A lesser known Bandra village lane deserves some attention to its history and inhabitants as it shines quietly for Christmas

Grotto near the village square. PICS/SATEJ SHINDE

What should be easy to sight is as easily overlooked. All the world goes traipsing through the obvious showpiece villages of rampantly redeveloped Bandra: Ranwar, Pali, Chimbai, Chuim, Sherly, Rajan….

How about Boran village?

It is, ironically, more centrally positioned than the rest. Entered from Hill Road, opposite Elco Arcade, Boran Road tips south into Bazar Road. But apart from its circle of local villagers and long-time Bandra residents, this lane lies almost relegated to obscurity.

The annual Boran outdoor mass

Originally called Dancavar (sometimes spelt Dandacarvar), Boran or Borivan – one of 25 “pakhadis” under the Gujarat sultanate before the Portuguese and British East India Company acquired them – was populated by paddy-cultivating farmers and fishermen. It was a protected fishing port, paralleled west by Ice Factory Lane. The factory existed because of the fish. Boran, alongside, constituted what was dubbed Bombil Wadi. Rows of Bombay duck were laid to dry on the acre.

Why do I have a soft spot for Boran Road? A favourite aunt lived here in two-storeyed Ascension House, to which my childhood visits were frequent and fun. The name alludes to the biblical story of the Ascension – the Holy Day of Obligation 40 days after Easter Sunday, marking the ascent of Christ to heaven.

Dr Ashwin Correa and his wife Dr Samantha Correa in Ascension House, with a portrait of his grandparents, Professor Raphael d’Almeida and Elfreda d’Almeida

Back at Ascension House after 30-odd years, I meet radiologist Ashwin Correa. His great-grandfather, Domiyar Francisco d’Almeida, was the patriarch of a prominent bloodline that made pioneering contributions to civic and social life in Bombay. His son, Professor JF Raphael d’Almeida, the renowned botanist, mayor and municipal councillor, is honoured at nearby Almeida Road and Almeida Park north-tailing it.

DF d’Almeida, a co-founder of the East Indian Association, built Ascension House in 1909. The garden was planted with mango, chikoo and tetwa trees whose leaves hold medicinal properties. A duck pond was added later.

Ascension House was renovated by Prof Raphael d’Almeida’s dynamic wife Elfreda in the mid-1950s. One of their four daughters, Celsia Bocarro, explains that their botanist father was inspired enough by his passion to name them for a flower each. Elaborating, she says, “Mine, Celsia, is a small wild flower found in the Western ghats. My sister Nymphia was named after the lotus, nymphaea; Yucca after a desert lily; and Norysca after a yellow-white mountain flower. We played a lot together in the doll’s house placed under the outdoor stairway of the old Ascension House when our mother was away. She was a respected activist devoted to public work.”

Olga Pereira at the historic Boran Cross facing her cottage

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