Meher Marfatia: Of fishermen, farmers and faith

Ganesh Nayak with his son Vineet at the VL Nayak newspaper stall near Khar station the suburbs oldest of its kind PICSSNEHA KHARABEYou could walk past and miss it I can never This tiny roofed cottage carries some of my fondest childhood memories Ninety years after being built by Rana Kaikhushru Dastur dinky Meher Khushru Villa stands where 2nd Road meets SV Road in Khar My fathers shared ancestry with the Dasturs belonging to Navsaris priestly Meherji Rana family meant we visited them often The hugest hugs from assorted aunts awaited us and a cousin ever ready to read me stories about a wittywise goat called Bakor Patel from a Gujarati tome as did a dining table groaning with goodiesRanajis grandson Soli Dastur steers me through parallel and perpendicular lanes numbered 1 to 21 Khar from the Marathi khara or salty the area was seawater marshy unravels in an explosion of Pathare Prabhu Sindhi Sikh East Indian Parsi Gujarati and Muslim influences and confluences weaving a patchwork from the 1920s When the suburb got its railway station in 1924 the Development Department of Bombay declared these khara tracts premises to rentThe stunning little Ghanteshwar Temple set up in the 1950s at one exit of Madhu Park is where the faithful tie bells for prayers answeredKhar stretches east to west from the station till Koliwada vaulting south from National College on Linking Road to Sacred Heart School northwards Three centuries ago the Kolis divided their fishing village into seven gaothans Dandpada Patilpada Madhlapada Vetalpada Kotpada Varinpada and Chauripada each protected by its deityWashing idlis down with filter coffee at Sudhakar Shettys Vrindavan Hotel outside the station we cross to Foto Corner probably Khars oldest studio It was started in 1954 by Illustrated Weekly of India photographer Mohan Devdutt Suvarna who was in the Nizam of Hyderabads employ before arriving in Bombay His sons Niranjan and Balkrishna explain he could shoot personalities of the day because of BandraKhars exclusive celebrity circuit in the absence of Versova and Oshiwara The brothers prized prints An autographed portrait of Babasaheb Ambedkar and a still of Nehru saluting at an Azad Maidan paradeAspandiar Iranis 1950established Prince of Wales restaurant now is run by his son RohintonAligned with Vrindavan is a blue bungalow with Art Deco highlights Jivan Smruti the first major project of Lalji Parbat amp Co in 1953 was designed for income tax practitioner Jivanlal Shah by Karachi architects KC and CK Lala Jivanlals septuagenarian son Vijaybhai recalls the rustic landscape Huts fields and vacant plots everywhereAs signboards of To Let were removed and more plots occupied Khar sprouted places of worship A serene presence from the 1920s the Ramakrishna Math among the orders oldest centres hails Swami Vivekananda as a driving force behind its service Ambedkar Road resident Narayanrao Sonawadekar created the Vivekananda statue of Kanyakumari in actor P Jairajs KharDanda home Inaugurating that rock memorial in 1970 President VV Giri sanctioned a studio behind St Elias School on 20th Road for the sculptor credited with JN Tatas image in Jamshedpur tooThe Hanuman Temple on 5th Road is where Ravana has burned for 80 Dussehras A charmingly unusual wishing well of a shrine hugs Madhu Park Ghanteshwar Lord of the Bells Temple from the 1950s stunningly sheathed in thousands of metal bells Favours fulfilled grateful devotees return to tie bells Recent brass specimens gleam beside counterparts crusted with time and faithThe Ranes a prominent old Pathare Prabhu family of Khar on a trip to Kumta near Mangalore around 1938 To the left of Raosaheb Balaram Mothabhai Rane are his wife and eldest daughterFervent prayers must surely be sent up by desperate men of a unique labour mandi here Dawn to midmorning the hopeful jobless hang around Khar station identified by their bags and boxes Painters brushes peep from scruffy thelas carpenters and plumbers roam with typical toolkits Few polish walas get furniture glowing as warmly as Narmadeshwar Tiwari showcasing his skills widely once he was spotted by Khar oldtimer Kishore Sutaria in the 1980sTemples should also educate a gentle 81yearold Sindhi teacher tells me He inspires Sanskrit students free of cost at Sunday classes in nearby Khatwari Darbar the syllabus devised by Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan The peace exuded belies the flurry of activities at this hub its sewing shala for girls a big draw as wellAt Satya Vijay Farsan on 1st Road Prem Joshi reveals his greatgrandfather Bhuralal from Falna in Rajasthan opened shop in 1930 tempting a trickle of passersby with puri bhaji and gathia Across him Khar Medical Stores serves customers since 1953 Proprietor Ashok Kanuga recounts how his friend VL Nayak Khars oldest newspaper distributor and among the citys earliest would describe the suburb as a pastoral paddy havenVenkatesh Nayaks son Ganesh says Young people check digital media but our older clients morning cup of tea tastes best with a paper in hand Venkatesh came from Mangalore as a boy of nine with his father Laxman in 1928 When they took to the trade popular publications were Kesari Prabhat and two English dailies The Chronicle and Times of India Their shelves now stock books and a diverse stash of musicGovind Jadhavs cart hawking agarbatti and dhoop even packs orders from America It is squarely within noisy pigeon flutter of the Kabutar Khana springing up in 1998 following a Jain munis visit In Sherkat Manzil right across Aspandiar Iranis 1950established Prince of Wales restaurant is a takeaway joint today run by his son Rohinton Govind relished its chai for 10 paise in the 1970s This was urban historian Deepak Raos introduction to Irani cafes Dad made me sample its omelette pao and my eyes popped seeing big glass barnis filled with treats Ask for two lollipops a third was thrown inNot every community continued in nativeprescribed professions of baker fisherman or farmer The extremely educated Pathare Prabhus veteran inhabitants of Prabhu Nagar are prominent inhabitants their culture embracing a love for finery a distinct seafood cuisine and a zest for preserved traditions At least three generations of Ranes for instance are proud of their roots I wish you knew the beauty of Khar full of greenery with hundredyearold rain trees shading roads so beautifully as a kid I never needed a cap on my head says pathologist Suraina RaneMalhotra daughter of general practitioners Dr Subhash Rane and Dr Rookie Rane and district president of the Mumbai Mahila NCP Her grandfather Raosaheb Balaram Mothabhai Rane finance head of the Secretariat was a smartsuited hatwearing gentleman Pathare Prabhu ladies like my grandmother draped a Nauvari saree with black heeled shoes wore makeup and spoke fluent English unlike their contemporaries from other communities except for the ParsisA doctor legend on 16th Road was homeopath Subodh Mehta whose admirers floated a public charitable trust and polyclinic in his name in 1970 The research scientist in inorganic chemistry conducted a trial on himself during a nasty flu bout in 1940 Emerging fascinated enough by the results to go deep into the science of homeopathy and consult 400ndash500 patients a dayOpposite the Ranes lived a prominent couple Academy Awardwinning scriptwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvalas husband Cyrus parents Savak and Mehra nee Mehta she was related to Pherozeshah Mehta Lawyer Savak Jhabvala was an avowed communist After she had seven children Mehra joined the Congress to champion family planning If Cyrus became an accomplished architect the rest of the brood boasted a Rhodes Scholar Herald Tribune editor and UN narcotics division chief among other examples of brilliance Their khadi saree and chappalsclad mother spiritedly led Khar Gymkhanas ladies brigade Residents with a passion for sports including BG Kher who went on to be appointed the first chief minister then known as prime minister of Bombay State formed this gymkhana in 192829 absorbing the Khar Young Cricketers Club within its foldAt least 35 bungalows of Parsi families like the Jhabvalas dotted the quiet residential suburb when animal activist Arnavaz Poonegar married LIC officer Rustom in 1961 We went to the station or gymkhana for a soda bottle she says From their onestorey home they saw the spire of St Annes Church on Pali Hill heard its bells peal both sight and sound lost forever as Khar grew The streets were so uncongested I coasted along to St Stanislaus School on my bicycle rolling rarely pedalling Rustom remembersOne of the sweetest success stories from 1948 is Mukhi Tharus of Shikarpur in Sindh Staunchly refusing refugee funds he mixed gulab jamuns that sold out at camp Relying on his humble halwai skills he set up a small stall in the Mumbadevi Temple compound in 1964 Four years later Tharu Mukhi Bhandar moved to Khar to concoct the most mouthwatering mithaiBack on Solis porch we pore over a Gothiclettered sanad ordinance Issued in 1927 by Lord Irwin it conferred on his grandfather the title of Khan Sahib as a personal distinction Then head clerk of the PWD Ranaji Dastur astutely picked up town planning developments That Khar was savvy space to invest in was an idea which finally benefitted five generations of his descendants And extended family members who cant forget the fun in a palmfringed little roofed cottage that will always mean a lotAuthorpublisherMeher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiagmailcom