When baraf reigned cool in Bombil Wadi

Ice Factory Hearing the words SoBoites will likely shoot back with ldquoAh at Ballard Estaterdquo They refer to the part of Calicut Road there sprouting tony new restaurants and party venues Far far from the Ice Factory Lane abutting my childhood Bandra homeAt the centre of Hill Road my Deco residencemdashTriorsquos shopping complexcumtower todaymdashshared a low west wall with Bambi Laundry Our east brushed Boman House where Ardeshirji from Nasrabad in Yazd laid Bombay roots in 1949 The wide teak doors of that bungalow were fronted by a porch where my mother sometimes sat chatting with Ardeshirrsquos wife Khorshed BanooHard to imagine a once pastoral Hill Road Snakes slithered in meadows where Elco Arcade stands Goat flocks were trotted to the abattoir then beside the railway station Our home faced Almeida Road the street and park honouring botanist Raphael Almeida down which trundled bullocks in bail gaadis pulling giant sawdustcovered ice slabs to the factory behind our house The swoosh of H2O falling in silver sheets day and night was soothing The factory also sprang an ammonia leak emergency one dawn rushing us out in pyjamas to huddle on Hill Road all terrified together The late Marie DrsquoSouza at the EdMar gate with spaniel Nemo right Rustomji Irani who cofounded the ice factory after World War IIReliving that panic in the pit of the stomach 50 whole years later I mention the incident to Rustom Irani managing director of Icelings who elaborates on the factoryrsquos establishment ldquoMy grandfather Rustom Gustasp Irani was in the lsquosodalemonrsquo business goti soda bottles held the carbonated lemon drink the Brits popularised ahead of starting the factory after World War II ended on a plot owned by the Hormuzdi family His partner was Zerbanoo Giffordrsquos father Bailey Behram Irani Subsequently emigrating to England Bailey opened the Heritage Hotel at Bayswater in London and was founder president of the World Zoroastrian Organisation My Khodu Kaka who had a chickoo wadi in Dahanu looked after the factory which I ran for a few yearsrdquoThe Hormuzdisrsquo sandstone villa West View veiled by palm trees and paan vines harboured the craziest menagerie A parrot swore ldquoM darvajo kholordquo at every doorbell ring that was delayed being answered His expletives rang through the sprawling flat of Shirinbai and Sheriar Hormuzdi with fish tanks the monkeys Tarabai and Sitaram and even a leopard inexplicably christened Tiger Not forgetting Brownie the Silky Sydney a carnival dog who puffed cigars a stylish trick he was circustrained atAcross West View stood the 1937built home of the Kutars who hailed from Navsari like my Dastoor ancestors Phiroze Kutarrsquos family came to Bandra around 1939 His father Darab Faramroze Kutar attached to the Tata Agiary on Hill Road was appointed its head priest in the 1950s Phiroze worked as a wireman in Swadeshi Mills and a despatch rider with the Home Guards ldquoThe landscape was lush with coconut imli and bora treesrdquo says his son Kaizad ldquoDad would speak of a pond for visiting circus animals to drink fromrdquoFrancis Dias and nephew Saby Dias at 1930established SS Dias TailorsNext to the Kutars were the Lutchmayers First arriving at the age of five in 1974 BritishGoan concert pianist Karl Lutchmayer spent two weeks here every other year until 1984 Before boarding any flights to the UK the Lutchmayers headed to the factory to weigh suitcases using the oldfashioned springloaded hanging scale weighing ice Karl recollects damp gunny lying about to sheath the ice with its very particular smellAlso read A Road to a VillageldquoTransfixed Irsquod watch the cook prepare lunch for my aunt Josephine who worked for Air France at the Taj The dabbawala seemed by magic to know how to get the meal to herrdquo he marvels in an email interview ldquoAfternoon tea done we strolled in the carfree streets dropping in on neighbours to look at curios and photos A convivial elegant way to live Returning to England my parents convinced me we couldnrsquot do likewise just turn up unannounced at neighboursrsquo homesldquoBut letrsquos not make this too halcyon There was a mother with three children on the pavement Neighbours ensured they had food They sheltered on our verandah in the monsoon Those children made amazing lives One a trained professional dancer got in touch last year and we met up That too is an Ice Factory Lane storyrdquoKaizad Kutar right at 51A with Loy Henriques of Andrew VillaThe quintessential story though is that of the DrsquoSouzas in EdMar cottage tucked deep within the lane Four years ago I had met Marie DrsquoSouza grande dame of the gully whose forebears bequeathed Bandra a progressive legacy Pointing to where the lane intersects Bazar Road to swerve into Boran village Mariersquos daughter Jennifer recollects a breezy road and the sound of water crashing heavily against rocks near EdMar twinning the parentsrsquo names Edmund and Marie built in 1951ldquoThe cross in our garden is from 1866rdquo she explains ldquoMost Bandra crosses were erected when the 1896 plague decimated the population This is a resurrection cross after Jesus rose from the dead Notice the nails and crown without the figure of Christ It was put up by my grandfather Ignatius or his ancestorsrdquoI read about them in Ignatius DrsquoMontersquos daughter Mariersquos notes in a journal describing the vicinityrsquos ldquoserene and salubrious air with marble mansions spacious villas and whitewashed redroofed cottages in formal fruit and flower gardensrdquo A fluent public speaker her father was active in church and community matters and as a responsible landowner interested in civic affairs ldquoNot surprisingly he decided to stand for public office Becoming President of the Bandra Municipality several times he served as a dedicated Councillor During his tenure the mutton market was renovated He helped Bandra get gas lighting followed by electric lighting With our long shoreline he improved seaward areas making them safe for people to walkldquoThe Governor of Bombay came to inaugurate social functions IG as my father was affectionately called was usually on the reception committee The Bandra fisherfolk counted him their friend and mediator when they had arguments with the clergy which was often We lived a good life complete with horse and carriage Never one of the new motor cars coming in sported by the welltodo In the 1930s he joined the Swadeshi movement earning the disapproval of Christians who were largely proBritishrdquo I watch amused as Cruffin the cat delectable hybrid of ldquocroissantrdquo and ldquomuffinrdquo curls in the sun on a swing amid the cool garden green but Luna the DrsquoSouzasrsquo other pet feline chases a hopping magpie robin Jenniferrsquos brother David tells me Rosemary Apartments De Joss and Andrew Villa are constructed over what were wild open fields for local lads like him playing football volleyball and hockeyThough David and Jenniferrsquos sister Bernadette is away for the weekend I climb a floor to meet her fatherinlaw Roland Cardoz who quips ldquoWe never lacked for bombil bora berries and baraf blocks And grogrdquo In another wicked whisper he adds ldquoIrsquom actually 39 not 93 I must say this lane once had everything Ice from the factory lsquoNaughty Boyrsquo black shoes from Bata and plenty of banks provided you had money in your accountrdquoBoth Bata showroom and landmark factory are missing As is Bambi Laundry situated in the same compound as ours Its genial ruddycheeked proprietor Raymond Pinto who named the enterprise for his daughter Bambi real name Sheila loved children Waving as their school bus slowed at the spot their shoutout ldquoUncle Pinto Uncle Pintordquo was invariably rewarded with gooey caramel toffeesConservation architect David Cardoz Rolandrsquos son points out the posts to which boats moored are still seen Boran being a protected fishing port ldquoThe ice factory existed because of fish The gully was known as Bombil Wadi because of Bombay duck drying rowed on the ground Dig down yoursquoll find sand and shells A planned box drainage system ran alongside the factory Buildings like Beau Pride partially blocked off the pipes and residents today pay water tankers Ironic destroying natural sources and sliding from sufficiency to dependencerdquo At the corner opposite Beau Pride Bandrarsquos oldest tailoring establishment welcomes customers in Bindiya Cooperative SocietymdashSS Dias outfitters for Air India British Airways and Gulf Air The shop initials are those of its original proprietor Sebastian Salvador Dias from Loutolim ldquoBandra had mainly Catholics and Parsis so Western menrsquos wear was in demand especially towards Christmasrdquo reasons his son Francis My eyes feast on such antique delights as a vintage Pfaff 103 sewing machine Francisrsquo nephew Saby proudly informs that Mohammed Rafi and Manna Dey trusted Dias alone to stitch them impeccably cut safari suits While SS Dias faces Hill Road the family lived in rooms along the flank of Bindiya building which faced the ice factory A door away stayed Felix Rodericks father of couturier Wendell Rodricks ldquoFelix was from Colvale the village in Bardez my mother came fromrdquo says Francis ldquoAs boys we saw amla gulmohar mango and mayflower trees around Sadly no morerdquo He seems to echo a thought from the Monthrsquos Mind card of Marie DrsquoSouza ldquoThe finest things in life are freemdashthe air the rain the seaEnjoy them while they are aroundmdashbefore they charge a feerdquoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom