Hanging gardens - a.k.a the Phirozeshah Mehta gardens

It was yet another rainy Sunday, and it was time for a Sunday morning ride.

I cycled happily towards ‘South Bombay’ and went on to visit a most beautiful place - the ‘Hanging garden’ - or, to give it its official name - the ‘Phirozeshah Mehta garden’. 

Which is a good opportunity to talk about that magnificently moustachioed Parsi gentleman - Sir Pherozeshah Mehta - ‘The father of Bombay’ and a founding member of the Indian National Congress. 

This venerable bawaji was a remarkable fellow - he was one of the first ‘Post Graduate’ degree holders in the country - getting his ‘Master of Arts’ from the newly minted ‘Univerity of Bombay’ in 1864, and then went to London to get his law degree, and became the first Parsi barrister in blighty. He then returned to Bombay to hang out his shingle and go toe-to-toe with the toffee-nosed British lawyers who had held a monopoly on the silly-wig-and-black-housecoat trade in India till that time. P.M. went on to become one of the most famous lawyers in Bombay and probably charged an arm and a leg just to look at a brief. ( A legal brief, I mean...not undies!) 

One of his famous clients was the first Municipal Commissioner of Bombay - Arthur Crawford -  who was accused of corruption! The very first commissioner clearly set the corruption ball rolling and his example seems to have been faithfully followed by all the BMC employees ever since! 

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