#ChroniclingACommunity – The Story Of Parsiana First Farrokh Jijina Memorial Talk by Jehangir R Patel
In 1964, Pestonji Warden started a monthly magazine called Parsiana. The magazine initially carried scholarly articles on Zoroastrianism and translations of religious texts. In 1973, Warden sold the magazine for one rupee to one of his relatives, a young journalist who had just returned from the USA named Jehangir R Patel. Over the next 50 years, Patel transformed the magazine into an outspoken community voice, not steering shy of controversial subjects. However, with dwindling circulation in the age of smartphones and no one to pass on the baton to, Patel shut down the magazine in October 2025. At the First Farrokh Jijina Memorial Talk, #ChroniclingACommunity, he will tell the story of Parsiana from its origins and objectives to the difficult decision of ceasing publication. He will also speak on Farrokh Jijina’s contribution to the magazine, and his love for the community and its history.
About the speaker
Jehangir R Patel was the editor and publisher of Parsiana magazine from June 1973 to October 2025. He has been in the field of journalism since 1968. After completing his graduation from Yale University in 1968, he worked with The San Francisco Examiner and The Hartford Times. He started his journalistic career in India in 1971, editing and publishing the Freedom First monthly along with Mr Minoo Masani. Aside from Parsiana, he has edited and published Freedom First, Kaiser-E-Hind, Opinion, Voyage and Signature. He also lectured on reporting skills from 1977 to 2018 at the Xavier Institute of Communications, served on the Institute’s Management Advisory Board and on the St. Xavier’s College Local Advisory Board.