By Sarita Manu

  ‘Mumbai’ brings to mind swarming crowds, tall buildings, and the sea. Much has been studied and written about the city, its urban fabric, and its architecture. But Mumbai’s monumental water fountains and pyaavs (Marathi for drinking water fountains) remain relatively less known.

Professor Varsha Shirgaonkar, who heads the department of history at the SNDT Women's University, Mumbai, was documenting the history of the city’s fountains. Her project, “Listing Present Fabric Status and Conservation Plan for the Fountains and Pyaavs in the City of Mumbai" sponsored by the Heritage Conservation Society of Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, was launched in 2007. It aimed not only to list the existing fountains in the island city, but also to try and conserve or restore them.

Sir Cowasji Jahangir’s Fountain at St. Thomas Cathedral Compound

“Although official documents provide records, they do not necessarily take into consideration the social life of the people. And when such pieces of history are not recorded, one has to go out and look for alternative sources,” says Shirgaonkar, who faced a severe challenge in the shape of scanty records. Oral narratives were an important alternative supply of information and she was able to further validate these sources through newspaper records or archival photographs.  Though listing the fountains was a primary aim of the research, the venture successfully went on to highlight the diverse social fabric of the city by bringing alive the various people who built various kinds of fountains and contributed to the making of Bombay.

Sir Cowasji Jahangir’s Pyaav in red granite near Rangari Badak Chawl, located on the then tram route

The fountains were built at different times by various communities – the Parsis, Khojas, Memons, Jains and Banias – who settled in what was then Bombay and made the city their home.  Many of the fountains were primarily built as charities to provide drinking water for human consumption (and even cattle in some cases), while others were conceived as purely ornamental.

Blessed and ornamental
In the 19th century, Bombay was a busy trade hub attracting a variety of trading and mercantile communities. After the decline of Surat in Gujarat as a trading centre, the Parsis moved in large numbers to Bombay and the community rose to prominence and acquired considerable wealth. Important Parsi families who contributed to the making of Bombay were the Jejeebhoys, Dadysetts, Readymoneys and Wadias among others. The Parsis were also well known for their philanthropy and among their various charities they contributed to several water charities.  Instances of water charity have been recorded in India from the 3rd century BCE as part of the public welfare schemes of royal houses. A water charity was also considered to be a blessed activity at a personal level, especially in memory of a deceased family member. Of the most noteworthy donors in the matter of water charity, Sir Cowasji Jahangir Readymoney must especially be mentioned as he made one of the single largest contributions by donating 40 fountains to the city. In gratitude for the protection extended by the British to the Parsi community, he also donated a public fountain to the Regent’s Park in London in 1869. Readymoney belonged to one of the wealthy Parsi families that migrated to Bombay from Navsari, Gujarat in the early 18th century. The family led the way in the lucrative opium trade with China, and hence earned the

Ratansi Mulji Fountain

name ‘Readymoney’ which they began using as a surname. Around 1870, Sir Readymoney ordered 32 decorative fountains from England to be erected at various places in Bombay for drinking water. As per the Municipal Report of 1869, the fountains were ordered at the cost of Rs. 20,000 each, and in the following year he ordered eight more fountains at the request of the then Municipal Commissioner, Arthur Crawford. These fountains were made of stone and iron, and were described in the municipal reports as very ‘handsome’ Readymoney also erected two big fountains, one at Bhatia Baug (corner of Bazaar Gate in the Fort) and the other at the Crawford Market, each costing him £ 250. Of the 40 fountains, only six could be located during the study.

Quenching thirst
At the beginning of the 19th century, the leading Gujarati communities in the city were the Hindu and the Jain Banias. The areas around Masjid Bundar and Kalbadevi were commercial and the water charities were made by the traders’ family at the locations of public activity of the community. Several other Gujarati and Marwari communities also built fountains near their place of business. From the mid-nineteenth century, other communities like the Bohras, Bhatias, Khojas and Memons also made water charities. In memory of his deceased son Dharamsi, Ratansi Mulji, a famous Bhatia Freight Broker commissioned an exquisite fountain at Mint Road to F W Stevens, the well-known English architectural engineer. One does not find many examples of Indians commissioning work to European or English designers.  A few of the fountains performed the dual role of supplying water for human consumption as well as cattle. These fountains are constructed with water outlets at human height, and the water that spilt over would get collected in a trough below from where animals could drink. Cattle troughs started being built when cattle-driven carts carrying goods started to arrive in the markets of Bombay. Similarly, when early horse-driven trams started in 1874, troughs began to appear along the tram routes.

eeee	Carving and relief work seen on one of the eight faces of the Ratansi Mulji fountain	eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee	Flora fountain

In 1862, Sir Bartle Frere was appointed the governor of Bombay. From 1862 to 1867, the schemes of urban development and town planning of Bombay received a great impetus. The idea of ornamental fountains in elaborate gardens finds it roots under the Mughals and Rajputs, and they became a much sought after symbol of architectural beauty and water charity in the city.

Greek Goddess seated at one of the corners of Flora fountain

- This article is based on a conversation with Professor Varsha Shirgaonkar and excerpts from the report.