Photographs: Abhijit Mhamunkar
This tiny community may have just about 70,000-odd people but they are possibly the sweetest, funniest, crankiest bunch you'd ever come across!
(Psst... they celebrate their New Year today!)
If you're not living in Mumbai, home to most of the Parsis in India (or Pune for that matter), chances are you have heard very little about this community.
But if you have, you will know just why most of us simply adore this wonderful community!
The Tatas and Godrejs belong to this community. As does the composer Zubin Mehta and as did the late Freddie Mercury and Homi Bhabha!
They may be a small community but the Parsis are one enterprising but happy-go-lucky people who have enriched the tapestry of our wonderful nation.
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1. A Parsi girl in a gara sari will knock your socks off
Photographs: Abhijit Mhamunkar
The rich gara embroidery is unique to the Parsi community and gara saris are precious heirlooms.
Like several other things Parsi, the tradition of gara weaving is dying too.
There are only a handful of gara artisans left in the country and a new gara sari can cost you a small fortune.
So you can take our word when we tell you a Parsi girl in a gara can bring traffic to a halt.
Photographs: Courtesy Parsi Project
2. Your sasural will be in one of the 'baugs' in south Mumbai
Photographs: WL/Creative Commons
Imagine living in that!!!
3. Dhansak
Photographs: Rain Rabbit/Creative Commons
The lipsmacking dal preparation that is so good you can never have enough of it!
4. You will begin to appreciate non-vegetarian food
Photographs: Still from the film 3 Idiots
Because the Parsi cuisine ranges from chicken and mutton to fish and everything in between.
And also because at some point you will get tired of that look they give you when you say you're a vegetarian!
Yes. That look!
5. Your knowledge about western classical music will increase drastically
Photographs: Herwig Prammer/Reuters
Where do you find 500 Parsis under one roof?
A: At a western classical music concert #TrueStory.
Make that 1500 if this guy is conducting.
6. They are awesome dancers
Photographs: Paul Kane/Getty Images
One particular fellow also happened to be a freaking rockstar!
7. You will always have a relative to stay with in England or the US
Photographs: Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images
Because there's always someone there :-P
8. Your car will fetch twice as much as any other second-hand car
Photographs: Still from the film Being Cyrus
Ok that's an exaggeration but if there's one thing the Parsis love more than their food (and sometimes their drinks) it is their cars.
So it doesn't matter how many kilometres it has run, a 'Parsi-owned car' in a classified is enough to fetch you a good price.
9. You can get married in a complex of a century-old fire temple
The Parsis do not permit anyone from outside their religion to enter their place of worship. But some of the fire temples don't mind letting in the 'outsiders' into the compound of their beautiful structures.
Photographs: Courtesy Parsi Project
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