In pictures: India's Parsis
- Published
An exhibition of photographs of India's ancient Parsi community, taken by well-known photographer and screenplay writer Sooni Taraporevala, is being held at Mumbai's Chemould Prescott Road gallery. This photo, titled Evenings at Cozy Building, Bombay, was taken in 1982 and is among the 108 photographs on display.
The exhibition is part of the Focus Photography Festival in Mumbai. Events are planned across 25 venues in south Mumbai, including art galleries, cultural centres, boutiques, restaurants, cafes, cinemas and public spaces. This photograph of two elderly Parsi women, taken in 1988, is titled Monsoon Drive.
Taraporevala began taking photographs in 1977 when, as an undergraduate at Harvard University, she borrowed money from her roommate to buy her first camera. Many of the photographs being shown at the exhibition have been viewed across the world, but this is their first outing in Mumabi, her "city of inspiration".
Taraporevala is best-known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay. She took this photograph of the Godrej typewriter factory in 1984.
Herself a Parsi, Sooni Taraporevala has documented her community for 36 years. Parsis follow the Zoroastrian faith - one of the world's oldest religions which is thought to have been founded in Iran about 3,500 years ago. She took this photograph of her parents - Freny and Rumi Taraporevala - dancing last year at a celebration.
Preserving their tradition is very important to the Parsis, especially because of their community's diminishing size. Today, there are only an estimated 140,000 Parsis remaining worldwide, most of them living in India. This photo, called Mr Spencer's 90th Birthday, was taken in 2008.
Despite its modest size, the community has been instrumental in India's economic rise. Some of the country's leading industrialists are Parsis, including the globally renowned Tatas. This photo of the Mumbai landmark Gateway of India, taken in 1977, is called Mr Tata's Taj Mahal Hotel and Gateway of India.
In 2004, Sooni Taraporevala produced a coffee table photography book on India's Parsi community and many of the photos from the book are included in the Mumbai exhibition. This photo, taken in 1985, is entitled The Mystic Piano Tuner Mr Ratnagar.