Recent weeks have witnessed the city appreciate the rich socio-cultural and religious heritage of the Zoroastrians with a fine variety of celebrations. After celebrating the tricentenary of the sacred Bhikha Behram well at Churchgate, the community has reopened a beautifully designed, one of its kind centre—the FD Alpaiwalla Museum in Khareghat Colony on Hughes Road—Bombay’s sole showcase of Zoroastrian history. Set up and supported by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), this archaeological and ethnographic museum has been the recipient of a generous grant from the Central government Ministry of Culture.

A fair amount is known about the antique collector and bullion trader whose name the museum bears. Relatively less famous, however, is his erudite friend, the French-fluent scholar priest and archaeologist, Jamshed Maneck Unvala (1888-1961). Besides contributing vital finds from Susa and Yazd in Iran to this museum, he as importantly gave shape and substance to Alpaiwalla’s possessions.