As Parsi Times marks the completion of 15 remarkable years, a milestone we celebrate as our Crystal Anniversary, we find ourselves reflecting not only on the journey but on the extraordinary goodwill that has accompanied it. Over the years, the paper has grown alongside the community it serves, and in doing so, has earned the trust and regard of some of its most respected voices.

We are deeply grateful for the generous words shared by these esteemed members of the Parsi community. Their encouragement inspires us to continue striving for excellence, while their appreciation reinforces the responsibility we carry each week. At the same time, we are both humbled and overwhelmed to be held in such high regard by individuals who themselves have contributed so significantly to our community’s legacy.

It is with immense pride and gratitude that we present a selection of these heartfelt vouches, each one a reflection of the bond we share with our readers.

“Congratulations Parsi Times on your 15-year anniversary! Over the years, Parsi Times has established itself as so much more than a weekly read – it is a familiar and trusted voice within the community. Its ability to balance authenticity with engagement, always staying rooted while evolving with the times is appreciated. It captures the spirit of the Parsi community with warmth and honesty. In an age of fleeting content, Parsi Times continues to hold attention and trust, which is no small achievement. Here’s wishing the team continued success as it moves forward with the same passion and purpose.”

– Boman Irani

“My Heartfelt Congratulations on your 15^th anniversary, Parsi Times! Thank you for keeping us so meticulously updated and informed with your interesting articles which capture our community’s important and impactful events, our inspiring leaders, and the joyful celebrations across the world! I always look forward to learning a little more about our religion through Parsi Times – there’s not just scholarly religious knowledge but also a profound spiritual understanding of the significance and meanings of our prayers, practices and rituals as we all strive for a healthier, happier and more purposeful life. Thank you for sharing such nuggets of wisdom each week! It’s also wonderful to see PT always championing our Zoroastrian youth. There’s a great sense of belonging and pride to see them recognized and celebrated for their outstanding talents and excellence across various fields. Thank you Parsi Times for being the thread that unites us as a community! Best wishes always for greater successes!”

– Dr. Rati Godrej

“Parsi Times has, over the past 15 years, played a consistently solid innings for the community. Week after week, it has shown the temperament of a seasoned player, balancing responsibility with flair, and always keeping its eye on the ball. In a game where staying relevant is as important as scoring runs, Parsi Times has built a dependable partnership with the community, anchored in trust and credibility.

What stands out is its ability to read the field well, adapting to changing times while staying true to its core values. Whether it is highlighting achievements, addressing concerns, promoting causes or celebrating community spirit, it has delivered with discipline and intent.

Like any good team, its strength lies in its connect – across the nation and overseas – having formed strong partnerships with the community, advertisers and contributors. Here’s wishing Parsi Times many more years of solid knocks, big hits and continued dominance on the community scoreboard.”

– Diana Edulji

The Name is Bonds – Licensed to Save

Congratulations, dear Anahita and your valiant team at Parsi Times for the great job you’ve been doing for 15 years. It can’t have been an easy ride, collecting content and the equally crucial finances. But it’s all the more important for a community like ours, which is both small and scattered. These two reasons reflect both – the need and the difficulties. If I may add a third: our congenital contentiousness. I sometimes fear that not dwindling numbers, but multiplying schisms will drive us towards extinction. You have managed to keep a balanced head through the controversies – genuine and unnecessary.

I’ll take the liberty of sharing my personal experience on the value of community, and the corresponding importance of its dedicated papers. There’s no glue like community glue. It flows from heart not head. It’s far older than patriotism, which is an intellectual, almost artificial construct, one you are free to reject as and when. Not so the emotional adhesive of qaum, which stretches back through millennia.

I should know. For almost 70 years, our family paper, Navroz, was Kolkata’s only Anglo-Gujarati paper. It was started by my idealist grandfather in 1917. Against unimaginable odds. Starting with training callow Bihari migrant youth in typesetting (by hand!) as well as a working knowledge of the language. Of course, the little lead ‘types’ had to be ‘imported’ from Bombay. In all those years, it never missed a single week of publication, getting cyclostyled and hand-distributed through riot-fire and flood, printer’s strike, why, even WW2.

That’s because Eduljee Kanga had a mission, carried forward by his dutiful son, Navel, and his wife Jaloo, who made it her ‘karmabhoomi’, continuing to run the Navroz single-handed – and almost blind towards the end – for eight years after my Dad’s death. Their unflinching mission was to mirror and guide the diverse Gujarati-speaking peoples of eastern India: the mosaic of Hindu communities, Bohras, Khojas and of course the minuscule Parsis. In fact, they were the ‘Anglo’ part of the hyphenation – having mostly lost touch with their mother tongue in that faraway outpost, the 4 pages in English were for them.

I should know more deeply because home and office (plus printing press) were all on the same one-storied premises. So, I was aware of the importance they attached to serving their communities every waking hour. Maybe even as I slept lulled by the throb of machines below. This is why, when I went to work myself – alas not to continue that family tradition but in Bombay – I carried that old torch.

So, my dear friends, keep the Parsi Times flag flying. Your task has become all the more crucial in the vacuum left by Jehangir Patel’s older Parsiana. All the best!

– Bachi Karkaria

“Parsi Times has performed a most engaging run on the community stage, in these fifteen years. Week after week, it rises on cue, never missing its entrance and delivers with the ease of a seasoned actor who knows his audience well! For so many of us in Surat, it’s a Saturday ritual we look forward to!

What I particularly enjoy is its ability to balance drama with depth, humour with thought, and news with nuance. It has managed to keep the script alive while staying true to its role as a responsible narrator of community life. PT’s success lies in the collective strength of its writers, contributors and readers, whose continued engagement reflects the value they place on its credible reporting, thoughtful perspectives and strong connect with the community, further sustaining its relevance and growth.

Here’s wishing Parsi Times many more standing ovations, full houses and a long, successful run on this ever-evolving stage!”

– Padma Shri Yazdi Karanjia

Celebrating 15 Years of Connecting the Community

“As we mark the 15^th anniversary of Parsi Times, one feels gratitude for all that it has come to represent. Over the years, this publication has grown to be respected as the voice of our community, bringing to light the many events, achievements, concerns and celebrations that define us. From cultural gatherings and social initiatives to milestones and memories, it has ensured that no important moment goes unnoticed.

In an age where information is abundant yet often impersonal, Parsi Times has preserved our sense of belonging to our community. Cheers to the editors, contributors and all those who have worked behind the scenes to make it a household name.

May the Parsi Times continue to carry forward the spirit of community for many more years to come. Warm congratulations on this remarkable milestone!”

– Anahita Yazdi Desai

“When Kersi Randeria first mentioned he wanted to start a weekly publication on the Parsis, I thought it would be a tough grind. But Kersi went ahead with his usual vigor and determination. Fifteen years later, Parsi Times is now celebrating a landmark anniversary. Few Parsi journals in contemporary times mark so many years of unbroken publication. Mere survival is itself a matter of accomplishment. But Parsi Times has established itself as an integral part of the community. Our congratulations to all who made this landmark occasion possible.”

– Jehangir Patel

“Parsi Times completes 15 years of dedicated service to Zoroastrian Community worldwide bringing news and articles of interest, which keeps the community connected. Wishing Parsi Times all the very best for the future. May you continue to stay truthful, stay connected always, with Ahura Mazda’s blessings!”

– Capt. Percy Master

“I take this opportunity to congratulate Parsi Times, and its entire team on completing 15 years as one of the leading weekly publications of our community. At this juncture it will be appropriate to write a few words about the efficacy and importance of the Fourth Estate.

Many may not know how the Press came to be called The Fourth Estate… In May 1789, Louis XVI summoned to Versailles, a full meeting of the ‘Estates General’. The First Estate consisted of three hundred nobles; the Second Estate consisted of three hundred clergy; and the Third Estate consisted of six hundred commoners. Some years later, after the French Revolution, Edmund Burke, the Irish philosopher and statesman, looking up at the Press Gallery of the House of Commons said, “Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than them all.” Wherever and whenever freedom has been imperilled, or injustice and abuse of the law have reared their ugly heads, the Fourth Estate has played a stellar role in restoring sanctity and the rule of sanity.

As a community, we Zoroastrians may be minuscule in number, but we certainly have been massive in achievements. Our past successes in various spheres of human endeavour have probably transformed us into being intelligent enough to analyse issues and form opinions. Ironically, it remains another issue altogether if we are intelligent enough to learn to respect and try to understand the opinions of others who have diverse views. The abundance of intellectual wealth in the community, is probably the reason why discussions often turn into debate, debate into differences, differences into dissent.

It is during such contentious times that the real worth and value of a publication is realized. When a community is faced with sensitivities, the Fourth Estate plays a key role – displaying either maturity or the lack of it. The Fourth Estate has to be balanced in reporting the truth, immaterial of the brickbats they may have to endure.

The future belongs to those who fuse intelligence with faith and who, with courage and determination march forward from chance to choice, from blind compliance to creative development, and I can see such qualities in the Editor of Parsi Times and its Editorial Team. Having been a subscriber of Parsi Times over the last 15 years, I have observed that they have gone about their role as a responsible publication, independently, judiciously, confidently and maturity.

My very best wishes that they may continue in the same vein as hitherto over the decades to come!”

– Mr. Dinshaw K. Tamboli

“As someone who works at the intersection of Zoroastrian material heritage and research, I have watched Parsi Times make the stories reach the community in Toronto as readily as in Pune and Surat! But beyond amplification, the paper is trying to be a young keeper of continuity – threading the everyday with the ancient, the local with the diasporic. For a community that numbers fewer than two lakh worldwide, that thread is everything. Here’s to many more years of holding it firmly!”
– Tinaz Nooshian
Editor-writer, Host – Parsi Artistry Salon

Former Editor in Chief, Mid-day

 “I have truly enjoyed writing for PT thanks to the very creative editor who from time to time inspires me to research and write on varied contemporary issues. What amazes me is how many Parsis and even some non-Parsis read this weekly! Readers message me not just from various parts of India but even overseas (including the UK, USA, NZ, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Karachi) when they read about our wonderful Zoroastrian religion, history or culture.

It is really creditable that as a policy anyone anywhere in the world can download a clean PDF file of the entire newspaper totally free of charge from the PT website! The newspaper has an easy style and avoids being preachy or judgemental which goes down very well with our youth and international readers. It provides news and views, covers events, shares knowledge, writes about food and fun and all this with good clean humour which is a quintessential Zoroastrian fare.

I congratulate the owner, editor and her team for helping most of us start Saturday mornings so superbly!”

– Noshir Dadrawala

(use writer’s box pic)

 “Happy 15^th Birthday to Parsi Times. In the Hispanic world and in America, it is called Quinceañera. An important rite of passage, a time of celebrations. As is relevant to Parsi Times, which has tirelessly served the Zoroastrian community across all its divisions with thoughtful articles that speak of the wisdom of our faith as well as stories our community, keeping our Zoroastrian community in the UK as well as the worldwide Zoroastrian connected. It celebrates our ancient ways of life with our modern approach to being a global faith that impacts on all aspects of the world. It is where we learn about the wisdom of our prophet and the achievements of our people. Parsi Times also highlights how our people thrive the world over because of our many contributions in which are creative, big-hearted and fabulous, thus reinforcing a sense of community pride.”

–  Zerbanoo Gifford

 Hearty Congratulations PT on Your 15^th Anniversary!

Over the past decade and a half, Parsi Times has evolved into much more than just a news publication, it has become a vital thread that weaves our global Zarthosty community together. In an era where our diaspora is spread across every corner of the world, your weekly updates provide a consistent sense of “home” and belonging.

By championing our traditions while addressing contemporary issues, Parsi Times serves as a resonant voice that informs, inspires, and preserves our shared heritage. It is truly the heartbeat of our community, ensuring that whether we are in India or abroad, we remain a single, united family.

I am honored to have shared in this journey with you and look forward to many more years of your excellent contribution to our community.

– Er. Zarrir Bhandara

(Head Priest, Zoroastrian Association of California)

“I was indeed very happy to learn that Parsi Times completes 15 years of fruitful publication this month. I’ve been an avid reader of Parsi Times ever since its inception. As compared to other community publications, Parsi Times covers extensive news of events within the country and abroad, which is the reason why it is subscribed by a large number of community members. Even my interactions in Hyderabad with other community members reveals that Parsi Times is the favoured publication of the community.

Wishing you all the very best and may you continue to edit Parsi Times as efficiently, for many more years to come!”

– Kerfegar Antia

(Trustee, Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman of Secunderabad-Hyderabad,

Vice-Chairman & MD – The People’s Co-operative Credit Society Ltd., Hyderabad.)

“Praises and congratulations to Team Parsi Times and to our community’s favourite weekly which truly provides honest and balanced news and sticks to its policy of neutrality ever so elegantly. Our Navsari community have been regular subscribers ever since its inception and we look forward to it every Saturday, in both – its print as well as digital editions. To have achieved a solid international presence in a short span is remarkable. Even more commendable is the manner in which it has navigated the delicate balance between tradition and modern thought, within a micro-minority community, doing so with rare grace and sensitivity. Kudos Parsi Times!”

– Ruzbeh Umrigar

“Heartfelt congratulations to Parsi Times and its team on completing 15 super successful and remarkable years, a significant achievement in today’s fast-paced digital era. Parsi Times has gone beyond simply informing the community, bringing together Parsis across the world with its consistent and engaging coverage.

A few years ago, when we formed the Oceanic Zoroastrian WhatsApp group, Parsi Times graciously allowed us to share the weekly edition with our members. It has since become a cherished Saturday ritual across Australia and New Zealand, eagerly awaited each week. We remain especially grateful for the outstanding coverage and encouragement extended during the 11^th World Zoroastrian Congress in Perth. We wish Parsi Times continued success and many more years of excellence!”

Firoz Pestonji

Trustee – BAWAZ; President – ZAWA; & Chairperson for 11^th World Zoroastrian Congress

 “Heartfelt congratulations to you and the entire Parsi Times family on completing fifteen beautiful years of service to our global Parsi / Irani Zoroastrian community.

Parsi Times has graciously published several articles highlighting ZAPANJ, placing our small but devoted community onto the global stage. Through your platform, people across the world have come to know who we are, what we strive to do, and how our community continues to stay connected in the spirit of our Zoroastrian faith. You have helped bridge oceans and generations, reminding us that distance never diminishes belonging.

PT’s dedication, passion and unwavering commitment to sharing stories, preserving heritage, and nurturing connection reassure us that our community will continue to grow, evolve, and remain spiritually alive for generations to come. Parsi Times is not merely a publication – it is a living voice of our community, keeping our shared identity, history, and collective heart beating strongly across the world. May Parsi Times continue to inspire, unite and illuminate the Zoroastrian world for many decades ahead.

– Nazneen Irani
(President, ZAPANJ – Zoroastrian Assn. Of Pennysylvania and New Jersey)

“Heartiest congratulations to Parsi Times from Kiwiland on your Milestone Celebration! Aapru Parsi Times has truly bridged the gap between community members in India and all across the world with its excellent reach, sustaining a sense of belonging, continuity and heritage. PT is more than just news – it’s our Saturday ritual! For many of us in Kiwiland, it remains a vital link to our roots, our heritage and our people. With heartfelt gratitude, we wish it many more years of continued success and service.”

– Benifer Irani (New Zealand)