Moustachioed man with typical, upright headgear and white suit fastened with stitches. Parsis are followers of the ancient Persian prophet Zarathustra, who fled from Iran to India (Gujerat) from the 8th century onwards to escape the waves of Islamisation. In India, they were able to continue practising their religion on condition that they respected Indian customs and traditions. Later, especially during the colonial period, the Parsis had a reputation for being hard-working and diligent merchants. Many of them moved to Bombay and soon became an influential population group in Bombay. (Source: Eleonore Chowdhury-Haberl, article from the EXTRA Lexicon)