Stand Tall, Mr Manockjee
The Khada Parsi desperately wants to change location — away from the hawkers, the noise and the freshly belched out exhaust smoke
Radhika Dwivedi
Mumbai, August 21: Squashed between two flyovers at Byculla and probably asthamatic if it were alive is the statue of Shet Cursetjee Manockjee, better known as the Khada Parsi or ‘lokhandacha (iron) Parsi’.
The traffic racing past him on the flyovers above can just about catch a glimpse of his face—if they notice him at all—and those below get a good view of his feet.
The striking bronze ornamental fountain and statue, installed in the 1860s, stands at the junction of several roads in Byculla, formerly known as Bellasis, Clare, Duncan and Ripon Roads.
Once an important landmark in Byculla, it was built as a memorial to Shet Cursetjee Manockjee (1763-1845), a leading Parsi citizen of his time.
The original of the fountain, at the Universal Exhibition, ordered by the Government of Chile, was noticed by his youngest son, Manockjee Cursetjee, a judge in the Small Causes Court and founder of the Alexandra Girls’ English Institution.
He ordered a replica made, with a bronze statue of his father on it, sculpted by John Bell of London, replacing the figure of Ceres in the original.
Manockjee’s statue is seen dressed in the Hindu style and holding a copy of the Avesta, the sacred scriptures of the Zoroastrian faith. ‘‘Trust in God and be not daunted’’ is the inscription on the main column.
The monument was gifted to the municipality on condition that they maintain it—judging from the bird droppings and its current position, that didn’t happen. The reason it looks clean now is because of the rains, which have been more than generous this season.
Four large lamps halfway up the Corinthian column are still intact but four others at the base have disappeared.
Today, this Grade-I Heritage structure is used by street dwellers and hawkers to dry clothes and exhibit wares.
Malini Thadani, senior vice president (public relations), HSBC Bank, had offered to relocate and restore the statue for the Urban Heritage Committee, but the city’s civic body didn’t even acknowledge her offer.
“It’s an interesting piece of art and an integral part of the city,’’ she says. ‘‘We offered to relocate it anywhere the committee found appropriate, someplace where it would be more visible and better maintained.”
An official from the Heritage Cell of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation says: ‘‘We realise the monument is in bad shape, so we’ve asked for advice from architect Pankaj Joshi, who will inspect the site and report on it so an appropriate restoration exercise can be carried out. The report will hopefully arrive by end-September’’.
While the bronze is now faded and many people don’t even know who it depicts, it was a gift to the city. Mr Manockjee’s going to be standing a long while, and deserves a place with some dignity and a few trees maybe, at least.