Parsiana’s coverage of Zoroastrian life worldwide made us feel
like one global, connected family
Arzan Wadia
The news of Parsiana concluding its run after six decades marks the end of an extraordinary era of service. We must celebrate the monumental achievement of this publication. For 60 years, it was an essential and vibrant record of Zoroastrian life, not just in India, but around the world, especially for those of us in the North American diaspora. It was more than a magazine; it was a cherished lifeline, a crucial repository of our history, and the only truly independent space for our community’s most critical conversations.
My first memory of Parsiana was seeing it at my kaka and kaki’s (paternal uncle and aunt) home in Hong Kong in 1984. I was fascinated that an entire magazine with information would be available so far from India. When I moved to New York in 1998, my mom and dad gifted me a yearly subscription. That tradition continued until today, 27 years later.
Receiving an issue in the mail and flipping through the pages always gave me a sense of belonging. Parsiana had a unique way of making me feel part of the big conversation, even from thousands of miles away. For a community spread across the globe, this magazine was our glue. It carefully documented everything from marriages and obituaries to the heated debates that shaped our community. Through its pages, Zoroastrians in New York could learn about the triumphs and challenges of fellow Zoroastrians in Auckland, Perth, Navsari, Karachi or Nairobi. It made us feel like one global, connected family.
The magazine’s coverage of Zoroastrian life in North America was especially valuable. It kept a record of new associations, the building of dar-e mehers, and the new religious practices that came from living in a different country. For example, it wrote about the community’s pragmatic acceptance of cremation and burial, which are alternatives to the traditional Towers of Silence and a topic that still divides us. Parsiana’s articles on these subjects didn’t just report the facts; they gave background, showed different views, and gave a voice to our struggles and successes in a new land. This detailed, thoughtful coverage made it a key resource for everyone.
The 12th World Zoroastrian Congress in New York, 2022
What really made Parsiana stand out was its role as a brave and thoughtful publication. Other Parsi magazines, both old and new, tend to stick to safe, happy reports. They’ll cover a Navroz event or a community picnic, but they rarely get to the heart of the community’s real problems. Parsiana was different. It didn’t just report events; it analyzed them.
For us in North America, the one area that Parsiana excelled in was its coverage and analysis of North American and World Zoroastrian Congresses (WZCs). From the time I have been active in community affairs as chair of the audiovisual and information technology committee at the 16th North American Zoroastrian Congress in New York in 2012, to the 17th in Los Angeles in 2014, the 18th in Houston in 2024, the 7th World Zoroastrian Youth Congress in Los Angeles in 2019, and the 12th WZC in New York in 2022 when I was president of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America, Parsiana documented the proceedings of hundreds of hours of discussions and debates. Seeing Parsiana representatives at these events was something I personally looked forward to. No one covered the Congresses in as much detail as Parsiana did.
The magazine didn’t just report on speeches; it captured the energy and hope of seeing so many young people involved. It also dug into the tough issues — the debates on interfaith marriage, preserving our heritage and adapting to new cultures. Its articles were a deep dive into the real problems, not just a quick summary.
The 12th WZC was covered in over 24 issues over an entire year. In the decades to come, these Parsiana issues will be a treasured record, telling future generations what we as a community thought, said and did during these times. Parsiana went beyond the headlines, giving us a true sense of a program’s impact and what it meant for the future of our faith. It highlighted not just the speakers but the content of the sessions, making the events feel real and important even if one couldn’t be there.
Perhaps the most important part of Parsiana was its tough and honest editorial voice. The magazine’s editorials truly gave readers the feel of the community without trying to please one group or another. In a community often seen as stuck in its ways, Parsiana was a modern and progressive voice. It was not afraid to take on tough issues that other community publications would avoid.
It was a platform for articles on our declining population, the sensitive topic of interfaith marriages and the rights of Parsi women who married outside the faith. Parsiana’s editorials and features often put it at odds with more traditional groups, but in doing so it helped move our community’s discussions forward. The magazine showed our internal struggles and problems, reporting on our population crisis with hard facts and expert analysis. By giving a voice to different views, it helped us deal with our biggest challenges. No other Parsi publication has ever shown this kind of bravery and independence. They are often tied to certain groups, which leads to weak, overly positive writing. Parsiana was only committed to the truth for our community.
The conclusion of Parsiana’s publishing run is a notable moment for our community. The reasons for its closure — an aging staff, a lack of new writers and changing reading habits — are a reflection of the same social and population challenges we confront. In a world of fast-moving social media posts, Parsiana stood for depth, careful thought and detailed record-keeping.
Its passing is the cessation of a key institution that played a huge role in keeping our culture and history alive. The magazine’s archives are a rich, complete record of 60 years of community life, a unique historical document for a people with a long but often poorly recorded past.
The void left by Parsiana will be immense. It’s now up to us to find new ways to document and share our stories, to continue the difficult conversations and to make sure our shared memory doesn’t fade. The legacy of Parsiana will be its massive and priceless body of work — a testament to its firm commitment to documenting the Parsi Zoroastrian journey for six decades, with an editorial courage that was truly one of a kind. Its absence will be profoundly felt.