Ratan Tata is no more. The demise of an 86-year-old industrialist and philanthropist late at night on October 9 shook the whole nation. He was unwell and was hospitalised in Mumbai. His mortal remains have been kept at the NCPA (National Centre for Performing Arts) lawn in South Mumbai’s Nariman Point for the last visits from where it will be taken to Worli crematorium for last rites that are scheduled to take place at 04:00 pm on Thursday.
Paying respect to his immense contribution to the nation’s industrial growth, Ratan Tata’s last rites will be accorded a state funeral, announced the Maharashtra government.
Last rites of Ratan Tata as per Hindu rituals
Ratan Tata belonged to the Parsi community, who don’t believe in cremating and burial of the deceased. But the last rites of this industrialist won’t take place according to the Parsi community rituals. Rather, his mortal remains will be taken to an electric crematorium in Worli where a prayer session of 45 minutes is scheduled and the last rites will be completed thereafter.
Rituals of Parsi community
In the Parsi community, a dead body is considered to be returned to nature and neither cremating nor burial is performed. It is a three thousand years old tradition in which nature’s gift i.e. the body is returned to nature. As per Zoroastrian beliefs, cremating or burial would contaminate the elements of mother nature which are fire, water and air. Parsis worship fire and consider it a sacred element.
The tradition of Dakhma
In the Parsi tradition, the body is prepared for the last rites in the early morning. It is washed and dressed and a prayer session is performed where near and dear ones pray for the peace of the departed soul. After this, the body is kept to the Tower of Silence or ‘Dakhma’, a specifically designed structure for funerals. From here it is exposed to nature and scavengers.
Also read: How Ratan Tata Turned The Tables On Ford After Facing Humiliation
But the last rites of Ratan Tata will be performed as per Hindu ritual. His dead body will be put in the electric crematorium in Worli. Due to the climatic changes, scavengers like vultures and eagles have become quite rare and performing the last rites as per the Parsi rituals has become difficult. Notably, the last rites of former chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry were also performed as per Hindu rituals in September 2022.
