Who moved my Kala Ghoda ?

Jawaharlal Nehru  had written, “Time is a razor’s edge, which is and isn’t.” Similarly, Kala Ghoda represents a land mark, which is and isn’t. Once upon a time, there was a marvelous statue there, all in black, of a handsome person riding a horse.  He was then the Prince of Wales,  who visited Mumbai  around 1935,and later became King Edward.

The statue was exquisite. Each and every vein on the horse’s body was seen in perfect anatomical detail.

The pedestal, on which the statue was mounted, had very finely crafted black panels, showing the princes, Rajas and Maharajas of different  states of India, who had gathered in Mumbai, to welcome the royal heir. The panels were in 3-D relief style. People coming from those states to Mumbai invariably visited Kala Ghoda, to see their ruler kings and princes gracefully and accurately depicted on the panels.

Then one fine morning, the statue was unceremoniously moved away to the zoo.  No one shed a tear for this beautiful heritage being dumped, from a premium location to the down market locality of Bycula.

This heartless decision was taken to make way for a parking lot. In contrast, another parking lot was made nearby, at Flora Fountain (Hutatma Chowk), where a statue to commemorate martyrs was made the centre of attraction and it remained stay put there.

None of the city fathers picked up cudgels for the scant regard shown to the city’s premium heritage sculpture at Kala Ghoda.  If the martyrs’ statue at Hutatma Chowk  could remain untouched despite the parking lot there, surely the Kala Ghoda could also not have lost its prime heritage status and location.

The importance of Kala Ghoda area goes back to the time when the present dilapidated Esplanade Mansion was the most luxurious hotel (Watson) in the city. English men disembarking from luxury liners berthed at Ballard Pier and troops at Sasoon Dock would come over to Watson Hotel.

The hotel’s neighbouring building David Sasoon Library was built by a philanthropist, whose grat grand son visited it recently.  The prestigious Lund & Blockly shop in this building was the up market opticians for the the rich and famous. It also sold and serviced optical instruments used for surveying and navigation, which the British required to expand their footprint in India.

Next to it was the “Army & Navy” stores, which had only two other posh, large  stores as its competition (Whiteway Ladlow, now Khadi Bhandar and Evans Fraser, which became Handloom House, before going into flames.)

The Esplanade building had a small shop: Smart & Hollywood). It did roaring business by capitalizing on changing fashions. When broad ties gave way to narrow ties, men flocked to this shop for getting their ties  altered. Little did they realize, however, that the worn out patch over the knot of their ties gave away the story!

Next to this building stands the imposing and grand Elphinstone College building. I had the pleasure and privilege of studying there for two years. Its ground floor was occupied by old, dusty government records and gloomy looking, shabbily dressed.yawning clerks.

 The college canteen had one side open to atmosphere. It was great fun to sit there and sip a cup of tea, watching rain falling on greenery (since colleges always open during monsoon). For initial three months or so, I never relished its tea, till a senior student passed on a trick. He said “Ask for Nariman (not a person) and you will get fantastic tea ! I tried and it worked!

There was a narrow corridor between Elphinstone College and the old Secretariat Building. It was converted into a Government Milk Bar. Most of the students preferred to go there instead of the college canteen.

A classmate and a friend of mine  saved all his pocket money throughout a week and spent it lavishly every Friday, by ordering the most expensive dish, much to our envy !

Another friend of mine  and I decided to try non veg for the first time in our life. Instead of opting for the tastiest dish, which would have made it still difficult in future to accept bland dishes, we consciously asked for the most tasteless dish. The amused waiter recommended mutton sandwich, adding that it would be just like rubber with salt ! We tried that and managed to eat all of it, though with the help of six to seven glasses of water each !

Our biology lab teacher was  a test cricketer’s  pretty wife. Most boys surrounded her to inquire about a cricketer’s life at home!

Our language professor was handsome, dressed always in light coloured sharkskin suit, which was in fashion then. It was now girls’ turn to surround him and ask silly questions!

Our physics lectures and practicals were in the adjoining building of Institute of Science. This building also houses Cowasji Jehangir (CJ) Hall. This is probably the most impressive hall I have ever seen in Mumbai. With ground plus an upper gallery all around and circular peripheral lobby, having pillars, open to the outside, it is sort of a miniature version of the Parliament House in Delhi.  Though not air conditioned, it had superb natural ventilation. In the present days, it would have qualified as a green building. Community functions held there gave equal options to those who wished to sit inside as well as to those who wished to move around the lobby, while boring lectures might  be going on inside !

The opposite side of Kala Ghoda was a traditional British style eatery “Way Side Inn”. It served excellent five course lunch and had antique period furniture. It was famous for Fish & chips, which the English families must have been missing in Mumbai. It also served excellent Russian salad.  Once some of us bunked a lecture and walked across for snacks, only to find our Principal sitting there and staring at us! He did not bother but we felt guilty!

During late forties, a man used to frequently visit this restaurant, settle down near a window, order coffee and start writing pages after pages. The owner’s young son kept playing around. The owner watched it for some time and then called his son aside. He told him not to disturb that man because he was writing something important. He was Dr Ambedkar, then drafting the Constitution of India! If I could help it, I would have preserved that restaurant in its original form, as a precious heritage.

Another restaurant on a side of Way Side Inn is Chetana, which is still popular for its vegetarian meals. It has an unique combination of a restaurant cum book store. I remember going there, in my childhood, with my father, who entertained a Bengali couple from  Kolkatta, to a lavish four course dinner for merely four Rupees per head.  They served Indian preparations in Western style. Further on the same footpath is a posh stationery store Thackers and also Copper Chimney now.

The next door neighbor, on the other side, is a landmark heritage music store: Rhythm House. It is said to have been owned by Ashok Kumar in the past. The opening scene in his familiy’s home production “Chaltika Naam Gaadi” shows his ramshackle car being kick started right in front of Rhythm House.

 A peculiarity of this shop was to let its customers try out listening to records of their choice, by sitting in individual cabins, giving total privacy, to judge whether a record is worth buying. If yes, they would get a brand new record from inside, for him to carry home. It was, however, besides the point that this unique facility gave an opportunity to young couples to steal a few moments of privacy!

No mention of Kala Ghoda is complete without referring to Khyber, a restaurant par excellence.  Well known for its superb food, it has survived a fire. Renovated after the fire, ingenuity of its famous interior designer Parmeshwar Godrej retained its smoke charred walls intact for posterity.

I remember one of my early visits to Khyber during late fifties.  A cousin of mine had come down from our native place, to receive his friend, who was returning from Norway, after doing a course in Oslo. We three had a sumptuous dinner there. When the bill came to Rs. 29/-, my cousin was astonished and said his family’s full month’s grocery bill came to less than that!

During Indo-Pak war of 1965, Mumbai faced blackouts. Offices closed early and people rushed home before dark. Khyber started offering packed dinner at 4 pm, to enable people to carry home and eat with their family. It would, of course, be a candle light dinner at home, with less of romance and more of tension!

A remembrance which is etched in my memory and which could happen only in India is worth mentioning. There was a small Irani restaurant in a small lane between Khyber and Rhythm House.  A test match was being played between India and West Indies. Chandu Borde had made a century in its first innings and was betting well in the second inning too. Radio commentary was going on in the restaurant’s radio.  People passing outside the restaurant stopped outside to listen to it.  As Borde’s score moved into the eighties, excitement built up in the crowd , glued to the commentary. There was palpable tension all around. Borde understandingly slowed down in his nervous nineties.  The restaurant owner then sprang a pleasant surprise. He   served a hot cup of tea, on the house, to everyone in the crowd, in anticipation of Borde’s century.  It was, however, not to happen. Borde got out at 96.

Finally we come to the latest addition of a landmark to the landmark of Kala Ghoda. It is Jehangir Art Gallery. Less people visiting it are genuinely interested in art and more of them just loiter in.  Students during free periods (or hen they have bunked lectures), office goers needing a break from their professional visits in the area and so on.

It had a small art gallery on the first floor. It permanently displayed artist Chetan’s paintings. Many have grown up looking at his illustrations in children’s magazine “Chandamama”

An extremely popular eatery “Samovar” has always been the highlight of Jehangir Art Gallery. It has a wall on one side and is open to a garden on the other side. Reasonably priced and yet serving fantastic food and beverages, it is the “in” place. Basu Chatterjee’s remarkable remake of “School for Scoundrels”, made as “Chhotisi Baat”, has memorable scenes shot at Samovar. Amol Palekar, Vidya Sinha and Asrani have made this place last forever in memory of cine goers.

A rare, one of its kind event in Mumbai’s history is associated with he Jehangir Art Gallery. Emerging from its steps,  Protima Bedi did a daring act of streaking across a road. Her photograph adorned the cover page of a newly launched cine magazine.

A welcome feature of the Gallery is the faci;ity it offers to budding artists, to put up their paintings, on a railing in front of its entrance. This is a laudable facility.

Probably this idea got extended when the now famous “Kala Ghoda” annual festival  was conceived. Log on to Google for any information on Kala Ghoda and you will mostly run into details of this festival.

People all over the country, who have seen Brij’s memorable film “Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi“,  will always remember a key scene of the film, shot at and in the Jehangir Art Gallery. It first shows Biswajit looking at a beautiful painting of Sharmila Tagore, dressed provocatively in a period costume of about 2000 years ago. A Victoria (Ghoda Ghadi) drives up right in front of the steps outside. Sharmila Tagore, dressed exactly like in the painting, gets down, walks up the steps, goes straight to Biswajit and surprises him. Before he can open his mouth, she tells him that she was the same girl, born 2000 years ago, standing before him in flesh and blood. She was neither a reincarnation nor a spirit. That scene sticks to the viewer’s mind for ever.

Backbay Reclamation and Nariman Point

A prospectus, published in England, for an initial public offering (IPO) of shares, mentioned the following:

A company, to be named as “The Backbay Reclamation Co” will be formed in England, for reclaiming land, by filling up shallow back waters of a bay in south Bombay. The land so created, will be used for constructing bungalows in the vicinity of The Bombay Baroda & Central India (BB&CI) Railway’s Colaba Terminus. This will be a prime locality and appreciate in value.”

Soon the Second World War started and the share issue flopped, because not many thought that the land would fetch any value. The shares did not fetch value.  The Backbay Reclamation project was, however, later taken up by  government.

Simultaneously, a well known lawyer, Nariman, played a major role in the Indian National Congress. He was aspiring to become its President but was voted out by supporters of heavy weights. His memory was later given a pride of place, by naming the extension of Marine Drive’s retaining wall after him. The tip of the nearly 10 ft wide wall, called Nariman Point, became a popular place for evening walks on holidays.  The long wall preceding it had no railing on either side. I remember tension on my parents’ faces whenever I, as a child, strayed towards one of its edges. Rocks around the periphery of the area surrounding the end of the wall, which was literally the Nariman Point, lly occupied by urchins trying to catch crabs. It was a nightmare for vegetarians.

 The first modern building, to come up in the area, was Stanvac Building, later renamed as Esso building. The government built some bungalows where the reclamation ended then. Waves during high tide splashed against bedroom walls with repeated force. My father, being a government officer, was allotted one of the bungalows. I, therefore, had the pleasure cum ordeal of staying there for two years (1951-52). I have used the word ordeal because it was then a God forsaken place. If one ran out of even a matchbox, he would need to walk all the way to Churchgate, in scorching heat of summer, with not a soul or a tree around.  Also, my school bus driver had to be persuaded with folded hands to take a detour from his normal routeto pass through this deserted place, just for me. Every time a postman came, he got exasperated by walking the long distance in sweltering heat and our act of humanity comprised offering him a glass of water. 

There were, however, unusual plus points too, of living in one of the bungalows there  in Backbay Reclamation are of Nariman Point.  Collecting shells from the backyard, during low tide, was one of them. Growing vegetables in front was another. Learning to ride a bicycle was also an advantage.

 There were dilapidated structures housing major government offices like Tourism Department and also the Electric Grid Department, at one end of the row of the bungalows.  One day I found a shamiana in a large vacant plot opposite these offices. With childhood curiosity, I walked in, with a Kodak Baby Browny camera, costing Rs 17/-, in my hand. No one stopped me. Soon, the then Chief Minister Mr B G Kher arrived and laid the foundation stone of what is today the Sachivalaya.  

Right opposite this plot was a corner building “Beacon”. Later in my profession, I had to visit the French Trade Commissioner’s office  on the fourth floor in this building. After finishing my work, I would always make it a point to climb down stairs, rather than take the lift. Reason: music director Shankar lived on a lower floor and his name plate always inspired me to hum his inimitable tunes !

One of my relatives, working for Voltas, as a sales person in their air conditioners’ department, had sold a window AC to Shankar. This gentleman always recalled how Shankar opened his cupboard, filled with currency notes, to pay for the AC. With income tax’s highest slab being 90 %, no wonder hae preferred to keep cash away from banks!

 

Opposite the other end of the row of the bungalows was a building: “Commonwealth”. My father in law, during late fifties,  had a flat in this building. He had given it out on rent to Vyjayantimala. ( One of his close relatives, similarly, in sixties,  had given his bungalow, in Juhu Scheme, on rent to Hema Malini) Some of their nephews were keen to double up as rent collectors ! They were falling over each other, to get a glimpse of the screen goddesses !

 By early sixties, the vast expanse of the open ground between the row of the bungalows and the Nariman Point walkway had become a favourite spot for young couples in courtship. There was a small kiosk, showing documentary films, after it became dark in the evening.  It collected a small crowd of people loitering in the area and drew curses from the young couples, for disturbing their privacy! 

By late sixties, the first multistorey building “Nirmal” came up in this area. I was, by then, employed with Tata Electric Companies in Bombay House at Flora Fountain (Hutatma Chowk). It was decided to shift our office to “Nirmal” in Nariman Point. I was made in charge of the shifting project.  Lifts in the 24 storey Nirmal building had not yet been commissioned. I had to, therefore, climb all the 24 floors practically every day. (Cooling towers for the AC plant were installed on the terrace) After 4-5 months of hard work, the premises were ready for us to occupy. On the eve of the shifting, our MD visited the place. He found it to be so good that he instantly decided to shift Tata Computer Centre (presently TCS) there and shunt our office to a building in Ballard Estate !

 

I had the privilege of working for Mr F C Kohli in Tata Electric Companies.  He was then given the charge of forming TCS. By that time, TCS required more space. He decided, therefore, to hire space in the newly constructed Air India building. Mr Kohli picked me up to be in charge of the electrical installation for a new main frame computer in the new premises. Incidentally, he lived just across the road in the Commonwealth building, mentioned before. TCS owes a lot to him for its phenomenal success.

 

Other buildings came up rapidly in this area. It is difficult to believe that our town planners just forgot about providing greenery. Also, there were neither parking facilities nor food courts planned. Hawkers grabbed the opportunity and mushroomed there. . Well paid, well educated employees working in the areas were left to fend for themselves roadside food and  water filled from taps to wash down the food.

 

Indian Express Building, Oberoi Hotel and other buildings filled up the landscape.

National Centre for Prforming Arts (NCPA) was an unique auditorium. Built with thousands of “sound mirrors” meticulously positioned individually by hand, to provide the ideal acoustics, is unparalleled.  Why sound, even a whisper generated on the stage in its centre reaches every chair with unbelievable clarity, without the use of microphones and loudspeakers. It simply could not have been done even with love or money. I know this for sure, because it was constructed by Larsen & Toubro Limited, for which I worked for nearly 30 years, before my retirement (though in different departments).