I screeched to a halt, thank God there were no cars behind me it being a Sunday. I reversed my car towards this beautiful structure, standing on the side of the road. I have driven this road maybe a hundred times, but had never known that this structure existed, or to be frank I never cared. But not on this day, I had to see this monument lying unnoticed and uncared for. As I was walking towards this monument I realized how beautiful the monument was, but lying in a neglected condition, with algae and paan stains all around. This is one of the many Pyaaus in the city lying neglected, the Madhavdas Laxmidas Kothari Pyaau, located on the edge of Azad Maidan, opposite Fashion Street in Mumbai was built in 1913 by M.L Kothari in the loving memory of his parents, and was made for the use of giving water to Horses and Cattle. The structure has two symmetrical square fountains with a low basin in between to feed water to animals. The central portion has a projecting jharokha and top is a steep pyramid, and has oil lamp holders all around. The good news is that finally the city is doing something to resurrect this Pyaau among others, and will be undertaken by the Lala Ghoda Association. The Muljee Fountain is another structure that has been lying neglected for a long time, but again thanks to the Kala Ghada association restoration will be starting soon. It stands at the intersection of Mint Road and P D’Mello Road, Fort and is a Grade 1 Heritage structure, made by Ruttonsee Muljee in memory of his son Dharamsee, whose statue crowns the structure. It was made in 1892-1893 and was presented to the Corporation of the city in 1894! The architect’s name F.W Stevens, who even designed the Victoria Terminus, and is in Indo-Saracenic style (also known as Indo-Gothic, Hindoo or Hindu-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal) which was an architectural style movement by British architects in the late 19th century in British India. It drew elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture, and combined it with the Gothic revival and Neo-Classical styles favored in Victorian Britain. The fountain has a large pool that was used as a drinking trough for animals, and has red Aberdeen granite pillars supporting its dome, it is of three tiers and reaches forty feet. There are jets in the form of elephants and lions all around. Just hoping that the restoration begins soon on these beautiful structures and does not fall into any problems or controversies, or gets delayed due to lack of funds.
1 Comment
Bharat Taxi
8/11/2019 15:18:44
Awesome and interesting post. Thanks for sharing this post. Such a wonderful place!!! I can’t articulate it. I really appreciate this post thank you for sharing these type of posts. We as Bharat Taxi are offering car rental services in Mumbai.
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