Electric crematorium

After hearing a lot about the present status of dakhmenashini from Dhun Baria and others my wife Soonoo decided that after her death her body should be cremated and only the first four days’ ceremonies performed.

Soonoo was suffering from advanced cancer of the pancreas and after being in hospital for a fortnight she died on March 15, 2009. My son and daughter arrived from the USA and we decided to cremate her at the Shivaji Park electric crematorium. Luckily my niece contacted Ervad Framroze S. Mirza (tel: 9821421593) who agreed to perform the four days’ ceremonies at a very reasonable cost. The geh sarna was done at the crematorium and the remaining ceremonies were performed in detail and in a very professional manner at my residence.

I write this not to let everyone know how much I have suffered but to suggest what we should do in the future.

Every human being, of whatever religion or creed, has a fundamental right to decide how his or her dead body should be disposed of. No one on earth can object to this. On the contrary they should help, to the best of their ability, to fulfill the last wishes and testament of the deceased.

The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has proclaimed umpteen times (and this has been acknowledged by our high priests) that dakhmenashini is the best and the quickest method of disposal. However, after hearing eminent scholars we realize that for the last two or three decades dakhmenashini is no longer the "quickest,” at least in Bombay. I am informed that at Doongerwadi, especially during the monsoon, it takes several weeks for a dead body to decay and I do not want to comment on what happens to the final remains as it may hurt people’s sentiments.

Looking at the present set of BPP trustees, appealing to them to set up a crematorium and cremate-ni-bungli at Doongerwadi would be like banging one’s head against a brick wall. The trustees are very busy with their own agenda and common sense will tell what they are up to. I am informed that to get elected some trustees have spent thousands of rupees, others lakhs and even crores. As long as the trustees make money honestly and with integrity, may the good Lord assist them to make four times the sum spent to get elected. But if they make even a single rupee by dishonesty or by taking the BPP for a ride, may they be punished.

Those Zoroastrians who are interested in being cremated must get together, bring a court order and slap it on the trustees. But this is not an easy task. We need tons of money as the case will definitely go all the way to the Supreme Court. I am neither a legal person nor a chartered accountant, but I suggest that we form a trust and endeavor to collect a huge amount of funds. I am willing to put in one lakh rupees to start with. We must then form a committee and appoint an honorary secretary and treasurer as well as a knowledgeable solicitor and advocate to file a suit in the High Court ordering the BPP to build an electric crematorium in the Doongerwadi premises and allot a cremate-ni-bungli.

This will be a Herculean task, but where there is a will there is a way. Like-minded persons and volunteers willing to work for this project should contact the undersigned at 201 Aabhar, 5th Road, Khar, Bombay 400052; tel: 26485251. If the response is inadequate, I will withdraw as a cheerful loser.

Capt DARA E. DRIVER