Hidden in a narrow lane at southern Mumbai’s edge stands the Framji Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla Museum, a freshly refurbished treasury dedicated to India’s dwindling Parsi community. Curator Kerman Fatakia explains that the gallery now sheds new light on Zoroastrian culture through meticulously captioned showcases and mandatory guided walks.

Visitors encounter clay tablets, coins and bricks from Babylon, Mesopotamia, Susa and Iran, some dating to 4000 BCE, illustrating realms once ruled by Achaemenid, Parthian and Sasanian monarchs. A replica Cyrus Cylinder—hailed as history’s earliest human‑rights charter—stands alongside maps tracing eighth‑ to nineteenth‑century sea journeys that carried Persian refugees to India.

Displays of opium‑era trade riches reveal embroidered Ghara saris blending Chinese silks and Victorian jewellery, while portraits honour luminaries such as industrial pioneer Jamsetji Tata. Life‑size tableaux recreate Yazd desert dwellings and, through scale models, demystify sacred arenas normally barred to outsiders: a Tower of Silence illustrating sky burial rites and a richly carved fire‑temple sanctuary patterned after Mumbai’s historic agiary.

The 1952‑founded museum now boasts climate‑controlled vitrines and interactive lighting, inviting global guests—Parsi and non‑Parsi alike—to absorb 2,500 years of resilience, commerce and faith within a single, compact space.

“We hope these objects spark curiosity and respect for one of the world’s oldest religions,” Fatakia says warmly. “Anyone seeking India’s hidden stories will find them here.”