Khada Parsi set to move

Khada Parsi, the bronze statue of Seth Cursetjee Manockjee which has for over a century watched over the traffic near the J. J. Flyover, will soon be moved to a garden outside the nearby Byculla fire station. The Bombay Municipal Corporation decided to do this because the statue of the illustrious Parsi has turned green with corrosion over the years due to pollution and poor maintenance, reports Hindustan Times (HT) of July 1, 2008 (see "Khada Parsi may be moved,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, May 7, 2008).

Erected in the 1860s by Manockjee’s son Cursetjee, the statue today stands between two flyovers. "The features of the statue have worn out and it needed to be restored to a place where it could be preserved and noticed. The decision to shift was taken at the ward committee meeting following requests from residents. Now all that remains is… permission from the Heritage Committee,” Ravindra Waikar, chairman of the standing committee informed HT.

A fountain ordered by the government of Chile with the figure of the Roman goddess Ceres in the center had impressed donor Cursetjee, a judge with the small causes court, who had a replica made in bronze with the statue of his father replacing that of the goddess. The statue cost Rs 20,000, a princely sum at that time, the report adds.