Baugs

There are numerous Parsi baugs in Mumbai like Rustom Baug, Cusrow Baug, Nowroz Baug, Ness Baug, Malcolm Baug.. the list continues. These baugs are housing colonies, mostly built as charity blocks. But make no mistake, they have been built with charity thats truly from the heart. The baugs are beautiful leafy places, neatly laid out houses, or low-level buildings of mostly just 2-4 floors. These are built solidly, with priceless old tiles, winding wooden staircases, huge rooms, palatial bathrooms. The baugs are well-maintained and spotlessly clean in true Parsi style. Four bungalows in Malcolm Baug have been included on the BMC’s new heritage list. Baugs have all generations of Parsis, and a culture quite unique to them.

Many of these baugs sit on Mumbai’s prime property, yet rents have remained extremely reasonable. There is just 8 annas for the widow’s chawl in Nowroz Baug, while expensive flats command a rate of Rs. 40. In other baugs it may be Rs. 500 or so. Hope these baugs remain the oasis that they are in the crazy, over-crowded, filthy city of Mumbai.

Perin Marker, 90, is the oldest resident of Malcolm Baug
Image courtesy: The Times of India

The young and the old at the Cusrow Baug clubhouse, Mumbai.
Image courtesy: The Times of India