The Agni Mandir or the Fire Temple is a temple where the Parsee community of Kolkata come to worship. The Parsees are highly intelligent and originally they hail from Persia.

With the advent of Islam in the 7th century, Muslim fundamentalists invaded Persia and resorted to forcible conversions. This led the peace loving Parsees to leave their homeland and look for greener pastures elsewhere.

India being the land of Vedas and Upanishads has always accepted immigrants who otherwise would have faced persecution in their homeland. Thousands of Parsees setteled in key cities of India like Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata.

The Parsees being highly intelligent and industrious lot, easily drew the attention of the then British East India Company and Kolkata being the capital of British India, a lot of Parsees immigrated to Kolkata with dreams of making a fortune.

The Parsees being very religious, they built the Agni Temple at Metcalfe Lane in the year 1912. The Parsees are followers of Zoroastrian religion and they worship the god of fire - Agni.

A visit to the fascinating Agni Mandir in Kolkata reveals the religious ethos and rituals of the unique Parsee community. The temple is a fine work of craftsmanship and is very spacious. The sanctum sanatorium is located on the top floor where the eternal fire(Agni) burns unceasingly. The area is out of bounds to the general public. Nonetheless, a photocopy of the eternal flame is strategically displayed on the first floor.

You will be amazed to know that a lot of Parsee rituals have close resemblance with Hinduism. For instance, their sacred thread ceremony.

The contribution of the Parsee community towards India's resurgence is immense. Parsees of the caliber of Dadabhai Navroji, Sir Ferozeshah Mehta, Madam Bhikaji Cama and last but not the least Sir Jamshedji Tata who put an end to the British monopoly as far as industrialization in India was concerned. Today, in India, apart from the Tata empire, the house of Godrej and Wadias are worth mentioning for their contribution towards India's economic prosperity.

If you happen to visit the Agni Mandir during the evening, you are likely to come across elderly Parsees engrossed in animated conversation related to the future of their fast disintegrating community. By the way, the Parsees are a conservative lot and marriage outside of one's community is strictly prohibited.