Zoroastrians believe that after death the body becomes a host for corruption and defilement. Cremation or burial are ruled out because they might end up polluting sacred elements like fire and earth.
So, they go for a ritual called exposure of the dead. The deceased's body is taken up to a raised structure called the Tower of Silence and left there to be devoured by vultures.
The practice is now only followed in the Indian subcontinent. Dwindling vulture population in India has made the process more gruesome.
Some recent photos, showing a growing heap of rotting cadavers atop the Tower in Mumbai (India), have stirred a controversy within the community.