Saturday, March 23, 2019
Bombay
Discovering Foy Nissen's Bombay, Brunch at the Yacht Club and Another Interview
Namaste from Bombay!
I had such a lovely Saturday! It was the perfect combination of leisure and work and it filled me with a sense of accomplishment. I am also beginning to feel that sense of urgency to accomplish work when the knowledge that time is fleeting hits you--the fact that soon I will not have access to all these people here in Bombay is starting to worry me... I have miles to go before I sleep.
That said, I had much to accomplish today. I awoke very early--about 3.00 am (if you can believe it!) and since I could not get back to sleep, I got to work and transcribed another interview as I am still trying to catch up. Then a quick breakfast of muesli and coffee later, I dressed comfortably, carried a bottle of water and my camera, and was off. I was headed to the city for my 9.00 am appointment on the steps of the Town Hall at Fort for my guided historic walk to discover Foy Nissen's Bombay.
I took a bus and a train (sadly, I had to change trains as the one in which I jumped terminated at Dadar--I had to change platforms before getting into one that ran all the way to Churchgate). There, I found a cab and made it to the appointed spot at the appointed hour with time to spare.
Who was Foy Nissen And Why Was the Tour Named After Him?
So who was this man with the strange name and why was the tour named after him? At the outset, let me say that I knew Foy. His last name is a result of the fact that his grandfather was Danish. At some point, marriage with an Englishwoman brought the family in contact with England where, I believe, Foy's father was born. He was a British civil servant at the time of the Raj and his work brought him to India. Foy was born in Poona. The family moved to Bombay when he was a child. He studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School where his mother was a teacher. He then left for England for University. He earned his Bachelors and Master's degrees at the University of Cambridge after which he returned to Bombay, his first love, where he began working at the Times of India and developed his hobby as an amateur photographer and amateur historian. Later, he took on a full-time job at the British Council (which is where I got to know him, about thirty years ago, when I was being given a British Council Scholarship to go to Oxford).
Foy lived in the same building called
Olympus on Altamount Road in Bombay, for most of his life, the neighbor of two spinster sisters called the Mehra Sisters who looked after him as the years went by and especially through the dementia that plagued him and eventually took his life. He made them executors of his will and his estate and they turned over the bulk of his books to the Asiatic Library and the bulk of his photographs to the Jehangir Nicholson Foundation that was named after a Parsi collector who had amassed a vast modern art collection that is now in the possession of the foundation that is named after him.
The Jehangir Nicholson Foundation and the Prince of Wales Museum (now called the Shivaji Museum) are running an exhibition, for the first time, on the photographic work of Foy Nissen, who passed away last August. The walk was organized by a company called Bombaywalla which is headed by an Oxford-educated historian called Simin Patel (whose father is Jehangir Patel, Editor of the magazine,
Parisana, that I had interviewed a few days ago). Simin did her Ph.D. at Balliol College, Oxford, under the guidance of historian Polly O'Hanlon, the subject of her thesis being 'Colonial Bombay and the Parsis of Colonial Bombay'. She is currently working on a book on the Irani Restaurants of Bombay. I have followed her on Twitter for a long time and have gotten to know quite a lot about Bombay's older monuments through her writing and her passion for the city, which I share. Meeting her was a real delight as she turned out to be a very sweet and very knowledgeable person. I must also state that I was put on to her by my friend Murali Menon who is based in London and who is an avid reader of my blog and her's! These global Twitter and blog contacts are also very interesting to me.
A Walking Tour of Foy Nissen's Bombay:
The tour cost Rs. 300 per head and Simin was on the steps of the Town Hall collecting money from participants when I got there at just before 9.00 am. It was not long before we started the tour with a short introduction to Foy Nissen whose English relatives were actually on the tour with us--they were visiting Bombay from the UK and were able to add some tidbits to the commentary that Simin offered.
Following an introduction to Foy Nissen, we entered the Town Hall where the Bombay Asiatic Society is based. I had done an extensive self-guided tour myself of this space last October--but it was nice to be told about Lord Malcolm, former Governor of Bombay, whose marble sculpture dominates the vestibule upstairs. Foy adored books and adored libraries and he spent a great deal of time at the Asiatic Society Library pouring for hours over the records to be found here. We were able to see a facsimile copy of his library card (which I thought was a very thoughtful addition to our tour) before Simin told us a little bit about the marble worthies scattered about the place: Frere, Carnac, Sir Jamshedji Jijibhoy, Bombay's first baronet, etc. Sadly, we did not enter the Reading Room which rather surprised me! What is a library without its Reading Room? To see just the foyer was most disappointing to me: luckily, I had spent a lot of time here about six months ago and clearly remembered its gorgeous Corinthian columns with their freshly refurbished gilding, the grand chandeliers and the gorgeous round teak tables that accommodate modern-day readers just as they once did colonial ones.
Past the Asiatic Society, we walked along the arcades of Horniman Circle, past the swanky showrooms of Hermes and Christian Louboutin to pause outside the
Bombay Samachar Building and take a picture of the vintage Roller (Rolls-Royce) parked outside it--apparently belonging to the Editor, one Mr. Cama (according to Simin). We took a group picture there...I have to state that we were about 25 participants on this walk from different walks of life--there were lawyers, historians, journalists and simply people, like me, with a passion for Bombay and its colonial monuments. I met a cheese-maker named Mansi who was a former student of NYU--she did her Master's there and was quite delighted to meet me.
Simin spoke about the garden at Horniman Circle especially the decorative, tall wrought iron gates and railings--these features had also caught my eye and reminded me very much of the gates of London's parks. I was especially reminded of Victoria Park in the East End that I had toured with my friend, the same Murali Menon mentioned above--also an amateur historian and lover of old buildings and local history. I have taken many an interesting walk in London in his company and I would dearly wish to meet someone else who shares my passion for these colonial parts of Bombay with whom I could stroll around at leisure.
Just past Horniman Circle, we paused right opposite the premises of St. Thomas' Cathedral, Bombay's premier Anglican Church, and one of my very favorite places in the city. Although we stopped to take in the facade and Simin commented on the clock that dominates the tower stating that Foy would have been disappointed to see its black hands (as he always believed they ought to be gilded), again, I was disappointed that we did not go inside the church to admire examples of the most outstanding Victorian mortuary sculpture in the city. But then I realized that since Foy photographed mainly the exteriors of these buildings that was where we were being led and what we were being shown.
From here, we walked along Sir Pherozeshaha Mehta Road towards Flora Fountain which has been recently refurbished and unveiled. The fountain was actually playing and we had a chance to see it up close and personal and to take in the name of the sculptor, one R.N. Shaw. carved into the top tier of the monument that features Flora, Roman Goddess of flowers with the four accompanying female icons that represent various aspects of agriculture--fruits, flowers, grain and foliage.
Past the Fountain, we continued our walk along D.N. (Dadabhai Naoroji Road) in the direction of the Museum and arrived at Kala Ghoda where we stopped outside the Army and Navy Building which is one of the trinity of grand colonial buildings in that spot--the other two being the David Sassoon Library and Reading Room and, of course, my own alma mater, glorious Elphinstone College.
Simin paused to tell us something of Foy's association with the Army and Navy Building which is named for the Army and Navy Stores which was one of the three department stores of which the city of Bombay could boast prior to Independence. The other two were Whiteway and Laidlaws (where my Aunt Alice, my Dad's sister, once use to work)and Evans-Fraser which is where The Bombay Store is now located (on Sir P.M. Road). As the Army and Navy stores was the most expensive of the three, Foy's parents only shopped there on rare occasions and he could only afford the rare cup of tea there. Simin dropped a nugget of fascinating information when she told us that the former colonial restaurant known as
The Wayside Inn, in which, in my college days, I had often enjoyed fish and chips and where I had eaten Colman's mustard for the first time, had closed a few years ago. Apparently, its counter was purchased by the David Sassoon Library and is used now as its main Reception Desk. I love these stories of the recycling of old furniture. A few days ago, the actor Vijaya Mehta had told me, in an interview, that when the Bhulabhai Desai Institute on Warden Road was being closed down, Bhulabhai Desai, the lawyer who had fought so many legal cases against the colonial British Government from his desk, had asked her if there was anything she would like from the premises. She opted for his desk--not only because it would always remind her of him but because it was a part of the Indian Freedom Struggle. I love stories like these that the people I am interviewing are sharing with me.
Once we got to know what this part of Bombay meant to Foy, we were marched past the Jehangir Art Gallery into the compound of the Shivaji Museum where tickets were obtained on our behalf and we were led inside to see the actual Exhibition itself.
Viewing the Exhibition Called 'Foy Nissen's Bombay':
I have now become very familiar with the Shivaji Museum and its layout, thanks to the many visits I have paid during the last six months as I have examined and studied its entire collection. This exhibition is on the second floor near the Textile Gallery. One is greeted by a large-scale black and white photograph of Horniman Circle that we had just traipsed through. Inside, there are only black and white photographs that are grouped thematically: still lives of the various sculptures of colonial men and women who had played a role in the development of the city--some are headless and all are in the Sculpture Graveyard at the Victoria Garden (the Bombay Zoo) where Foy made many visits just to photograph these remnants of our city's colonial past. There was a Religious grouping which features mosques, temples, churches, synagogues, even a Parsi Fire Temple. The architectural splendor of the monument groups around the Fort got pride of place on the main wall with a map graphically presenting their locations. There were also pictures taken outside Bombay as in places like Bhuj. I think the exhibition gave a very good idea of the obsession of this man with history, photography, architecture and the past. All lovers of Bombay ought to go and see this lovely little exhibition.
What was also quite wonderful about this exhibition and could easily be ignored was the vitrine containing Foy's own actual cameras, cases, lenses, and other equipment with a couple of the rolls of negatives and his own hand-written instructions and cataloguing system that he had in place. It is these gems that add to the overall quality of an exhibition--so it is not just the photos alone that ought to have been pointed out to us but the equipment that he used (that he actually handled himself) through which these wonderful works were produced that any visitor ought not to miss.
I have to say that I am glad to find what they call "walk-throughs" of art galleries (but what we call 'docent tours' in the West) now being given in Bombay. This one was given by Kamna, an employee of the Jehangir Nicholson Foundation. It left me wanting to know more about the Foundation and its work.
Brunch with my Friend Kamal at the Yacht Club:
I was done with the Walk and Museum Visit at exactly 11.30 am when I was just in time to make it to my next appointment--brunch at the Yacht Club to which my friend Kamal Mulla had invited me. I walked to the venue and then met her at the elevator as she was riding upstairs with two other ladies. She introduced me to her friends Shireen and Meher and at the top, we ran into the guest of honor of the afternoon, a lady named Linda White, who was visiting Bombay from Montreal, Canada, before attending a conference in Delhi. There was one more person expected to join us later, Meenal Kshirsagar who is a retired French Professor at the University of Bombay and had graduated also from Elphinstone College in his heyday. Her husband has a senior position at the Shivaji Museum and she had attended the opening of the Foy Nissen Exhibition last week.
The two other ladies (Shireen and Meher) happened to be visiting from London and I soon discovered that Meher is a good friend of my friend Firdaus (Dr. G) and the niece of my former professor of English (and good friend), the late Homai Shroff. I asked Meher if her surname was Toorkey and when she said Yes, I told her that her name has been in my phone book for thirty years--although I had never met her. The reason she exists in my phone book is because, thirty years ago, when Firdaus and I were at Oxford, he had left to spend a weekend in London and would be staying at her place. Before he left, I had asked him for a contact number and he had given me Meher's! She is a concert pianist and music teacher in London and we had a lot to talk about as the afternoon went on.
Most of us had the Mulligatawny Soup (most delectable!) and a sandwich (though I had the Chicken Lemon Pepper Salad) as I am staying high-protein in my diet. I had a diet Coke too and all of us passed on dessert. There was never a dull moment as many of these ladies present had attended Queen Mary School and had stories to swap about their classmates and friends. I enjoyed the happy camaraderie around the table and even though I was meeting all these ladies (except Kamal) for the first time, there was so much to keep me stimulated that I wasn't left at a loose end for a minute. What a lovey afternoon it was!
Back Home for Another Interview:
We were all done by 2.15pm when I said my thanks and goodbyes and hopped into a bus from across the Museum that took me to Churchgate Station. I picked up a Waldorf Salad from
Gaylords and took it home on the train to Bandra. A bus then took me to the Bandra Gymkhana where I had an appointment at 3.30pm with Danesh Khambata--only to discover the the gym is closed in the afternoon from 3.15 till 4.30 pm. So we made our way to
Candies's, a teenage hangout which is a tad too noisy for me and not conducive to the conducting of an interview. We found a quiet corner away from the noise but in a non-air-conditioned part of the place where I was very uncomfortable as there was not even a fan there.
My interview with Danesh went well, however, and I learned so much about the very interesting work that he and his partners are doing through a theater group called Silly Point Productions. He was kind enough to pick up a Chocolate Mousse for me and a coffee for himself although I told him I was on a strict diet and would not have anything to eat or drink as I had just finished lunch. I ended up having the mousse but I carried the cheesecake back home for Russel and Dad who enjoyed it. Danesh was wonderful to chat to--again, he is very unassuming and casual about what he and his mates have accomplished. I am realizing that a lot of Bombay's performers work with a group--this is the sort of group that offers camaraderie, lasting friendships and the support that actors need on the long struggle to get work, funding, etc. Unlike writers or actors in the States who seem to go for long periods of time with no work, these folks create their own working opportunities by writing their own material, then going out to find corporate sponsors who will fund their ventures, give them work and make them money. It is quite an amazing example of entrepreneurship and I am quite impressed by their efforts and their output.
By the time I finished with Danesh, I was quite exhausted and decided to spend the evening with Dad and Russel. I was there for over an hour when I said bye to them. Dad was not going for the 7.00 pm Mass as he decided to go for the 9.15 Mass tomorrow which is to be followed by a Parish Quiz on the Bible (that both he and I are interested in attending).
Back home, I finally had a chance to kick back and relax and I marked the arrival of the warm days by pouring myself a wonderful G and T which I enjoyed with a few nuts on which I nibbled as I watched a movie called
Wild Oats with Jessica Lange and Shirley McLaine. It was not too bad actually and worth a few good laughs. I loved the role of the con man played by Billy Connolly.
What is really amazing to me is that true to all predictions, it turned warm and humid the very day after Holi! So I guess the lovely weather of the past three months is a thing of the past and I will need to steel myself for the uncomfortable months ahead of me. Thank goodness for my air-conditioned studio!
Having accomplished so much today, I was ready to call it a day at 10.30 but after a long chat with Llew on the phone, it took me a very long time actually to fall asleep--during which time I watched a few episodes of
Grace and Frankie.
Until tomorrow...
