I say this in the most loving way possible: the
Parsis of Bombay are the city's most theatrical community. They remind of erstwhile nobles of other nations, a tiny educated, wealthy group that wields enormous amount of power and influence.
Parsis are essentially Iranian
Zoroastrians who fled Persia 1,000 years ago and settled near Bombay. The historically trade-oriented community started
12 of India's 15 major industries and own some of the country's largest business houses:
Tata,
Godrej,
Wadia etc. Bombay's
CBD Nariman Point is named after a Parsi. Sadly, like many other blue-blood communities, Parsis have been on rapid demographic decline--falling ~10% a year since the 1940s with fewer than 100,000 of them today.
The amount of interesting information about the Parsis could fill a book and 3 movies, but I'm just picking up one topic today--the Towers of Silence--to illustrate that Parsis are just as epic in death as they are in life.
Zoroastrians believe that earth, fire, and water are sacred and should not polluted with the human remains and Humans should give back even in death. So, how do they dispose of the dead? Leave them for the vultures of course. Bodies are placed at the top of the Towers of Silence in
Malabar Hill (tower in middle of pic above)--think Upper East Side of Mumbai--to be consumed. Recently, however, this has produced even more drama due to the decimation of the vulture population (99.9% drop) in India due to
diclofenac poisoning leading to bodies decomposing for days instead of being consumed in minutes. The
community is up in arms and even considering alternatives like large mirrors to accelerate decomposition of bodies. Did I mention they were theatric?
what an informative, news article-esque blog post! complete w/links! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I afraid it was a bit too didactic. I found it to be a very interesting phenomenon, so wanted to report it. Also, those crows and vultures flying over Malabar hill are creepy.
ReplyDeleteWhat's with the sucking up to Parsis all of a sudden? New Parsi boss? Hot, torrid crush on a Parsi? C'mon fess up ...
ReplyDeleteI guess we should do more 'theatrical/ drama-filled' nights out till 7am...they prove to inspire interesting blogs!
ReplyDelete(FYI being Parsis I can say this, most Parsis cant see past the end of their long Persian noses and have created the contraversy over the disposal of our dead.
But this very method thats scrutinized by our own community has been itnernationally recognized as the most eco-friendly in the world. The method of disposal of the dead is also similar to that used by the original Native Americans. It is also considered the last act of charity to complete the circle of life.)