One often hears Parsis say that they are proud to be Parsis. However, try asking the average Parsi in the street what it means to be a Zarathushtrian (a follower of Prophet Zarathushtra) and you are likely to draw a blank. At best, you are likely to hear the over-simplified and stereotyped message of, ‘Good […]
The ‘Model Tenancy Act 2019’ (MTA) has created a flutter among both landowners and tenants. There is even greater anxiety among trustees of trusts providing housing facilities to beneficiaries who are statutory tenants. MTA 2019 has not been finalized as yet and views/comments of the public and stakeholders as also the states and union territories […]
Would it be right to say that Comedy King Diniyar Contractor is no more? One could turn philosophical and say that he is no more in body on the stage of planet earth. But, even this would be incorrect, because the body of his work on stage and screen will continue to entertain and inspire […]
The Bhagarsath Anjuman of Navsari has elected seventy-four-year-old Ervad (now Dastur) Kaikhushru Cowasji Ravji as the eighteenth successor to the ecclesiastical seat and title of MeherjiRana. Earlier, the seventeenth MeherjiRana Dastur Kaikhushroo Navroze Dastoor had succeeded Dastur Meherji Dastur Kekobad, in January 2010. This would be an appropriate time to gain a brief yet adequate understanding […]
Most religions see the Devil or Satan as the antithesis of God and all that is good. Although this archfiend features in some form or the other in almost every religion, many scholars aver that the concept of the ‘evil spirit’, as also ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’ was first introduced by Zoroastrianism, especially to the three […]
Most within the community know Noshir Dadrawala as Trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, a highly knowledgeable scholar on matters of Zoroastrian religion and as a regular contributor to Parsi Times. Few know that these comprise only his special interests. In his professional life, Noshir Dadrwala is an expert and the ‘go to’ person in […]
. Sanjan Under Attack: After Iranshah was duly installed, Parsis lived peacefully in Sanjan for about three hundred and twenty four years. However, when Sultan Mahmud (Mahmud Begdo) attacked Sanjan with an army of thirty thousand soldiers led by General Alfkhan, the Governor of Sanjan asked the Parsis to join his army in battle, after […]
. The story of Iranshah is linked to the exodus of the Parsis from Iran to India. It is a story of faith and fortitude. It is a saga of struggle and survival. But, about all else it is a tale of duty and devotion amid trials, tears and tribulation. The Arrival Of Parsis In […]
Both – Parsi and Irani Zoroastrians are ethnically of Persian (Iranian) origin. Parsis who came to India about 300 years after the fall of the Sasanian Empire (i.e., around the tenth century A.D.) trace their ancestry back to the province of Khorasan, known in ancient times as Parthia. The city of Mashad is situated in […]
In 1776, the introduction to America’s ‘Declaration of Independence’ proclaimed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Closer to home and almost two centuries later, the doyen […]
‘Magic’ as an expression has its roots in the term Magi. The Magi or Magus were ancient Zoroastrian priests belonging to a tribe in North-western Iran known as the Medes. Darius the Great in his historic inscription on Mount Behistun near modern day Kermansha in Iran also speaks about a certain Magus by the name […]