I am devastated and deeply shocked to learn about the passing away of Parsiana’s senior editor Farrokh Jijina from the letter "An editor by choice” (Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, May 7-20, 2025) and am still struggling to process the news. He was just five years older than me. Heartfelt condolences to team Parsiana on this irreparable loss.
Farrokh Jijina: diligent and dedicated
I had tried connecting with Jijina via WhatsApp on May 21, 2025 to write about an inspiring woman, Peroja Eduljee (née Banaji), and was wondering why he did not respond. He must be smiling from above.
SHANOOR K. MIRZA
Nagpur
The last translation I asked Farrokh Jijina for was "Masaan khaté chaalyaa,” a phrase Bacha Kohinoor of Britannia and Company (restaurant) would use when she was going out. Her young children would ask "Mumma, kah chaalyaa?” And Kohinoor would give her favorite reply, "Masaan khaté chalayaa.”
Bacha Kohinoor: dark humor
As Jijina explained to me in November last year, this was dark humor. Mashaan means crematorium in Gujarati.
For both Kohinoor and Jijina, cancer came aggressively. Kohinoor was an impatient person, a reckless driver. "E kya karta hai, niklo (hey, what are you doing? Go!)” she would shout from her Volkswagen window. Jijina practiced "benign detachment.” Kohinoor went in 1996 and Jijina nearly 30 years later. Both were real food lovers.
We had the chicken mayo roll at Café Excelsior together but the ham sandwich at Yacht Club was pending.
Dr SIMIN PATEL
simin@bombaywalla.org
My sincere condolences to the Parsiana family and to the family of Farrokh Jijina on his passing. I met Farrokh only once, and briefly, but through the pages of the magazine he became as familiar to me as a next door neighbor. For in recent years the byline "Farrokh Jijina” was inescapable. Readers would find it multiple times in nearly every issue of the magazine. If there was news about the community, often it seemed to fall to Farrokh to describe it. In the November 21-December 6, 2024 issue, for instance, there were six items bearing his name as author, including the cover story, about the opening of a public garden in Udvada endowed by the Sir J. J. Charity Fund.
His niche was what in the journalism profession is called "straight news.” His distinction was that he was so prolific.
As an occasional contributor to Parsiana myself, I look forward to stopping by its offices during my trips to Bombay. It was during one such visit that I ran into Farrokh. Someone had shared with me two bits of biographical information about him beforehand — that he had come to journalism after years in a different profession (accounting), and that he was battling a debilitating and potentially life-shortening ailment.
Parsiana has big ambitions and a small staff, so no doubt Jijina’s job, like those of others in the office, required extraordinary productivity. But I imagine at least part of his drive was fueled by a psychological need to make up for time lost because of his late start in the profession and for time likely to be truncated by his illness.
I remember our brief exchange: Noting his numerous bylines I joked that he was being overworked by his editors. His response was a self-effacing smile. No words, just a smile, as if his words were all committed to Parsiana.
Now that he is gone there will be no more articles in Parsiana bearing his name, unless one looks in the archives. But preserved there, his work will continue to testify to his exemplary stamina, diligence,and dedication to his adopted craft.
Kudos to Parsiana’s editors for spotting and nurturing such talents, often finding them in unconventional places, whether to serve as staff or as frequent contributors. The late Farrokh Vajifdar came from academia; Jijina from accounting; Berjis Desai, who continues to both entertain and educate, comes from the legal profession. A little publication with constrained resources such as Parsiana must reach deep into reserves of imagination to find its recruits. Parsiana’s editors have excelled at this.
PORUS P. COOPER
New Jersey, USA
poruscooper@hotmail.com
The editors reply:
Jijina is greatly missed, both professionally and personally.