A watery past

With the restoration of the Kessowjee Naik Fountain (Pyaav) and Clock Tower at Masjid Bunder earlier this month, we to bring to you some of the abandoned water fountains of erstwhile Mumbai along with expert views of conservation architect Vikas Dilawari. These fountains, which helped quench the thirst of Mumbai's denizens and were once looked upon with awe for their architectural beauty are currently in dire need of restoration.

This fountain was built by Anand Vitthal Koli in the memory of Vitthal and Keshav Koli around 1929. Located on Gokhale Road at Dadar, it is believed to be a replica of the fountain opposite Bharatmata Theatre in Parel, which was demolished in 2010. Constructed out of Kurla stone and decorated with innate carvings and cupolas on both sides, the fountain lies in an area where the city's most important cotton mills were once situated.
Situated in the premises of the Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Animal Hospital in Parel, the fountain was built in 1889 at a cost of Rs. 5,000 by Furdoonjee Dhanjeebhoy Allbless to commemorate his son Edulji Allbless. Made of Porbandar and Red Dhangadra stone and employing a Gothic style, baroque carvings and animal motifs, the fountain is an architectural phenomenon. It has four troughs for animals to drink water from and the canopy comprises a marble fountain adorned with peacock motifs. "The fountain is not functional anymore and it requires attention," says Dilwari, "Parts of the iron monger work is corroding, resulting in spilling of the Porbandar stone carving. The vegetation needs to be removed and the stone needs to be cleaned gently in addition to carrying out lime repointing."

Designed by FW Stevens and built in 1892-93 at the corner of Mint Road, the Mulji Jetha Fountain with its Indo-Saracenic architecture is one of the most beautiful fountains existing in the city today. Built by businessman Mulji Jetha for his deceased son, the fountain was used by both humans and animals. It had troughs fitted at the bottom for animals to drink water from—it was both an ornamental and drinking fountain. Dilawari says, "The animal head reliefs of the fountain are badly damaged; some of them can be repaired while others will require reconstruction. The difficult part is that these sculptures have water spouts and to integrate them in new replacements using similar material is a challenge. Also, these fountains have been painted time and again and to revert to its original details, we need to use the right techniques."

The next time you travel by train from Cotton Green station to Reay Road station, don't forget to look to your left and spot the historical structure of Reay Road Fountain. Mr. Lowji Megji, a cotton merchant, built the fountain in memory of his daughter Kusumbala who died of terminal illness. She would often accompany her father to his godown and distribute sweets to the workers. Constructed of Malad stone, the fountain comprises a dome supported by eight Indian-style pillars and four cow heads. Today, the fountain is defunct—the off-white Malad stone has turned grey and parts of the structure are missing. It lies in an isolated area devoid of its due recognition.

DID YOU KNOW? The spouts of the Reay Road Fountain, which once had water gushing from them, are now vandalised.