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Mumbai's 99-Year-Old, Iconic Parsi Dairy Farm Faces Closure

Mumbai's 99-Year-Old, Iconic Parsi Dairy Farm Faces Closure
This June 1, 2015 photo shows Kite Hill artisan almond milk product varieties, soft fresh truffle, dill and chive, and soft ripened in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
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This June 1, 2015 photo shows Kite Hill artisan almond milk product varieties, soft fresh truffle, dill and chive, and soft ripened in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)

For Parsi historian and author Marzban Giara, it had almost become a daily ritual to have a glass of fresh milk in the morning followed by a quick chat with the burly gentleman dressed in all white who handed him the milk. But all that will soon change as the farm is on the verge of shutting shop.

According to a report in the Economic Times, the iconic, almost 100-year-old dairy farm which has now become a part of Mumbai's "vintage" culture, may now be nothing but a fond memory. The dairy, started by Parsi entrepreneur Nariman Ardeshir in the year 1916, is now planning to sell its 300 acre land in Warvada village on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border.

Famous for its milk, lassi, kulfis, white butter, ghee and a number of traditional Indian sweets, the sales of this legendary business has plummeted from — 15,000 litres per day to 2,000 litres — over the past 50 years.

V Chandra, a regular customer at the Parsi Dairy Farm, told TOI, "This is terrible news! Its dahi (curd) is the best in the city; thick enough to cut, rich, creamy, never sour and delicious enough to eat on its own. The paneer and sweets are also outstanding."

Shernaaz Engineer, editor of a local newspaper, thinks this will also affect the community as a whole, according to ET, "The Parsi Dairy Farm has fed generations of Parsis... Its pure ghee has greased our innards by wholesome dollops! You just can't take the elemental 'Parsi' out of Parsi Dairy Farm — it would be tragic."

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.