Toen ik zonet las dat het indische Tata concern nu ook in de autoindustrie koopjes aan het doen is (lees 'verkoop van land rover en jaguar aan Tata rond') deed het me denken aan de ietwat rare gewoontes van de parsi in India. De Tata familie zijn deel van de Parsi bevolkingsgroep die eigenlijk hun oorsprong vinden in pakistan, sommigen beweren Iran. Het is zowat 10% van de bevolkingsgroep in Mumbai. De taxichauffeur vertelde me bij het voorbijrijden van een of andere toren een waanzinnig verhaal over gieren die er dode parsi opeten. Het leek me toch nodig om deze bron even na te checken. Ik citeer vanuit wikipedia:
It has been traditional, in Mumbai and Karachi at least, for dead Parsis to be taken to the Towers of Silence where the corpses would quickly be eaten by the city's vultures. The reason given for this practice is that earth, fire and water are all considered as sacred elements, which should not be defiled by the dead. Therefore, burial and cremation have always been prohibited in Parsi culture. The problem today though is that in Mumbai and Karachi, population of vultures has been drastically reduced, due to extensive urbanization, as well as due to poisoning by the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac which is often given to human & cattle. As a result without vultures the bodies of the deceased are taking too long to decompose and this has upset certain sectors of the community. Solar panels have been installed in the Towers of Silence to speed up the decomposition process but this has only been partially successful.
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