Mumbai News: Iconic Parsi Fortnightly 'Parsiana' To Shut Down In October After 60 Years Of Chronicling Community Affairs

Parsiana, the Parsi fortnightly published from Mumbai, will shut down in October.

The magazine, founded in 1964, covered the Parsi community in its main hub, Mumbai. Ageing staff, unavailability of trainees, and change in reading habits, are among the reasons for the decision by the magazine's publisher to shut it down.

Parsiana was founded in in November 1964 by Pestonji Warden. The magazine covered articles about the Parsis, their Zoroastrian religion, history, traditions, and the fierce debates that grips the small but vociferous community from time to time.

In 1973, an ageing Warden sold the publication to a young relative, Jehangir Patel, who who had come back to India after studying political science at Yale. Patel, who had interest in journalism, having worked as trainee at the San Francisco Examiner and the Hartford Times, took over the publication, making it an independent commentator and chronicler of Parsi news.

Under Patel, the magazine grew as a liberal voice, supporting causes like equal religious rights for Parsi women. It's editorials put the magazine at loggerheads with Parsi establishments that were bastions of orthodox thoughts.Patel said that the magazine, which has a staff strength of around 15, including journalists, designers, and advertising staff, is facing a predicament faced by the community it covers - ageing.

"I will be 80 years old soon, the associate editor is 81, and the managing editor is 65. There is lack of new entrants. I suppose it is a phenomena all over the world. We tried to get trainees, but very few young people are interested in a job that is niche and unattractive," said Patel.

Patel said the decision to shut down the magazine was upsetting. "It will happen to all our community institutions. There are not many young people," Patel said.Parsiana started as a monthly, later becoming a bimonthly and a fortnightly.

The magazine was widely read by the Parsi diaspora eager to catch news from Mumbai. The online edition widened the readership. Parsi-owned companies provided the revenue by placing sleekly-produced advertisement on the glossy pages. "Dissemination of news is not a problem, finding journalists is," added Patel.

The magazine was not exclusive staffed by Parsi journalists; non-Parsis have worked as reporters.The last edition is scheduled on October 21. The news of the imminent closing of the magazine has dismayed the Parsi community.A community social media account represented the sentiments in the community, by commenting: Sadly, age and infirmity have caught up with the small yet brilliant team of Parsiana.

As youngsters opt for careers in social media and related fields, print journalism is not a preferred vocation. Parsiana has decided to go down with all guns blazing as they regretfully shut shop in October 2025.

Jehangir Patel and your team - we will surely miss you! We looked forward to your editions every fortnight! We looked forward to your Editorial, we looked forward to your team's articles and last but not the least we looked forward to the occasional Alamai!As one more community institution goes down, we wonder about the future of the community.

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