A little after the time this picture was taken and the first lot of blocks completed, probably 1935/36, our sagawallas & friends were able to get the 2 bed-room ground floor flats for less than Rs. 29.00 p.m. (TWENTY Nine RUPEES per month ). Till the late 1940’s the rents were about the same. The B.B. & C. I. rail terminus was between on the western edge of the Baug and the Woodhouse Gymkhana, the next station on the way to Delhi, was Church Gate.

Religious residents would walk to the Gateway of India to do their Kusti, especially in the evening. We as kids were made to follow suit, but we went to the Ballard Pier a quarter of a mile from Kalfati Mansions, where we spent our summer vacations, there was a small park with steps leading down to the waters behind The Royal Mint. The waters, at both Gateway of India and the Ballard Pier that the devotee scoped up and at times applied to their faces and probably eyes, before starting their rituals, were cleaner then – just some trace of engine oil and waste from the vessels berthed there or coming or going.

Enjoy
Rusi Sorabji