‘No fence in Spence’

I grew up in Spence Lane off the main Byculla road opposite Olivant Bridge It was full of happygolucky Anglo Indians who sang danced and generally lived for the day We were one big familymdashno fence in Spence if you know what I meanrdquoSo said the affable Captain Reza Beg to me ldquoIrsquoll show you my lovely gullyrdquo he offered Then he passed on And I continued exploring other paths This onersquos for you RezaKeeping that promise is his brother Moin Beg journalist and writer of Sanjay Leela Bhansalirsquos Heeramandi Warm with memories and hospitality he has a high tea spread on the table in their third floor flat of Maimoon Manzil tipending the culdesacThe youngest of 10 siblings Moin narrates how his father Unani practitioner Hakim Mirza Haider Beg drew patients from film stars to mill mazdoors He hosted mehfils that echoed the sonorous strains of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Vilayat Khan Shakeela Bano Bhopali and Allah RakhaFatima Pinto and Moin Beg outside Maimoon Manzil at the end of Spence Lane PicsKirti Surve ParadeKathak queen Sitara Devi was a familiar visitor at these soirees with whitegloved waiters in attendance As was Ashok Kumar Haider Begrsquos patient for throat and eye issues The actor noticed two Beg daughters Rahat and Farhat practising ldquopretend pianordquo on their balcony The next morning he gifted them a beautiful instrument Steering me through the road named after Spence member of the Bombay Municipal Council mentioned in an 1895 document according to Bombayphile Deepak Rao Moin takes me to the de Limas of Alisha Apartments earlier Karani Building We admire the Bluthner on which Rui de Limarsquos father Joseph gave first lessons to Zubin Mehta Settled since the 1930s the de Limas miss neighbours like Gloria de Souza who founded the environmental education centre Parisar Asha and Stanley the elegant tap dancerRui smiles reminded of the humming strumming neighbourhood Shaukat Beg who performed regularly at Bombellirsquos and Kamling would strike up lilting piano tunes Ian Saldanha of Bibibai Terrace joined on the accordion Everyone crooned everything from jaunty jive numbers to the more soulful Blue Moon and Irsquom Forever Blowing Bubbles Pop singer Tony Brent scoring seven successive UK Top 20 chart hits was from Bibibai Terrace as well Guitarist Mr Points ran a dance class where mothers pushed shy sons to learn the foxtrotldquoAt barely two years I sensed Spence Lanersquos cheerful viberdquo declares Olympic hockey champ MM Somaya who lived in Karani Building ldquoExtremely social Christians and AngloIndians had real swag and style After midnight mass our landings converted to dance floors Record players belted out music to which young and old boogied the night away From a conservative South Indian family I watched celebrations with awe The de Lima and de Souza families on our floor were dear to us Getting a home phone implied a long wait There werenrsquot public booths either The largehearted de Souzas and de Limas enabled us to receive calls even in the dead of nightrdquo The overriding fun children had was unbelievable says writer Jerry Pinto A Mahim boy he walked to Khalil Mansion now Ali Apartments to his maternal grandmother Bertharsquos home A sea of children flocked to play from 5 pm until if they had their way past the time street gaslights were switched onldquoFor me the spirit of Spence Lane was encapsulated by this moment when adult heads popped out at sunset to summon kids reluctant to get homerdquo Jerry says ldquoWe heard amusing threats lsquoYoursquore waiting for pudding to come upstairsrsquo or lsquoIrsquoll throw down your bedsheet stay on the street where you belongrsquordquo All this drama while Mr Dunn stood beneath Khalil Mansion serenading his wife with Silver Threads Among the Gold mdashtill she appeared at the window to flick ash off her cigaretteTulsidas the parrot named by the person gifting the cheeky bird to little Moin often slyly squawked an imitation of his mother calling Moin home with his sistersmdashldquoLupi Cookie Munoo come on uprdquo Hashmat Bahjat and Moin respectivelyWith barely a car or two around children roamed free Families usually engaged ghoda gaadis Some like Haider Beg owned their horse carriage kept tethered in a Bombay Central tabela Ruing the drastically changed scene Fatima Pinto in Maimoon Manzil says ldquoThe lane resembles a swanky car showroom Parked bikes are particularly a nuisance Then we were so cosmopolitan too Different communities reflected the countryrsquos diversity At 7 pm practically every child in the lane came to pray the rosary daily together Hindus and Muslims includedrdquoShe shares recollections of interesting inhabitants of Rehanabad architecturally a mirror image of her building Kathleen and Joe Pereira parents of Fr Lancy Pereiramdashwho went on to be St Xavierrsquos College principalmdashran the Fatima Club for children Among activities arranged was an annual picnic ride to Juhuin a hired lorryIt is worth noting the incredible number of teachers in every Spence Lane building They worked in nearby St Maryrsquos Christ Church St Agnes Convent ofJesus and Mary Antonio Da Silva and David Sassoon School and further citywide at Hill Grange Campion Sacred Heart and Udayachal School Communicating from Toronto Marie DrsquoRozario adman Frank Simoesrsquo sister remembers moving from the next lane Shepherd Road to a larger space in Karani Building on their fatherrsquos return from work in Iran ldquoThe children of the Blacks the McGills the Parks the Spencers and the Soares were my playmates Behind us was the Anglican Christ Church It was edifying to see worshippers dressed in their Sunday best with fancy hats Catholics went to St Annersquos Church in Mazgaon At our lane entrance was Cafe Savoy whose cakes and crisp bruns everyone craved and stopped to have with chai especially after massrdquoThat restaurant corner is presently a Vodafone store It faced the Jesuitrun Sodality House better known as Seva Niketan which still stands Erected in the midrsquo60s on the vacant maidan where travelling gypsies used to pitch tents the centre rented rooms to outstation men and had a chapel and catering service From the 1970s several residents emigratedmdashJewish families to Israel the Anglo Indians to London Australia or New Zealand Victor RangelRibeiro of Khalil Mansion who authored the awardwinning Tivolem and a biography of FN Souza left for the US where he became director of the New York Beethoven Society Last here six months ago Imre Gomes who went to Sydney says ldquoIrsquove been back at least 40 times on business and pleasure since 1968 Growing up in Spence Lane was a wonderful experience like nowhere else no other place anywhere in the worldrdquoHockey heroes The pride of Spence LaneMM Somaya with his Olympic Gold for hockey from the Moscow Olympics 1980MM SomayaldquoOur house faced Christ Church School CCS my goto place Irsquom from St Maryrsquos but the CCS principal Mr Lilywhite permitted me on the premises after CCS matches were over Those concrete tennis court and grass ground games prepared my sports career The lane knew me as Prem Muttana Prem being my name at home Muttana my dadrsquos name As newspapers referred to MM Somaya bringing India a Gold neighbours didnrsquot realise it was me at the Moscow OlympicsrdquoNorma Arklie standing leftmost last row at the International Hockey Tournament in Kent England 1953 PicFacebook AngloIndian StoriesNorma Arklie OtterNorma Arklie who just turned 91 married Colin Otter to become Maimoon Manzilrsquos first tenant the Begs came an hour after At 19 Arklie represented India among 16 participant countries at the International Federation of Womenrsquos Hockey Association Conference and Tournament in Folkestone Kent England in 1953 This was the first womenrsquos hockey team to England The gully witnessed rambunctious rounds of hopscotch seven tiles dabba doobi and cricket matches Otterrsquos daughter Gwenda says ldquoAt Christmas the star strung up was created by us kids At New Yearrsquos we stuffed crackers inside a man of hay dressed in donated clothes Trundling him in a handcart wersquod shout lsquoOld Man old manrsquo On the dot of midnight he was brought to the middle of the lane and burntrdquo Authorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacomatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params