Why Mumbai’s 300-year-old Bhikha Behram Well is more than just a sacred site for Zoroastrians

Come March and among a dawdling dance of palms and a spurt of bougainvillea, the footfalls of devotees at the well are at an annual high. According to the Zoroastrian calendar, it is the month of ‘Avan’—a period when water is worshipped. The air is tinged with the scent of roses and lilies, string after string laden with marigolds jostle for space on a filigreed Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) screen, and flickers of oil lamps are aflame well past sunset. Offerings of coconut, rose water and the traditional sweet dar ni pori are made.

The tranquil sanctuary of the well goes beyond the need to assert an identity; it is a living embodiment of safeguarding heritage whilst retaining its original purpose of providing water to a thirsty passer-by. While in the past, the water from the well—believed to be naturally sweet despite its proximity to the sea—was distributed across Fort and Churchgate, today, it is not without its impurities. “The Trust makes sure the water goes through a filtration process before being piped to the taps outside [to drink],” says Viraf Kapadia, one of the trustees of the Bhikha Behram Well Trust, a non-profit organisation that maintains the site. Several hawkers lining Fashion Street also use water from these taps.

A Humble Design Language

The restoration work of the well was first undertaken by Unwalla in 1999. Back then, the compound wall had to be made secure, the pavilion needed attention, and ancillary utilities had to be accommodated too.

The parapet of the well is constructed in brick masonry with stone coping. The external face of the parapet wall, earlier clad in in-situ marble mosaic, was clad in in-situ Malad crete plaster following the restoration. The rough Kota stone flooring beyond the pavilion was retained in 1999. However, with the accumulation of rain water, conducive paving with an adequate slope for drainage became pivotal. “In 2023, along with the peripheral flooring tiles, the tiles within the pavilion were also changed. Moreover, as the levels of the roads outside rose significantly, there emerged a problem of ingress of water into the compound during the monsoon,” explains Unwalla. The ground level was then raised with cement screeding of 100 mm and laying new tiles. This posed another challenge: the height of the parapet wall of the well had to be risen by 250 mm. The existing stone coping was carefully removed and bricks were laid to increase the height of the wall. It was finished in limecrete plaster, with the stone coping reused.