Monday 9 February 2015

10th February 1803 Jagannath Sunkersette Was Born In Mumbai

विशेष

एका वाडय़ाच्या नाना आठवणी..

feature article on Jagannath Shankar Sheth death anniversary
विकासाची वाट स्वकीयांना दाखवण्यासाठी मुंबईच्या रेल्वेपासून अनेक उपक्रमांत आघाडीवर असणारे आणि स्थानिकांची, एतद्देशीयांची बाजू समजून घेऊन त्यांचे प्रतिनिधित्व करणारे नाना ऊर्फ जगन्नाथ शंकरशेट यांची आज १४८ वी पुण्यतिथी. या स्मृतिदिनी नानांच्या कुटुंबातील एक सदस्य, नानांच्या पाचव्या पिढीतील वंशज, पूर्वाश्रमीच्या मृदुला भालचंद्र शंकरशेट यांनी 'आज'शी जोडलेला हा कालच्या आठवणींचा सांधा..
मुंबईचे शिल्पकार म्हणून ज्यांचा गौरव केला जातो, त्या नामदार जगन्नाथ ऊर्फ नाना शंकरशेट यांची वंशज म्हणून, आणि ते ज्या वास्तूत राहात होते त्या गिरगावातल्या भव्य वाडय़ात आमचे बालपण गेले म्हणून, ३१ जुलै रोजी नानांच्या पुण्यतिथीनिमित्त काही आठवणी लिहाव्यात असा आग्रह निकटवर्तीयांनी धरला. या आठवणी वाडय़ाबद्दलच्या आहेत.
 नानांचा काळ १८०३ ते १८६५ हा, तर माझे लहानपण १९५० ते १९६० या दशकातले. माझे आईवडील, आजी, सख्खी आणि चुलत भावंडं असे सर्व जण एकत्र राहात होतो. घर म्हणजे खूप मोठा आणि सुंदर असा वाडा होता. वाडय़ाला तळमजला आणि वर दोन मजले होते. घरासमोर आणि दोन्ही बाजूंना मोकळी आवारे, म्हणजेच मोठय़ा वाडय़ा होत्या. बाहेरून आलेल्या माणसाला घराच्या मुख्य दरवाजाकडे पोहोचायला पंधरा-वीस पायऱ्या चढाव्या लागत, नंतर एक लांबलचक ओटी होती. घरात शिरायला नक्षीदार भव्य असा पेशवेकालीन थाटाचा दरवाजा होता. घरात सर्व मिळून ३५ ते ४० माणसे होती आणि ती सर्व तळमजल्यावरच दिवसभर असल्यामुळे हा दरवाजा सकाळी सात वाजता उघडे तो रात्री ११ वाजता बंद होई. याच आमच्या घराच्या बाजूला असलेल्या आमच्या वाडीत नानांनी सुरू केलेली शाळेची छोटी इमारत होती. या शाळेचा कारभार माझे वडील (नगरसेवक व  ऑनररी मॅजिस्ट्रेट भालचंद्र शंकरशेट) व घरातील अन्य मोठी माणसे बघत. वेळोवेळी शाळेसाठी मदत करत.
तळमजल्यावर दोन मोठे हॉल, नऊ बेडरूम, एक प्रशस्त देवघर आणि पाठच्या बाजूला परसदारी लागून नऊ- सर्वाची स्वतंत्र- अशी स्वयंपाकघरे होती. अंगणात मोठे तुळशी वृंदावन होते. दोन्ही हॉलमध्ये उंच छताला मोठमोठी झुंबरे, हंडय़ा लावल्या होत्या. बैठकीला मोठे नक्षीदार सोफे आणि कोरीव काम केलेली टेबले होती. मधल्या हॉलला आम्ही माजघर म्हणत असू. रात्री या माजघरात आम्ही सर्व दहाबारा मुले शाळेचा गृहपाठ आटोपून तऱ्हेतऱ्हेचे खेळ खेळत असू. एरवी कडक शिस्तीत असणारे काही वडीलधारे याच वाडय़ाच्या दिवाणखान्यात पत्त्यांमधला 'बिझिक'चा डाव मांडून हास्यविनोद करताना दिसत, तेव्हा आम्हा मुलांना नवल वाटे. दिवाळीत आकाशकंदील आम्ही मुले करत असू, तर फराळाचे पदार्थ सर्व बायका मिळून घरी बनवत. या वाडय़ातील गणपती आणण्याची पद्धत तर नानांच्या काळापासून जशीच्या तशी पाळली जात असे, त्या स्वागतात हौसेमुळे भरच पडत राहिली. सारेच सण उत्साहाने, एकदिलाने साजरे होत.
नाना शंकरशेट यांची ३१ जुलैला पुण्यतिथी असे. त्या दिवशी सकाळी आम्ही टाऊन हॉलमध्ये नानांचा जो भव्य पुतळा आहे, त्याला हार घालायला जात असू. त्या वेळी तेथे दुसरेही पुष्कळ लोक येत, तेही पुतळ्याला हार घालत. मग नानांच्या कार्याबद्दल भाषणे होत. संध्याकाळीदेखील एखाद्या मोठय़ा हॉलमध्ये समाजातील लोक नानांची पुण्यतिथी साजरी करीत असत. तेथेही आम्ही सर्व कुटुंबीय जात असू. एसएससीला जगन्नाथ शंकरशेट स्कॉलरशिप मिळवणाऱ्या विद्यार्थी/विद्यार्थिनीचा सत्कार इथेच होत असे. ही प्रथा अजूनही चालू आहे.
नानांची शंभरावी पुण्यतिथी होती, त्या वेळचा सोहळा तर अविस्मरणीय होता. स्मृतिशताब्दीची खास मिरवणूक झाली. ही मिरवणूक आमच्या वाडय़ापासूनच निघाली होती. फुलांनी सजवलेल्या दोन घोडय़ागाडय़ा तिच्या मध्यभागी होत्या. यापैकी एका घोडागाडीत  नानांचा फोटो घेऊन त्या वेळचे महाराष्ट्राचे मुख्यमंत्री वसंतराव नाईक बसले होते आणि आमच्यासह असंख्य लोक या मिरवणुकीत सामील झाले होते. स्मृतिशताब्दीनिमित्त आणखी एका समारंभात त्या वेळचे राज्यपाल श्री. श्रीप्रकाश यांना पाहुणे म्हणून बोलावले होते. नानांच्या सविस्तर चरित्रग्रंथाचे प्रकाशन भारताचे माजी अर्थमंत्री, उच्चविद्याभूषित आणि स्वत: जगन्नाथ शंकरशेट स्कॉलर असणारे सी. डी. देशमुख यांच्या हस्ते झाले. त्या वेळी ते सपत्नीक आमच्या घरी आले होते. घरातील वडीलमाणसांनी त्यांचे अतिशय आनंदाने स्वागत केले. नंतर पहिल्या मजल्यावरील मोठय़ा हॉलमध्ये पुष्कळ लोकांच्या उपस्थितीत हा सोहळा पार पडला. त्या वेळी आम्ही लहान असलो, तरी हे सर्व बघताना आम्हाला अतिशय आनंद व अभिमान वाटत असे.
पण जगात कुठलीही गोष्ट निरंतर नाही, या नियमानुसार आमचा हा वाडा पन्नास वर्षांपूर्वीच पाडून त्या जागी नवीन इमारत बांधली गेली. मनुष्याला आपला भविष्यकाळ पुष्कळ प्रमाणात ठरवता येतो, पण आपला जन्म आणि आपले बालपण आपल्या हातात नसते. माझा जन्म जगन्नाथ शंकरशेट यांच्या घरात झाला आणि हा मी दैवी आशीर्वादच समजते आणि जवळपास पंचावन्न-साठ वर्षांच्या आधीच्या काळी मी माझे बालपण त्या वेळी माझे जे कुटुंबीय होते, त्या वेळी माझी जी सख्खी चुलत भावंडे होती, त्यांच्याबरोबर खूप मजेत घालवले. असे एकत्र कुटुंबातले बालपण माझे जे समकालीन असतील त्यांचेही थोडय़ाफार फरकाने असेच असेल असे मला वाटते. आजही आम्ही सर्व भावंडे समृद्ध जीवन जगत आहोत. आज टीव्ही, संगणक, मोबाइल यांसारख्या सुखसोयींच्या गोष्टी आपल्याकडे आहेत, तरीही त्या निरागस बालपणाची मजा काही वेगळीच होती, असे माझ्याप्रमाणेच माझ्या समकालीनांचेही मत असेल.
आजही आम्ही सर्व भावंडे एकत्र जमलो की हमखास पूर्वीच्या गोष्टी निघतात आणि अत्तराच्या बाटलीतले दोन-चार थेंब शिंपडून जसे प्रसन्न व्हायला होते तसे त्या आठवणींनी आम्ही प्रफुल्लित होऊन घरी जातो. ज्यांच्यामुळे आम्हाला इतके सुंदर आणि वैभवशाली बालपण मिळाले त्या आमच्या नानांना आणि त्यांच्या वास्तव्याने पावन झालेल्या आमच्या 'शंकरशेट वाडय़ा'ला या लेखाद्वारे माझा आदरपूर्वक प्रणाम.


Saturday, May 12, 2007


Bhau, Nana & Rajabai

Many places in Mumbai have been named after Indians who have contributed to this city’s infrastructure. We have heard, passed through or visited these places but may not know who the people affectionately called Nana or Bhau were. Here are three such places.
Bhaucha Dhakka

Bhaucha Dhakka or Ferry Wharf was built by Lakshman Hari Chandarjee Ajinkya. (1789-1858). He belonged to the Pathare Prabhu community (one of the original inhabitants of Bombay).He was affectionately addressed as Bhau or big brother by the local people. His family had estates at Naigaum and Parel and he worked as Chief Clerk in the Gun Carriage Factory in Colaba. Information given in the Govt. Archives and in the Marathi book ‘Pathare Prabhuncha Itihaas’ by Pratap Velkar reveal that Bombay did not have a regular pier or wharf till 1835 for either goods or passengers. The government started leasing out land on the Bombay frontage to private individuals to build wet docks and basins. Laksman Hari Chandarjee Ajinkya alias ‘Bhau’ was the first local to take this opportunity. He thus constructed Bombay’s first wet dock in 1841 for the convenience of the passengers and incoming ships to load, embark and berth. These included Carnac and Claire bunders. Today, the passenger terminal at the Bhau-Cha-Dhakka is still used to ferry people to Mora and Rewas for their onward journeys to Uran and Alibag.

Nana Chowk

This very busy traffic junction which has six roads converging into it is named after Jagannath Shankersett alias Nana. (1803-1865). He owned large areas of land in the Nana Chowk area including a ‘wada’ which now has been replaced by high rise buildings, the recent Sunkersett Palace and another Sunkersett Mansion built decades ago. This area also has an old privately restored Bhavani Shankar temple built in 1806 associated with the Sunkersett family. JSS was born in a wealthy family of goldsmiths and contributed in many ways towards this city including donating land for the Royal/Grant Road theatre and endowing schools. In 1845, along with Sir Jamshejee Jeejeebhoy
, he formed the Indian Railway Association which was eventually incorporated into the Great Indian Peninsular Railways (GIP).They were the only two Indian directors out of the other ten in the GIP railways. He was also the first Indian member of The Asiatic Society and you will find his full size marble statue at the Asiatic Society Library. The erstwhile Girgaum road which extends from Opera House upto Princess Street is also named after him. A postage stamp was also issued in his honor in 1991.

Rajabai Tower
Rajabai tower located in the campus of the University of Mumbai at Fort including the library was built at a cost of over six lakh rupees donated by Premchand Roychand (1831-1906). Both these structures were designed by Sir Gilbert Scott and completed in 1878. The 280 feet high tower with a clock was a tribute to his mother, Rajabai. Premchand Roychand was a prominent banker and philanthropist of the 19th century who supported many schools especially for the education of girls. The schools included J.B.Petit High School, Bombay Scottish Orphanage School, Alexandria School and Cathedral Girls School. The Premchand Roychand gallery at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (Museum) has been named in his memory and it recently hosted the Bombay Bonanza exhibition to commemorate his 100th death anniversary. It must be noted that there is no statue of him in Mumbai nor any Mumbai street bears his name.

Jaganath Shunkerseth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jagannath Sunkersett
Jagannath Sunkersett.jpg
Born10 February 1803
MumbaiMaharashtra
Died31 July 1865
MumbaiMaharashtra
NationalityIndia
Hon. Jugonnath "Nana" Sunkersett Esq. (also spelled Jagannath Shankarsheth [1] and Jagannath Shankarshet) Marathi:जगन्नाथ शंकरशेट मुरकुटे or नाना शंकरशेट मुरकुटे (10 February 1803 – 31 July 1865), was anIndian philanthropist and educationalist. He was born in 1803 in the wealthy Murkute family of the Daivadnya Brahmin caste in Mumbai. Unlike his forefathers, he engaged in commerce and soon developed a reputation as a very reliable businessman. So high was his credit that ArabsAfghans and other foreign merchants chose to place their treasures in his custody rather than with banks. He soon acquired a large fortune, much of which he donated to the public.
Sunkersett became an active leader in many arenas of life in Bombay(nowMumbai). Foreseeing the need for improvements in education, he became one of the founders of the School Society and the Native School of Bombay, the first of its kind in Western India. The school went through a series of name changes: in 1824, it became the Bombay Native Institution, in 1840, the Board of Education, and in 1856 the name which continues to this day, the Elphinstone Educational Institution. When the Students' Literary and Scientific Society first opened their girls' schools, Jugonnath Sunkersett contributed much of the necessary funds, despite strong opposition of some members of the Hindu community. Other educational projects he began include the English School, the SanskritSeminary, and the Sanskrit Library, all of which are located in GirgaumSouth Mumbai.
In 1845, along with Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, he formed the Indian Railway Association. Eventually, the association was incorporated into the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, and Jeejeebhoy and Sunkersett became the only two Indians among the ten directors of the GIP railways. As a director, Sunkersett participated in the very first train journey in India between Bombay and Thane, which took approximately 45 minutes.
Jugonnath Sunkersett, Sir George Birdwood and Dr Bhau Daji were instrumental in the some of the major reconstruction efforts of the city, beginning 1857. The three gradually changed a town made up of a close network of streets into a spacious and airy city, adorned with fine avenues and splendid buildings. He became the first Indian to be nominated to the Legislative Council of Bombay under the XXTY 26 Act of 1861, and became a member of the Bombay Board of Education. He also was the first Indian member of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, and is known to have endowed a school and donated land in Grant Road for a theater. His influence was used by Sir John Malcolm to induce the Hindus to acquiesce in the suppression of suttee or widow-burning, and his efforts also paid off after the Hindu community was granted a cremation ground at Sonapur (now Marine Lines). He is known to have donated generously to Hindu temples. During the First War of Independence of 1857, the British suspected his involvement, but acquitted him due to lack of evidence. He died in Mumbai on 31 July 1865. A year after his death a marble statue was erected at the Asiatic Society of Bombay. Erstwhile Girgaum Road and chowk (Nana Chowk) at Grant Road are named after him in South Mumbai.
Jagannath's ancestor Babulshet Ganbashet migrated to Bombay in the mid-18th century from Konkan. Babulshet's son Shankarshet was a prominent businessman of South Mumbai in the late-18th century. Gunbow Street (now called Rustom Sidhwa Marg) in the Fort business district of present-day Mumbai, is named after Ganbashet, and not, as many people assume, a British colonial.
The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, formerly The Victoria and Albert Museum, at Byculla in Bombay which was designed by a famous London architect was built with the patronage of many wealthy Indian businessmen and philanthropists like Jagannath, David Sassoon and Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy.
The Bhavani-Shankar Mandir and The Ram Mandir near Nana Chowk were built by Shankarshet Babulshet in the early-19th century and are currently in the possession of the Sunkersett family.

References[edit]

Web Results


Hon. Jugonnath "Nana" Sunkersett Esq. (also spelled Jagannath Shankarsheth and Jagannath Shankarshet) Marathi:जगन्नाथ शंकरशेट ...
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