Tinaz Nooshian, Editor-in-Chief of Mumbai’s leading daily – Mid-Day and an esteemed Parsi arts and culture aficionado, spoke at the ‘Parsi Artistry Salon’, which celebrated China-Gujarat maritime trade’s influence on Zoroastrian artisanship, playing a pivotal role in forging the fortunes and destiny of the community.

The word salon is derived from the French word ‘salone’ meaning hall. In the yesteryears, a salon was ‘a gathering of notable people, a meeting for learning and enjoyment’. The Parsi Artistry Salon – the brainchild of Tinaz Nooshian, Editor-in-Chief of Mumbai’s leading news-daily – Mid-Day, known also for her passion and indepth knowledge of Parsi art and culture – certainly checked all the boxes!

Tinaz felt that there was an innate curiosity amongst many people about all things Parsi, especially since our community has sometimes been regarded ‘foreign’ or ‘eccentric’. Thus, was born the Parsi Artistry Salon which first debuted at the Crafts Circle in Matunga (Mumbai). Its great success and requests for more such enlightening gatherings led Tinaz to host another salon on 31^st August, 2024, with ZJM Exports| Sam Maneckshaw at their showroom, which in itself is an ode to old world charm and modern aesthetics.

Present were stalwarts including Tasneem Zakaria Mehta – art historian and curator of the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Firoza Punthaky Mistree, Co-editor with Pheroza Godrej, of A Zoroastrian Tapestry: Art, Religion And Culture, Meher Marfatia – author and journalist, including other esteemed guests. Everyone was treated to a welcome drink, which, aptly, in keeping with the theme, was raspberry soda!

Tinaz had everyone spellbound as she took us on a journey into the past, tracing the antecedents of the Parsis, their travails as they found a home and refuge in India and how they persevered to keep the faith and the holy fire alive, all those centuries ago. Incidentally, as Tinaz revealed, and what many Parsis may not know, is that, “the Farohar symbol originated in Egypt and was appropriated when Zoroastrianism became the imperial faith during the time of the Sassanian kings.” Trade has played a very crucial role in defining the destiny of the Parsis, in fact, even their flight to India from Iran was due to the fact that there were established trade routes between the two countries at that time.

Tinaz lauded the Parsi community as adaptable and astute, learning to make the most of opportunities presented to them, which led their establishments in Khambat, Navasri and Surat, in Gujarat. When the East India Company got royal permission from the Mughal King to set up a factory in Gujarat, the quick-minded Parsis presented themselves as go-betweens and translators. Another fun fact we learnt was that the surname ‘Dubash’ comes from the amalgamation of ‘do bhashi’ or a translator who spoke two languages. Of course, everyone knows how most Parsis surnames were derived from occupations, including the famous ‘Readymoney’!

With the East India Company came the opportunity for trade with the colonial powers and some Parsis took to ship building. Many family fortunes were made when cotton was traded with Canton in China for silver and tea. But at Tinaz pointed out, no enterprise is without risk, sharing how Mumbai’s first Baronet, Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, once survived an attack by a French warship. “He was taken prisoner and left at the Cape of Good Hope,” with nothing but the clothes on his back!

The rise of the merchant princes, their growing affinity for all things Western and the Europeans own liking for chinoiserie gave an impetus to the famed Chinese garas becoming popular amongst Parsis. These Chinese embroidery garas were made during the peak of the Indo-Chinese trade between 1830-65, post which they were embroidered in Surat, leading to the presence of Kutchi embroidery influences.

Tinaz shared gorgeous samples of hand-embroidered garas and kors, each an intricate masterpiece demonstrating impeccable craftsmanship. A generational embroider from Bengal labouring away over a frame, crafting a new gara, provided a better understanding about the painstaking and time-consuming work involved.

The garas were not the only things of beauty that emerged as a result of the trade with Canton. Tinaz shared vignettes of reverse glass paintings by Chinese artists, like the famous Lamqua, alongside prints of prominent Parsi portraits painted by George Chinnery. The beautiful Tanchoi silk, a Sino-Indian textile was pioneered by Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy who sponsored Surat’s Joshi brothers to study weaving with a Chinese master. The paradigms of Parsi artistry are also seen in the intricately woven torans, which were made from imported Murano beads and even in our ‘paghdis’, where lacquering techniques were again learnt from China.

Tinaz’s Parsi Artistry Salon certainly enlightened and entertained as we went through the warp and weft of the elements and circumstances that had crafted this unique community. From refugees to farmers, weavers, traders, philanthropists and nation builders, the Parsis did it all and in their own inimitable style.

Though, as any Parsi will tell you, no get together is complete without a good meal. The salon ended on a delectable note with a special Parsi menu curated by the Ratan Tata Institute. The guests also got to browse the collection of garas and kor sarees and exclusive jewellery designed and curated by ZJM Exports|Sam Maneckshaw. One can only look forward to more such salons where narratives lead to conversations, culminating, amongst other things, into a healthy, passionate dose of Parsi pride!