Hidden on a lane in Mumbai on a lane at the southern end of India’s financial capital, it is a museum dedicated to one of the Zoroastrians, one of the world’s oldest religions.

The Framji Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla Museum records the history and heritage of the ancient Parsi community - a small ethnic group that rapidly decreases and is largely inhabited in India.

It is now estimated that only 50,000 to 60,000, and it is believed that Parsis was descended from the Persians who fled the religious persecution of Islamic rulers centuries ago.

Despite their significant contribution to India’s economic and cultural structure, much of the knowledge about the Parsi community remains little known to the mainstream population and the wider world.

"The newly renovated museum hopes to get rid of some obscurity by inviting people to explore the history, culture and traditions of the Pasi community through rare historical relics on display," said museum curator Kerman Fatakia.

Some of them include wedge bricks, clay, coins and other objects sourced from places like Babylon, Mesopotamia, Susa and Iran, dating back to 4000-5000 B.C.

In these places, the Iranian king Zoroastrians once ruled, such as the Achimenians, Parthians and the Sasanian dynasty.

Yazd also has artifacts from the central Iranian city of Yazd, once a barren desert, and many Zoroastrians settled after Arab invasions in the 7th century BC.

One of the famous artifacts on display is a replica of the clay cylinder of Emperor Sellers the Great, a Persian king who was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire.

Clay tanks - also known as "the decree of Cyrus" or "Cyrus Cylinder" - were one of the most important discoveries in the ancient world, Fatakia said. It is engraved with a cuneiform script that outlines the rights that Cyrus granted to his subjects in Babylon. Widely regarded as the first human rights charter, replicas are also displayed at the United Nations.

Then, several maps tracked the migration routes of thousands of Iranian Zoroastrians who fled their homeland, feared persecution, and traveled to India between the 8th and 10th centuries and again fled to India in the 19th century.

The collection also features furniture, manuscripts, paintings and portraits of the famous Parsis - among which Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the founder of the iconic Tata Group, owns brands such as Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley Tea.

Another striking section shows the cargo collected by Parsis, who were rich in tea, silk, cotton, and especially opium in the early 19th century - with China. The exhibition includes traditional Passi saris, influenced by designs from China, France and other regions shaped by these global trade relations.

The two most eye-catching exhibits at the museum are replicas of the Tower of Silence and the Fire Temple of Parsi.

The silent tower or Dakhma is where Brazil left the dead to return nature - neither buried nor cremated. “Once the replica is placed there, it can accurately show what happens to the body,” Fatakia said.

The life-sized replica of the Fire Temple is equally fascinating, with a rare glimpse of the sacred space, often a forbidden area against non-Pass. It is based on the famous temples in Mumbai, and it has a sacred pattern inspired by ancient Persian architecture in Iran.

The Alpaiwala Museum was originally founded in 1952, at the time of Mumbai, and was one of the city's older institutions. It has recently been renovated and now has a modern display and has a wide range of exhibitions in glass boxes. Every visitor has a guided tour.

"It's a small museum, but full of history," Fatakia said.

“This is not only a great place for residents of Mumbai or India to learn more about the residents of the Parsi community, but also people from all over the world.”