The exquisite fountain standing in the center of South Mumbai’s modern financial world is another of the marvelous inheritances of our generation from the era gone by. Flora, the beautiful goddess from Roman mythology, adorns the oil painted structure. She is widely known as the goddess of flowers and the season of spring.
Though the goddess Flora has her origins in Roman mythology, not many references have been made to her then. However, her emergence in the neo-pagan revival of Antiquity among Renaissance humanists is noteworthy. She seems to have caught the imagination of many in later times. No wonder that the name of the fountain was changed to Flora Fountain just before the sculpture was to be unveiled.
The authorities had initially planned to name the fountain after the then governor of Mumbai, Sir Bartle Frère. Sir Frère has to his credit the distinction of dismantling Bombay Fort and shaping much of today’s Mumbai.
Sculptured in stone from the Jurassic period
The structure was designed by noted designer R. Norman Shaw and sculptured in imported Portland stone by the famous James Forsythe. A limestone by classification, Portland stone is from the Jurassic period and quarried on the Isle of Portland. The stone was used extensively in the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire.
A Handsome Sum of Rs. 47,000 to build Flora Fountain!
Flora Fountain was built at the exact spot where the original Church Gate of Bombay Fort once stood. Today, it is commonly referred to as ‘Fountain’ and is an important landmark on all city maps. The structure was built at a cost of Rs. 47,000, a princely sum at that time, no doubt. A significant part of the total cost (Rs. 20,000), however, had been borne by Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh. The Agri-Horticultural society of Western India built and unveiled the structure in 1864.
A Memorial that lives on…
In 1960, almost a century later, the Indian Government rechristened the square where the fountain stands, as Hutatma Chowk (Martyr's Crossroad or Square). This was done in order to honour all those who laid their lives down in the course of the formation of Maharashtra State. Though one gets to see the official name on all authorised sign boards and buses headed in that direction, the original name lives on.
Ruchika Batra
Address:
Flora Fountain, DN Road, Fort, Mumbai – 400 001
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