Avabai Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy

Avabai, Lady Jeejeebhoy (born c.1793) was the wife of Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, 1st
baronet. She is best known for having funded the construction of the Mahim causeway in
Mumbai (Bombay), which serves today as an important link between the island city of
Mumbai with its north-western suburbs.

Contents
Personal life
Mahim causeway
See also
References
External links

Personal life
Avabai was born the daughter of Framji Batlivala, a Parsi merchant from Daman who
carried out a trade in bottles in the Fort area of downtown Mumbai (Bombay). The family
belonged to the Parsi community. As per Indian custom of that era, Avabai was wed at age
10 to the 20-year-old Jamshetjee, who had lost both his parents at a young age and was
then venturing his first foray into commerce under the tutelage of Avabai's father.
Jamshetjee was Avabai's first cousin, being the son of Framji's sister Jeevibai. The couple
enjoyed a marriage of great felicity and were the parents of seven sons and three daughters;
however, four sons and two daughters succumbed to the dangers that plagued infancy in the
19th century.

As a merchant, Jamshetjee enjoyed success far beyond his expectations and accumulated a
vast fortune; by some estimates, he was worth a stupendous two crore (twenty million)
rupees by age 40. Both he and Avabai were unstinting in their philanthropic efforts and are
credited with funding as many as 126 different public charities. In recognition of these
services to the public good, Jamshetjee was conferred a knighthood in 1842 and Avabai
become Lady Jeejeebhoy. Subsequently, in 1857, a baronetcy was conferred upon
Jamshetjee.

Mahim causeway
Before 1845, there was no connection by land between the present-day Mumbai
neighbourhoods of Mahim and Bandra; people had to be ferried across the Mahim Creek.
This was dangerous during the monsoons, when the seas around Mumbai are extremely
rough; people sometimes lost their lives merely in crossing between Mahim and Bandra on
the ferries. The passage of carriages and other vehicles was impossible and separate
arrangements for conveyance had to be made on either side.

The government deliberated upon the matter, estimated the required expense as being one
lakh rupees, and made it known that paucity of funds precluded the expenditure of what
was then a vast sum of money. Avabai, perhaps by personal experience, well knew the
importance to local residents of building the causeway, and resolved upon seeing the
needful done. She arranged with the government to have the causeway constructed by them
at her expense. As the daughter of Framji, who had funded Jamshetjee's early mercantile
ventures and received a share of the proceeds, Avabai was a lady of independent means. She
stipulated that given the circumstances of the causeway's construction, no toll should ever
be charged by the government for its use.

Construction of the Mahim causeway began in 1841 and was completed in 1845. The
estimated cost of construction was far exceeded, and finally amounted to Rs. 1,57,000/-, all
of which was paid out of money donated to the treasury by Avabai from her personal funds.
The causeway bears a dedication to Lady Avabai Jeejeebhoy in four languages.[1]

See also
◾ Mahim Causeway
◾ Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy

References
1. Mahesh Dattani. "A bridge with a difference" (http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/
MMonline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?BV_ID=@@@&contentType=EDITORIAL&
sectionName=TheWeekLastWord&programId=1073754894&contentId=5758088).

External links
◾ Brief biography (https://web.archive.org/web/20051017091249/http://music.calarts.edu/
~bansuri/pages/sirJJ.html)
◾ Account of family life (https://web.archive.org/web/20060206104508/http://www.zav.org.
au/pages/heroes/jamsetjee.htm)
◾ Funding the Mahim causeway (http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/persons/jamsetjee-jeejeeb
hoy.html)

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This page was last edited on 24 October 2019, at 12:03 (UTC).

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