The best nimko in Karachi can be found in a small shop opposite the Parsi Fire Temple, located in an area called Saddar – where Karachi’s minorities thrive.  Looking at the Fire Temple from my car, I was reminded of why Parsi customs and traditions have always fascinated me.

The most obvious reason is their Fire Temple itself. The picture I have used is a very old one, which depicts a time when the streets of Karachi actually used to be quiet and clean. It is also not a clear one, so the details of the building are lost.  Words cannot describe the beauty of the building itself, the old architectural style, the carvings on the building (always reminds of gargoyles for some reason).  I don’t know how they manage to do it, but the temple houses a fire which has not gone out for over 150 years. What is more amazing is the fact that this is characteristic of any and all fire temples, no matter where they may be located. The fire of the Fire Temple of Yazd in Iran (pictured below) has burnt strong for 2,500 years – and counting.
Fire Temple, Yazd, Iran

What, however, I find most interesting about Parsi customs is their treatment of their dead. When a Parsi dies, he or she is first subjected to ritual cleaning – and then, most interestingly, placed in front of a dog, to see if the dog will lick the dead body or not, a ritual  known as “sagdid“. There is a certain criteria for the selection of the dog – but the logic is that if this dog licks the dead body, the deceased will possess a ticket straight to heaven. Otherwise, he or she is considered cursed in the afterlife. This explains why affluent Parsis own dogs – and pamper them silly.

After the sagdid, the room is cleansed of germs by bringing fire into the room in a vase with fragrant sandal and frankincense, in order to cleanse the room of the uncleanliness of death. The body is now carried on the shoulders of corpse-bearers to the famous Tower of Silence, pictured below.

Tower of Silence

After the body leaves the house, cow urine is sprinkled over the area on which the body was kept, as well as the entire route by which the corpse-bearers carried the body to the Tower of Silence. Cow urine is believed to possesses disinfectants which destroy the germs caused by the decomposition of the body.

What happens in the Tower of Silence is the most fascinating part of the whole process. The body is placed in some sort of ground in the Tower – for vultures to consume the flesh. The walls of the tower are specially constructed so that while a vulture is able to come in, it cannot leave the tower carrying the meat of the dead body, since the weight of the meat reduces the altitude at which the bird can fly.

This is considered a final act of the spirit of charity that is characteristic of the Parsi community. The other reason for doing this is the fact that a dead body is considered unclean, which means that burial or cremation would pollute two elements considered sacred by the Parsis – the earth and fire. Sadly, however, this tradition is dying out due to extensive urbanization in cities such as Karachi and Mumbai (another city with an equally prominent Fire Temple) – which means the vulture population in these cities in steadily decreasing.

The above discussion is not meant to disrespect the Parsi community in any way. In fact, the city of Karachi owes much to the contributions of generous Parsis who have donated their time and money  towards schools (such as Mama Parsi and Bai Virbaijee Sopariwala), universities (NED University of Engineering and Technology, established by Edulji Dinshaw, and which is considered one of the best engineering universities in the country), education in general (for instance the services of the late Deena Mistri), the beautiful promenade known as the Jahangir Kothari Parade (pictured below),   journalism (who in Pakistan hasn’t heard of Ardeshir Cowasjee?), literature (Bapsi Sidhwa), art and photography as well as the development of residential areas (such as Jamshed Quarters, set up by Jamshed Nusserwanji, as well as Katrak Parsi Colony, set up by  Kawasji Hormosji Katrak) and even fine cuisine (the cakes and confectionery items of the late Armeen Kawasji are famed throughout Karachi, and which are now created by her daughter Shireen, without any deviation from the taste of the originals).

Jahangir Kothari Parade

Disclaimer: Any and all information regarding the funeral rituals has been derived from the novels of Bapsi Sidhwa, and confirmed by an Parsi acquaintance, with the help of Wikipedia. It is an outsider’s perspective into the practices of the Parsi community, and may contain factual errors.

Photo Credits: Flickr