The Grand Paradi Towers are considered to be one of the most desirable locations to call home in Mumbai, India.
However, this great reputation is tarnished by the large numbers of suicides - people jumping from their balconies - and the strange events that usually follow.
However, this great reputation is tarnished by the large numbers of suicides - people jumping from their balconies - and the strange events that usually follow.
Towers of Death
The Grand Paradi Towers Built in 1975 and opened the following year the Grand Paradi Tower apartments was considered to be one of Mumbai's most desired addresses. The building is the home of many successful business families, diamond dealers and anyone else who can afford the quite substantial price tag. With stunning views of the city, and those living there linked to wealth and social status, the buildings are only marred by one thing – the fact that so many suicides have taken place there.
A large number of these are single events – a girl whose family would not accept the boy she loved due to his lower social standing, jumped to her death. A maid, unhappy with her position in life also jumped. An employee of a brewery company also jumped to his death.
And these are far from being the only ones, with dozens of people having jumped to their deaths from the towers since they were constructed.
However, it is the suicides of the Dalal family that is considered to be the most mysterious. Although the facts of this sequence of deaths are well known, it is these suicides that led many to believe there was something strange at play here.
A large number of these are single events – a girl whose family would not accept the boy she loved due to his lower social standing, jumped to her death. A maid, unhappy with her position in life also jumped. An employee of a brewery company also jumped to his death.
And these are far from being the only ones, with dozens of people having jumped to their deaths from the towers since they were constructed.
However, it is the suicides of the Dalal family that is considered to be the most mysterious. Although the facts of this sequence of deaths are well known, it is these suicides that led many to believe there was something strange at play here.
Three Generations of One Family Jump...
A long way up... and down On June 14, 1998, Vasadeo and Tara Dalal jumped from their eighth floor balcony, ending their lives. It did not take long to discover the reason why this elderly couple jumped, as they left behind a note. The note contained details of how they were fed up with their son and daughter-in-law harassing and abusing them.
The son, Balkrishna, and daughter, Sonal, were put up on charges of abetment to suicide.
The court case was quite drawn out, but was finally to reach resolution seven years later in 2005. However on the day of the verdict, the accused, who had not missed a day of the trial, were not present. At 6:20am that morning Balkrishna and Sonal Dalal jumped from the balcony of that same eighth floor apartment, ending their own lives for fear of being found guilty and convicted.
They did not jump alone as their 19 year old daughter also went with them, the three holding hands as they stepped into eternity.
The son, Balkrishna, and daughter, Sonal, were put up on charges of abetment to suicide.
The court case was quite drawn out, but was finally to reach resolution seven years later in 2005. However on the day of the verdict, the accused, who had not missed a day of the trial, were not present. At 6:20am that morning Balkrishna and Sonal Dalal jumped from the balcony of that same eighth floor apartment, ending their own lives for fear of being found guilty and convicted.
They did not jump alone as their 19 year old daughter also went with them, the three holding hands as they stepped into eternity.
A mother threw her children then herself from this ledge Three generations of the Dalal family took their lives into their own hands, ending them over a short period of time, all from the one balcony.
It was this series of deaths that caused many of the occupants of the Grand Paradi Towers to believe there was something negative, something supernatural going on at the towers. Could it be that some force was at play causing all these fatal jumps to take place?
Although some believed it is just an unfortunate series of events, others say they have had encounters of a paranormal kind that helps give credence to to the paranormal hypothesis.
It was this series of deaths that caused many of the occupants of the Grand Paradi Towers to believe there was something negative, something supernatural going on at the towers. Could it be that some force was at play causing all these fatal jumps to take place?
Although some believed it is just an unfortunate series of events, others say they have had encounters of a paranormal kind that helps give credence to to the paranormal hypothesis.
Other Nearby Towers May Have the Answer
Gateway to a 'Tower of Silence' Strange encounters have been reported in the halls of the Grand Paradi. Visions of people appearing and disappearing, unexplained voices and sounds, and of course the widely reported feeling of foreboding, especially on the eighth floor of the 'B' wing.
A series of prayer rituals were carried out to settle the restless spirits thought to still linger in the towers, and since taking place the supernatural activity has ceased. However no one has moved into the Dalal's apartment, and it still sits empty.
There is one final question. If there was something unnatural causing these people to jump, then where did it come from?
That question too may have been answered by a theory put forward by investigators looking into the paranormal side of these events. Out the back of the towers is a forest, ancient land, and in this forest is what is known as a 'Tower of Silence'.
These short towers are used by the Parsi Zoroastrians as a place for the dead. The top of the tower is flattened and surrounded by a low wall. This upper level is divided into three concentric rings into which the deceased are placed – Men in the outer ring, women in the middle and children in the centre. It is here the bodies are laid to allow scavenging birds to devour them while the sun helps speed up the other processes.
The reason for this is that in the Zoroastrian religion it is believed that the dead body is unclean, that a corpse demon will enter the bodily remains and contaminate it, and everything in contact with it. It is by allowing the birds to devour the body (and they can do so in minutes) that putrefaction will not take place, thus halting the demon in its activity.
Also, with the final wish of the dead to be devoured by the birds it is one final act of charity to nature. Once the bones are picked clean they are placed in the central part of the tower, to finally break down.
It has been suggested that it is the close proximity (not even two hundred meters) of a nearby 'Tower of Silence' to the Grand Paradi Towers that is the cause for the high number of suicides, and the strange activity that was once reported there. That these 'corpse demons', unable to taint the remains of the dead, instead took delight in breaking the living.
A series of prayer rituals were carried out to settle the restless spirits thought to still linger in the towers, and since taking place the supernatural activity has ceased. However no one has moved into the Dalal's apartment, and it still sits empty.
There is one final question. If there was something unnatural causing these people to jump, then where did it come from?
That question too may have been answered by a theory put forward by investigators looking into the paranormal side of these events. Out the back of the towers is a forest, ancient land, and in this forest is what is known as a 'Tower of Silence'.
These short towers are used by the Parsi Zoroastrians as a place for the dead. The top of the tower is flattened and surrounded by a low wall. This upper level is divided into three concentric rings into which the deceased are placed – Men in the outer ring, women in the middle and children in the centre. It is here the bodies are laid to allow scavenging birds to devour them while the sun helps speed up the other processes.
The reason for this is that in the Zoroastrian religion it is believed that the dead body is unclean, that a corpse demon will enter the bodily remains and contaminate it, and everything in contact with it. It is by allowing the birds to devour the body (and they can do so in minutes) that putrefaction will not take place, thus halting the demon in its activity.
Also, with the final wish of the dead to be devoured by the birds it is one final act of charity to nature. Once the bones are picked clean they are placed in the central part of the tower, to finally break down.
It has been suggested that it is the close proximity (not even two hundred meters) of a nearby 'Tower of Silence' to the Grand Paradi Towers that is the cause for the high number of suicides, and the strange activity that was once reported there. That these 'corpse demons', unable to taint the remains of the dead, instead took delight in breaking the living.
Ashley Hall 2013
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