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Here are a few highlights answers have been lightly edited :. These are extraordinary circumstances. Thankfully he reemerged for happy hour FaceTime calls, which would become our new way of dating . We could stand online together — six feet apart of course. Our shopping date varied immensely from our last one when we walked carefree — mask- and glove-free — to dine in an actual restaurant. Now I was standing on the prescribed blue tape facing him so that at least I could try to decipher his reactions by watching his eyes above his mask.

Although the website emphasizes its capacity as a dating service, Special Bridge is more than another cookie-cutter dating site. Its real purpose.

Zarin Havewala doesn’t call herself a professional matchmaker, but her track record suggests otherwise. Ms Havewala is a Zoroastrian — or ‘Parsi’ meaning ‘Persian’ as they’re known in India — a member of an ancient monotheistic faith that pre-dates Islam and Christianity. Zoroastrianism was the official religion of Persia, its birthplace, for more than a millennium, but today the community is a fraction of its former size, and that’s raising serious concerns about the future of the faith.

Unofficially, she now manages an international database of Zoroastrian bachelors and bachelorettes — an extensive list of names and numbers, careers and qualifications, ages and email addresses — that’s shared with singles who are looking for love. It started as an idea for Indian Parsis, but word quickly spread and soon Zoroastrians living everywhere, from Austin to Auckland and Iran to Oman, began contacting Ms Havewala for her coveted list.

According to the Census results there are fewer than 3, Zoroastrians currently living in Australia. The community is so small it makes up 0. Ms Pourshasb eventually met and fell in love with a Christian man. But before she met her current partner, she heard of Ms Havewala’s database and decided to get in touch. But Ms Havewala’s dating database isn’t the only online matchmaking resource for young Zoroastrians. In , Indian model and actor Viraf Patel launched the Parsi-only dating and social connectivity app, Aapro.

Zoroastrian Farhad Malegam says it’s very similar to Tinder — “you swipe if you like someone” — except matches aren’t limited to people in your area. The year-old says it’s his preference to marry a member of the faith, but it’s not a prerequisite. So far, he’s yet to meet the one.