The Tower of Silence in Mumbai – a creepy place for outsiders and sacred for Zoroastrians (10 photos)

A Zoroastrian burial tower where incarnation rituals are performed is under threat due to the dwindling vulture population in the area.





In 2015, the dwindling vulture population in Mumbai caused great concern not only among naturalists but also among the local Zoroastrian or Parsi community. The small but wealthy community turns to these birds of prey for a peaceful passage after death via the Tower of Silence on Malabar Hill.



The term refers to its desert-like nature. There is no human activity here, except for the burial of new remains, due to the belief that contact with a dead body will lead to infection and decay. The Tower of Silence is circular in shape, in keeping with the Zoroastrian belief that a circle symbolizes eternity. Thus, it serves as an eternal resting place for the remains of the dead.





A 300-year-old dakhma, or burial tower, nestled deep in a 50-acre forest is where Zoroastrians place the bodies of their dead and leave them for scavenging birds, a sacred way of treating the dead, according to their beliefs.



The raised circular structure of the tower, locally known as Doongerwadi, consists of three rows: the outer row is for men, the central row is for women, and the inner row is for children. The area also contains smaller structures called bunghlis, where prayers are recited before the body is carried to the dakhma by special caretakers called khandiyas.



However, with the decline in the number of birds in this area, natural processes began to slow down, and this began to interfere with the tradition of dokhmenashini or uncovering.



Due to environmental problems and urbanization, the towers of silence are almost never used for burying the dead, with rare exceptions. Tourists are not allowed inside, and they can only observe from the side the strange structure, so symbolic and important for the followers of Zoroastrianism.