A glimpse of the world of India’s endangered Park

Having engaged in the tape at the southern end of India financial capital in Mumbai, there is a museum dedicated to one of the world’s oldest religions, Zoroastrianism, followers.

The Framji Dadabhoy Alpawalla Museum documents the history and legacy of the ancient Parsi community – a small ethnic group that quickly disappears and lives in India.

It is estimated that now, with a 50,000-60,000, the Persian descendants, who have fled the Islamic rulers of Islam, centuries ago.

Despite a significant contribution to the economic and cultural structure of India, many are still little known about the community to the main population and the wider world.

“The newly used museum hopes to get rid of this uncertainty, inviting people to explore the history, culture and traditions of the community through rare historical artifacts,” says Kerman Fatakia, curator of the museum.

Some of them are tsunens for bricks, terracotta pots, coins and other objects obtained from places such as Babylon, Mesopotamia, Susa and Iran, and are dated 4000-5000. Pr. BC.

These are places where Zoroastria Iran kings once ruled, as well as Achaemenian, Parthian and Sasanian dynasties.

There are also artefacts from Yazd, the city central Iran, which was once a barrel desert, and a place where many Zoroastries settled after running away from other regions of Iran after the Arab invasions in the 7th century BC.

One of the noticeable artifacts on display is a copy of Cyrus’s big clay cylinder, the King of the Persian, who was the founder of the Achaemeneid Empire.

Fatakia says the clay cylinder, also known as Cyrus or Cyrus cylinder, is one of the most important discoveries in the ancient world. Recorded in the Cuneiform scenario, describing Cyrus’ rights for his subjects in Babylon. Widely regarded as the first charter of human rights, the replica is also displayed in the United Nations.

Then there are maps that tracked thousands of Iranian Zoroastriers’ migration routes that escaped from their home country, fearing persecution and departing to India in the 13th and 10th centuries and again in the 19th century.

The collection also features furniture, manuscripts, paintings and portraits of the famous of the famous – Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, founder of the iconic Tata Group, which includes brands such as Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley Tea.

Another spectacular department demonstrates the artifacts collected by “downloaded”, which grew rich trade in tea, silk, cotton and, especially opium, with China in the early 19th century. Exhibitions include traditional Parsi Sarees, which are influenced by designs from China, France and other regions formed by these global trade relations.

The two most convincing exhibits of the museum are a copy of the silence tower and a copy of the Temple of Fire.

The Tower of Silence or Dakhma is where the deceased leaves the deceased to be returned to nature – neither buried nor cremated. “The replica shows exactly what happens to the body when it is built there,” says Fatakia, noting that the entrance to the real towers is only a few.

A copy of the life size of the fire temple is equally fascinating, offering a rare look at the sacred space, usually at the level. Modeling on the famous Temple of Mumbai, which contains sacred motifs inspired by ancient Persian architecture in Iran.

The Alpawala Museum, originally founded in 1952, is one of the older city institutions in Bombay at the time. Recently updated, it now has modern screens with well -captured glass cases. Each visitor is offered a guide tour.

“It’s a small museum, but it has stories,” says Fatakia.

“And this is a great place not only for Mumbai or Indian residents to learn more about the parsi community, but also to people from all over the world.”