Mumbai se Madrid, Bombay se Barcelona

From conquistadors and colonisers during the Age of Discovery to traders priests and sociocultural contributors in their country of adoption the Spanish bond with Bombay has stayed special and close in a variety of waysWhen Columbus conquered Parel Say ldquoHolardquo to a fascinating part of Espana midtown In the heart of quintessentially Maharashtrian Parel mdash specifically Naigaon in Dadar East mdash stand La Nina La Santa Maria and La PintaHow did Christopher Columbusrsquo historic ships come to christen these fourstorey buildings near Bhoiwada police stationAdvocate Charmaine Bocarro from La Nina one of a trio of Bhoiwada buildings interestingly named after Columbusrsquo historic ships Tile detail of a ship from the adventurerrsquos voyages shymdash commemorated as Columbus Day on October 13 mdash in the entranceway of the building La Pinta File picsATUL KAMBLEErected in 193738 alongside rowed chawls for mill mazdoors the trio of blocks accommodated St Xavierrsquos College staff Spanish priests of that institution were fired by the spirit inspiring Columbus to helm four Spanish transatlantic maritime voyages to the Americas The seminary in Parel from 1936 till it got shifted to Goregaon cemented Bombayrsquos Jesuitfostered educationAdvocate Charmaine Bocarro of La Nina directs me to neighbours with colourful anecdotes about cops and conquerors A floor above her lived Khashaba Jadhav the freestyle wrestler winning independent India the first individual Olympic medal a bronze at the 1952 Summer Games in Helsinki at age 27 Stung by the unfairness with which he was initially overlooked for the 1952 squad Jadhav bagged rightful inclusion on petitioning the Maharaja of Patiala a wrestling buff himselfThe Burma teak balustrades and banisters reveal delightful details Fading tiles lining the entrance corridor of La Pinta are illustrated with ships on foaming waves surrounded by seagulls and fleecy cloudsAs a longtime resident says ldquoOnce the three jewels of Parel these buildings boast embellishments and grilles todayrsquos masons cannot masterrdquo Standing with free SpainIt was a battle waged on Iberian soil But progressive political and literary stalwarts like Nehru Tagore VK Krishna Menon and Mulk Raj Anand viewed the 193639 Spanish Civil War when military fascists and rightwing conservatives led a bloody coup against Spainrsquos elected leftists as a trailer that envisioned independent India a decade laterDenouncing the League of Nations for failing to encourage the Republican faction championing democracy at the 50th annual session of the Indian National Congress in December 1936 at Faizpur Nehru announced ldquoWe watch this struggle not merely with the sympathy of friendly outsiders but with the painful anxieties of those who are themselves involved in itrdquoShanta Gandhi garlanded centre in a dancedrama staged in support of the Republicans fighting military dictatorship in the Spanish Civil War PIC COURTESYRATNA PATHAK SHAHAmong leading intellectual giants Rabindranath Tagore pleaded in an article ldquoI appeal to the conscience of humanity Help the peoplesrsquo front in Spain cry in a million voices lsquoHaltrsquo Come to the aid of democracy to the succour of civilisation and culturerdquoMulk Raj Anand had represented India at the World Congress of Writers Against Fascism in Madrid in 1935 Travelling again to Spain two years after he joined the predominantly Cominternrun International Brigades and met George Orwell Sympathetic to the same side their friendship flourished further in LondonIndians in Britain rallied around Nehrursquos call The India League there founded the Indian Committee for Food for Spain with Feroze Gandhi as its organising secretary Befriending him and Indira Nehru theatre personality and dancer Shanta Gandhi mdash then studying medicine in England mdash got acquainted with VK Krishna Menonrsquos ldquoFree Indiardquo associates She joined a dance troupe often presenting events whose proceeds went to the Londonbased Aid Spain CommitteeThough shaken by the reality of General Franco establishing his dictatorship regime from 1939 Nehru was convinced about the role India played He observed ldquoIt wasnrsquot Spain only the new world was locked in with barbarian hordes and brutal violence If I deserted them what would I cherish in India For what kind of freedom do we strugglerdquolsquoBombay brought joy I didnrsquot need SpainrsquoWhere would language education and social welfare be without the wonderful Spanish priests who walked among us Urged to actually be the change they wanted to see in the world these remarkable men modestly began work here from 1921 Many more left their homeland after the Civil War mdash assigned to missions in South America Japan the Philippines and IndiaOf the dozen Spanish priests whom I profiled 15 years ago Fr Francis Juan at St Stanislaus School Bandra and Fr Joseph Aran at St Maryrsquos Byculla still grace the cityFr Tony Jurschik might have been a lawyer had he not ldquodistinctly heard Godrsquos callrdquo at a riverside retreat in Manresa It was not just challenging English to study from scratch as all Spanish missionaries had to Stepping on desi soil he diligently learnt Marathi and Hindi to minister to Adivasis in Dindori and Dalits in ManmadThe treasurer of Seva Niketan in Byculla when we had met Fr Manolo Tasso came away as a 21yearold to teach theology Spanish and French He returned only twice to Spain in his lifetime content to keep in touch with nieces and nephews on email Smilingly recounting he was ldquofortuitously sent to Indiardquo Fr Peter Ribes was the last Latin tutor in Bombay From a Barcelona family of lawyers doctors and engineers he quietly stepped aside solo assuring his SJ Society of Jesus superior of his willingness to go wherever in the world he was intended to serve as a missionary The city of his adoption inspired a strong sense of belonging mdash ldquoBombay brought joy I didnrsquot need Spainrdquo Other legendary Spaniards have included Fr Henry Heras admired for his knowledge of ancient indigenous cultures and Fr Joachim Fuster a memorable Director of the Institute of Counselling at St Xavierrsquos College Arriving with two doctorates and a deep love for India Fr Hermenegild Santapau became chief botanist to the government with plant species and even a genus bearing his name SantapauellaFr Ramon Nubiola remains adored by the tribals of Talasari whose rights he tirelessly championed When over 400 of them wept over his coffin one said ldquoOpen his heart and you will find the word lsquoWarlirsquo engravedrdquo Paying it forwardIn a week of celebratory moments the Diwali morning shining brightest has to be the recent one at Amin Sheikhrsquos library cafe Bombay to Barcelona in Marol His story of grit and guts has been told earlier But to witness firsthand the glow Amin and his beautiful family cast around friends and customers alike is something else They have come straight from the airport landing from Almaty where his Catalonian wife Sara Mampel Vallve is a music teacher at the Kazakhstan International SchoolThe moment his sparkly sixyearold son Jaan dashes in he slips a friendly small palm in mine steering us importantly through the buzzy interior of his fatherrsquos pride project Grinning when he figures his baby sister has the same name as my adult daughter AyeshaWith incredible courage combined with dogged determination Amin has chased nearimpossible dreams ldquoNearrdquo because ldquoimpossiblerdquo is a notion he has never entertained Not even as a slum kid turned runaway and vagrant forced to make Dadar station his home reduced to beg routinely fighting beatings and other physical abuseThis exceptional life story is shared in frank detail in his autobiography fully drafted in capital letters on account of a minimal formal education titled Bombay Mumbai Life is Life I am Because of You Translated into 11 languages worldwide Amin dedicates it ldquoto Snehasadan and to every street child in the worldrdquo Selfpublished and hawked at city traffic signals at first this fared better in Spain and FranceAmin constantly expresses deep gratitude to Fr Placido Fonseca Br Molines and Fr Tony Fonseca of the Snehasadan orphanage at Chakala in Andheri East for the loving care with which they tended to the lost boys and girls of his rough growing up years He says ldquoLike those amazing Jesuits at Snehasadan I have the greatest respect for Spanish priests like Fr Federico Sopena Fr Peter Ribes and Fr Javier What examples they have been for our country Spain for me holds much solidarityrdquoScavenging for food from garbage cans while dodging beatings at various jobs from a teashop hand to boot polish boy after some very secure years at Snehasadan Amin was gifted an experience that proved the ultimate turning point A flight ticket to Barcelona from adman Eustace Fernandes cocreator of the Amul Girl with Sylvester daCunha for whom he worked as a Man FridayReturning with high hopes of realising lofty dreams he decided to use funds generated from his book sales as seed money to start Bombay to Barcelona a safe space offering food and employment to onetime street boys and girls like him It floats on a pervasively cheerful vibe Customers can munch on B2B chicken sandwiches and minced mushroom vada pao topped by crisp churros with dense chocolate sauceOr simply sip a frothy coffee and soak in a good read from piled books on shelves alongside plants Beside hang rows of shirts and trinkets fashioned by the trained youngsters who wait at tables mdash warmly welcoming politely attentiveldquoThe B2B kids are my real heroesrdquo Amin is clear ldquoDo what you want but no one has the right to play with any childrsquos liferdquoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom