To this crucible of history came the worthies of the freedom stuggle, as did the prince lings and the nawabs, disporting themselves on the supple lawns, arguing heatedly under its cool arches, writing and re-writing the final script of freedom and estrangement.
Built in 1936, it is part of Jinnah House lore that every slab of Italian marble used had to first pass the scrutiny of Jinnahs fastidious monocle. Slab on slab was rejected in the selection of his bathroom tiles, as in all things; Mohammed Ali Jinnah was a man of perfection.
Now that General Musharraf has reiterated his countrys request for the house to be used as the Pakistan Consulate, Jinnah House is back in the news. Sealed for the past two decades like a woman in purdah, its only occupants are security guards and nests of silent cobras that slink out of the weed-work unchallenged.
Jinnah House at Malabar Hill, whose construction was personally supervised by the Quaid-E-Azam, is where Jinnah dreamt of an Independent nation. Eventually in 1947, when the butchers knife had cleaved its way through Indias anatomy, Jinnah locked up his beloved house and left for his new home, which he corrosively described as moth-eaten truncated Pakistan. He never came back Partition & death got in the way. But before he died, he told Sri Prakasa, Indias high commissioner in Pakistan, that his house was fit only for a small European family or a refined Indian prince.
Needless to Say, there was a catch in his trademark cut-glass accent. The Security guard is in the know. He informs us that only a rajkumar can live here. Would a Pakistani consul pass muster then? Its a moot question because the possibilities of this happening are as remote as, well, peace. Jinnah had agreed that his house should be leased at a rent of Rs. 3,000, and so, until 1982 it was occupied by the British deputy high commissioner.
In 1997, the Indian council for Cultural Relations took possession and as per the latest update, the fate of this touchy house lies in the hands of the Prime Ministers Office.
Among the flurry of what-to-do with-Jinnah house propositions, the most persistent has been that it should be turned into something safe and apolitical, like a museum or a cultural center. One rather mischievous suggestion came from city Historian Foy Nissen who suggested that perhaps it would be a good idea to convert it into an elitist club of sorts so that the likes of M.F Hussain could walk bare foot over the Italian marble. Not a bad idea, except for the stray cobra.
When a harried Nehru sent Sri Prakasa to ask Jinnah about what he wanted done with his house, it must have been one of the few times that a note of pleading entered the proud barristers voice. You do not know how I love Bombay, he said. I still look forward to going back to it one day. Tell Jawaharlal not to break my heart. I have built that house brick by brick.
Now, the nation that he fathered wants a stake in it. And the country where he was born in is not willing to let go.
-Nina Martyris
July 8th 2001, Bombay Times, A Division of Times of India Publication, Mumbai, India.
