Celebrating a dream, 150 years on

To think that a merchantrsquos unusual dream a centuryandahalf ago has resulted in a singularly unique architectural and spiritual haven Located oasislike near Ramwadi and Vithalwadi on the bustling Kalbadevi Road the Dwarkadhish Temple or Soonderbagh Temple is possibly the oldest still standing and functional haveli structure the city is fortunate to haveThe frontage of this Krishnadedicated landmark is strikingly ornamented with sculpted figures fruits and animals Among them carved rows of monkeys munching bananas made the British somewhat dismissively dub it the Monkey TempleView of the sanctum sanctorumAn inscription etched on the main entrance reads ldquoThis temple is built by Soonderdas son of Thakar Mulji Jetha and dedicated to God Dwarkanathji in June 1875rdquoSeth Mooljee Jaitha as the family prefers the name spelt was one of Bombayrsquos most eminent cloth traders The hope and vision which led his son to gift the community and city this temple makes a charming legendMooljee is supposed to have reported a vivid dream he had one night It turned out an interesting visitation with farreaching consequences The merchant revealed how God indicated that his swaroop idol was lying somewhere hidden in their house Being the faithful follower that he was Mooljee searched frantically for the statue Discovering it at last in a wooden box stored under the staircase Filled with gratitude he resolved he would build a haveli to honour the divine revelation which was his privilege to receiveHeaded by Mooljeersquos son Soonderdas the family introduced the temple in 1875 under a separate trust formed specifically for it Just as Lord Krishna had been brought up in the chieftain Nandarajarsquos palatial home with lifersquos choicest comforts the idol too was appointed with gorgeous murals chandeliers and paintings for his enjoymentRestoration team members at work PicDhruti VaidyaManish Jaitha representing the familyrsquos seventh generation says ldquoMy childhood recollection is of going there at the age of six or seven with my parents Rajnikant and Asha Jaitha and uncle and aunt Krishnakant and Anuradha Jaitha Personally I got involved with the trust and the management of the temple around 10 years ago as the earlier generation wantedrdquoHaving founded the Mooljee Jaitha Market in 1871 four years ahead of the temple the Jaithas lived on Vithalwadi Road in convenient proximity to the market where their textile business was centred They bought a building on the main Kalbadevi Road as a new family home on this plot Jaitha elaborates ldquoAs the construction of the new house had not yet begun the temple was intended to have pride of place in the more prominent location So it was constructed on Kalbadevi Road The Jaithas continued to stay in the original Vithalwadi Road house till the early 1900s when they moved to Nepean Sea Roadrdquo Manish Jaitharsquos grandmother along with old family friends who were visitors to their Vithalwadi house related stories of a bustling past The narratives described how the entire vicinity was occupied by the homes and offices of textile traders conducting brisk business in the Mooljee Jaitha Market where they held the majority of their stocks The temple then served not only as a place of worship but was also a vital meeting spot where locals had an opportunity to interact socially with others from the neighbourhoodScene around the Dwarkadhish temple corner in Kalbadevi circa 1890 Pic Courtesy Hulton ArchiveGetty ImagesldquoTo the best of my knowledge there hasnrsquot been a major renovation like this though over the years the temple was modified to suit requirements of the timerdquo Jaitha says ldquoIn this 150th year the family decided to restore the temple as close as possible to its original state This has been done so beautifully by Dhruti Vaidya and her teamrdquoVaidya and her associate architect Vijay Panchal kept squarely in mind that this muchvisited temple should have plans for its holistic restoration evolve such that devotees could continue to use the temple throughout the work period ldquoIrsquove done many restorations but no public buildings in Mumbai This was special being a place of worship but an urban building as well Practical aspects like waterproofing plumbing and sanitation were sorted outmdashmore often done from scratchmdashbefore getting to satisfying aesthetics My office conducted detailed physical surveys architectural and photographic besides researching the history of the precinct We enjoyed making the drawingsrdquoThough overpainted teakwood pillars doors and balconies necessitated a thorough scraping Vaidya has stuck to the basic colour palette only freeing the overall ambience from pinkishred to fresher looking ivory expanses Suspended in a slant rose pink green and teal sareeclad winged ldquopareesrdquo peer down benignly blessing those treading the cool marble floor towards the garbha griha Pointing to the columns rising Corinthianstyle Vaidya explains that any structure dating back to the preIndependence era would naturally bear the influence of foreign elements like these Anil Chaddha touching up Soonderdas Jaitharsquos portrait Pic Courtesy Indian Art StudioThe temple is situated in the inner heart of Kalbadevi the core area chaotic with noisy traffic honking between hundreds of small business galas gold jewellery shops clothing stores shuttered banks and video game parlours And each building rests cheek by jowl a bare couple of feet from the nextThe transformation she has wrought in the midst of this mess is gratifying for Vaidya who says ldquoStepping inside to see the smiles of welcome worn by the wooden parees is mesmerising Their calm expressions prepare you for your moment with the spiritual I feel really happy to be able to get pujaris and others fromthe temple to see the building in a different light Not merely as a place to work in but an architecturally beautiful space People from the vicinity recognise the love and passion poured into this restorationrdquoThe fruit seller outside actually mentioned to Vaidyarsquos associate ldquoNow the building looks so nice I will also keep my cart and surroundings cleanerrdquo When I wend my way through the thick of haathgadis parked outside to chat with him Kasif says ldquoMy father Nasir bhai who sat at this same stall before me would have been excited to see the temple lit up in the evening Sach mein kitna sunder dikhta hai shaam kordquoVaidya befriended many of the ladies who regularly come for seva threading flower malas to adorn the idol ldquoI grew fond of their smiles and their devotionrdquo she says I speak with one of them Sangeeta Patwa says ldquoRoj seva karva anand thaay Tamaara jeva lekhak mandir maatey lakhey tetlu saaru It is a joy to serve daily like this Journalists like you should keep writing about the templerdquoI assure her of a great early account Historian Sharada Dwivedi has shared a translated excerpt from Acharya and Shingnersquos 1889 Marathi work Mumbaicha Vruttant ldquoThere are two doors leading to the temple one to the west and the other the north On the western doorway are images of RiddhiSiddhi with Ganesh and above them a large clock On the north and west facades rishis milkmaids and monkeys are portrayed playing games Sages perform penance munis have japmalas or read pothis Some have long jata hair The carvings are all very beautifulrdquoThe account goes on to highlight how facing the black crystal idol of Dwarkanathji surrounded by takkyas or bolsters a little fountain plays on certain assigned occasions Dressed in garments of kinkhwab with turbantype headgear resembling that worn by Vallabhacharyasect maharajas the deity presents a serene countenanceCommenting on the frames in the interior watercolour scenes from Krishnarsquos life lining the left walls inside oil on canvas RadhaKrishna depictions on the right Anil Chaddha of the Indian Art Studio says ldquoWe maintained a balance to retain these artworksrsquo authenticity while enhancing their visual appealmdasha delicate line to tread in restoration The age and condition of the paintings presented difficulties faded colours cracks and peeling layers required careful cleaning and repairrdquoA fourthgeneration member of the enterprise with his brothers Sanjay and Rajesh Chaddha relates how it is the passion to preserve history that helps them keep this professional legacy humming smooth for more than a century after their greatgrandfather Jairup Narayan Chaddha of Bhatinda started his painting and restoration work from the studio in 1917ldquoPreserving the original textures when removing decades of dust and grime was a delicate taskrdquo adds Anil Chaddha ldquoWe had to ensure that good restoration materials used like the Winsor Newton oil paints were compatible with the original paint to prevent further damage Environmental factors like controlling humidity and light needed to be managed to protect the paintings during the processrdquoHow does he view the rapidly transforming Kalbadevi landscape ldquoChange is inevitableBut the neighbourhood has become much too crowded with new establishments springing up in every inch of space Repairs or reconstruction of old buildings are done with the aesthetics and history of architectural structures compromisedrdquoInside and out the preponderance of musical imagery is exquisitely rendered Numerous figures both within and on the external walls guarded by the carved dvarapalas hold instruments like the veena tabla and cymbalsIf stones could speak what wonderful stories every lovingly restored celestial being here would tell the worldAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom