Standing idol for many years
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Rajendra B Aklekar
They’ve survived rains, withering heat, and the daily excretions of a thousand pigeons; they’ve stared impassively into the middle distance while the city whirl
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Mumbai Mirror
They’ve survived rains, withering heat, and the daily excretions of a thousand pigeons; they’ve stared impassively into the middle distance while the city whirls around their feet. We take stock of the statues of SoBo (they number at least 25) that have stoically stood between the idea and the reality of Mumbai.

1. NAME: Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920)

LOCATION: Girgaum Chowpatty

DETAILS: Nationalist, teacher, reformer, lawyer and journalist; votary of the Swadeshi movement; launched two weekly publications; his last rites were performed at Girgaum Chowpatty along the seashore instead of a crematorium owing to the public turnout at the funeral

2. NAME: Pherozshah Mehta (1845-1915)

LOCATION: Opposite BMC headquarters

DETAILS: Political leader, activist, and leading lawyer; knighted for his service to the law; appointed municipal commissioner in 1873 and its president four times; president of the Indian National Congress in 1890

3. NAME: Jamshetjee Jeejeebhoy

LOCATION: Veer Nariman Road abutting Oval Maidan

DETAILS: Philanthropist and first baronet of Bombay; no markings or a plaque indicating date erected

4. NAME: Saint Bernard

LOCATION: Esplanade House

DETAILS: No signage on plaque; conservation architect Vikas Dilawari who restored Esplanade House says it’s the likeness of Tata family’s pet dog, called “Saint Bernard”; made of terracota

5. NAME: Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara (1877-1941)

LOCATION: Near Metro Theatre

DETAILS: First Indian Deputy Commissioner of Police (1928); in charge of the crime branch; addressed by the honorific “Khan Bahadur”; statue erected in 1940

6. NAME: Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904)

LOCATION: Mantralaya gardens

DETAILS: Industrialist and founder of the Tata Group; statue unveiled by Governor of Bombay, Sir George Clarke on April 11, 1912

7. NAME: Hutatma Chowk

LOCATION: Fort

DETAILS: Built in memory of members of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, who lost their lives during demonstrations; main statue erected in 1961

8. NAME: Tukaram G Ombale (1960-2008)

LOCATION: Girgaum Chowpatty

DETAILS: Assistant sub-inspector, retired army man; died fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai attacks; played pivotal role in apprehending Ajmal Kasab alive

9. NAME: Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar (1725-1795)

LOCATION: Churchgate station junction

DETAILS: Holkar queen of the Maratharuled Malwa kingdom; statue unveiled by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan in 2014

10. NAME: Vithalbhai Patel (1873-1933)

LOCATION: Girgaum Chowpatty

DETAILS: Legislator, political leader, co-founder of the Swaraj Party and elder brother of Vallabhbhai Patel; president of the Bombay Municipal Corporation (1924-25); first president of the legislative assembly (1925-1930); statue unveiled in 1951

11. NAME: Mahadev Govind Ranade

LOCATION: Veer Nariman Road abutting Oval Maidan

DETAILS: Scholar, reformer and author; founding member of the Indian National Congress; member, Bombay legislative council and judge, Bombay High Court

12. NAME: Cawasjee Dinshaw of Aden (1827–1900)

LOCATION: Veer Nariman Road abutting Cross Maidan

DETAILS: Philanthropist; emigrated to Aden around 1855, and developed it into a thriving port city; statue sculpted by Mrs Sheru Dinshaw Daruvala (Sidhwa) and unveiled by Raja Sir Maharaj Singh, Governor of Bombay, in 1949

13. NAME: Dr Acacio Gabriel Viegas (1856-1933)

LOCATION: Near Metro Theatre

DETAILS: Identified outbreak of bubonic plague in 1896; president of Bombay Municipal Corporation, 1906-07; municipal councillor for 31 years; statue erected in 1936