Ah, I was wondering if there was a recent Iranian immigrant in your family, when recommending Parsepolis (it's set in late '70s Iran)! But then figured maybe there's some pocket of India left where Farsi is still spoken as a first language.

Yes, pre-British colonial rule, Farsi was the lingua franca between all the various Indian kingdoms (probably thanks to the Mughal influence). It remained extremely popular as a second language for the Bengali elite (& the Awadhi elite, probably others too) throughout colonial rule - and my family still has some Farsi books from my grandfather's collection. But in the past 40/50 years the popularity has fallen off a cliff (right alongside the rise of English as the lingua franca I guess). There are still colleges in Bengal that have Farsi departments, but they're dying out for lack of funding and interest.

It's a shame, Farsi sounds beautiful to my ears. Hopefully you and your cousins can pass down Farsi to the next generation!