Ratan Tata
The last rites of the country’s famous industrialist Ratan Tata will be performed with state honors today at 4 pm. Before that, at 10 am, his mortal remains will be kept in the NCPA lawn of Nariman Plain for the last darshan. Ratan Tata breathed his last at the age of 86 at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai at 11.30 pm on Wednesday night. Ratan Tata was undergoing treatment at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai where he was admitted due to difficulty in breathing. Ratan Tata comes from the Parsi community and his last rites will be performed as per Hindu traditions rather than Parsi rituals. His mortal remains will be kept in the electric crematorium in Worli, Mumbai at 4 pm. There will be prayer here for about 45 minutes, after which the last rites process will be completed.
The method of funeral of Parsi community is completely different
Let us tell you that the rules of funeral in the Parsi community are quite different. The tradition of funeral rites among Parsis is 3 thousand years old. In the Parsi community, which came to India from Persia (Iran) thousands of years ago, neither the dead body is burnt nor buried. In Zoroastrianism, after death, the body is left in the open for vultures to eat in a traditional cemetery called the Tower of Silence or Dakhma. Vultures eating dead bodies is also a part of the tradition of the Parsi community. However, Ratan Tata’s last rites will be performed as per Hindu rituals. Earlier in September 2022, the last rites of former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry were also performed as per Hindu rituals. This is because there were changes in the methods of cremation of dead bodies during the Corona epidemic. During that time, the funeral customs of the Parsi community were banned.
How is the last rites performed in the Parsi community?
After the death of a person from the Parsi community, the body is taken to Dakhma i.e. Tower of Silence, away from the populated area. At many places it may also be a small hill. In the Tower of Silence, the dead body is kept under the open sky at a height. After this the last prayers for the deceased are started. After the prayers the dead body is left for birds like eagles and vultures.
This is the reason for Hindu customs
People of this community, which once populated present-day Iran i.e. Persia, are now left in very few numbers in the whole world. According to a survey conducted in 2021, the number of Parsis in the world is less than 2 lakh. This community faces difficulties due to the unique tradition of last rites around the world. In the last few years, due to lack of suitable space for the Tower of Silence and lack of birds like eagles and vultures, Parsi people have started changing the way they perform funeral rites.
Kaikobad Rustomfram of the Parsi community had always thought that when he would die, vultures would accept his dead body as per the tradition of Parsi religion, but now this bird has almost disappeared from the skies of India. In such a situation, it has become very difficult for the Parsis to follow their age-old traditions. Now many Parsi families have started taking their relatives to Hindu cremation ground or electric crematorium.
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You might hardly know these important things about Ratan Tata’s journey from his birth till he said goodbye to the world.
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