Sunday, April 22, 2001		Article

FOR the fast diminishing community of Parsis in India, disposal of the dead is posing a major problem: There are not enough vultures to feed on decomposing bodies, which are left to the elements in keeping with their ancient tradition.

What was once regarded as an "efficient system of funeral", has thus become a health hazard. "There are horror stories of bodies piling up over weeks and months as vultures have stopped visiting the Towers of Silence," said an anxious corporator of the Bombay Municipal Corporation.

In Bombay, where a majority of the 100,000-odd members of the community are concentrated, bodies are fed to the vultures at the Doongerwadi crematorium. As it forms part of the Tower of Silence, no non-Parsi is allowed within its precincts.

But Parsis themselves are agitated over the situation. "Most of us knew of the problems that existed at Doongerwadi, but we imagined that a solution would be found," says Viraf Patel, a hotel manager in his mid-twenties. "Now the only option before us is burial or the use of an electric crematorium!"

That would be blasphemous, as any form of body disposal other than feeding to the vultures amounts to "robbing the person of his soul," according to Parsi belief. In fact, the accompanying rituals are much more complex and time-consuming than those of any other religious community in India.

Says Marzban Hathiram, a Parsi priest: "More than just disposing of the dead, the dokhma helps the soul on its onward journey. The dokhma should be on an elevation, away from civilisation. Once the area is chosen, cattle are allowed to graze, so it is purified by their urine."

The dokhma is a stone structure of concentric platforms surrounding a well. Upon this platform, the body is laid to rest and a ceremony with 301 different shaped nails is performed so "prevent pollution and preserve the spiritual sanctity of the place."

This is usually undertaken by two priests of extreme purity. Thereafter, a foundation is dug and the priests hammer the nails in a particular sequence before linking them with a specially woven string. Remains from the dead are allowed to fall into the well.

According to Adi Doctor, an expert in religious matters, this system of dokhmenashini is based on the belief that a dead body is an environmental pollutant. Consequently, cremation and burial would defile the fire and earth.

"Those who followed the Mazda Yasni form of worship in ancient Iran, left bodies on hill tops, exposed to wild animals and the elements," informs Doctor. "But good Zoroastrians were expected to set up dokhmas, wherever they went. Over 100 dokhmas came up in India, of which barely 20 are operational."

For instance, a Madras Anjuman report states that a dokhma was built in the city soon after a group of Parsis moved in during the 18th century. But it remained unused as tradition demanded that the first body placed on it should be that of a child. As that did not happen, bodies of Parsis were buried or cremated.

The Doongerwadi complex in Bombay was designated a funerary in 1669. Historical records suggest that till 1915, prayers for the dead were offered in segregated areas of large Parsi homes. But as families grew and homes shrunk, a prayer hall had to be constructed in the complex.

Thus from a time when "hundreds of vultures flocked a funeral" (according to an 1870 travelogue) the Doongerwadi complex is surrounded by high-rise buildings, blocking sunlight and hindering dehydration. While vultures have vanished, ozone machines and chemicals are used to control the stench.

The community was alerted last year about this deplorable situation when the Panchayat consulted a British expert on vultures and began thinking in terms of setting up aviaries and solar panels. Before long agitated Parsis began demanding the right to cremate or bury the dead, as they chose.

These agitators have now formed a Disposal of the Dead with Dignity — Action Group (DDD), which insists that every Parsi holds the right to choose how he or she would like to leave the temporal world without causing distress to others.

"We are not reformists," says Dr Rusi Soonawala, an eminent surgeon and activist with the DDD. "If the old system worked, every one of us would have opted for it. All we say now is that we are entitled to a quick, clean disposal, something that the religion emphasises." MF