Parsi cremation mumbai

Support Scroll. Seven firms that failed drug quality test gave money to political parties through electoral bonds. The prayer hall was inaugurated in Augusthad its first parsi cremation mumbai in Septemberand since then has already been the venue of funerals for more than 50 Parsis in six months.

In August , a group of Parsi-Zoroastrians inaugurated a prayer hall at the Worli municipal crematorium for families of those who chose not to be interred at the Tower of Silence on Malabar Hill. The three-centuries-old Tower of Silence, called Dakhmas, receives around dead bodies every year, but in the absence of vultures, bodies can rot for months. A demand to construct a crematorium in a corner of the acre wooded Tower of Silence was not accepted by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet BPP , the trust that manages the cemetery. Zoroastrian death rituals include prayers for several days after the funeral. Two priests, who conducted after-death prayers for those who were cremated or buried, were banned from the prayer halls.

Parsi cremation mumbai

How much longer can this 3,year-old tradition survive? The prophet Zarathushtra insisted on a reverence for all elements. None of them is to be defiled. A corpse is considered impure not just physically on account of infection and decay, but also because it is swiftly colonised by evil spirits. Therefore, cremation and burial on land or sea are unacceptable. However, in places where no dakhmas were possible — Delhi and the Diaspora for example — the dead are interred in community plots in Christian cemeteries. Keeping aside the macabre imagery, this system of exposure known as dokhmenashini is swift and ecologically sound. Dokhmenashini originated in ancient Persia, the homeland which the Parsis fled, circa AD, to protect their ancient faith from an emerging Islam. But the towers are now far from silent. But it precipitated thanks to the livestock version of the drug Diclofenac , developed in the early s. It proved toxic for the vultures feeding on bovine carcases. And plunged the towers of silence — and an aging community — into seismic controversy. The ratio of deaths to births is , so deep faultlines appeared after a woman called Dhun Baria produced ghoulish photographs supposedly of unconsumed corpses piled up in the dakhmas of Doongerwadi.

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Many Parsi Irani Zoroastrian residents of Mumbai, concerned that the remains of their loved ones were not being speedily disposed but were putrefying, began clamouring for alternate systems of disposal — burial or cremation. The first seeds for a Prayer Hall where Parsi-Irani Zoroastrians could opt for alternate modes of disposal and be assured of obsequies being performed were planted many years earlier in the nineteen eighties, when Jamsheed Kanga, then Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai was approached by the late J. Tata enquiring which of the crematoriums at Mumbai would be appropriate for the obsequies and funeral of his brother D. Tata who had passed away, as many dignitaries were expected to attend. At that time, some of the crematoriums were closed as they were being upgraded, whilst others were very shabby. To tide over the situation, the crematorium at Dadar was tidied up, and when Jamsheed went to condole JRD, he was informed that Mumbai deserved better facilities.

In the Tower of Silence, which is situated at Malabar Hills, solar concentrators have been installed in order to decompose dead bodies. Mumbai: The ancient Zoroastrian sky burial tradition is all but vanishing with the community in Mumbai opting for other alternatives such solar desiccation and cremation, owing to the disappearance of vultures from the city. However, with the extinction of vultures in the city, we have come up with solar desiccation where the body is left to dry by the sun. However, this process is difficult to use during the monsoons. The solar panels converge light and heat at degrees Celsius on a corpse to quicken decomposition. Community members also said that ravens and kites have now replaced the vultures around the Tower of Silence.

Parsi cremation mumbai

JNU: Nomination of Left candidate cancelled by election committee hours before student union polls. The prayer hall was inaugurated in August , had its first funeral in September , and since then has already been the venue of funerals for more than 50 Parsis in six months. The spacious 3,sq-ft prayer hall is the product of a vociferous debate between the liberal and conservative factions of the community about how to dispose of the dead with dignity. When Parsis migrated from Iran to western India more than 1, years ago, they built several Towers of Silence, or dakhmas , in keeping with the ancient Zoroastrian custom of disposing the dead by exposing them to scavenger birds like vultures. Bodies are placed in ridges at the top of the stone towers and allowed to be eaten by vultures as a means of giving back to nature. Mumbai has four Towers of Silence, built in a forested acre plot called Doongerwadi in the middle of the posh Malabar Hill neighbourhood. Vultures were dying not just because of urbanisation but also because the drug Diclofenac, introduced in the s to treat livestock for inflammations and fevers, proved to be toxic for the birds feeding on cattle carcasses. By , vultures were nearly extinct. This posed an unexpected dilemma for the small Parsi community, as uneaten bodies atop the Towers of Silence were left to rot for months.

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Parsi victims of Covid are being denied their ancient traditional funeral rites and forcibly cremated, leaving families traumatized and a community enraged against its leaders. The spacious 3,sq-ft prayer hall is the product of a vociferous debate between the liberal and conservative factions of the community about how to dispose of the dead with dignity. At the furthest end of each channel is yet another well making four in all. In places that do not have Dakhmas, burials and cremations are the norm. Japanese beauty secrets for a glowing youthful skin india. Mumbai has four Towers of Silence, built in a forested acre plot called Doongerwadi in the middle of the posh Malabar Hill neighbourhood. Follow us. My Reads. PM Modi in Tamil Nadu. Holi How Holi is celebrated in different parts of India?

In this serene setting, the Parsi Zoroastrians of Mumbai, India, continue to practice a funerary tradition that remains almost entirely unchanged after thousands of years. Article by Rhea Dhanbhoora Countere.

Attempts were made to breed vultures in Doongerwadi, but the plan did not succeed. Sign in. Support Scroll. Maneck Engineer had been keeping a watchful eye on the work. Today's ePaper. Toggle navigation. This posed an unexpected dilemma for the small Parsi community, as uneaten bodies atop the Towers of Silence were left to rot for months. Why the exodus from Bhutan of young people and qualified workers is a worry for India. Saved Articles. For the reformists, who have been campaigning for changes in religious and social laws, the number of cremations vindicates their stand that the community wants reforms. Delhi Lok Sabha Election Date. Avind Kejriwal. Many Parsi Irani Zoroastrian residents of Mumbai, concerned that the remains of their loved ones were not being speedily disposed but were putrefying, began clamouring for alternate systems of disposal — burial or cremation. The bones are generally allowed for a few days to dry under the scorching sun before removal.