44 thoughts on “Great balls of fire”

1. I was telling people the milk anecdote just today. But having said that, I didn’t know a great deal so this is interesting stuff Manish. Although surely it should say “without spoiling” the milk?

   The Tower of Silence must be one of the coolest juxtaposition of 3 words ever thought up.

2. Manish

   Thanks for blogging on this. Here is my commentary on Parsi new year that just went by.

   Funnily the Indian Express article has a typo in the heading, which is a glaring mistake. Its Dhansak…and not Hansak. Dhansak being a very typical parsi dish, a staple every sunday afternoon in every single Parsi household, and part of a ritual which starts with “cold beer” drinking, eating dhansak and afternoon siests. All three are a must. More on Parsi food here

3. congratulations to Arzan for his second Hit.

4. Well, the religion is the race, much like the jews. Unpaltable to the modernists among us but I find it heartening that the religion never set out to proselytize and blanket the Earth, destroying all vestiges of local culture. Cough Christinainty, Islam Cough.

   The Parsi contibution to the civic and cultural life of Bombay are exhaustive. The best exemplars of outsiders attempting to enrich a culture but not trying to unravel it. But then again, they’re also responsible for the ugliest piece of furniture in every middle class Indian home: the ubiquitous iron Godrej cabinet.

   My buddy was telling a particular Parsi matrimonial site was so hardcore, you had to provide proof of purity (birth certificate, parent’s identity) before they would accept your credit card for payment.

5. the ubiquitous iron Godrej cabinet

   My parents still have them.

   Somehow, I am always asked about Parsi culture by non-desis. I tell them about Tatas, Zubin Mehta, and pretty Parsi women.

   Eons ago, I was at IIT (Bombay) campus during IIT youth festival, the prettiest women were the Parsis from Xavier’s college. They had everyone’s attention.

   Dr. Strangelove

6. Maybe the bird was a vulture. Parsis put their dead on top of The Tower of Silence and let vultures feast on the corpse.

7. I went to a play put on by a local Parsi theatre company in Bombay in March. All about a Parsi Wharton MBA returning to Bombay, and usurping the elderly Parsi man from his role as co-op president with his newfangled management theories. Scenes with the Parsi oldster and his Gujarati best friend reminded me of the barbershop scene in Coming to America. Yea saw a few Parsi hotties in the house, if I had remembered their creation myth, I would have surely asked one of ’em for some sugar in my bowl.

8. Well, the religion is the race, much like the jews. Unpaltable to the modernists among us but I find it heartening that the religion never set out to proselytize and blanket the Earth, destroying all vestiges of local culture. Cough Christinainty, Islam Cough.

   there a lot to this that needs elaboration. for the past 1300 years parsis have lived under the regime of non-zoroastrians, but for 1000 years prior to that they were an the ‘established religion’ (more during in the sassanid [post-250 AD] than parthian period [100 BC-250 AD]).

   but 1) there are attested records of sassanid monarchs attempting to induce armenians and caucasian peoples toward zoroastrianism. 2) i have seen historical literature which suggests that prior to 700 there were conversions of turks to zoastrianism (some central asian turks even chose zoroastrianism over islam after the fall of the soviet union, though these were educated intellectuals). some of the sogdians (the modern ferghana vallley) also likely took the religion to eastern turkestan. 3) one can not ignore zoroastrianism’s influence on other religions (judaism, christianity and islam). 4) zoroastrianism was a parent of (along with eastern christianity and to a lesser extent buddhism) of the manichaean religion, which was explicitly universalist (the christian church father st. augustine of hippo [modern algeria] was a manichaean in his youth). 5) there is evidence for admixture on the female lineage with the native india substrate (so they aren’t necessarily a distinct race). 6) jews are also a mixed population, the diaspora consistently shows a trend of large scale admixture on the female lineage, and often on the male lineage as well (see here).

   my personal impression is that islamic death penalties on reverting to zoroastrianism from islam as well as the hindu idea of caste identity and endogamy has reshaped the outlook of this religion just as judaism became a lot more sketchy about conversions after 300 (when christianity made conversion to judaism often a capital crime, which would result in reprisals against the jewish community as well as the convert!). i have also read that iranian zoroastrians tend to be less stringent as regards conversion, perhaps because they have not internalized the endogamous mindset to the same extent as indian zoroastrians.

9. Couple of my “bawa” freinds have married outside(in the US). I think they have given up hope to be inducted back into the Parsi community. (I am not sure, I just get the feeling) There was a World Zorastrian meet in the US (Houston, TX) in 2000, where the conversion issue was discussed and if I am not mistaken there was no concessions made there about liberalizing the conversion process.

10. Maybe the bird was a vulture.

    Yes, it was an oblique ref.

11. I have a strong liking for the Parsi community in Bombay. They are the most cultured of the lot, and their contribution to the city has been immense. I also like the way old Parsi ladies loaded with righteous indignation facing off with rude, risque BEST bus-conductors and drivers or any other fellow who dares to take the old/ladies seat in the bus. And the way they haggle with sabziwala in the markets. They are the “qaada+kanoon” community – in a v.quirky/likeable sort of way. For starters, people might want to watch awesome Naseeruddin Shah in Pestonjee

    However I do find some of their stuff intriguing. Arzan, nothing personal here, but you might be able to answer it. Why do Parsi homes smell so differently? I have been to quite a few Parsi homes in Tardeo, Byculla, Dadar(Bbay suburbs for all u guys) — had some Parsi friends in school — and in each and every case there is this ubiquitous dark/smelly and old-untouched feel to the entire setting. I have never smelled anything quite like that anywhere else, and can’t put it in words.

    One more clarification, since we are on the topic. I don’t know if it’s apocryphal or not. Do almost all Parsis really marry within their first blood-cousins? And is that the reason their numbers are dwindling (aka fewer progenies)? Have heard this argument quite often from non-Parsis in Bbay. Surely that sounds questionable, coz I know quite a few Muslims marrying their first-cousins and fortunately/unfortunately there is no dearth of little Mohd/Mariams in their family albums. Razib, could it be just the genes/ethnicity thing or what?

    I do feel, that Parsi numbers dwindling down is a bad thing. And they should be actively adopting policies which advocate high procreation rates. It’s sad to see amidst the clutter in Bombay, a clean expansive Parsi colony, with exactly zeros kids playing in their lush-green parks and gardens. All you can see there are old, and I mean really old(70-80+) uncles and aunties in their white attires.

    My $0.02

12. Surely that sounds questionable, coz I know quite a few Muslims marrying their first-cousins and fortunately/unfortunately there is no dearth of little Mohd/Mariams in their family albums. Razib, could it be just the genes/ethnicity thing or what?

    muslims marrying cousins i a cultural tradition, just like south indian incestuous marriages. there is some precedant in that one of muhammed’s wives was a cousin, but, many of them were not cousins. rather, it seems that the practice has become normative throughout the muslim community because of the importance patrilineages consolidating wealth and establishing alliances. i also thing it is in large part imitation of the arab practice (christian arabs engage in cousin marriage as well). please note that circumcision, for example, is cultural-traditional practice performed in imitation of semitic-middle eastern practice (arabs circumcized prior to islamicization, one particular roman sybarite was circumcized by arabs he had screwed over to “mark him” as one of theirs).

    re: parsis and first cousins, well, if a community is inbred they might operationally be first cousins genetically. it is often said that all icelanders are genetically first cousins. i have a recept post on incest that might clarify things.

13. My bad for being dense.

    Interesting historical background, Razib. I was only referring to their influence in the Subcontinent and more specifically to the city of Bombay. Yes, ofcourse their status as refugees rather than missionaries, imperialists, conquerors etc. lended itself to be non-threatening. Ddin’t mean to suggest any inherent tendencies/predispositions.

    Great name for a all-Parsi band; The Royal Falooda

14. Ddin’t mean to suggest any inherent tendencies/predispositions.

    no problem, i wanted to put that digression in though because i have seen parsi “traditionalists” argue for a racial conception of (ie; aryan-iranian only) of their religion. they use all sorts of (in my opinion) dicey historical justifications (for instance, arguing that the fall of the sassanid empire was due to the relations between the emperor chosrow ii and his nestorian christian wife shirin). my opinion, as an outsider, is that parsis have assimilated very well to india, but in the process have imbibed some of the attitudes of the local zeitgeist, one of which is lineage purity and a distaste for universalism. this was not really a characteristic of the ancient zoroastrians, who the “traditionalists” reinterpret as parsis of the bygone era.

15. Great name for a all-Parsi band; The Royal Falooda

    Or the Freddie Mercuries.

16. Suhail…

    U make a very interesting observation about the way houses have a typical scent. I dont really think that is true. I have been to a lot of parsi houses and a very very small number of them have this old musty smell. Its a smell that comes when the house is not aired. Windows always closed. I dont know the reason. But let me assure you that its a very small minority.

    U could go to my colony and check every house. Out of the 36, one or two fall in that category.

    About Parsis marrying within their first cousins, i think its a fallacy. There is no substantiated proof of it. Its an urban legend. One reason why i think this came to be, is that most parsis know each other, and because we are so small in numbers, its easy to be related to each other…in the thrid fourth or fifth degree. My ex-roommate in NYC, originally from baroda, who i had never ever heard of or met before was related to me five degrees away. Something akin in priciple to what Razib says about icelanders.

    There was a fantastic movie called “On Wings of Fire” made by the maestro Zubin Mehta in the late 80’s. Its difficult to source. This gives a very good insight into the Parsis. The movie Pestonjee is a little kitsch in its approach

    RC….I attended the World Zoroastrian Congress in Houston in Dec 2000. You are correct, there was no consensus on the issues at hand though they were all vehemently discussed.

    SirChes….contrary to popular belief, the actual “tower” of silence where the dead are laid to rest for the vultures, is an over ground well….a 20′ wall going around a raised plinth.

17. Razib

    When the muslims invaded Persia, and the Persian empire fell, the choice was to follow the new religion or to follw your own. Those who wanted the latter, left their homeland for this simple purpose…to maintain their ethnicity, religion and race. So where does the question of assimilation come in.

    Those who wanted to assimilate, stayed put in Persia, and today can be found all over central asia and iran.

    For my ancestors who reached the shores of India, it was very important to maintain their own culture and ethnicity. Otherwise they would have never left the land. To maintain this, certain rules and regulations came into place over time.

    A lot of the parsi customs differ from the ancient zoroastrian ones. Iranian zoroastrians get married at noon. Parsis get married after sunset. Iranian zoroastrians had never heard of the sari, while for Parsi women, that is the ceremonial robe.

    A majority of the people who left the shores of Persia, were from the province of Fars, or Pars, hence the name Parsi.

    It is very important to note that the term zoroastrian only implies religious allegiance. The term Parsi implies religios and ethnic and cultural allegiances.

    Arguably, it can be said, all parsis are zoroastrians, but all zoroastrians are not parsis.

18. Rohinton Mistry is pretty good on offering background on Parsi traditions. I learned a lot especially from Such a Long Journey.

    It’s also a pretty good novel about life in Bombay during the era of the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

19. When the muslims invaded Persia, and the Persian empire fell, the choice was to follow the new religion or to follw your own. Those who wanted the latter, left their homeland for this simple purpose…to maintain their ethnicity, religion and race. So where does the question of assimilation come in

    arzan, let me make clear that my point is framed by the fact that in the USA i have heard “traditionalist” parsis make arguments about cultural preservation which are basically the same as those in india. but, this is the USA, and norms are different. your assertion above is a non sequitur.

    1) by the 10th century the majority of the persian speaking population of iran was muslim.

    2) ergo, the parsis wanted to “to maintain their ethnicity, religion and race.”

    what is “ethnicity?” parsis speak gujarati from what i gather, and language is considered a part of ethnicity usually. when they lived in fars, they spoke persian i assume, just as 50% of the shia muslims in iran do (a large minority of iranians are turkic of course). as for genetics, look at the link above, there is clear evidence of admixture among parsis with the indian substrate. i would be willing to take bets that if you did genetic analysis of ancient pre-islamic DNA samples (perhaps hair or something else, since the parsi custom of sky death removes most DNA) from iran the modern persian population* (which is shia muslim) would exhibit a greater phylogenetic identity with that population than parsis (who obviously do display a lot of genetic affinity with persians in iran, but as i said, the evidence for admixture is clear).

    so it comes down to the religion, which parsis do preserve and the vast majority of iranians rejected. i would maintain that parsi ethnic identity was generated de novo, in india, it was a new creation.

    that is why i put “traditionalists” in quotations: i do think an appeal to the sassanid period (as i have seen in online debates) is disingenuous because the parsis recreated themselves anew in india, switching languages, changing dress and diet and also intermarrying to some extent with locals (again, follow the link above if you are skeptical). in the USA there are some parsis who wish to reinterpret their identity in a new way. another identity will be generated de novo. or, parsis will slowly disappear and become a ethnographic footnote from what i can see.

    • i am sure that pre-zoroastrian period burials could be found.

20. So do Parsis today have any links(cultural/religious/other) with their Iranian counterparts?

    Also, do Parsis think of going back to the motherland? (Sorta like the Jewish people immigrating back to Israel)

    And Razib could you elaborate about the incestuous South Indian marriages a bit?

21. south indian marriages: cross-cousin and uncle-niece marriages are common among south indian hindus (less so in kerala). you can see data on incest rates world-wide there, they sampled many indian groups. there seems to be an undersampling of endogamous north indian hindu groups because the point of the survey was to aggregate groups with high incest rates.

    FYI, the coefficient of relation between first cousins is 1/8 of genes identical by descent, 1/4 for uncle-niece. please see my post on incest for the rest.

22. i meant exogamous north indian hindu groups.

23. also, frankly, the fact that american browns are often ignorant of marriage practices as relates to other regions of brownland strikes as somewhat humorous. many north indian hindus seem totally unaware that south indians often contract incestuous marriages. for that matter, vinod seemed not to have known about the common practice of uncle-niece marriage, and his family is from kerala. the only reason i knew about it is that when we lived in new york we subletted to a guy from andhara pradesh and he mentioned it to my parents once.

24. vinod seemed not to have known about the common practice of uncle-niece marriage, and his family is from kerala

    Neither have I and my family is from Kerala too.

25. common practice of uncle-niece marriage

    Yes, it is quite common in South India.

    I am from North, I knew it.

26. article on parsi demographics.

27. …Tatas, Zubin Mehta, and pretty Parsi women.

    Kush, and most definitely Punjabi Boy, are sure to appreciate this…

    Perizaad Zorabian

    ’nuff said.

28. On consanguineous marriages in South India, it is really true that it is widely practiced. In Tamil Nadu, for example, for a guy, his maternal uncle’s daughter is known as a “morai ponnu” aka “customary bride”. It is understood that such cousins are possible mates. Cousin and uncle-niece marriages are quite common. But the rates of such marriages (46%!?) mentioned in the studies linked by Razib seem much higher than what I have anecdotally observed. Hopefully, the rates are lower now than before.

29. JM, there is almost certainly within-region substructure (would bet kerala’s incest rate is at 20% because of muslims). the studies are not all aggregates, some have qualifiers like “rural” or “Pochindery” or “Brahmin.” but, i would not be surprised if there was an ascertainment bias in favor of incest because that’s what these studies were looking for. but again, there might be a sample bias in your case since you might be familiar with a social network which does not practice this much for whatever reason.

    for example, note the low rates of cousin marriage in bangladesh vis-a-vi pakistan (lower rates of incest in fact than reported in much of south india). i suspect that part of this is because the genuine orthodox islamicization (as opposed to nominal muslim identity) of bengalis (as opposed to resident urdu speakers who lived in bengal’s cities since the mughal period) was as recent as the 19th century and is still progressiving, so the ‘imitation effect’ of ‘as the arabs do’ hasn’t kicked into high hear. so the exogamy is reflective of pre-islamic norms. in my own family the rare cousin marriages are always apologized for on the grounds that they are ‘muslim,’ as if there is something to apologize for!

30. Razib,

    Yes, there may be sampling bias in those studies and undoubtedly in my own anecdotal observations. The surprising thing about these observations are the large sample sizes (10,000+) – maybe the samples are not random, or maybe the rates are that high after all. As for my observations, while my own family does/has practiced it, the frequency of the practice is very low at <5% – much lower than the 18% cited in the studies there.

    The weird thing about it is the justification given for the practice i.e., conservation of wealth, seems euphemistic to me. There is not much wealth to conserve in the first place. Maybe it has to do with the extortionistic practice of dowry. If you marry a close relative, not much dowry has to change hands. If that is the real primary factor, then things don’t look too rosy for the future, because I don’t see dowry going away any time soon.

    My opposition to this practice is not about genetics and accumulation of recessive bad genes. (BTW, is there such a thing as working towards accumulation of good recessive genes?) I think the gotra qualification kinda mitigates that quite a bit. But rather it is about whether consanguineous marriages are bad for a democratic civil society and discourages cooperation/empathy for fellow citizens.

31. oops, got cutoff mid sentence…

    …the frequency of the practice is very low at “less than 5% compared to the 17% figure cited for the nearest ethnic category. Same thing applies to friends and family’s social circle. Rare, but not super rare.”

32. JM,

    well, the numbers looked high to me. but that PDF is only a starting point. as for the justification, muslims use the ‘wealth’ one too, but they don’t practice dowry, they practice bride-price. a friend of mine who is half-arab israeli suggests likely it is simply that cousins in sex segregated cultures socialize and so that makes arranged marriages easier since you know the people. additionally, these marriages often solidify ties in patrilineage-clan based societies between brothers.

    BTW, is there such a thing as working towards accumulation of good recessive genes?

    i think the dominant-recessive dichotomy is overdone. the problem with inbreeding is simple: we all carry a ‘mutational load’ of deleterious alleles. we have two copies of each gene, so if we have a broken copy, we usually have a backup. i have seen estimates that every human being carries about 3 lethal alleles which are masked by a good copy. so, using the lethals as an illustrative example, consider two parents, P1 and P2. they both carry 3 lethals, but aren’t related, so they are the same (different points in the genome in pairwise comparisons). they are alive because they also carry 3 corresponding good copies which mask the lethal effects. they have children. each child has a 50% chance of getting a lethal copy from one parent on a given locus, but because the parents share different lethals, they are going to get a good copy from another parent automatically (because most people have two good copies at a locus, so they aren’t going to pass anything bad to their kids on that gene). but, the siblings now have a common pool of lethal recessives from both parents. that is, there is a 50% chance of them having the same allele as their sibling on a given locus, as each parent gives one of their two copies. if the siblings mate some of their children might get two copies of the same lethal because the siblings are drawing from a common pool which is 50% intersected.

    in a nutshell, the problem isn’t deleterious alleles. we all have them. inbreeding brings two copies together a lot more often than is normal.

33. To follow up on JM’s comments, the gotra requirement for those South Indian Hindu communities that allow the contracting of cousin marriages means that brother and sister’s children can marry, not brother and brother’s children as Razib talks about for Muslims.

    As part of at least some South Indian Hindu marriage ceremonies, the bride’s mother’s brother plays a part in giving her away since he is the customary “first choice” for a groom.

    But there are families where not only is the gotra requirement observed, but marriage is prohibited within a certain degree of blood relation, e.g. five generations.

34. I just remembered a funny story – when my mom and dad were engaged, she went to visit a couple who were niece and uncle. Moreover, the wife’s mother had also married her uncle. They were shocked when my mom told them about my dad. “You’re marrying a STUDENT??!?!”

35. That milk and sugar story is in Earth:1947, and presumably also in the orignal Novel, Bhapsi Siddhwa’s Cracking India.

36. parsis are the sweeetest ppl!!

37. oh yeh.. watch out for this new movie based on parsis coming out soon called CYRUS by maiden director homi adajania… starting saif ali khan, dimple kapadia and naserudin shah..

38. Thanks Arzan for the clarification and razib for the link-gyaan.

39. I grew up(an Indian Jew) in Dadar next to a fire temple. Our neighbours were Parsis. Have nothing but the best regard for this noble community. See the following for insider portrayals: http://www.garretwilson.com/books/firozsha.html http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0239795/

40. Hi A lot of talk but no action. Parsis tend to reminsce about their great lineage and the impact of their existance on modern India. But when we look into the present or the future we have nothing. The light that the great Zoroastrians carried a 1000 years ago, now is begining to dim. Rather than stand on ones good thoughts, good words and good deeds many modern Zoroastrians stand on a birth right. We as a commnity decide that Auhra Mazdi is exclusive to only the pure Parsis and none others. What a great social club to be born into. PEACE Porus Check out http://www.bandra-mumbai.com

41. Very interesting commentary. For some reason, most of you posters seem to be referring to Parsis over in India and Pakistan; and not about Parsis here in the US/diaspora. Its a really different reality and conversations, for Parsis (whose parents may be from India, Pakistan, but also Singapore, Kenya, Uganda, or elsewhere). Many young urban Parsis have grown up with clear perception of the role that educated upper-class Parsis have played in Indian colonial history, and are trying to offer a more balanced perspective. Yes there are many Parsis, especially over in South Asia, or older generation people here who are more educated, who have been taught that they are somehow different or better than other South Asians (or worse, that they are lighter skinned). But most young Parsis I know do not think that way. Many both support marrying other Parsis or other Zorostrians, but recognize the prejudiced or even racist assumptions that other Parsis base their desire to “preserve” the ethnic aspect of the community.

    Interestingly, most Iranian American Zoroastrians (you know that there are 2 main kinds of Zoroasttrians in the diapora- Parsis and Iranians- right?) I’ve encountered have no problem with conversion of kids or spouse of a Zoroastrian. However, back in Iran, they were prevented from marrying non-Zoroastrians not by convention but by law. Even now, marriage to a non-Muslim is not legal or at best subject to all sorts of legal hurdles, and the Zoroastrian spouse must legally become Muslim.

42. Also- I encourage you to check out a photography book on Parsi community in India that I found really enlightening — especially because I did not grow up there. Its by famous screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala (ala Missisippi Masala and Salaam Bombay; and the upcoming The Namesake, all w Mira Nair.)

    “PARSIS: the Zoroastrians of India – a Photographic Journey” is a pretty damn stunning coffee table book. And it seems to present a pretty diverse spectrum of Parsis (socioeconomically), debunking some of the myths talked about here. There’s a beautiful section on Parsis in Gujarati villages actually. She apparently was a professional photographer before becoming a screenwriter; and never gave it up.

    She was featured on NPR late last year, and a bunch of other places; a bunch of different papers (Orange County Register) picked up a great story from the NYTimes wire service too. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4223182

    I really learned a lot — especially about these woman-centered water festivals for which Parsis gather at waterfront areas and pray- the photos were really beautiful.

43. The Parsi religion is very racist. They won’t allow any non-Parsis into their religion, as they are very cognizant of their lighter skin tone.
    I find it very hypocritical that you can only be a Parsi fi both your mom and dad were Parsis. However, the Wadias of Bombay Dying fame is not a “pure Parsi.” His grandfather was an Ismaili Muslim – Mohammad Jinnay, and his g’mother was a Parsi. So why was his dad considered a Parsi, even though his dad was an Ismaili Muslim?

    Because Jinnah had lots of money and less melanin. The true religion is good bank account and lighter shade of brown.

    11 · Suhail Kazi said

    I have a strong liking for the Parsi community in Bombay. They are the most cultured of the lot, and their contribution to the city has been immense. I also like the way old Parsi ladies loaded with righteous indignation facing off with rude, risque BEST bus-conductors and drivers or any other fellow who dares to take the old/ladies seat in the bus. And the way they haggle with sabziwala in the markets. They are the “qaada+kanoon” community – in a v.quirky/likeable sort of way. For starters, people might want to watch awesome Naseeruddin Shah in Pestonjee However I do find some of their stuff intriguing. Arzan, nothing personal here, but you might be able to answer it. Why do Parsi homes smell so differently? I have been to quite a few Parsi homes in Tardeo, Byculla, Dadar(Bbay suburbs for all u guys) — had some Parsi friends in school — and in each and every case there is this ubiquitous dark/smelly and old-untouched feel to the entire setting. I have never smelled anything quite like that anywhere else, and can’t put it in words. One more clarification, since we are on the topic. I don’t know if it’s apocryphal or not. Do almost all Parsis really marry within their first blood-cousins? And is that the reason their numbers are dwindling (aka fewer progenies)? Have heard this argument quite often from non-Parsis in Bbay. Surely that sounds questionable, coz I know quite a few Muslims marrying their first-cousins and fortunately/unfortunately there is no dearth of little Mohd/Mariams in their family albums. Razib, could it be just the genes/ethnicity thing or what? I do feel, that Parsi numbers dwindling down is a bad thing. And they should be actively adopting policies which advocate high procreation rates. It’s sad to see amidst the clutter in Bombay, a clean expansive Parsi colony, with exactly zeros kids playing in their lush-green parks and gardens. All you can see there are old, and I mean really old(70-80+) uncles and aunties in their white attires. My $0.02

44. “”The Parsi religion is very racist. They won’t allow any non-Parsis into their religion, as they are very cognizant of their lighter skin tone. I find it very hypocritical that you can only be a Parsi fi both your mom and dad were Parsis. However, the Wadias of Bombay Dying fame is not a “pure Parsi.” His grandfather was an Ismaili Muslim – Mohammad Jinnay, and his g’mother was a Parsi. So why was his dad considered a Parsi, even though his dad was an Ismaili Muslim?

    Because Jinnah had lots of money and less melanin. The true religion is good bank account and lighter shade of brown””

    I think Mahesh of Boston is obsessed with his Browness…I am a parsi and My ggrandparents married outside the community. I think it is only people from South asia that are so obsessed with having less melanin in their skins…If you go to the villages you will see that parsis also come in various shdes of barown. Most modern Parsi’s dont hold with traditional beliefs…To be fair these traditionalists are simply holding forth on the promise that was made to the local king who granted our ancestors santuary. In todays day and age what makes a Parsi a Parsi is following 3 simple truths that our whole religion is based on. Good Thoughts, Good Words Good Deeds. To be the better human being is what our religion is all about. Most people confuse relion with socio-cultural beliefs that have accumulated to become traditions. But Traditions change as the environment and time changes…So Muslims are forbidden Alcohol..but even Arabs (the so called Hardcore ones..drink somthing called madira…a fermented alcohic drink…its even talked about in the koran….Hindus dont eat beef..but look around you and count the number of timesyouve see the mahesh’s of the world dig into a nice juicy steak…or Tandoori chicken.

    Skin tone is genetics…we have no control over that but a true human being strives for a pure soul which is a universal belief in all religions…So lets stop all this hogwash and focus on whats important…being a good human being.