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Location: Kemps corner, Malabar hill.

(Note: A non-Parsi may not visit the area. My friend and I got a glimpse of the forest land surrounding the towers (which are well hidden) from the terrace of a building nearby)

The Tower of Silence is a place which many of us may find difficult to fathom for two reasons. One, it is an open well like structure where bodies of people from the Parsi community are laid after their death. These are left here to be devoured by encircling birds of prey. Two, they exist (there is more than one such burial well – currently three) within a large forest area, spread over 55 acres on Malabar hill in South Mumbai. 

Here is an explanation (from Wikipedia) on such a practice:

Zoroastrian tradition considers a dead body—in addition to cut hair and nail-parings—to be unclean. Specifically, the corpse demon was believed to rush into the body and contaminate everything it came into contact with, hence the rules for disposing of the dead as “safely” as possible. To preclude the pollution of earth or fire, the bodies of the dead are placed atop a tower—a tower of silence—and so exposed to the sun and to birds of prey. Thus putrefaction with all its concomitant evils is most effectually prevented. The towers, which are fairly uniform in their construction, have an almost flat roof, with the perimeter being slightly higher than the center. The roof is divided into three concentric rings: The bodies of men are arranged around the outer ring, women in the second circle, and children in the innermost ring. Once the bones have been bleached by the sun and wind, which can take as long as a year, they are collected in an ossuary pit at the center of the tower, where—assisted by lime—they gradually disintegrate and the remaining material—with run-off rainwater—runs through multiple coal and sand filters before being eventually washed out to sea. The ritual precinct may be entered only by a special class of pallbearers.

While driving down Malabar hill, towards the Kemps corner end, the walls on the left climb so high that one cannot even begin to imagine what lies on the other side. This has been done purposefully, for the Tower of Silence, if visible to the public eye, gets disqualified from serving its purpose. Also, amongst the Parsis, there are designated people that are allowed to go to the burial wells (located deep into the forest area). It is a wonder that this small community within Mumbai has managed to veil their final resting place from most of us, inspite of it being in the heart of Mumbai. It is their last journey, a silent respect.