Prayer hall at Worli

Thanks to three community-minded Bombay Zoroastrians — Jamsheed Kanga, Homi Khusrokhan and Dinshaw Tamboly — an arrangement has been finalized with the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation for building a prayer hall at the existing crematorium facility at Worli (opposite Four Seasons Hotel).

The new Prayer Hall facility at the Worli crematorium

Other communities bring their dead directly for cremation, whereas the Zoroastrians need a prayer hall for reciting certain prayers prior to cremation. Two elegantly designed prayer halls have been built with funds generously donated by the A. H. Wadia Trust. In these halls, which are almost ready, it will be possible to recite the geh sarna prayers (so dear to the community) before cremation as also the other four-day obsequial prayers at the conventional time. Zoroastrians will have priority for use of the Hall at those times. (These prayers are not allowed at Doongerwadi for those who have been cremated.)
The Worli facility is expected to be a game-changer and will soon affect the numbers opting for Doongerwadi. With the ban on priests participating in cremation ceremonies being withdrawn, and already, nearly 40% of marriages being interfaith, the number of crematorium users will increase.

Prof SOLI ARCEIVALA
solijal@hotmail.com