To review this article, My Profile, then View Saved Stories
To review this article, My Profile, then View Saved Stories
By Khorshed Deboo
Photograph via Rhea Talati
The intersection of Churchgate Street (now Veer Nariman Road) and Mayo Road (now Bhaurao Patil Marg) in Mumbai, where the Bhikha Behram well is modestly situated, is notoriously busy. On weekdays, a sea of workplace staff rush out from Churchgate Station to their workplace in Fort, while black-clad lawyers walk to one of the many law firms, or perhaps to a hearing in the nearby courts.
AD100 conservation architect Kirtida Unwalla’s firm undertook the recovery of the Bhikha Behram in 1999 and renovated it in 2023.
Sitting on a five-foot-high wall at this intersection, on the corner adjacent to Cross Maidan, the Bhikha Behram well will succeed in an old three hundred next year. Sacred to the Parsis of the city and surrounded by a forest of palm and banyan trees. trees, it is hidden from the view of passers-by. While covered well rooms are available only to Parsis, well water, which is obtained through taps at the rear, can be used in all communities.
In 1715 CE, a Parsi gentleman named Bhikhaji Behramji Panday arrived in Bombay from Broach (now Bharuch). His arrival was not without obstacles: he managed to escape the wrath of the Marathas, but found himself in the crosshairs of a skirmish and was eventually imprisoned. Once freed, he established business relations in Fort English Bazaar, now Medows Street. His philanthropic dispositions led him to dig a well for other people in 1725 AD, known as the Bhikha Behram well. A shallow watering hole for farm animals and horses was built next to it. The well was not only a source of water for weary travelers but also an impediment to enjoying the breeze of the Arabian Sea. “The construction of the Western Railway headquarters [then Churchgate Terminus] was not built until 1899, so seawater reached its site. There were windmills here, and people from the islands of Colaba and Old Woman came in ox carts to get ground wheat and corn. The well and its surroundings were where they could just rest,” says Kirtida Unwalla, conservation architect at AD100, whose company undertook the recovery of the well in 1999 and renovated it in 2023.
By Divya Mishra
By Clément Bellanger
By Fiona Bornhöft
Parsis offering prayers at the Bhikha Behram well, late 19th century.
Until the early 20th century, public wells in Mumbai were common, especially before Lakes Powai and Tansa began supplying water to the island city. The fort itself had several freshwater wells, most of which have now disappeared. Well, Bhikha Behram, you will see a now closed pit, closed with concrete, in the compound of the Bombay High Court. The city’s oldest pyaus (drinking water fountains) are still in operation. For example, Char Null’s in Dongri and Seth Gangalal V’s. Mulji Nandlal Pyau in Horniman Circle, which is believed to have served opium and cotton investors in the early 19th century.
In the early 1860s, Governor of Bombay Sir Bartle Frere’s resolution to demolish the Bombay Fort heralded the Victorian Gothic era in the city. Frere’s foresight to expand Bombay through rehabilitation, a series of public buildings, civic infrastructure and transportation earned him the axiom of Urbs Prima in Indis. All this time, Bhikha Behram was a silent witness to the expansion of a fashionable city around it. In the decades following Brother’s rule, many substantial public buildings were built within a few meters of the well. The Central Telegraph Office finished in 1874 with designs through W. Paris and James Trubshawe, and Muncherjee Murzban as assistant engineer; the High Court designed by British engineer JA Fuller in 1878; The university library and convocation hall were built between 1869 and 1874 according to plans by the British architect Sir Gilbert Scott; and the Secretariat in 1874 through Henry St. Clair Wilkins. The 20th century saw the arrival of the Art Deco style: the Eros cinema designed by Sohrabji Bhedwar in 1938 and the NM Petit Fasli Agiary by Gregson, Batley & King in 1939. “Surprisingly, there is not much documentation about the well, even though The surrounding structures have been the subject of much writing,” notes Unwalla.
For most Parsis, religion is built into life. While one attends a number of rituals at the Bhikha Behram well, from reciting kusti prayers to gently touching the forehead opposite the edge of the well as a sign of worship, some devotees simply sit on one of the benches to seek shelter. The hotel is also home to a stray dog, and it’s not uncommon for squirrels to come in. Sun-patterned stained glass windows in the canopy create orange and yellow ripples in the well, a maximum magical sight. “The glass roof and pavilion were not built until 1944; Until then, the well was in the open air. Later the composite wall was also added,” says Unwalla.
By Divya Mishra
By Clément Bellanger
By Fiona Bornhöft
Unwalla tells us that the canopy and pavilion were not built until 1944; Until then, the well was in the open air.
The pavilion was designed by architect Jamshed Aga of Shapoorji N. Chandabhoy.
By Divya Mishra
By Clément Bellanger
By Fiona Bornhöft
In March, amidst a dance of palm trees and a wave of bougainvillea, the footsteps of the faithful by the well reach their highest annual level. According to the Zoroastrian calendar, it is the month of “Avan”, a time when water is worshipped. The air is tinged with the scent of roses and lilies, carefree ropes are pushed through the area on a filigree fiberglass reinforced concrete (GFRC) screen, and the flashes of oil lamps are lit long after sunset. Offerings of coconut, rose water and the classic sweets dar ni pori are made.
The parapet of the shaft is made of brick masonry with stone finials.
In the past, bhishtis (water bearers) filled their mashaks (leather bags) with water from the well and the neighborhood.
The tranquil sanctuary of the well goes beyond the desire to assert an identity; It is a living embodiment of heritage preservation while maintaining its number one goal: supplying water to a thirsty passerby. Whereas in the past, well water, considered naturally comfortable despite its proximity to the sea, was distributed at Fort and Churchgate, today it is not free of impurities. “The Trust ensures that the water goes through a filtration process before being piped to the outdoor taps [for drinking],” says Viraf Kapadia, one of the trustees of the Bhikha Behram Well Trust, a non-profit organization that maintains the site. Several street vendors lining Fashion Street also use water from those taps.
Restoration paintings of the well were first carried out through Unwalla in 1999. At that time, the wall of the enclosure had to be secured, the pavilion needed attention and the auxiliary also had to be installed.
The outer face of the parapet, in the past covered with marble mosaic in situ, was clad with Malad ridge plaster in situ after restoration.
The parapet of the shaft is constructed of brick masonry with stone finials. The outer face of the parapet, once covered with marble mosaic in situ, was clad with Malad chalk plaster in situ after restoration. The rugged terrain of Kota stone beyond the pavilion was maintained in 1999. However, with the accumulation of rainwater, a conducive pavement with a slope good enough for drainage has become essential. “In 2023, in addition to the peripheral slabs, the pavilion slabs were also changed. In addition, as the level of the outer roads increased significantly, the problem of water seepage in the compound monsoon arose,” says Unwalla. Next, the ground point was raised with a 100 mm cement slab and new slabs were laid. This posed another challenge: the height of the shaft parapet had to be increased to 250 mm. The existing stone coping was painstakingly removed and bricks were laid to increase the height of the wall. The finish was made with lime plaster and the stone copings were reused.
By Divya Mishra
By Clément Bellanger
By Fiona Bornhöft
The stone details, in resonance with the corbel at the top of the columns, were brought to the base once the ground was leveled.
The addition of the cement slab meant that the main points of the original design at the base of the 4 columns were no longer visible. To do this, the cement concrete intervention was filled with lime concrete. Main stone points, in resonance with the corbel located in the upper component of the columns, were brought to the base once the floor was leveled.
Stained glass panels with Zoroastrian imagery.
During the first phase of recovery in 1999, the lighting area for lamps was restructured.
During the first phase of recovery in 1999, the lighting area of the lamps was restructured. A stained glass window of the prophet was installed Zaratustra. Se has created a domain for worshippers to walk around the well. More benches were added and taps were installed along the exterior aspect of the north-facing enclosure wall. A few years later, the leaded glass panels installed in the pavilion were vandalized and the thin glass-reinforced concrete (GRC) frames, added in 1999, covering the glass, are still intact. “More than 20 years ago, GRC was new in India; few architects used it,” Unwalla shares.
Originally a Category I structure, the Bhikha Behram well was awarded Category II A prestige through the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) in 2019. “But the well is a rare monument, located at a busy crossroads but providing a lot of calm. It’s amazing that its original function, to supply water to other people, is still alive three hundred years later,” says Unwalla.
Also read: Ahmedabad’s Parimal Garden offers a poignant mirror image of the city since the 1950s
Read also: This village of Bandra is an architectural goldmine of Portuguese and Caribbean culture
Also read: Through the classic of the British barracks at the Scindia School of Gwalior
By Suman Mahfuz Quazi
By Nuriyah Johar
By Arshia Dhar
By Alisha Boy
Sign in with AD
Related Sites