Tower of silence mumbai

Vanishing Vultures A Grave Matter For India's Parsis Parsis brought their Zoroastrian faith, and unique funeral rituals, to India from Iran a thousand years ago. Parsis believe burying or cremating the dead pollutes nature and traditionally relied on birds of prey to devour corpses. That tradition is now under threat, due in part to a vulture shortage. Zoroastrian priests pray to honor the dead inside a temple in Pune, India, on Aug. 18, 2010. Each of the dead is represented by a vase filled with flowers. Parsis forbid images of their funeral ceremonies, where the deceased are taken to the Tower of Silence and consumed by vultures and other birds of prey. Kainaz Amaria/NPR hide caption toggle caption Kainaz Amaria/NPR Zoroastrian priests pray to honor the dead inside a temple in Pune, India, on Aug. 18, 2010. Each of the dead is represented by a vase filled with flowers. Parsis forbid images of their funeral ceremonies, where the deceased are taken to the Tower of Silence and consumed by vultures and other birds of prey. Kainaz Amaria/NPR For any religion, keeping up traditions in the modern world can be a challenge. The Parsi community in India, however, faces a unique obstacle. Parsis, who came to India from Persia (Iran) a thousand years ago with their Zoroastrian faith, have gone to great lengths to maintain their unique funeral rituals. But they've had to make a few adjustments to keep up with the times and to not upset the neighbors. Parsi funerals begin in a way fam...

According to the Zoroastrians, once the soul has left the body, it is considered as impure. And hence it is not buried or cremated as it can pollute the soil and the fire. So, the body of the diseased is finally left to the wild birds – vultures for excarnation as a final act of charity. The tower of silence or the “Dakhma” is the final resting place of the body where is it delivered to the vultures, the Zoroastrians migrated to Sindh and finally settled in Mumbai in the eighth century CE. And they have beautifully preserved the customs and traditions of their faith. Here are some facts Related to “The Parsi Tower Of Silence” That you need to Check… #1.

Tower of Silence is a cremation or burial ground for Parsis. According to the customs, when a Parsi dies, the body is brought to the tower of silence and laid under the open sky to be fed upon by scavenger birds; mostly vultures.The uppermost row near the wall is for male bodies, middle one for females and the innermost is for children. The well in between, also known as “Bhandar” is where the bones go. They are left there for a few days to dry under the scorching sun before removal. Yes, it's true that this place is no attractive but only a crematorium of Parsi people. A non Parsi person can simply not enter the premise. However, on a busy weekday evening, I managed to sneak into the main gate and have a brief chat with the watchman. The watchman told me that the actual cremation spot is about 5-6 kilometers away from the main gate, that too at a considerable height. Ambulances and private vehicles of Parsi families can oy go through the round-and-round path that leads to the tower. It's hard to believe that this place is nestled right into the lush greenery and on busy road that leads to hanging garden. Not to forget, the entire time I was in the vicinity of this place and inside the gate, I felt this weird heaviness and negative vibes. I have read a lot about this place being haunted. After the vibes I felt, it was no surprise to me why people say that way!

A look at the Parsi Tower of Silence, the ritual of Sky Burial, the legends and rationale behind it and the link to the Birds of Prey. Sky burial is the practice of ritualistically leaving the dead as food for the birds of prey and Mother Nature. Sounds gruesome doesn’t it? There must be some rationale behind all this, no? Let’s try and understand this better. The Bird of Prey and The Doors Have you heard the song “Bird of Prey” by Jim Morrison and The Doors? Haunting, evocative and mind-numbing isn’t it? Both the lyrics and the music. With Jim Morrison wailing plaintively at the Bird of Prey. “Bird of Prey, Flying high… In the summer sky. Bird of Prey, Flying high… gently pass on by. Bird of Prey… Flying high… Am I going to die? Bird of Prey… Flying high… Take me on your flight.” The song reminds me of the Parsi community’s unique rituals of death and sky burials by some of the Tibetan Buddhists. The Ritual of Sky Burial and its Rationale The Zoroastrian religion, which the Parsis follow, considers the dead body to be nasu or unclean. The nasu daeva or ‘ghost of the corpse’ would contaminate everything it came in contact with. As a result, there are strict rules for disposing the dead. Similarly, it considers the Zam (Earth) and Fire (Atar) as sacred. In order to ensure these aren’t polluted, the dead bodies are placed on a high ground exposed to the Sun and scavenger birds. This is also considered the dead person’s final act of charity – feeding another living being with...

The Drigung Tibetan monastery, home to one of the last sky burial sites still in use. Theancient ritualof leaving corpses exposed to the elements haslong been believed to be asacred methodof interment. In this traditional practice, bodiesare left outdoors atop towers or mountainside platforms, where they candecompose in the open air andcarrion birds canfeed on the flesh until only the bones remain. While this maysound extraordinary to some modern ears, defleshingwas considered a natural and efficient means of disposing of the dead for thousands of years. It’s been practiced in Zoroastrian communities in Iran and India, and in certain Buddhist regions of Tibet, China, and other nationsthroughout Asia. Aspopulations have grown in these regions, corpse exposuresites have became more scarce, and more modern forms of burial have gained in popularity. There are only a handful of remaining sites around the world where outdoor burial rites are still practiced, or where the remains of these traditional structures can be seen, long since abandoned. This massive ring like structure now has a telecom tower on top of it. NUKUS, UZBEKISTAN Situated on the banks of the Amu Darya river in the Chilpik region of Karakalpakstan,an autonomous territory of dakhma believed thefirst one ever built. Constructed somewhere between the 1st century BCE and 1st century CE, this Tower of Silence is especially significant as local legend has it that Zarathustra began writing the ancient Zoroastrian scri...

the towers of silence in mumbai ...a place where we, the parsees, dispose of our dead. ours is a religion of cleanliness, love, charity and we are exhorted to be environment-friendly...we do not believe in polluting the environment.. so we do not pollute the soilo by burial and do not pollute the air by burning..we just leave our dead open to the sun, the air and the birds, in the highest area of the city...... thats the tower of silence. You have got to be kidding! This is not a tourist attraction, please leave your camera at home. This is a sacred environment where the dead are farewelled, prayers are said, ceremonies are held, and life is contemplated. Feel free to come to the Towers of Silence if you want to pay your respects to a departed Parsi friend, a lost soul-mate, or loved member of the family. Else, if you do not understand the sanctity of the location, or the grief at peoples' loss; and are seeking a 'photo-op' or a 'tourist attraction'; please show your respect by staying away. Many thanks Went for a funeral here today...though not an attraction it is a really quiet peaceful spot right off Kemps Corner. Peacocks and other birds inhabit the scrub and forest adjoining the Funeral chambers and the atmosphere is unlike any other part of South Mumbai even though a visit here is only for final rites..not pleasure. The Tower of Silence is a religious site for Zoroastrians to carry out their burial custom of excarnation. There’s a long climb to this site and it’s not...

The Towers of Silence in the Indian city of Bombay, now known as Mumbai, around 1890. The first tower was consecrated in 1670. Photograph: Alinari Archives/Getty Images The Towers of Silence in the Indian city of Bombay, now known as Mumbai, around 1890. The first tower was consecrated in 1670. Photograph: Alinari Archives/Getty Images T he price of homes on Mumbai’s swanky Malabar Hill would make Manhattan blush. The current rate soars to a dizzying Rs 100,000 (£1,000) per square foot. But a verdant sprawl of 54 acres on the hill’s crest is not available for money of any heft or colour. Here, shrouded in mystique and ancient trees, the ‘Towers of Silence’, or dakhma, repose in the 300-year-old Doongerwadi, the garden on the hill. Here, the city’s once-definitive, now-dwindling Parsi community continues with its 3,000-year-old Zoroastrian tradition of disposing of the dead body by exposing it to scavenger birds. 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 so...