the B. J. Entee DHARMASALA
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HISTORY form "The Bangalore Parsis"
Full Name : The B. J. Entee Dharmasala
Postal Address :
The Lady Jehangir Kothari Memorial Hall Annexe
14/4 Venkataswamy Naidu Road
Bangalore 560 051
India
Telephone No. : +91(80) 41239102
Telephone No. : +91 8861251756
E-mail : Trustees@bpza.org
Landmark : At the junction opposite
Agiary and the Indian Express building.
Rooms : There are 11 rooms with a total of 26 beds.
The
Bangalore Anjuman had under its management the Agiary and the The Lady Jehangir
Kothari Memorial Hall for social functions but there was no Dharmasala for
visiting Parsees. The establishment of a
Dharmasala in Bangalore was on the minds of early migrants and the Trustees too
were eager to establish a Dharmasala in Bangalore. At that time, four Parsee
families were running Guest Houses and charging between Rs. 2 to Rs. 4 per
head, per day. (People should know that in the 1940s there were very few hotels
in Bangalore. The premier one among them
was the West End Hotel, which used to charge Rs. 16 per day. Central Hotel used to charge Rs. 10 per
day.) The Parsee-run hotels were (1)
Prince Hotel (where Hotel Chalukya stands) by Mr. Manekji Mysorewalla (2) Sun-Beam
Hotel on Lalbagh Road by Mr P. P. Arsiwalla (3) Rugby Hotel on Cubbon Road by
Mr. R. P. Pagdiwalla and (4) A guest house on Infantry Road by Mr.
Malegaumwalla. These hoteliers used to
charge Rs. 2.50 per passenger for boarding and lodging. They approached the Trustees requesting them
not to set up a Dharmasala as they would lose their livelihood. Therefore, the Trustees dropped the idea of
establishing a Dharmasala.
By
the late-forties Parsees started visiting Bangalore as representatives of
various companies. As hotel charges were increasing they were not able to stay
there from their meagre allowance. Besides, middle-class Parsees too started
visiting Bangalore with their families and were not in a position to stay in
hotels. Soon they started requesting for a local Dharmasala.
Among
the old Parsee settlers there was a family by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Burjorji
Entee, who had come to Bangalore in late 1935.
Mr. Burjorji Entee was a wealthy, retired gentleman from
Surat. He was a sharebroker by
profession and also an avid reader. He
was staying at Edward Road in a bungalow purchased by him. His collection of books was about 6 cupboards
full and well maintained. After his
demise, as per the terms of his will, the books with the cupboards were given
to the Bangalore Public Library - The Sheshadri Iyer Library. In recognition of this gift, the Government
of Mysore has placed his portrait in the Library Hall. All these books are of great importance and
of a political nature but our local Parsees have no time to visit this library!
Mr.
Entee, though a wealthy man, had a soft corner for poor and middle class
Parsees. He realized that many Parsees
who visited Bangalore could not afford to stay in hotels and pay fees of Rs. 20
to Rs. 25 per head, per day. So he met
the President, Mr. E. K. Palia and expressed his desire to establish a
Dharmasala. Mr. Entee approached the
trustees and even deposited Rs. 25,000 to build a Dharmasala. As the amount was not sufficient the Trustees
appealed to Bombay Parsees to donate some funds but without success. They then returned the deposit amount to Mr.
Entee and requested him to buy a Bungalow and hand it over to the Anjuman. Mr. Palia and Mr. Entee were very good
friends. After six months, in 1956, Mr. Palia helped Mr. Entee locate some existing
bungalows and Mr. Entee finally selected a bungalow at Benson Cross Road
and purchased it at a cost of Rs. 45,000 in the year 1957. There was no money set aside for a
maintenance fund.
Mr.
Entee negotiated the deal with the owner of the bungalow and entered into an
agreement with the Bangalore Anjuman to establish the Dharmasala. Mr. and
Mrs. Entee were eager to have the Dharmasala in the vicinity of the Agiary so
that they could also visit it once a week.
When the Dharmasala was handed over to the Anjuman, Mr. Entee entered
into an Agreement with the Anjuman. Mr.
Entee’s chief wish was to have the Dharmasala near the Agiary so one particular
condition stated that the Dharmasala, if shifted, should be of equal
accommodation and at a location nearer the Agiary. Thereafter, the Anjuman could sell off the
bungalow he had purchased. He specifically told me that in future, if an
occasion arises to shift the Dharmasala in the vicinity of the Agiary, the
trustees after making arrangements could shift the Dharmasala and sell the
present building. Mr Entee’s desire was
to provide comfort and advantage to the middle-class and less-fortunate Parsees
so he requested the trustees to charge a nominal fee of Re. 1.50 per head for
lodging.
Two
years later the trustees thought of adding some more rooms to the Dharmasala so
they constructed out-houses in the compound.
The
Trustees over the years have appointed about half a dozen Managers to try and
make a success of the Dharmasala, but the managers often complained that the
Dharmasala was situated far from the Agiary and proper public transport was not
available. This made it difficult to attract many visitors. The Anjuman resolved, after calling for a
General Body Meeting, to shift the Dharmasala to the third floor of The Lady
Jehangir Kothari Memorial Hall Annexe.
The Anjuman was not able to get permission for more residential flats,
therefore they thought of putting up a Dharmasala and built about 3,500 square
feet providing a 22-bed facility to accommodate visitors. This was the
equivalent of the accommodation available in the old building. After shifting the Dharmasala near Queen’s
Road, its use and occupancy has gone up considerably.