Dear Readers,
There are tsunamis, there are hurricanes, there are earthquakes… and then there’s our Parsi Mumma! She can cook up a feast, stir up a storm, and single-handedly run an emotional empire with a velan (rolling pin) in one hand and the Avesta in the other! Fiercely loving, unapologetically dramatic and deeply devoted, the Parsi mother ain’t just the heart of the household – she is the household!
A Parsi Mumma is a delightful paradox – she’ll threaten to never speak with you again for skipping Sunday lunch, and then chase you with an overflowing plate of mutton-curry-chawal an hour later! She’ll fight the world for you and then fight you for not wearing the sadra. She’ll lecture you on saving money while secretly slipping a couple grand in your pocket, with: “Pappa ne na kehto.” And when you get a promotion, she’ll congratulate you with, “Very good, dikra, but now find a nice Parsi spouse.”
She’s a rare breed indeed, comprising equal parts worrywart, dictator, therapist, food-dispenser and of course, unsolicited career (and everything else) advisor. She possesses a sixth sense stronger than your neighbour’s Wi-Fi… knowing when you’re lying or when you’ve eaten outside, and she can sniff out relationships before they’ve even begun!
Her style of parenting is as eclectic as our lagan-nu-patru – she can be loud and loving and praise you to the moon and yet at other times, be sinisterly silent, packing you off on that never-ending guilt-trip for not having taken her side in an argument with the house-help! She’ll spoil you rotten, shame you sweetly (“Even your cousin’s son is married, dikra!”) and feed you like the apocalypse is due by tea-time! And that is why Parsi mums don’t raise children – they raise legends… even if only to continue treating them like babies (Mahro Nallo or Mahri Nalli) at 43!
Yet, behind all the theatrics lies an ocean of pure devotion and a reservoir of quiet strength. A Parsi mother is the unshakable pillars of our tight-knit community. She keeps the old silver polished, the bequeathed chinaware sparkling and the family WhatsApp groups alive. She is the bearer of tradition, recipes and the emotional glue that binds us to our heritage. She remembers every marriage anniversary, every birthday, and every embarrassing childhood story which she recounts tirelessly on every family gathering!
On Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate and show our gratitude to our Mummas… for all the sleepless nights and the never-ending phone calls, for the prayers whispered at the Agiary, for those piping-hot meals served with love (and taju ghee)… For being our fiercest champions, our gentle healers, our comic relief and our moral compass – all rolled into one Superhero. A Parsi Mumma isn’t just the backbone of the family, she’s the soul.
Thank you, dear Parsi mothers, for your warmth, wisdom and never-ending patience. May you always be cherished, celebrated and showered with as much love as you’ve selflessly cradled us with, every single day. Happy Mother’s Day!
Have a lovely weekend!
– Anahita
- Echoes of Identity – Celebrating Our Traditions - 21 June2025
- Leave Behind A Legacy Of Clarity, Not Chaos - 14 June2025
- Log In to Legacy: Building Digital Bridges - 7 June2025
