Parsi Gymkhana is a

gymkhana Gymkhana () (, , , , ) is a British Raj term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to denote a place where skill-based contests were held. "Gymkhana" is an Anglo-Indian expression, which is derived from the ...

(social and sporting club) located along Marine Drive in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. It was built for sports and social activities of

Parsis The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

. The gymkhana is one of the founder members of the

Bombay Cricket Association The Mumbai Cricket Association (formerly Bombay Cricket Association) is the governing body for cricket in Mumbai and surrounding regions such as Thane, Navi Mumbai. Its headquarters is situated at Wankhede Stadium in Churchgate. It governs M ...

The club has its own cricket ground, the Parsi Gymkhana Ground, where Parsis cricket team's matches are organised. It was the first gymkhana to be built on communal lines in Bombay. Founded by

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

cricketers, the Gymkhana fielded the Parsi XI during the

Bombay Quadrangular The Bombay Tournament was an annual cricket competition held in British India between 1892 and 1946. Until 1936, matches were played on either the Gymkhana Ground in Bombay or the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Poona, and then at the Brabourne Stadi ...

and its successor

Bombay Pentangular The Bombay Tournament was an annual cricket competition held in British India between 1892 and 1946. Until 1936, matches were played on either the Bombay Gymkhana Ground, Gymkhana Ground in Bombay or the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Poona, and then ...

cricket tournaments. Parsi Gymkhana was founded in 1884 and was opened in 1888. In 2010, Parsi Gymkhana along with other community organisations announced a project to revive interest in cricket among the community. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the government occupied the premises of Parsi Gymkhana and of Islam Gymkhana, leading the adjacent Hindu Gymkhana to offer membership to

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s and

s as an "emergency measure". As the gymkhana land belongs to the collector, one of its lease conditions is that the grounds should be accessible to the general public and non-sporting activities such as weddings are allowed to be held at the ground for up to 30 days in the year. During one such event in 2003, a fire caused by a leaking LPG cylinder injured 27 people. In 2010, the local residents association moved the court to ban non-sporting activities at the ground, on the grounds that the general public was being denied access to it, something which the gymkhana denied. Parsi Gymkhana had received special permission to hold events on 60 days during the year. In 2011, the collector restricted non-sport events to 25 days a year only on weekdays. The gymkhana is also used for other events, such as the unveiling of the world's most affordable car,

Tata Nano The Tata Nano is a city car/microcar manufactured and marketed by Indian automaker Tata Motors over a single generation from 2008–2018, primarily in India, as an inexpensive rear-engine hatchback for motorcycle and scooter drivers — wit ...

Ratan Tata Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...

in 2009.

History

It is one of the historic, prestigious Gymkhana of Mumbai along with Hindu Gymkhana. Parsi Gymkhana won ''police shield'' tournament in 1956 and 2021. Legendary cricketers such as Farookh Engineer and Polly Umrigar have played for Parsis in the past. In 2021, the club became the first to win back-to-back trophies in three different format, that is Talim Shield T20, Police Shield triumph (Test format) and Madhav Mantri Centenary One-Day 45 overs League.

References

{{Sports Clubs in Mumbai Sports clubs and teams in Mumbai Zoroastrianism in India Zoroastrian organizations Sports organizations established in 1888 1888 establishments in British India Organisations based in Mumbai Organisations based in Maharashtra