Irani’s

 

(Faravahar (or Ferohar), one of the primary symbols of Zoroastrianism, believed to be the depiction of a Fravashi or the Khvarenah.)

Irani’s

The Irani (Persian: ایرانی‎; meaning Iranian) are an ethno-religious community in the Indian subcontinent; they descend from the Zoroastrians that emigrated from Iran to British India in the 19th and 20th centuries. They are culturally, linguistically, ethnically and socially distinct from the Parsis, who – although also Zoroastrians – emigrated to the Indian subcontinent from Greater Iran many centuries prior, starting with the Islamic conquest of Persia.

Distinction from Parsis

The Parsis and Iranis are considered legally distinct. A 1909 obiter dictum relating to the Indian Zoroastrians observed that Iranis (of the now defunct Bombay Presidency) were not obliged to uphold the decisions of the then regulatory Parsi Panchayat. Some of the Irani community speaks an ethnolect called Zoroastrian Dari. However, the two communities increasingly intermarry and are said to have been "integrated well" with each other. Also, Parsis avoided eating cow meat due to the beef ban in India, while Iranis and Zoroastrians outside South Asia have always eaten beef.

 

History

Although the term 'Irani' is first attested during the Mughal era, most Iranis are descended from immigrants who left Iran and migrated to the Indian subcontinent during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the time, Iran was ruled by the Qajars and religious persecution of Zoroastrians was widespread. Some Iranis still speak Persian and the Dari dialects of the Zoroastrians of those provinces. Iranis are generally seen as a subset of the wider Parsi community.

 

As is also the case for the Parsis, the Iranis predominantly settled the west-coast of India, in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. A concentration of their people live in and around the city of Mumbai.

 

Irani café

Irani cafés are Iranian-style cafés in the Indian subcontinent. They were originally opened by Zoroastrian Irani immigrants to British India in the 19th century, fleeing Islamic persecution in West and Central Asia. In India, Mumbai and Hyderabad boast a number of Irani cafés, which are very popular for Irani chai (tea). In the 1950s, there were 350 Irani cafés; today, only 25 remain. Karachi, Pakistan, was also home to many Irani cafés.

    (Britannia Café, an Irani café at Ballard Estate, South Mumbai)

                     (Interior of Kayani and Company, an Irani café)

                (Irani chai and Osmania biscuits served in Hyderabad)

                                                (Yazdani Bakery in Mumbai, India)

History

They were originally opened by Zoroastrian Irani immigrants to British India in the 19th century after they fled from Islamic persecution in West and Central Asia.

 

Writing for the Hindu Business Line, on "Mumbai's Irani hotspots", Sarika Mehta stated, "The classic format of these cafes is basic with a subtle colonial touch; high ceilings with black, bent wooden chairs (now cane in some cafes), wooden tables with marble tops and glass jars that allow a peek into the goodies they hold. With huge glass mirrors on the walls to create a feeling of space, visitors are greeted with eagerness and a whiff of baking. The speed of operations is impressive and service quite hassle-free."

 

Fare

Mumbai cafés may serve bun maska (bread and butter) or brun-maska (hard buttered croissants), and paani kam chai (a strong Iranian tea, lit. 'tea with less water'), or khari chai (very strong tea), mutton samosas, and kheema pav (minced meat served in bread rolls), akuri (scrambled eggs and vegetables), berry pulao, vegetable puff, vegetarian/chicken dhansak (a spiced lentil dish with meat and vegetables) and biryani, cherry cream custard, cheese khari biscuits, plain khari biscuits, coconut jam and milk biscuits and Duke's raspberry drink.

 

Many Irani cafés offer sweet and salted biscuits like rawa (semolina), til-rawa coconut, nan-khatai (sweet, crisp flaky Irani biscuits), Madeira cake (tutti-frutti biscuits).

 

Cultural references

Nissim Ezekiel wrote a poem based on instruction boards found in his favourite Irani café: the defunct Bastani and Company in Dhobi Talao, Mumbai.

 

Irani Cup

The Z. R. Irani Cup (earlier called Irani Trophy) tournament was conceived during the 1959–60 season to mark the completion of 25 years of the Ranji Trophy championship and was named after the late Z. R. Irani, who was associated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from its inception in 1928, till his death in 1970. The fixture is played annually between the incumbent Ranji Trophy winners and the Rest of India Team.

History

The first match, played between the Ranji Trophy champions and the Rest of India was played in 1959–60 with the trophy being instituted in the name of Zal Irani, long time treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and a keen patron of the game. For the first few years, it was played towards the end of the season. Realizing the importance of the fixture, the BCCI moved it to the beginning of the season, and from 1965–66 to 2012–13, it was traditionally heralded the start of the new domestic season. In 2013, it was moved to a date immediately after the Ranji Trophy final, resulting in there being two Irani Cup matches the 2012/13 season. The game has since remained at the end of the season, and is played shortly after the Ranji Trophy final.

 

Tournament history

Following table shows the result of Irani Trophy from 1959–60 to 2017–18.

Season	Winner	Against	Host
1959-60	Bombay	Rest of India	Feroz Shah Kotla
1962-63	Bombay	Rest of India	Brabourne Stadium
1963-64	Bombay	Rest of India	Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy Stadium
1965-66	Bombay / Rest of India (shared)		Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai)
1966-67	Rest of India	Bombay	Eden Gardens
1967-68	Bombay	Rest of India	Brabourne Stadium
1968-69	Rest of India	Bombay	Brabourne Stadium
1969-70	Bombay	Rest of India	Pune Club Ground
1970-71	Bombay	Rest of India	Eden Gardens
1971-72	Rest of India	Bombay	Brabourne Stadium
1972-73	Bombay	Rest of India	Nehru Stadium, Pune
1973-74	Rest of India	Bombay	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
1974-75	Karnataka	Rest of India	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad
1975-76	Bombay	Rest of India	Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground
1976-77	Bombay	Rest of India	Feroz Shah Kotla
1977-78	Rest of India	Bombay	Wankhede Stadium
1978-79	Rest of India	Karnataka	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
1980-81	Delhi	Rest of India	Feroz Shah Kotla
1981-82	Bombay	Rest of India	Nehru Stadium, Indore
1982-83	Rest of India	Delhi	Feroz Shah Kotla
1983-84	Karnataka	Rest of India	Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground
1984-85	Rest of India	Bombay	Feroz Shah Kotla
1985-86	Bombay	Rest of India	Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground
1986-87	Rest of India	Delhi	Barkatullah Khan Stadium
1987-88	Hyderabad	Rest of India	Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad
1988-89	Tamil Nadu	Rest of India	M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
1989-90	Delhi	Rest of India	Wankhede Stadium
1990-91	Rest of India	Bengal	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
1991-92	Haryana	Rest of India	Nahar Singh Stadium
1992-93	Rest of India	Delhi	Feroz Shah Kotla
1993-94	Rest of India	Punjab	Punjab Agricultural University Stadium
1994-95	Bombay	Rest of India	Wankhede Stadium
1995-96	Bombay	Rest of India	Wankhede Stadium
1996-97	Karnataka	Rest of India	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
1997-98	Mumbai	Rest of India	Wankhede Stadium
1998-99	Karnataka	Rest of India	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
1999-00	Rest of India	Karnataka	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
2000-01	Rest of India	Mumbai	Wankhede Stadium
2001-02	Rest of India	Baroda	Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground
2002-03	Railways	Rest of India	Karnail Singh Stadium
2003-04	Rest of India	Mumbai	MA Chidambaram Stadium
2004-05	Rest of India	Mumbai	Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium
2005-06	Railways	Rest of India	Karnail Singh Stadium
2006-07	Rest of India	Uttar Pradesh	Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground
2007-08	Rest of India	Mumbai	Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground
2008-09	Rest of India	Delhi	Reliance Cricket Stadium
2009-10	Rest of India	Mumbai	Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium
2010-11	Rest of India	Mumbai	Sawai Mansingh Stadium
2011-12	Rest of India	Rajasthan	Sawai Mansingh Stadium
2012-13	Rest of India[5]	Rajasthan	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
"2013	Rest of India[7]	Mumbai	Wankhede Stadium
2013-14	Karnataka	Rest of India	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
2014-15	Karnataka[8]	Rest of India	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
2015-16	Rest of India[9]	Mumbai	Brabourne Stadium
2016-17	Rest of India[10]	Gujarat	Brabourne Stadium
2017–18	Vidarbha	Rest Of India	Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium
2018–19	Vidarbha	Rest Of India	Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium