educational programs that nurture sustainability, the arts, and interfaith understanding.

2. A Community Haven: Asha is a sanctuary where deep connections and personal growth are fostered. Your support helps keep this space open and welcoming.

3. Investing in the Future: By contributing, you’re supporting future leaders and changemakers who will benefit from Asha’s unique environment and opportunities.

Help us keep the magic of the Asha Centre alive. Please donate today and be a part of our journey.

For charitable donations in the UK donate on justgiving.com portal

For charitable donations in USA

Donate on the FEZANA Donation Portal and select “ASHA Centre WZYLF” in the Fund Category.

Paulina Niechciał a respected Zoroastrian scholar and researcher attended the 12th World Zoroastrian Congress in New York in 2022, as also the 11th World Zoroastrian Congress in Perth in 2018.

Nearly two years after the 12WZC 2022 in NYC, she has published a paper titled

Eventisation of religion: the 12th World Zoroastrian Congress in New York City as an identity-oriented event

Author: Paulina Niechciał

Published by Centre for Comparative Studies of Civilisations, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

ABSTRACT

Interested in the modern transformation of religious events, I discussed the 12th
World Zoroastrian Congress, held in New York City in 2022, as a social construct.
The Congress is the most important Zoroastrian community festival, held every
four or five years since 1960 and perceived as a platform to strengthen the
sense of belonging and interact with co-religionists from all over the world.

Based on a qualitative methodology, I analysed it as a transnational gathering that oriented attendees to a specific vision of the cultural program and
Zoroastrian collective identity – multifaceted, constantly negotiated and transformed,

referring to universalistic values, emphasising equality and inclusivity,
and challenging essentialised identities that were popular among previous
generations. I demonstrated how the event promoted the identity characteristics

of modern religious diasporic communities and was open to marginalised
or excluded groups such as women or people born outside traditional
Zoroastrian families.

You can read the entire paper online here

or download a copy here

Per a FEZANA post:

Congrats to Michelle Mama on winning a Canadian Screen Award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television!

Michelle won an award for her work as an Executive Producer on the show Canada’s Drag Race, which won Best Reality/Competition Program or Series.

Michelle is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and factual producer/director. She won the Diversity Award at the 2022 World Zoroastrian Congress in NYC, which recognizes Zoroastrian leaders driving towards racial and gender inclusion, equity and diversity.

Executive producer Michelle Mama is quoted added that Canada has an “edge” in the Drag Race world with its unique comedy.

“There’s sort of an outsider kind of sitting on top of the elephant’s head, and influenced by the U.K., so we have our own sense of humour and I think when you put that into the Drag Race blender, it’s magic,” Mama highlighted.

TORONTO, ONTARIO – MAY 31: (L-R) Michelle Mama, Trevor Boris and Laura Michalchyshyn pose with the Best Reality/Competition Program or Series Award during the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards at CBC Broadcast Centre on May 31, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Jeremy Chan/Getty Images)

Lt Gen Minwalla’s leadership comes at a crucial time as the corps continues to fortify India’s defense capabilities on its eastern frontiers.

In a significant military leadership transition, Lt Gen Zubin Minwalla has taken command of the prestigious Trishakti Corps, replacing Lt Gen VPS Kaushik. The formal handover ceremony saw Lt Gen Minwalla honoring the corps’ fallen heroes at the War Memorial. His inaugural address emphasized a continued commitment to boosting the operational effectiveness of the corps.

Trishakti Corps, also designated as XXXIII Corps, is a vital element of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command based in Siliguri. This corps, established in 1960 by Lieutenant General Umrao Singh, was tasked with reducing the operational burden on the IV Corps. It traces its lineage back to the British Indian XXXIII Corps, which was initially formed in 1942 but disbanded three years later.

The corps boasts a rich history of valor and strategic importance, notably during the Indo-China war of 1962. During the conflict, it achieved a significant feat by capturing vital Chinese communication equipment, artifacts that are currently preserved at the Corps of Signals Museum in Jabalpur.

Today, the Trishakti Corps comprises three robust mountain divisions—the 17th in Gangtok, the 20th in Binnaguri, and the 27th in Kalimpong. It is also supported by key air capabilities, including an Indian Air Force air control unit, 3 TAC, and an Army Aviation Helicopter Squadron based in Sevoke, enhancing its operational readiness and strategic mobility.

Lt Gen Minwalla’s leadership comes at a crucial time as the corps continues to fortify India’s defense capabilities on its eastern frontiers. His experience and strategic insight are expected to herald a new era of operational excellence and readiness for the corps.

Filmmaker Kaevan Umrigar has a humorous take on Parsi surnames

Kaevan Umrigar | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Kaevan Umrigar is a Mumbai-based writer and documentary filmmaker. He is also a surname analyst i.e.; he researches Parsi surnames to trace their historical background including where their families came from, their great-grandparents, occupations and so on. He regularly gives presentations and talks at various community gatherings in Mumbai and Pune. Presently, Kaevan is in Hyderabad to talk on ‘Quirky Chronicles of Parsi Surnames’, at the invitation of the Parsi community, at the Sports Complex of the Zoroastrian Club, Secunderabad on June 9.

Kaevan had always been fascinated with surnames. He says, “Not just Parsi surnames. I was fascinated by the idea of surnames. Usually, people ask what is the meaning of one’s name. I would quietly wonder what that person’s surname meant.”

He turned his fascination into a personal research project and quietly learnt about the interesting facts about one’s surnames. “Surnames provide a lot of insight into community history. It tells us about our forefathers, heritage and whatnot. It also helps us identify where we migrated from. For example, it tells us about its social structure, network and occupation, “”

Surname talk and the crowd with Kaevan

Kaevan may have a light-hearted take on surnames, but he doesn’t make jokes about any surname. “If one wants they can take it on the right stride and laugh about it. Making jokes with surnames is however not the idea. My project turned into a subject of a talk for students during COVID-19. To my surprise, several people approached me to get a little history of their surnames. That gave me the scope to learn beyond Parsi surnames,” says Kaevan.

Youth from the ancient faith campaigned to fund an interfaith center in England to promote the goals of inclusivity and interorganizational communication.

World Zoroastrian Youth Leaders Forum youth leader Fravash Chothia after the Jashan, or blessing, prayer ceremony, which was livestreamed to the broader Zoroastrian public on May 26, 2024, in Gloucestershire, England. (Photo by Dina Katgara)

June 11, 2024

Article By Dina Katgara | Religion News Service

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, England (RNS) — At the beginning of June, 29 youth leaders from the global Zoroastrian religious community wrapped up 10 days of convening at the Asha Centre, an interfaith retreat outside of Oxford, for the second World Zoroastrian Youth Leaders Forum.

“This is an opportunity for me to bring members of my community to this paradise,” said Sanaya Master, who founded WZYLF in 2018. “Every person that comes to Asha is affected quite deeply, and spiritually, it helps them sort of reconnect with their innate self.”

From May 24 to June 2, youth leaders from countries such as India, Canada, England, the United States, Iran and the United Arab Emirates collaborated to identify three main goals: empower youth mobeds, or priests; establish a new organization to streamline youth initiatives globally; and support the Asha Centre’s continuity as a hub for Zoroastrians.

The Asha Centre was founded in 1996 by Zoroastrian leader and human rights activist Zerbanoo Gifford. Its origins and history exposed interfaith youth groups to the teachings of Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic religion — it originated in Persia about 4,000 years ago — and its maxim: “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”

Piran Tarapore, far left, sits next to Zerbanoo Gifford in the sharing circle on May 27, 2024, at the Asha Centre in Gloucestershire, England. Behind the group is one of their initiatives to fundraise to save the Asha Centre. Each youth leader volunteered to share a talent for a raffle. (Photo by Dina Katgara)

“I can’t think of a better place on earth,” said lawyer Shazneen Munshi, who just completed her 14th visit to the center. However, it could also be her last. Britain’s departure from the European Union in 2020 stripped the center of its funding. The Asha Centre used to be the main provider in England for the European Union’s educational Erasmus plus program. Now, the youth are fundraising to solidify the center as a Zoroastrian home base to improve and connect the community globally.

Munshi, who works in parliamentary policy in London, teaches Zoroastrian religious education classes to children and at 36 is the youngest member on the board of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe. Like other young Zoroastrian leaders, she often struggles with feeling unheard or overlooked but is excited to see more young people stepping up.

“I don’t think there’s anything else in life that fills me with so much passion and joy,” Munshi said. “We’re quite a small community and I feel this kind of responsibility to do everything I can to make it better for everyone and keep our faith going.”

While some WZYLF participants such as Munshi are steeped in the community, others, like Piran Tarapore from Mumbai, India, are dipping their toes back into the religion after years away. On the third day of the forum, Tarapore, sitting in the group sharing circle, detailed his struggles growing up queer in India. After the session, each youth leader engulfed him in a heartfelt hug.

“Once I had that reassurance from my friends and family, I didn’t really care about the community,” Tarapore, 26, said. “When each one hugged me one by one, it made me feel like I’ve found my community within the community.”

After he came out in his early teen years, Tarapore felt ostracized by his baug, or a colony of apartments for Zoroastrians. When he started a communication business called Savoir, now Point Of, in 2021, Tarapore was pleasantly surprised to find that many of his main supporters were Zoroastrians. Only after separating his emotions about the Zoroastrians he grew up around from the religion itself did Tarapore decide to apply for the WZYLF.

“After this experience, I’m looking at the community through a different lens,” Tarapore said. “I like seeing the youths’ drive and motivation to make change.”

There are many internal debates within the Zoroastrian religion, including about intermarriage, women as mobeds and same-sex marriage. The youth group did not debate these issues specifically but rather championed freedom of personal opinion through the Zoroastrian idea of Vohu Manah, or “the good mind” in Avestan, the scriptural language of the faith. Munshi said everyone has a choice between good and bad and the freedom to think critically.

“As long as you use your mind and decide what is right or wrong for you, that’s fine,” Munshi said. “And everyone should respect that.”

On the forum’s final day, the youth group stood at the front of the Peace Pavilion to present its conclusions to established Zoroastrian leaders from the World Zoroastrian Organization, the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe, the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America and other organizations.

Kimiya Shahzadi, 29, is training to be a mobedyar, or priest assistant, under the Iranian Mobed Council and wants to unite young mobeds globally through education initiatives and open lines of communication.

Kimiya Shahzadi in Gloucestershire, England. (Photo by Dina Katgara)

Shahzadi, along with three young Zoroastrian mobeds, led the room of the ancient religion’s established leaders in an opening prayer. The hum of the ancient Avestan prayers mellowed some pre-presentation tensions.

The group went into detail about plans for a new connected youth group and plans of action to achieve their goals. Shahzadi said that these innovative ideas for inserting youth voices into leadership and championing inclusive mobedyars would not have been possible without the Asha Centre.

“I don’t want to lose this place,” Shahzadi said. “I want everyone to see it. I want to have kids to see it and my grandkids see it.”

The group presented the online donation portal and announced that it had already personally raised over 8,000 pounds (more than $10,000) so far.

After fielding questions, the group led a standing ovation for Gifford and her creation of the Asha Centre in a shared hope that it will continue to be the home base for the next generation of Zoroastrian leaders to advance the community into the future.

Parsi Vegetarian and Temperance Society celebrates movement founded in 1911 to promote vegetarianism and temperance.

Article by Manoj Ramakrishnan | Free Press Journal

Mumbai: In Bahman Month, Parsis Celebrate Vegetarianism | FPJ

It is onerous to think of Parsi cuisine without the fish, eggs and meat. Even dishes where the star ingredient is a vegetable, the egg is an essential component. Think of ‘papeta par eedu’ or egg scrambled on potatoes. Retain the eggs and replace the potatoes with tomato, ladies’ fingers, ridge gourd, raw bananas, and you have variations of Parsi ‘vegetarian’ dishes.

There have been attempts, largely unsuccessful it might seem, to turn the community vegetarian. In 1911, the Masani brothers, from a priestly family, founded the Parsi Vegetarian and Temperance Society. On Wednesday, more than 750 Parsis attended the society’s annual celebrations at Cama Baug, Khetwadi. A talk on vegetarianism and a jashan, or a thanksgiving ceremony, were part of the programme. The evening’s highlight, needless to say, was a vegetarian dinner.

The day was the second in the Zoroastrian month of Bahman, when the faithful are asked to subsist on vegetarian food. The tradition is compared to the Hindu month of Shravan or the Christian season of Lent, which are spent in prayers and abstinence.

Moderation in diet and abstinence from alcohol are the main messages from the society. Mehli Shroff, a member, said that the group was founded in 1911. “The aim was to make all Parsis vegetarian,” said Shroff.

Nariman Mody, a trustee, said that the Masanis created the group after concerns that too many Parsis were addicted to alcohol. “It was embarrassing to find inebriated Parsis sprawled out on footpaths. The community wanted this to be curbed,” said Mody. “We believe that people should take vegetarian food as far as possible and observe temperance in consumption of liquor.”

The menu on Wednesday evening included vegetable dhansak, a version of the flagship dish of Parsi cuisine, mutton dhansak, which is a medley of meat, pureed dal, and rice. There was also a vegetable stew, apart from potatoes, rice, and sweet.

Dr Kurush Dalal, archaeologist and culinary anthropologist, said that Parsi cuisine has a wide range of vegetarian dishes. He blamed restaurants and ‘South Mumbai Parsis’ for popularising the story that the community’s food consists of only meat, fish and eggs. “Parsi restaurants do not want to cater to vegetarians and Parsis in South Mumbai have become carnivorous,” said Dalal.

According to Dalal, eggs are added to leftover vegetables to make them more palatable. “Parsis do eat a lot of vegetables like okra (lady finger), brinjal, and dals like chana and masur. It is just that most meat dishes are cooked with vegetables. Dhansak is rice, dal and vegetables cooked with meat. It is like Italian food where meat is cooked with a lot of vegetables,” said Dalal.

The dietary traditions of Bahman month are related to the ancient wisdom of maintaining balance in nature. Fishing, hunting and poultry is banned to allow nature to heal and restore itself.

According to Dalal, contrary to perceptions, a large number of Parsis eat vegetarian food in the month dedicated to the angel Bahman. “On one day of this, I think that at least 50 % of the community eat vegetarian food.”

Parsi vegetarian dishes

Bhaji dana: A mix of four leaf vegetables: Spinach, fenugreek leaves, amaranth, and dill.

Raviya: Stuffed brinjal in gravy

Lagan nu Stew: Cubed vegetables like potatoes, yam, sweet potatoes, carrot cooked in tomato sauce

Dhansak: Pureed vegetables and dal served with rice

Parsi dahi kadis: Yogurt curry similar to Gujarati kadhi but thicker

The 100-year-old tradition in the Parsi community of indulging Varundev for good rains is still intact today. In it, the youth of the Parsi community go from house to house and collect ghee and rice and make khichdi in groups.

Zarine Mistry, a resident of Sterling Road, shares insights into the Parsi community in Chennai, highlighting Anjuman Baug’s significance. Additionally, the article mentions Delkhush Delicacies, operated by Mahiyar and Zavera Shroff, known for their popular Parsi dishes like Parsi pulao.

Article by Debasmita Ghosh | TNN

CHENNAI: Now a Sterling Road resident, Zarine Mistry was born in a humble cottage at the Parsi Anjuman Baug 12 km away and grew up in the Gulmohar-lined bustling avenues of Royapuram. “My dad came to Chennai from Lahore in 1934 as a professor of anatomy at Madras Medical College. As kids, we walked to the beach and sat on the cement stands. Then the Jawahar Port was developed, and everything changed,” says Mistry, a former secretary of the Madras Parsi Association and Parsi history expert.The 70-year-old looks forward to revisiting her childhood bylanes to celebrate the 114th anniversary of Chennai’s Fire Temple, Jal Phiroj Clubwala Dar-e-Mehr, next month.

The Parsi community in Chennai is small, with only 170 to 200 members. Still, they are spread across the city, including Harrington Road, Sterling Road, Spurtank Road, Anna Nagar, T Nagar, and their main hub, Royapuram. Despite their small numbers, they have made their presence felt with their unique cultural identity, leaving an indelible mark on the cityscape.

The earliest Parsi settlers in Chennai came from Coorg, seeking refuge during Tipu Sultan’s attempts to annex the region. Around 1795, a group of Parsis arrived in Chennai holding a portrait of the Raja of Coorg, Lingaraja (who had supported them), presenting it to the governor of Fort St. George (it is in the Fort Museum now), marking the community’s beginnings in the city. They acquired land in Royapuram and established Anjuman Baug.

The 72,000sqft baug (meaning garden), lined with mango trees and peepal trees, stretches from West Mada Street to Arathoon Road. From West Mada Street, you see small buildings, the grand red heritage bungalow, and the original dharmshala. Next to it is the Banglee, where prayers for the departed are held before moving them to the cemetery. The newly-renovated, pink dharmshala with air-conditioned rooms is on the right, and in the backyard is the kitchen and home of Chennai’s only Parsi caterers, Mahiyar and Zavera Shroff.

“The cemetery has two sections: an older one and a newer one,” says Tehnaz Bahadurji, a businesswoman. “We were using the newer section, but it became full. We had to clear old graves in the older section to create a wall of remembrance. Now, we’re using the older section again.”

The two-story red heritage Dharmshala, with elements of old Madras architecture, was gifted by the Phiroj Clubwala family in 1908, making it older than the Fire Temple. Several members of the community live here.

Mistry and Tehnaz agree that while they restore some properties for Parsi families moving into the city, renovating the old Dharmshala is a massive task. “A mere whitewashing won’t suffice. Restoring it could cost crores of rupees,” says Mistry. “We have several properties around, but maintaining them is challenging.”

A few metres from Anjuman Baug is the famous Parsi Club with two banquet halls where the community gathers monthly and on festive days. “It was an old colonial building called Greenfields, with a patio and verandahs,” says Mistry. “Restoring it was difficult and funds were scarce, so we built a modern structure. Now we have the Phiroj Clubwala Memorial Hall and the Pavilion, the city’s first indoor badminton court. We converted it into a dining hall and rented it out for marriages to generate income.”

“When we celebrated the Fire Temple’s 100th year 14 years ago, we got donations to aircondition the hall. Many Muslims in the area rent our halls for marriages, believing they bring good luck. Women used to sit in the non-airconditioned badminton hall, so we collected money and refurbished it with donations and our funds,” says Tehnaz.

With every passing the demographic landscape of Parsis residing in Chennai has seen a gradual decline. There’s almost a near absence of youngsters, says Darius Bahadurji, president of the Madras Parsi Zarthosti Anjuman. “Almost 75% of us are above 50. Among our close group of friends, nobody’s child is here.”

But still, there is a strong sense of solidarity, says Tehnaz. “Being a small community, we look after our own.”

Cooking up a dhansak storm

Fancy some akuri or lip-smacking ravo sev? A catering house in North Chennai has been quietly rustling up these traditional Parsi dishes of scrambled eggs, semolina pudding, and more for a quarter of a century from its premises at Parsi Anjuman Baug.

Delkhush Delicacies, run by Mahiyar and Zavera Shroff, opened doors in 1998, serving not just Parsi food but biriyani too.
“We knew biryani was popular in Chennai. There was demand for Parsi cuisine among our community of 200 people, but we had to balance our business with something we knew would sell,” says Zavera.

It all began when Mahiyar moved to Chennai from Nagpur in 1986 for a sales job at Tata’s Empress Mills. That year, he married Chennai-born Zavera. A few months later, the mill shut down. “We started a textile business but it failed,” says Mahiyar, leading the couple to switch to catering. They started by catering birthday parties, but today, Delkhush Delicacies is a go-to for Navroz, weddings, and club parties.

Parsi pulao is our best-seller, say the couple, now in their 60s. “We follow Bhicoo Manekshaw’s recipe, India’s first Cordon Bleu-trained chef (incidentally, Indira Gandhi loved her food).” Other favourites include sali chicken, sweet and sour fish patia, and dhansak, which is mutton cooked in a mix of dals with dhansak masala and sambhar powder.

Their turnover has crossed ₹1.25 crore. “Our business grew through word of mouth,” says Mahiyar. “We just focus on the food.”