On father's day, what better way
to remember my father's father than to think about the stories we shared. My
grand father loved to dwell on old stories. To reiterate them and link them to
various people, times, government, politics, culture and my thirst for old
stories would excite him to tell more.
Heres one such story which went
untold. I unfolded this one, and it was almost like chatting with him on way
back from churchgate in the second class compartment of the Mumbai Local train,
while he would carefully hold on to the yellow champa he had picked up on the
way to station for his wife (my grandmother).
Some stories you narrated. Some
times reveal on their own. You were with us then, you shall be with us now. In
stories and memories, as future unfolds.
In the
heart of south mumbai, is the Flora Fountain or the church gate or most
recently called as the Hutatma chowk.
When I
was a little girl, I used to accompany my father to his office in the summer vacations and in the afternoon heat, he would send me along with one of his
office assistants to the nearby parks, avenues and monuments to cool off !
As a
child, I was always awed by the whiteness, the calmness of the statue inspite
of the hustling traffic around and the coolness of the fountain in Indian summers.
I would always go back to my grand father and ask him about the history of
these statues which looked indian and yet foreign , and why was there a fountain in middle of
so much traffic ! All I had gathered then was that there used to be a church
gate in its place a few years ago. It sounded so weird to me then that I dare
dwell more, and yet so intriguing that the quest for its history always
remained in my heart.
Thanks to
the 'Tangible Things course in History' by Harvard edx, I pulled up my socks to
do some internet research on the monument, and building up a chronology of its
dates, the various fabrics of power, culture, history and politics beneath it
and the minute observations I had missed which took me to even researching on
the sculptor, its donors and the funding committee.
1686 TO
1743 - The Mumbai Fort was built by the British East India Company. It had
three gates. The Apollo gate, The Church Gate and The Bazaar gate. (Church gate
named after the St. Thomas cathedral which still stands there)
1771 -
1784 - A small road called the Hornby Road, named after the then Governor of
Bombay was constructed.
1820 -
Eastern India - the Agri-Horticultural Society of India was founded by William
Carey in Calcutta. In effect being the agro ministry untill 1900s. They
established beautiful gardens, they documented the flora of the country,
published journals, and held competitions and shows.
1830 -
Anything Calcutta did, Mumbai had to do better :) The Agri-Horticulture Society
of Western India was founded. Among the wealthy notables in the AHSWI were ace
businessman Jagannath Shankar Seth, David Sassoon (the Jewish merchant-prince)
and Jamsetjee Jeejibhoy (1st Baronet).It was David Sassoon who donated his land
in Byculla to create the loveliest garden Mumbai had ever seen - the Victoria
Gardens.
1860 -
Old Mumbai Fort was demolished in 1860 as part of the then Governor, Sir Bartle
Frère’s efforts to improve civic sanitation and the urban space requirements of
the growing city.
1864 -
With the Victoria gardens flourishing , exotic flowers, and plants was becoming
very fashionable in Mumbai. The idea of celebrating Goddess Flora was perhaps
just a sign of the times. The Flora (roman godess of flowers) was constructed
in 1864. The money for Flora Fountain came from a Parsi gentleman: Mr Cursetjee
Furdomjee Parekh. He was a partner at Jamsetjee Jeejibhoy's firm, owned many
ships, and like many merchant-princes of the time, made a significant fortune
in trade with China and Europe. The sculptor was James Forsyth, who had earlier
worked on a beautiful Flora Fountain in Witley Court, Worcestershire, England
(that original fountain was damaged and is now being restored).
1864 -
Consequent to the demolitions of Fort in 1860, the Hornby road was widened into
a broad avenue and on its western side commercial plots were developed to build
new commercial buildings in Neo Classical and Gothic Revival designs. Hence,
when the Flora Fountain was built, it was installed at the exact location where
once stood the Church gate, instead of its original location at Victoria
Gardens.
1869 -
Statue unveiled. The Fountain was originally to be named after Sir Bartle
Frere, the Governor of Bombay, whose progressive policy had resulted in many
great Public Buildings in Bombay However the name was changed before the
fountain was unvieled as Flora Fountain
It was
constructed by Esplanade Fee Fund Committee, out of a donation of Rs. 20,000 by
Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh
1864 -
1960 - From the time the Flora Fountain was built in 1864 and until 1960, the
chowk (square) where five streets meet (hence, also known as the Picadilly
Circus of Mumbai) and the fountain stands now, was named as the Flora Fountain
area
1960 - PRESENT - to commemorate the martyrdom of the brave people who laid
their lives in the turbulent birth of Maharashtra State at the square, it was
christened as Hutatma Chowk with an impressive stone statue bearing a pair of
torch holding patriots. The Flora Fountain, surrounded by the British Victorian
era heritage buildings, is very much part of the chowk and has been declared a
heritage structure and it continues to charm visitors with its beauty and with
its spray of water.
On close
look at some of the detail photographs available on Internet (since I would be
crazy to stand in middle of traffic gaping at the statues in person !) It was
observed that the statues almost look indian rather than roman or british !
Check the picture below.
The
anklets on her feet are interesting, she looks almost Indian, doesn't she? Is
that a sheaf of wheat at her feet? I tried to look it up, but couldn't find
more information about the design of the female figures. If anyone understands
this more, pl throw some light. Also, see the head scarf. The way it is wrapped
is more Indian than the way a loosely covered head would be of british or roman
sculptures of that era.
It may
also be interesting to note that James Forsyth, the sculptor, had lost his only
daughter the same year as this sculpture was completed. Now, is it me, or is it
a true observation that none of the figures on the fountain are smiling. See
the image below.
I would
want to rename this fountain as the "Misplaced calmness in disguise"
Infact, in a lot of ways, it is similar to the John Harvard's statue of three
lies ! John Harvard's statue - 1, is not harvard himself. 2, dates wrongly. 3,
he was not the founder ! Similarly, the flora fountain sculpted in middle of
deep personal grief, from the money donated by the wealthy members of
Agri-horticultural society, meant for a botanical park, and to be used as a
fountain to enhance the coolness of the garden, stands in middle of a bustling
CBD, not even holding its identity as a central square, instead being part of a
martyr's square (hutatma chowk). History, Politics, culture and power has
builded and rebuilded itself in layers to bring together a story for the Flora
Fountain.
A Poem in
Gujarati by Niranjan Narhari Bhagat which is translated in English in the book
“Modern Gujarati Poetry : A Selection” by Gujarat Sahitya Academy
A Glass
and concrete jungle;
In its midst always Quiet, comely,
With hope filled face,
she stands
Flora
A dream of spring in her matchless eyes,
holding in both hands
stone flowers.
About her, in all corners,
Iron butterflies fly round and round
And lifeless insects play
Now, when
I think about how I would look up to this fountain, I can imagine the little
girl building a million questions in her head to be asked to her grandfather.
Thanking
the Harvard edx's 'Tangible things course in history' for getting me to digging
up on this monument.
Happy Father's day Dada !
