Have faith, will flourish

Pics/Sooni Taraporevala

It presents a continuing miracle. Of a water level not dropping despite copious litres regularly drawn from it.

Receded inland by reclamation, the boon-granting Bhikha Behram well (kuvo, in Gujarati), situated between Churchgate station and Flora Fountain has seen Zoroastrians touch bowed heads to its stone rim since 1725. But every community has benefitted, unstintingly and lastingly. As have all creatures great and small, from horses and cattle to dogs and cats drinking from a trough alongside, throughout the most devastating epidemics. Other wells were sealed to stop contamination; this sole exception sustained the city's people and animals.

The premise that faith and reason may not be mutually exclusive has roots in the story of origin of these waters. The merchant Bhikhaji Behramji Panday, was the descendant of a penurious grandfather who left his native Bharuch for brighter prospects in Bombay. En route, the ancestor was arrested by Marathas mistaking him for a Mughal spy. The more successful in business grandson was later disconcerted by a vivid dream commanding him to build this well on a specific spot at his cost. Workmen heeding orders struck subterranean freshwater, a sweet spring gush - not unpotable, brackish water the sea-bordered location should logically yield.

Bachi Karkaria, editor of Waternamah, the book celebrating this unique site, explains that Masaru Emoto, author of The Hidden Messages of Water, claims the molecular structure of water changes with emotional energies and vibrations. Exposing it to good thoughts and speech produces aesthetic ice crystals and negative ones ugly formations. Water is cleansed, transformed with prayer and positivity.

1725
Year in which Bhikhaji Behramji Panday had the Bhikha Behram well built

Watering Faith

Extract from Bachi Karkaria's introduction to the book, Waternamah
"Putting together this commemorative volume has been a privilege. Not just for those of us involved in the nitty-gritty. Each of our eminent contributors said an immediate ‘yes' and delivered to a short deadline. More than that, so many, even non-Parsi, refused a fee.

Shiraz Kotwal visits the well every weekday morning with his dog Bambi. The waters are also home to a flippered and finned menagerie of turtles and fish. Pic/Phiroze Javeri

This book is the larger community's ashodad: the ritual offering made to the intermediary between Ahura Mazda and devout Zoroastrian, usually the mobed, priest. But Mumbai's iconic Kuvo is almost divinity itself. In 1725, Bhikha Behram Panday created it with dual intent: to obey a divine command and as symbol of his own deep faith in Zarathushtra's creed. For 300 years it has been the repository of countless Avestan prayers and thanks for wishes granted. Which is why this jewel, serene amidst quotidian bustle, is more Presence than mere physical entity….

Faith and water, each indispensable in itself. In tandem, infinitely potent. Which is why every organised religion or amorphous belief system bows to water's metaphysical valency, coopting it in rituals at birth, death and everything between - or beyond. Zoroastrianism elevates it, giving it form as the ‘pure and powerful' archangel, Ardvisura Anahita. In her anthropomorphic representation, she is a beautiful maiden, wearing a diadem, dressed in finest beaver skins. She blesses worshippers with wisdom, good health and fertility.

Faith and water. This duo is the mystic wellspring of our revered Bhikha Behram no Kuvo. The book goes beyond the historic tricentenary and Zoroastrian belief, more widely celebrating the universal secular and sacred life-force of water itself. Hence the title, ‘Waternamah'."

‘Magical relief'

Dr Burjor H Antia, Partner, Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe, on the Kuvo
"As a trustee of the Bhikha Behram Well Trust, I want the public to understand the significance of this iconic landmark, coming into existence 300 years ago because of Seth Bhikhaji Behramji Panday's dream: to build a well at a place surrounded by the Arabian Sea salty water. And the water which gushed from it was sweet! This water has flowed endlessly till today, quenching the thirst of every community, irrespective of caste or creed.

Views of the Bhikha Behram Kuvo at Churchgate in its earlier avatar in 1984. Pics/Sooni Taraporevala

As Hindus consider the Ganga's water holy, so do Parsis regard the water of the Bhikha Behram well. They believe it brings magical relief for any problems. Keeping in mind the history of the well, I encourage the Parsi population to come frequently to pray. This will bring them peace, progress and prosperity.

Along with the jashan and launch of the book, Waternamah, on March 21 we released a silver coin, showing the Holy Well on one side and the Prophet Zarathustra on the other. We plan more functions during this tricentenary year to promote spiritual fervour among Mumbaikars, including the Parsis."

300 years of gratitude

Extract from this columnist's chapter in Waternamah
"Trust a grandmother to leave you with a lifetime's love for the waters of a well. Mine did. Giving me heart's ease forever.

Seldom does a week go by without a visit to this serene space, south-tipping the Cross Maidan. The Bhikha Behram well floods me with the same surge of solace and hope that has comforted countless generations. Amazing, the power of a small aquatic body to soothe several hundreds of heavy souls.

Why is this tiny, corner-hugging well more my sacred spot than any imposing agiary?

Bonded in bandagi: "Humbandagi", the communal prayer tradition of Parsis gathering to sing hymns. Pic/Hoshaang Gotla

Mehera Mamma, our maternal gran, used to urge children of the family to whisper a prayer in three situations. Each time we saw a pregnant woman (because having a normal baby should not be taken for granted). Each time we accidentally dropped a book (because the printed word gifts knowledge, respect it). Each time we passed any place of worship (because divine grace is universal and relevant). The last gesture extended to this well.

‘Take your thanks there more than favours,' Mamma insisted, explaining the wonders of this wishing well. ‘Ask only for everyone's well-being - Khodaiji sukhraana, sav nu saaru karjo,' she added.

It was my Aunt Dolly who instilled firmer trust, narrating her personal account of a brush with grave danger ‘till Avan Ardvisur Banoo, the yazad (angel spirit) who rules over the waters of the world, saved me,' she said. Immersed in the book she was reading on a local train, Dolly, then in her twenties, was unaware the compartment emptied. A burly undesirable boarded at the next station. Fixing a leering gaze while she squirmed inwardly, he began walking towards her seat.

‘I seemed paralysed, no words formed in my mouth to scream,' she said. ‘Quickly imaging her, I silently repeated, Madad karo Mai. Along with this I kept invoking Beshtarna, Taronish - 34th and 35th of the 101 names of Ahura Mazda. These two offer protection in the face of evil forces. Suddenly, from nowhere, a huge gust of wind swept through the carriage. The man fell back and out on the tracks. The train gathered speed. He wasn't able to get back on. It was a hot day, not a bit of breeze. He was built like a giant. Incredible. What was that if not divine intervention?'

Miraculous. Mesmeric. Magical. Like most bonds between person and place, this one exudes a mystic aura. It takes hold of me from the second I step into the shaded inner pavilion, thinking of Avan Ardvisur Banoo.

She equally appeals to four-legged acolytes. At 11 on weekday mornings, Rambo and Rosie - the well's resident dogs who enjoy lazing in the courtyard sun - wait to greet their canine friend Bambi here. ‘Bambi and I go every day, me to pay my respects, she to meet her pals. She's a Covid find,' says her owner Shiraz Kotwal, living in the neighbourhood.

All is indeed well. Thousands of devotees exulted when the Kuvo had its beauty restored after vandals destroyed the gorgeous stained-glass canopy panels 20 years ago. Hurrying from work to join the candle-light vigil held in protest against those random attacks, I fervently prayed too. Nothing should sully this beloved little monument.

Tenderly nurturing for three centuries after it first rose as a venerable city institution, our hallowed haunt stands strong. No desecration can violate its essence. Perennial source of sweet water, eternal guardian of us all."

Waternamah will soon be available at select bookstores and online at Pagdandi and Amazon

Author-publisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay. You can reach her at meher.marfatia@mid-day.com/www.meher marfatia.com