Dreamers Legacy and Institutions

 This blog is a small reflection of the many institutions that have touched our lives and how they were created by visionaries and dreamers. The challenge of the times has seen some of them falling by the wayside, some becoming stagnant and some remaining relevant and prospering and a few seeing bad times but reviving again like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes. 

In my life I will allude to my schools, my Medical College, my two major workplaces and the residences we as Parsis reside in. 

At the outset let me talk about the Parsi Baugs and colonies. The community is blessed with respect to housing which ranks as a primary need provided at near zero cost. It is a tribute to some great stalwarts like Jerbai Wadia of the whose descendents are the Bombay Dyeing group Nusli Wadia and it leaves many of us wonderstruck that a relatively uneducated lady from a family of ship builders and ship breakers from Sura port followed the Britishers to Mumbai and created a name in textiles, jewellery, bakery and biscuits, rubber, movies, magazines and aviation. But the women on the sides created a legacy of philanthropy for the city and community. The trio Motlibai Wadia, Jerbai Wadia and Lady Hirabai Cawasji Jehangir all of whom created housing for the Parsis 5 gated colonies which survive to date as gated secure colonies all within the heart of Mumbai with greenery common facilities and parking solving one major component of survival of the three food, clothing and shelter being accounted for. So migrants from rural India seeking livelihood had adequate housing and even free food provided had to concentrate on work and excellence. I have a strong feeling that this was the one unheralded factor besides, hard work and education which made Parsis prosper and excel under British rule and make them the builders of Mumbai. Even the area of Dadar Parsi Colony which was an open non gated community residential area the vision of Mancherji E. Joshi. Digging into the history once more finds the story of a BMC employee Mancherji Joshi who used the Bombay Improvement rule book under the British Raj to get Residential plots reserved for the Parsi Zoroastrian community. In the aftermath of Bubonic Plague the plan was to decongest the areas of the Fort and Crawford market and house about a lakh in areas of Dadar Matunga Sion and a similar number in Sewri Wadala area. All of these were to be made as spaced out buildings with proper sanitation, roads and green gardens in triangular shape. Buildings would not be more than two storeyed. The connectivity to the rail routes of both Central and Western lines and the end of the tramways and reservation for Parsis made it a superb location. However, it took some persuasion for the Prsis to take these god send opportunities. For my parents we got the benevolence of one more visionary in the community Shapoorji Pallonji and it was Alamai who gave my parents shelter in Parel in 1960 and later we benefited from the facility in Dadar Parsi Colony. As far as my in laws were concerned my father in law was born and brought up in Cusrow baug and my mother in law in Rustom baug in prime locations of Colaba and Byculla in gated communities. Here too greenery well planned buildings all made for excellent living conditions not more than 4 storied structures were constructed. Community play centers, agiary in Cusrow Baug and the proximity of offices and travel stations gave generations of Parsis benefits which created unimaginable wealth and prosperity making Parsis the richest and most advanced community of Mumbai. Today, while the population is dwindling these properties remain but sadly many of the present generation are out of the country and continue to hold the houses denying housing to many in need. The politics of the Bombay Parsee Panchayat which holds the 5 baugs and many other housing properties and other trusts who  hold many buildings in isolation have indulged in favoritism and nepotism in some cases. Also, tenancy rights are a bone of contention. Parsi colony at one stage was under threat of losing its covenant and exclusivity in view of other communities buying the houses and threatening to build ugly skyscrapers. I  remember the role played by social activists and lawyers who legally prevented this by promising to make 4 storied buildings. Today, there are good persons who have celebrated and acknowledged the contribution of these visionaries of the past but the problem is not likely to go away. 

Coming to my schools both were missionary schools run by Jesuits St. Mary's SSC and Don Bosco located at Nesbit Street Mazgaon and in Matunga. While I do not have enough information on St. Mary's school except from the net the history of Don Bosco Matunga was linked to a person who I had seen in flesh and blood as a 11 or 12 year old. The school started in 1928 and struggled to keep about 200 day scholars and 100 boarders in a small premise in Tardeo and in a few years shifted to Carmichael road in a place called Hill top. The vision of Father Aurelius Maschio in 1937 led him to identify a large plot in Matunga which was a marsh land and and available but nearly unusable. He took the opportunity, bought the plot on a hunch and in 1941 the present secondary school building was ready. In 1950 the expansion occurred and a primary school building was made followed by the grand church in 1958 and finally in 1965 the boarding school was made. The story of Father Maschio delivering food to the hungry on every Sunday and his reputation as a charitable person was the stuff of legends. The school has rediscovered itself and is today a center of excellence much coveted with many Don Bosco schools and colleges in nearly 130 countries. I have no idea how they link but today Don Bosco, Matunga has all the ingredients to make it a great institution. It has got notable achievers from its alumni including politicians, sportsmen, actors, industrialists, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, social changemakers and many more. By becoming a co educational International school, it has created new dimensions and from an all boys club kind of school become a  center of true excellence. I still fondly remember the education, teachers and the multidimensional opportunities the school gave me to become what I am today. 

What can I say about Grant Medical College 180 year old institution. While it continues to exist I feel the legacy is not as vibrant as the past. The fourth medical college of India following Kolkatta, Goa and Madras to my mind it was the first to impart medical education to Indians. Bhau Daji Lad and Atmaram Pandurang were its first alumni and it was housed in a white building almost designed like castle with a few dedicated English teachers. Historically, in 1835 or thereabouts Sir Robert Grant the Governor of Bombay mooted the idea of setting up a medical education school in Bombay as a similar venture in Calcutta was successfully in existence. In the minutes mention was made of a failed venture of this kind which was abandoned after six years on account of a lack of a hospital attached to the college. It took 3 years to complete the correspondence which went back and forth from Calcutta the capital city to Bombay and when permission was granted, Sir Robert Grant had already died. A town hall resolution was passed to establish the Medical school in the name of Sir Robert Grant. The building was complete in 1845.Concurrently based on the past failure there was a proposal from Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy to set up a hospital and the efforts to do so started in 1838 and the resultant hospital too started in 1845. The first principal was Dr. Charles Moorhead along with John Peet and H. Giraud were the teachers with 12 students. The rest as they say is history. Today it is call Grant Government Medical College and Sir JJ Group of hospitals which also have under its wing St. George Hospital, Gokaldas Tejpal  Hospital and Cama Maternity Hospital. Today, despite the long history the establishment of government control and full timers who are of poor quality and the common entrance exam admissions has created students and teachers who come from all over the state and country who have not had long tenures in the institution with little love or attachment to the history and legacy of this place. The decay and rot is so widespread that the original medical college is now converted to a police station. Yes the grand statue of Sir JJ remains and has become an object of veneration for the poor but is not really cared for by the powers that be. Sad but many alumni care for the place and the nostalgia it awakes, I hope and pray it becomes autonomous and is taken over by people who care. In the meanwhile the memories of the college, hospital its honorary teachers and medical friendships remain and keep the legacy partly alive. 180 years is a long time but in these times commercialisation of medical education and corruption things are quite bad. However, the grand structures are still there and maybe time will create a revival of some kind. 

Now coming to work places the story of Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Parel established in 1960 for mill workers as an Employee State Insurance Scheme hospital. Manharbhai Shah and Mr. R. N. Joshi got hold of prime land and built an institute of excellence with well planned large wards, open spaces and basic science facilities. Located in an area which had many mills and mill workers an idea to provide healthcare to them with out patient and indoor facilities on an insurance model with a mere 0.75% of wages for persons earning less than Rs 21,000/- per month with 3.25% being the contribution of employee. The state government and central government add the same and this sum is used to provide all medical services to employees, their families, and also compensation by way of wages upto 90% in cases of permanent disability and even compensation for temporary disability. In good times as a student I worked here under Dr. B. B. Joshi a great self made hand surgeon. He was an eccentric genius and many of us learnt a lot from him. After he left and the changed demographics of Mumbai due to the decline of textile mills, hand injuries reduced and the number of patients and doctors went down drastically. Sadly despite a time of hope when there was a revival of sorts when a Postgraduate institute of Medical Education an research was established, this was short-lived. Labour unrest petty politics created a situation where things have become bad to worse and a hospital which had become a premier teaching institute and a center of excellence for hand surgery is now deserted and is in decay. 

The history of Masina Hospital is one more example of the zeal and enthusiasm of Dr. Hormusji Masina, a surgeon and the third FRCS from India. He started a hospital in a building called Masina House, a 5 bedded structure in 1902 which soon became popular with nearly 100 beds. However, like some of the other stories in this blog, opportunity beckoned when he treated Sir David Sasoon for a hernia. Based on the clinical outcome and the honest reputation of Dr. Masina he decided to gift his residential palace to Dr Masina. Dr. Masina in turn raised a sum of Rs.25,000/- and acquired 7.5 acres property in which over a period of of time seven structures came up and the hospital became the oldest private charitable healthcare setup in Bombay. The hospital was for Parsis only but soon was opened for all. It attracted the best of talent and had many firsts to its credit. The first open Heart surgery for Patent Ductus arteriosus was performed here. The first formal radiology department was established here along with first NICU in the private sector. The hospital remains a center of excellence in Burns care and Mental health which are areas which are not serviced by most hospitals. The last decade has seen a revival of sorts and the hospital is now counted among the better hospitals of Mumbai. The legacy is in the hands of the present trustees and one hopes and prays that it prospers under their guidance and leadership. 

The institutions have had their ups and downs as can be expected in such long journeys, but it is my fervent prayer that the custodians of this legacy rise and ensure that the vision and the legacy of our forefathers remain intact and do not get lost with time.