From Bombay with love

My head swirled in a floral haze from the response to last fortnightrsquos piece on summer flowers about to fall soon to impending rain The prettiest visuals of readersrsquo favourite blossoms besides those already printed on these pages flooded my phone and mailbox Treated to the sight of trees blooming outside their windows I delightedly identified clusters of orange gulmohar violet jacaranda and crepe myrtlemdashthe glorious purplish Pride of IndiaSpecific examples offered included the Burmese pink cassia outside PVM Gymkhana Another told the tale of a copper pod behind the Doongerwadi Towers of Silence gate at Kemprsquos Cornermdashsprouting steadily luxuriant since it was planted in the 1970s by a sukharwala faithfully watering it as he stood there selling sandalwood every day Young Kamal Dotiwalla requesting Nehrursquos autograph in 1963The most gratifying reader reactions vitally go beyond mere commendation and congratulations What they share back is always very welcome Fresh learning for me is bestowed with quiet grace Which is both the best compliment as well as complement validating long hours of researchIrsquom especially blessed with Once Upon a City It generates energies and synergies that knit close and reach far Here are some stories behind engaging unpublished photos and other gifts this column has particularly pleasured me withYehudi Menuhin and wife Diana watching a yoga demonstration at Bhulabhai Desai Institute in 1962 with BKS Iyengar seen behind his violinist pupilOn featuring the Bhulabhai Desai Institute the mid20th century crucible of culture at Hasman bungalow on Warden Road I received a wonderful image from Soonoo Taraporewala It shows violinist maestro Yehudi Menuhin and his wife Diana appreciating a yoga session by BKS Iyengarrsquos pupils ldquoFrom the 1950s my parents went to yoga classes held by Guruji Iyengar at Hasman on the terrace stage where musicians and dancers would teach and artists like Gaitonde and Ara had studiosrdquo Soonoo wrote in an attached note ldquoMy little brother and I went along every Saturday afternoon While our parents attended class we ran around playing Guruji taught Mehuhin yoga and became internationally renowned In early 1962 the Menuhins visited Mumbai He performed a concert at Birla Theatre and watched this class at the institute Various asanas were demonstrated by students of Guruji among them his daughter Gita who later became an eminent yoga teacher In this shot the Menuhins are sitting with Guruji standing behind My brother and I are on the floor on the extreme rightrdquoAnother photo has Menuhin accepting a statuette in the compound ldquoIt could have been Krishna or Shiva I remember him saying lsquoBeautiful beautifulrsquordquo Soonoo said The institute was replaced by Akash Ganga building where the National Centre for the Performing Arts was set up before its theatres were constructed at Nariman PointUttara Parikh modelling a silk saree at the Dior fashion show on the BARC lawns in 1961After recently explaining the origin of an equally iconic institution mdashthe birthplace of the Colabatipping TIFR was Kenilworth the Peddar Road home of physicist Homi Bhabharsquos auntmdashUttara Parikh sent me a striking picture In her Government Law College days she was selected to stylishly sashay down a ramp erected on TIFRrsquos open seaside lawn In 1961 the BARC management permitted this amazing outdoor locale as the venue of an exclusive fashion event partnered with the Parisian house of DiorldquoUnder a half moon on a breezy April evening 62 years ago lsquoThe Splendour that is Indiarsquo displayed special silks to immense applause from the elite audiencerdquo she recalled ldquoI was a saree model The Dior girls wearing the Western Wear Collection were deeply impressed by the colour pattern and texture of silk and cotton fabrics the Indians wore Their professionalism and efficiency impressed usrdquoAC Patel and wife Khorshed feeding pigeons at the Duomo Cathedral Milan 1966Uttara added a poignant story from when she was manager of the Taj Art Gallery in the mid1960s before she joined Air India ldquoMr Bhabha was an art connoisseur and collector for BARC which along with Air India was among the first corporate art collectors As he was also an artist his pencil drawings are in the Air India Collection A regular at the Taj gallery Mr Bhabha attended nearly every weekly exhibition In January 1966 he asked when a certain artist would be exhibiting I told him it was just two weeks after lsquoGood Irsquom going to Geneva tonight but will be back in a few days See you thenrsquo he said Tragically that was not to be His flight that night crashed I was devastated at the newsrdquoMy birth anniversary tribute to Maniba Nanavati prompted Kamal Panthaky to pass on charming childhood photos of herself then Kamal Dotiwalla asking Nehru for an autograph when he came to her building Chaman Chambers near Metro Cinema ldquoGandhijirsquos ashram disciple Manuben was my neighbour Sanyuktaben Shahrsquos sister In 1963 Pandit Nehru and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit went to their house to admire Gandhijirsquos belongings stored in a Godrej senate cupboard At Nehrursquos request they were donated to Mani Bhavan My mother insisted on having my hair done at a salon for the occasion something I hated as a kid Panditji kept smiling at me We found out hersquod noted that I was the only one who properly thanked him for an autograph He mentioned this to Manuben who told my momrdquo Ordinary objects can be keys opening doors to discovery A yellowed visiting card Kashmira Master Jethwa gave me led to the revelation of two Barodaborn ldquotalkie specialistrdquo brothers helming showbiz at the Opera House before the Gondal royals Her grandunclersquos name AC Patel crowned the logo of Ideal Pictures the company whose director he was at Royal Opera House The legendary Maurice Chevalierrsquos signature was emblazoned on the reverse of the cardArdeshir Addie Cawasji Patel was given Opera House by his older brother Maneck Kashmirarsquos maternal grandfather the champion horse trainer MC Patel At 17 Maneck had worked as a projectionist before managing a Kalbadevi firm distributing dramatic titles like Exploits of Ellen and Perils of Pauline Addie was adept at shooting short news reels Inaugurated by King George V in 1911 the Royal Opera House was with Addie by 1924 Amusingly Kashmira recalled Raj Kapoor pleading with Addie to convince his father Prithviraj to allow him to join the industry ldquoRaj would clutch him begging lsquoChacha pitaji ko bolo na mujhe filmon mein aney dorsquordquoColumns can rekindle friendships after decades When Khetwadi resident Meenaxi Rele went through this seriesrsquo 2017 article on Borivli she recognised Bhupen Dalal with whom she sailed aboard the SS Chusan in 1958 Named after a small Chinese island that PampO cruise liner was dubbed The Happy Ship Designed for the British regeneration of the Indian and Far East service Chusan was considered a longawaited replacement for RMS Viceroy of India sunk in World War IIldquoWe hadnrsquot met since the cruise After 64 years we speak often COVID did not let us do so but we should meet personally nowrdquo he said I enjoyed wonderful conversations with each of the happily reunited friends plus a generous supply of undhiyu superbly cooked by Rekhaben Bhupenbhairsquos wifeThe gift of food makes the warmest connect Because bookshops were lockdown casualties I got acquainted with people interested in Once Upon a Cityrsquos book edition Instead of buyers staying anonymous I could put faces to people coming home for signed copies Weeks after she picked up a stack of my books Aditi Parikh of Worli unexpectedly delivered delicious homemade til and nolen gur chikki And how can I forget the divine flavoured phirni Soraya Postel sent kindly even after I bothered her to take me exploring the length and breadth of Club Road Byculla As touching is the honour to have interviewees allow a look at their hidden talents As Amrita Chhabria did after she and her father Srichand narrated the history of the Apollo Bunderfronting Sea Palace Hotel The poems she shyly showed me jotted from the hotel patio lyrically observed seagulls circling in the crisp morning air Her verse resonated alternately lacing a sharp worldview with fragile rhythm and romance Writers are unsung therapists With them rests the privilege and power of choosing words to heal or hurt to inform and reform or sting and stigmatise Resulting from what we invest time and trouble finding out the decisions are our responsibility To be rewarded by a stimulating exchange of ideas and inferences is pure treasureSpeaking for those of this tribe who try to respect the trust reposed in us Thank you gentle reader for your care to shareAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom