 In the northern half of Regent's Park, not far from that venerated open-air cafe 'The Honest Sausage', stands this wonderful Gothic style monument. A watering hole, in its most literal meaning. And as you can see, enormously in demand on a wonderfully sunny bank holiday weekend. What I hadn't appreciated until now is the India - indeed the Parsee - connection. The fountain was built in 1869 by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association (not many charitable endeavours encompass both human and animal welfare quite so magnificently), inuagurated by a member of the royal family, and paid for by a wealthy Bombay (now Mumbai) based Parsee industrialist. Parsees - Zoroastrians by religion, a community numbering only in the tens of thousands - have had, and continue to have, an influence out of all proportion to their numbers. They have played a role in Indian industry and commerce akin to that of the Quakers in Britain a couple of centuries ago. Their role in politics, in India at least, has been less evident - though both M.A. Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and Indira Gandhi married Parsees. But quite remarkably in Britain, the first three Asian MPs were all Parsees - Dadabhai Naoroji ('Mr Narrow Majority'), elected Liberal MP for Central Finsbury in 1892, Sir M.M. Bhownagree a Conservative representing (unlikely as it seems) a seat in the East End of London, and Sharpurji Saklatvala, a communist who represented Battersea in Parliament in the 1920s.  The plaque on the drinking fountain in Regent's Park omits to mention the full name of its Parsee benefactor, and what a marvellous name it is - Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Readymoney. Here's his Wikipedia entry. As you can see, the plaque records that Sir Cowasjee provided the funds for the fountain 'as a token of gratitude to the people of England for the protection enjoyed by him and his Parsee fellow countrymen under the British rule in India.' This was barely a decade after the 1857 Rebellion/Mutiny - decsribed by some as India's First War of Independence - so quite a bold statement. Above the plaque is what appears to be a likeness of the benefactor - judge for yourself how well it captured his features:
7 Comments
27/5/2013 05:42:50
Fascinating, thanks! My great great great grandfather was put to death for his part in the Indian Mutiny. Subject I need to read up on!
Avinash Mehrotra
28/5/2013 12:41:19
So 'Cow'asji Readmoney had the money ready to make a drink for cattle, and to humans too. Great guy. Thanks for the Wikipedia link, which tells me that his family made their money from Opium. Great business in those days.
Zack
29/7/2013 07:02:56
Hey Andrew, 27/11/2013 08:06:39
My late father Cawas Jehangirji Bardoliwalla was born in Bombay and attended The Sir J.J.P.B Institution and was to be the Highest amongst those who Passed The S.S.C.Examination in 1953. He subsequently went on to achieve a 1st Class Honour...s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Bombays Technical Instute for Science and Technology. He was awarded a full honorary Scholarship from The ex-students Jubilee fund to further his studies at London’s Imperial College of Science and Technology during which time he worked alongside Professor D.B.Spalding CBE in the field of Heat Transfer and Rocket Combustion from 1958 to 1961 and was later awarded The Prestigious DIC (The Diploma of ‘Membership’ of The Imperial College). He was subsequently inducted as a Chartered Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and later went on to be appointed Senior Architect at The World Most illustrious Car Giant Rolls Royce & Bentley Motors UK Ltd. Three months prior to his death he was due for promotion as Head of Aerospace (Civil & Defence) Archtectural Engineering and Design at Rolls Royce’s Aerospace Divisional HQ in Crew. Sadley he passed away due to heart failure in 1978 aged just 44 years. Deeply missed. 14/2/2014 04:20:10
Roshan Pedder
30/10/2021 14:18:45
As a Parsee, who now lives in the UK, I cringed with shame and embarrassment when I read that sycophantic thanks and gratitude offered to our former colonial masters for the "protection" offered to himself and his fellow Parsees under the British rule in India. Protection from whom and from what? I know of not a single incident where Parsees were in any way subjected to discrimination or violence or even threatened with the same. I suspect it is more a matter of thanking the British for the lucrative opium trade contracts which was the source of the family wealth. Yes, he donated money to several worthwhile causes including in his and my home city of Bombay (now Mumbai), but thanking the British who raped India of it's wealth is a thanks too far!
Sherna Ghyara
31/10/2021 18:50:55
I agree with Roshan Pedder entirely. Leave a Reply. |
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