Connect with Mumbai's lesser known business families at panel dsicussion tonight

Jagannath Shankar Sheth, a prominent philanthropist, donated a building on his estate to be used as a schoolhouse. He also helped set up the Indian Railway Association in 1845 to bring the railways to India. Pic/Wikimedia Commons

Back in the late 1840s and early 1850s, a crop of Indian graduates from Elphinstone College in Fort, under the umbrella of the Students' Literary and Scientific Society, decided to set up a network of schools for girls. Young and relatively poor, they turned to leading shetias (merchant elites) of Bombay. Though many were reputed for being politically and socially conservative, several came forward to support female education. For instance, philanthropist Jagannath Shankar Sheth donated a building on his family estate to be used as a schoolhouse.

An artist paints at the campus of Sir JJ School Of Art, the city's oldest art institution established under the munificence of Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy

"A number of Parsis played leading roles, including Framji Cowasji Banaji, Kharshedji Nasarvanji Cama and Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. Originally against the idea of female education, Jamsetjee eventually came around and, apparently, tried to convince other conservative Indians of its merits.

Muhammad Ali Roghay provided funds to enlarge and repair Jama Masjid

So, it was Indians, not the British, who played a key role in the spread of female education in Bombay - and these business families provided the crucial funding that the British government, by and large, refused to give," says historian and professor Dinyar Patel, who will share many such instances at this evening's panel discussion titled, Building Bombay: Business Families and the City, presented by Avid Learning in association with NGMA.

Tomb at the Kabristan in Marine Lines

The panel also features historian Murali Ranganathan and editor Vikram Doctor. Historian Simin Patel, known for her blog, Bombaywalla.org, will moderate the session. "The speakers wanted to shed light on business families who have made significant contributions to Mumbai but have often been ignored. We will look at the early involvement of business families with politics and their journeys post-Independence, and move to contemporary business families, their hold on the press and their philanthropic practices," says Patel.

Dinyar Patel

This section will feature names like Tata, Godrej and Ambani. Ranganathan will also recite popular folk poems on business families in Gujarati and Urdu to engage with the guests.