Alpaiwala Museum: Shining the spotlight on India’s dwindling Parsi community

Tucked away in a quiet lane in the southern part of Mumbai, the Alpaiwala Museum stands as a testament to the rich and enduring legacy of the Parsi community. This museum, dedicated to the followers of Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest religions, offers a unique glimpse into the history, culture, and traditions of a community that has been gradually shrinking in numbers.

Estimated at around 50,000 to 60,000 people, the Parsis are believed to be descendants of Persian immigrants who fled religious persecution centuries ago. Despite their significant contributions to India’s economic and cultural landscape, the Parsi community remains largely unknown to the general public and the wider world. The newly renovated Alpaiwala Museum aims to change this by inviting visitors to explore the history, culture, and traditions of the Parsi people through its extensive collection of historical artifacts.

Curator Kerman Fatakia explains that the museum’s goal is to shed light on the Parsi community’s rich heritage. “The newly-renovated museum hopes to shake off some of this obscurity by inviting people to explore the history, culture and traditions of the Parsi community through the rare historical artefacts on display,” Fatakia says.

The museum’s collection includes a wide array of artifacts, some of which date back thousands of years. Among these are cuneiform bricks, terracotta pots, coins, and other objects sourced from ancient sites in Babylon, Mesopotamia, Susa, and Iran, dating back to 4000-5000 BCE. These artifacts are linked to the Achaemenian, Parthian, and Sasanian dynasties, which once ruled over these regions.

One of the most notable exhibits is a replica of the Cyrus Cylinder, a significant artifact that is also displayed at the United Nations. The Cyrus Cylinder, inscribed in cuneiform script, outlines the rights granted by Cyrus the Great to his subjects in Babylon and is widely regarded as the first human rights charter. The replica in the museum provides visitors with a rare opportunity to see this important historical artifact.

The museum also features maps that trace the migration routes of thousands of Iranian Zoroastrians who fled their homeland in the 8th to 10th centuries and again in the 19th century, seeking refuge in India. These maps offer a visual representation of the community’s historical journey and its adaptation to a new environment.

Among the exhibits are furniture, manuscripts, paintings, and portraits of prominent Parsis, including Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the founder of the iconic Tata Group, which owns brands such as Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley tea. These artifacts highlight the cultural and economic influence of the Parsi community in India.

Another striking section of the museum showcases artifacts collected by Parsis who became wealthy in the early 19th century through trade with China, including the import of tea, silk, cotton, and notably, opium. The exhibits include traditional Parsi sarees influenced by Chinese and European designs, reflecting the community’s global trade connections.

Two of the museum’s most compelling exhibits are replicas of a Tower of Silence and a Parsi fire temple. The Tower of Silence, or dakhma, is a place where Parsis leave their dead to be returned to nature, neither buried nor cremated. The replica accurately represents the process of this practice, which is typically only accessible to a select few. The life-size replica of the fire temple offers a rare glimpse into a sacred space usually off-limits to non-Parsis. Modeled on a prominent Mumbai temple, it features sacred motifs inspired by ancient Persian architecture.

The Alpaiwala Museum, originally established in 1952 in what was then Bombay, is one of the city’s older institutions. Recently renovated, it now features modern displays with well-captioned exhibits in glass cases. Every visitor is offered a guided tour, ensuring that the museum’s rich history is accessible to all.

“It’s a small museum but it is packed with history,” Fatakia says. “And it’s a great place for not just the residents of Mumbai or India to learn more about the Parsi community but for people from all over the world.”