The Bombay Local History Society and Iran League invite you to the third session in the series of talks exploring Bombay-Iran connections.

Back to the Motherland: Parsi Travelogues to Iran from the 1920s

Saturday, 10 October 2026 at 5 pm.

Venue: Iran League, Navsari Building 2nd floor,

Dadabhai Naoroji Rd, Mumbai 400001.

Very few Parsis travelled to Iran before 1920. The eclipse of the Qajar dynasty in the early 1920s and the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925 created an environment in Iran less hostile to Zoroastrians. Many Parsis took the opportunity to visit their motherland during this decade and a few of them wrote detailed accounts of their travels. As Parsis sought stronger ties with Iran, travellers examined investment and employment opportunities and wondered if they could permanently go back to the motherland. Using extracts and translations, this talk explores some of the travelogues and the context in which they were published.

Murali Ranganathan is a writer and translator. His interests include printing history and culture, travel accounts, and urban history. He has written extensively on Mumbai and its communities including the Parsis, the printing history of Mumbai and on themes related to book history and travelogues.

Registration via Google Forms required; register on https://tinyurl.com/BLHS10October26