The meticulous restoration of the Pavilion at Doongerwadi
was a challenging project that took 10 months to complete
Sherene Vakil
The newly restored Panday Pavilion at Doongerwadi was inaugurated on Fravardin roz, a day dedicated to the Fravashis who are guardian spirits not only of mankind but of all nature. Coincidentally, November 1, 2024 was the donor Zal Eranee’s birthday. He had financed the restoration work in memory of his late wife Dhun and the family of Jerbanoo and Pestonjee Eranee (Aga). Former Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) chairman, Yazdi Desai’s third death anniversary was also on that day. A write-up on the event was sent to Parsiana by Dr Rashneh Pardiwala, founder and director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE). Along with leading conservation architect Kirtida Unwalla she worked on this project, ensuring that all the norms of the heritage committee were meticulously followed.
Top: Dr Rashneh Pardiwala addressing the gathering with
Zal Eranee and Ava Patel (seated front row, center, wearing topis);
above: Purvi Doshi (far l) and Kirtida Unwalla Photos: Farokh Mojia
A jashan followed by a humbandagi commenced the inaugural proceedings. In her welcome speech BPP trustee Anahita Desai noted that as per its trust deed, the BPP is enjoined to maintain the 55-acre Doongerwadi estate, including the lands and structures therein. Referring to the large Jamshetji Rustumjee Sethna Pavilion that had been restored a year earlier, she lauded the Pardiwala family for pooling in their personal funds for the purpose. She thanked all donors for their involvement in the restoration of not only the Panday and Sethna Pavilions, but also those who have over the years financed the restoration of bunglis and dakhmas. Anahita spoke of Pardiwala’s commitment and conservation efforts at Doongerwadi where she has planted over 14,500 native trees since 2015, nurturing the health of the forest. Pardiwala also helped in renovating the toilet block with funds garnered from the Bai Maneckbai Jejeebhoy Trust funds.
Pardiwala lauded Zal’s commitment to the restoration of the Panday Pavilion. Along with his late wife’s sister, Ava Patel, he "visited the site at every stage of the restoration to give inputs and take important decisions… He had only one instruction… ‘Do not compromise on quality, no matter the cost — I will bear it.’” She was all praise for architect Unwalla and her team, especially site architect Purvi Doshi "who worked tirelessly day in and day out on the site with an eye on detail with Sachin Vishwakarma, the contractor.” Unwalla has also written a special manual and guidebook on the various methods to be followed while restoring structures at Doongerwadi. Pardiwala made special mention of manager Vistaspar Mehta, Arzan Patel and Adil Avari as well as the support staff at Doongerwadi for their cooperation throughout the project.
The Pavilion was built in memory of Hirabai and Limjibhai Dinshahji Panday by their daughters Soonabai Mehta and Ratanbai Bhabha and inaugurated on Fravardin mah, Fravardin roz on September 26, 1928.
BPP trustee Armaity Tirandaz called on Zal and Ava to unveil the commemorative plaque. Maharukh Noble and Hoshang Jal were the other BPP trustees present. Special mementos were presented by the trustees to all persons involved in the project. The event came to a close with light refreshments being served to all.
Speaking about the project, Pardiwala noted, "Due to the difficulty in sourcing various materials, the restoration of the smaller pavilion has been a challenging project and took 10 months to complete. A special limestone mill had to be brought to the site to mix the limestone exactly as was done in the late 1920s. This structure had a variety of materials… The exterior is made of exposed basaltic stone with brick in the interior rendered with lime plaster while the columns were constructed from Porbundar stone… The timber roof was clad with Mangalore tiles specially sourced from Morbi in Gujarat.”
Unwalla, in a note to Parsiana, explained that the small Panday Pavilion predates the "Sethna Mandap, built in 1938 for non Parsis to pay respect to their departed Parsi friends and relatives…[Non Parsis are not permitted entry to the bunglis (halls) where the corpse is laid and the religious ceremonies performed.] (It is) a rectangular plan form with symmetrical openings on all sides and the timber roof, lime plastered walls adorned with high level ventilators offers an overall architectural composition with balanced proportions…
"The restoration processes of this heritage asset… mandates internationally accepted conservation norms, using like-to-like materials of the original construction. The external stone walls were maintained and repaired using lime mortar, while removing all later additions of cement mortar jointing. Using gentle water sprays and removal of vegetation growth on the stone walls, the structural consolidation was secured and the original color of the stones reinstated… The timber of roof trusses being in a sound condition, they were retained… The original flooring of concrete tiles is in good condition… It needed to be polished to create a fresh look and finish.
"Facilities for services like electrical and water drainage, etc were designed to suit the inherent character of the structure… Great care has been taken in selecting a special skill set for making in-house designed chandeliers — a specialist maker of such fittings from Lucknow carried out this work — in the quest to promote traditional skills.”
CERE co-founder and co-trustee Kitayun Rustom told Parsiana, "The aesthetics of the precinct was further beautified by the placement of an array of brightly colored flowering and fragrant potted plants along the walls of the Pavilion.”
With inputs from Farrokh Jijina