The emblematic parsi magazine of India Close after 60 years

In an old Fort neo -Gothic building, a high -end area of ​​the financial capital of India, Mumbai, is a dilapidated office that produces one of the oldest and most important Parsi magazines in the country – Parsiana.

The magazine was launched in 1964 by Pestonji Warden, a Parsi doctor who also tried the Santalwood trade, to tell the city’s community.

Since then, the magazine has grown up in subscribers and scope. For many parsis, he offered a window on community events, helping members around the world feel connected and seen while their number has decreased and dispersed.

After 60 years, Parsana will close in October due to downward subscribers, the lack of funds and no successor to execute it.

The news not only saddened subscribers, but also those who knew the heritage of the magazine.

“It’s like the end of an era,” said Susisse Singh, 18, a student. “We used to joke about how you were not a” real parsi “if you did not know Parsana or Wax eloquent on this subject.”

Since the magazine’s closure was announced in one of its editorials in August, tributes have flocked.

In its September edition, a reader in Mumbai writes: “To think that a community as small as ours could be told with such a diligence and such a passion seems to be an intimidating investigation. However, Parsana has proven more than equal to the task.”

Another reader, based in Pakistan, says that the magazine was “more than a publication; it was a companion and a bridge connecting the Zoroastrians around the world”.

A reader based in Washington praised the magazine for having kept the informed community “but also bringing a touch of realism to disputed questions”.

Jehangir Patel, 80, who has directed the magazine since the purchase for a single roupie in 1973, says that he always wanted it to be a “journalistic business”.

When Warden started the magazine as a monthly, he only tried by Parsis or Warden’s Medical Writings.

After taking over, Mr. Patel transformed it into fifteen days with reported stories, clear columns and illustrations that addressed sensitive problems with honesty and humor.

He hired and trained journalists, set up a subscription model and, finally, transformed the black and white newspaper into color.

Mr. Patel remembers his first story after taking over the magazine; It was the high divorce rate within the community.

“No one expected to read something like that in Parsana. It was a bit shocking for the community.”

In 1987, the magazine innovated by publishing interconfessional matrimonial advertisements – a daring decision in a community known for a strict endogamy.

“The announcements have created a fury in the community. Many readers have written to us, asking us to stop the practice. But we did not do it,” said Mr. Patel.

He says that Parsana has never hidden controversy, still offering multiple perspectives and, over the years, has highlighted problems such as the declining population of the community and the decline of the towers of silence – a place where the parsis bury their dead.

The journal also told community achievements, key social and religious events and new Parsi institutions. In May, Parsana covered the inauguration of the Alpaiwalla museum in Mumbai – the only Parsi museum in the world.

Now, the team of 15 members, many of whom in sixties and the 1970s who joined the patel, is preparing to end the magazine and their journalism careers.

“There is a feeling of fatigue mixed with sadness,” explains Mr. Patel. “We have been doing this for a long time,” he adds.

The office, stacked with old editions, shows its age with ruined painting and ceilings. It is housed in an old Parsi hospital which is empty for four decades.

Mr. Patel says that the team has no big projects for their last day, but the coming problems will present stories commemorating the long journey and the legacy of Parsana.

As for the team, Mr. Patel says they could have lunch at the office. No cake. No celebrations.

“It’s a sad opportunity,” explains Mr. Patel. “I don’t think we will want to celebrate.”

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