Those days while travelling on Bellary Road, the highway to Bellary/Hyderabad began at huge Mekhri Circle and few buildings along the highway like the UAS, Kirloskar Factory, AMCO Batteries, Larsen & Turbo etc. But one building that only few has caught attention on Bellary Road then was the Parsee Tower of Silence. A small building surrounded by a lot of greenery and mystery which stood really silent.
The idea of constructing a Dokhma or the Parsi Tower of Silence in Bangalore was conceived in 1937, as the Parsi population rose to 300. The beautiful granite Dokhma was constructed very meticulously following all ritualistic traditions connected with it.
In those days this area was totally uninhabited and one Nadershah Dorabji Guzdar boldly lived in a farm house on the site with his family of wife and two sons for a year to take care of the construction of the Dokhma.
In 1938 there was no public transport in Bangalore, not even a taxi. It was a ‘horse and carriage’ age so it was difficult for the contractor Mr. Guzdar to make trips to and from the city. The Dokhma Committee resolved to purchase a second-hand car from the Manager of the Mysore Bank at Rs.450/-. It was the Hupmobile (an American car), a 1932 model. A driver was engaged at a monthly salary of Rs.20.
The Tower of Silence was thrown open for use on 23rd March 1940. The Dokhma is situated on a huge piece of land which originally measured 14.5 acres in 1938. But recently 31,000 sq. ft. of land was acquired for road widening project by the NHAI.
– Citizen Matters.