Consider this: a Parsi gentleman stands tall amidst the chaos of Byculla. This is Khada Parsi. It is more than just a statue. It is a sentinel of Mumbai’s history. The Khada Parsi statue stands at a busy traffic intersection. It marks the memory of Shet Cursetjee Manockjee. He was an illustrious Parsi. He founded one of the first schools for girls in Mumbai. It is now called Alexandra Girls English Institution.
The statue’s story began in the 1860s. Cursetjee’s youngest son commissioned it. He wanted to honor his father. He spent a substantial sum of Rs 20000 those days. The statue was built in parts in London. These parts were shipped and assembled in India.
Khada Parsi is a 40-foot-tall cast-iron monument. It features a Corinthian pillar. Sculptures of four mermaids surround its base. For a time, it was one of only two such statues in the world. The other was in Chile.
Over the years, Khada Parsi fell into neglect. Flyovers were built around it. The statue suffered damage and theft. Its four-feet-tall lamps disappeared in the seventies. The fountain at its base vanished.
But Khada Parsi’s story does not end in neglect. In 2012, the BMC announced a restoration project. Heritage conservation experts worked for nearly two years. They used archival photographs. They sourced special stones from Bangalore. The restoration cost Rs 2 crore.
The team recreated missing components. They cleaned decades of dust using sand blasting. They installed new water and gas pipelines. The fountain was revived. The lamps were replaced. Skilled workers came from Makrana in Rajasthan. They carried out the stone work.
Conservation architect Pankaj Joshi led the restoration. He said that the statue looked like the original again. Param Shah of RPS Infra Projects also worked on the restoration. He said that all the original features had been restored. BMC city engineer Prakash Kadam called it a small island of peace. It stands in the middle of a busy traffic junction.
Today, Khada Parsi stands tall again. It reminds us of Mumbai’s rich history. It also reminds us of the importance of preserving our heritage. The gas lanterns are switched on every evening. The water flows from the mermaids’ conches. Khada Parsi stands as a testament to the city’s resilience. It also honors Shet Cursetjee Manockjee’s legacy.