Mumbai's Second Oldest Parsi Fire Temple Restored; Sacred Fire Re-Enthroned At Maneckji Nowroji Sett Agiary; See Pics

Mumbai's second oldest Parsi fire temple, the Maneckji Nowroji Sett Agiary in Fort, first established on June 19, 1733, has been restored to its resplendent glory.

On Sunday, April 20, 2025, the sacred fire was enthroned again in the shrine on the anniversary of its establishment according to the Zoroastrian calendar.

The fire temple was established by Seth Maneckji Nowroji, a wealthy businessman and the head of a sect of Zoroastrian priests, to fulfil the will of his father Nowroji Rustom Maneck. The area, one of the first residential localities in the city, was then called Parsi Bazaar Gate Street, Kot (Fort).

Mumbai’s Second Oldest Parsi Fire Temple Restored Mumbai’s Second Oldest Parsi Fire Temple Restored

Rustom Vakil, trustee of the fire temple, said that the Pherozeshah Mehta Road in Fort was then the dividing line between the native settlement and the European part of the town. “On the European side there was the St Thomas Cathedral, the Armenian church, and other buildings. On the other side, there were three streets, one each for Hindus, Parsis, and Muslims. The settlement expanded when the walls of the Bombay Fort were demolished. After philanthropists began building community housing, called baugs in other parts of the city, many Parsis moved to the new residential colonies,” said Vakil.

Mumbai’s Second Oldest Parsi Fire Temple Restored Mumbai’s Second Oldest Parsi Fire Temple Restored

Mumbai’s Second Oldest Parsi Fire Temple Restored;By the end of the nineteenth century, the agiary was dilapidated and it was rebuilt in 1891 in a style that blends Greek, Roman, and Persian architectural features.  Marzban J Giara’s book 'Global Directory of Zoroastrian Fire Temples' mentions that the fluted columns with bull-headed capitals, the winged bulls, and the stone carvings of pomegranate flowers are designs borrowed from the palace at Persepolis, Iran. The front facade of the fire temple features the crest of the Sett family.

Mumbai’s Second Oldest Parsi Fire Temple Restored Mumbai’s Second Oldest Parsi Fire Temple Restored

According to the Parsee Prakash, a record on the community in western India, the area, called Maneckji Sett Wadi, was used by Zoroastrians on auspicious occasions, or to shelter destitute Zoroastrians who migrated to Mumbai during calamities like the famine in 1790.

The agiary was expanded in 1931 for the growing community. However, after 1950, when the number of Parsis in the locality diminished, one of the buildings in the complex was sold to raise funds for maintaining the shrine.  Since then, while repairs were carried out from time to time, the condition of the building deteriorated. Major repairs commenced in 2023 and were completed in April 2025.