Mumbai: Bhikha Behram Well
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A backgrounder
Nayonika Bose, March 21, 2025: The Indian Express
Despite the din of the crowd that surrounds it round-the-clock, the Bhikha Behram well–tucked between the busy Churchgate station and Flora fountain–is conspicuous with its distinctive walls, stained-glass panels and lush greens. For the past 300 years, fresh water from Bhikha Behram no Kuvo (Bhikha Behram well) has quenched thirst, provided succour to the weary while being intrinsically linked to the Parsi community’s faith.
On Friday, as the Parsi Irani community rang in Jamshed-i-Navroz (Iranian New Year), trustees of the Bhikha Behram no Kuvo (Bhikha Behram well) celebrated the tricentenary event of the well amid cheers and applause.
Commemorating the landmark milestone, the event also saw the launch of the volume, ‘Waternamah: 300 years of Mumbai’s Bhikha Behram Well’, a collection of 32 essays by Zoroastrian scholars which has been edited by Bachi Karkaria. The book traces the evolution of the revered site over the past three centuries and the mythic significance of Ardvisura Anahita, the guardian spirit of water.
The well gains its moniker after Bhikhaji Behramji Panday, a Parsi merchant hailing from Bharuch, who upon a divine intervention, sank the well in 1725. While its proximity to the sea initially raised questions over the feasibility of the digging, the earth spouted potable, fresh water as soon as the well was dug–further burnishing it as a revered site. Since then, the site is thronged by Parsis for prayers with the site witnessing larger congregations on Ava roj.
Speaking during the celebrations, Justice S J Kathawalla, retired judge of Bombay High Court, who was the chief guest of the event, said the well has been deemed the miracle well by scores of devotees over the years for bestowing boons and blessings in abundance.
“All Agiaries have wells and in the olden days, most Parsi homes also had kuans (wells). Traditionally, Parsis have worshipped at all wells reverentially. We believe that water has a divine cosmic power that sustains our life. And whilst all water bodies evoke prayers among all Parsis, none is perhaps as powerful and beneficiary as the Bhikha Behram kuan,” he said, sharing how the waters from the wells of Agiaries around Fort including perhaps Bhikha Behram well was used by fire fighters to douse a major blaze which was reported at a famous Flora Fountain building on November 23, 1973.
During its 300-year-long storied history, the sacred site has evolved significantly — as years passed, a canopy, pavilion as well as compound wall were erected around the well. Ahead of the tricentenary celebrations, the Grade II A heritage structure underwent a major restoration.
