Blazing bhandar

Rising flames from the Bisney Dakhma at Bombay’s Doongerwadi on the evening of February 23, 2007 scorched not just the dead bodies but even the living members of the community who set the grapevine buzzing. The fire that emanated from the central well (bhandar) rose several meters high and the flames were doused by the Doongerwadi staff several hours later, after 10 p.m. Just when the situation appeared to be under control, the fire erupted again at around 4 a.m. and was finally extinguished by 11 a.m., according to an employee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) estate. A resident from the neighboring Godrej Baug had alerted the fire brigade but when the firemen arrived on the scene, their offers of help were refused by the guardians of the faith who feared non-Parsis would intrude on the sanctity of the sacred dakhmas.

The next day SMS messages were being circulated, reporting that the fire resulted "in the burning of the dead bodies. Apparently lethal chemicals being sprayed illegally on the bodies was the cause for fire. This should be investigated urgently. It was a disaster waiting to happen as the system has collapsed without vultures.” The Times of India of February 25 referred to another SMS which read: "False and unsubstantiated rumors are deliberately being spread about a small fire…in order to create mischief. Please ignore the rumors and in all fairness wait for the Panchayat report.”

"Was it due to the spraying of chemicals? Was it arson? Was it sabotage? Was it to destroy evidence?” questioned a report in the Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly of February 25, 2007, castigating the BPP trustees and officials for their apathy considering that "within minutes, a social worker from Dadar Mehernosh Fitter was…on the scene” and shortly thereafter "messiah (Khojeste) Mistree.” Whilst demanding a thorough investigation from the BPP, the Jame write-up referred to an acquaintance’s remark that "this was a sign from the heavens that God himself wants a crematorium at Doongerwadi!”

Ironically, the vocal members of both the reformist and orthodox groups believe that the fire could not be accidental. But a Doongerwadi staffer remembers an occasion in the past too when a sheet covering the corpse had ignited under the solar panel whereafter the corpses were laid bare. The leaves and twigs from the surrounding trees that fall into the dakhma could have caught fire under the intense heat of the panel, he believes.