Meher Marfatia: Of masala kings and baronets

Ms Bhesania was our French professor Fragrant with her generations 4711 cologne given to absentmindedly leaving laundry tags on pastelprint skirts and announcing she lived at Gamadia Colony She may have been directly related to the Tardeo address I now find from a pair of legends about The Ship at that colony entranceA story explaining this motif alongside the lettering of Shireen Mansion is told by 83yearold Gool Mistry Her parents were early tenants in the 1938erected building Their landlord Burjorji Bhesanias trade involved transporting grass bales between Bombays seven islands in boats mdash so the nautical image The theme was part of the prevailing Art Deco trend as well Preindependence Bombay architects toyed with noncolonial design Ships trains and planes symbolising travel speed and the surge to hit horizons beyond the Arabian Sea embellished new exteriorsHimanshu Patel from the third generation of the Motilal Masalawala family which pioneered packed masala mixes to sell both locally and for export PicsSayyed Sameer AbediI trail Mistrys nephew Darayas through Old Tardeo Road or Javji Dadaji Road If this hogs the arterial distance from Nana Chowk to Haji Ali our chosen beat is Nana Chowk to GangaJamuna theatres Yet its impossible to ignore icons cornering the stretchs westeast axis MM Malaviya Road where Bombays mall madness regrettably bloomed with Crossroads in 1999 We sniff butter bliss at Sardar Pav Bhaji and hot bread at Behram Iranis 1919 established Shahpur Bakery Beside them Batliwalla Agiary compound glows with Diwali diyas which wink light on us scouting for remains of sheds which once tethered tongas Guarding the 1865consecrated agiarys gates are Sumerian lamassus mdash humanheaded figures on a bull body with bird wings This is also where midday had editorial offices at Everest Building when freelancers delivered typewriterclicked text in envelopes Researching a 1989 piece I discovered Tardeo was christened from palm Tads flourishing below Cumballa Hill with a deity installed the term Taddev was coinedStepping northsouth at the JD Road end of Sonawala Building I see Himanshu Patel of Motilal Masalawala Shelves spill with 80 varieties of spices and pickles bestsellers being Kashmiri chilli dhansaak and garam masala Rashmi Uday Singh buys from us Patel proudly says His grandfather Motilal Nathabhai Patel from Sojitra sold salt and saris before deciding masala was what Bhuleshwar needed in 1912 He began currying favour with Tardeo locals 25 years after Motilals son Rajnikant Himanshus father joined him Another son Purshottam pioneered packing masala mixes in 1948 They employed women pounding powders traditional style till 50 years ago Ultimate purveyor of Parsi cooking ingredients the shops condiments coat many an aromatic meal in colony kitchens Vendors shouting Bhejakalejeeeeee reassure these confirmed carnivores of meat treats Fewer takers indulge the poor man daring to cry PaneeeeeerNext in line the NarrondassManordass gold refinery is rooted on the plot owned by Mukul Sonawala It isnt every day that one greets a tenth generation partner of a company I think meeting Mukuls son Anshul Mukul acknowledges greatgreat grandfather Narrondass Manordass who began business in 1788 and grandfather Gordhandas Purshottamdas Sonawala a cotton and stock market merchant mdash Im just the caretaker of what my forebears created with great visionThe Ship announcing 1938built Shireen Mansion in Gamadia Colony has a pair of engaging stories behind itMy vision for the moment is a lot less lofty I dream of mango barfi and jawjamming sticky halwa hawked at Joshi Budhakaka Mahim Halwawala around the block Instead of course I visit two more Sonawala Building fixtures Bombay Pharmacy was the areas only chemist in 1965 with Bombay Medico at Bhatia Hospital There are 20 today updates Lalit Shah whose father Kantilals goodwill won Bombay Pharmacy a faithful customer following At Tardeo Book Centre next door Vallabhbhai Shah juggles jigsaw impressions mdash the Dongri tram rumbling a Uturn at Tardeo Circle the still standing bus stop of the scenic Sea Route 123 to RC Church via Marine Drive andMP Mill across the path paving way for GangaJamunaSharing a wall with ruins of the citys first twin screen theatre is The Reward building I have a phone chat with the daughterinlaw of Jamshed Master His sisters Alla and Tehmi supervised each brick laid here 80 years back Sporting a sturdy sola topi petite Alla would boom stern instructions from a handheld horn to nervous labourers atop scaffolds Sacrificing their jewellery as investment the ladies were rewarded by people rushing to rent Up in her fourth floor bedroom octogenarian Dolly Malbari recollects a Tardeo of fields and forests with peacocks And I had waistlong golden hair she sighs Californian poppy oil from Burlington Store downstairs saved it from going grey fastShireen MansionA facing ethnic bastion Talmaki Wadi is in its 75th year on this strip Among the citys oldest housing societies it is home to hundreds of Chitrapur Saraswats originally from Kanara Pharmacologist Srikar Amladi a resident from 1942 says This wadi provides a rallying point for our small community Yards away Cama Montessori and Primary School soldiers on since Sohrabji Jassawalla and his teacher wife Banoobai opened it in 1933Past Marwadi Chawls garment shops gleaming ludicrous signs like Show Fine and Mark Man come Chikhalwadi and Bhatia Hospital which was a 24bedded maternity ward in 1932 Then theres PAC the Parsi Amelioration Committee outlet offering lacy mutton cutlets and crumblefresh nankhatai mdash shortbread cookies Persian chefs learnt to knead from the Dutch docked in Surat Waking soon to winter mornings loyalists will warm akuri breakfasts with PACs vasaanu and eeda paak gheesoaked savoury and sweet fudge Delbar Mendis talks of her grandmother Lady Jerbai whose husband Sir Noshirwan Engineer was the first Indian Advocate General founding PAC in 1938 to encourage selfreliance in underprivileged Parsi womenArchitectural gem Dhun Lodge whose cementing and final demolition lost Tardeo more than a little lustre Pic courtesy Simin PatelBombaywallaA detour into hushed Motibai Street reveals the most charming wooden balconies and rafters Ive set eyes on Hormazd Mansion and Rati Villa especially exude character Moving on I stumble upon Balsaras Central Shorthand and Typing Institute quiet anachronism in a crazily wired world Touching 80 the very personable Khorshed Balsara runs governmentrecognised courses introduced in 1953 by her husband Sarosh former principal of Government Law College Surprisingly enough youngsters seem to be at work I ask 11th grader Isha Valsur what pulls her to Pitmans script Itll help my medical studies she answers Teenagers to surgeons seek this service as a prelude to professional options Teaching shorthand is difficult Balsara says smiling with confidence which conveys she does so with easeOpposite Karai Estate fronted by Swati Snacks of paanki and poodla fame stood Cabinet Cottage and Cabinet House mdash in tribute to furniture genius Naoroji Dadabhoys exquisitely crafted cabinets He occupied the ground level of Cabinet House where the foyer boasted ceilingkissing Belgian mirrors Playwright Dina Mehta and her sister Shirin Darasha charismatic principal of JB Petit School were on the first floor with general physician Noshir Ellis above Their neighbour in Cabinet Cottage was athletics guru Jal Pardiwala He brought us children gifts from wherever he went to the Olympics recalls Elliss daughter Dr Nergish DasturGrowing up at Karai Estate Kamal Sengupta and Kashmira Parasnis chime in with memories Sunrise behind the Wallace flour mill chimney Bright flowering plants in the Boyce Agiary garden till it was halved for road widening Grotty little alcoves of coal shops jaripurana walas and cycle mechanics Tea stalls blending brews scooped into brown paper bags with a small shovelBut heritage haven lies ripped the locality has lost its lustre Dating to 1906 Dhun Lodge opposite picturepretty Sethna Agiary shone with arched tinted glass windows and carved stone pillars Its heartbreaking to report that on Christmas Day Dhun Lodge was demolished a year after it was flattened to a shell of its former self Simin Patel said in her January 2015 blog BombaywallaGloriously green amid foul traffic fumes is the stately seat of Patels ancestors bought from a maharaja in 1850 Adenwalla Baugs two and a half acres hail from the 19thcentury heyday of Sir Hormusjee C Dinshaw whose clan earned recognition as uncrowned kings of Aden His father Cowasjee had remodelled the port for thriving navigation between the Indian Ocean and Europe Bankers and steamship firm managers the Dinshaws hosted George V in 1911 arriving for the Delhi Durbar to celebrate his coronation Chairs used at that function continue to grace the mansion Nothing like a bit of baronetcy adding aura to the robust tadka that is TardeoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiagmailcom