godrej archives

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April-May, 2014 Volume 2, Issue 1

“I’ve worked with everything”,

declares Mr. H. N. Khumbatta,

“except locks, typewriters and

refrigerators!”

In an Oral History interview with

Godrej Archives, the former Vice

President and Business Head of

Godrej Material Handling (GMH),

who retired from service in April

2014, recounted his five decade

long Godrej Experience.

During the course of a two-hour

interview, Mr. Khambatta threw

light on a line of business that, in

a way, defined the modern city-

scape, as it was developing then.

Godrej’s brief stint with the archi-

tectural fabrication business

which included aluminium

frames, false ceilings, doors, ven-

tilators and steel windows, left at

indelible mark on major cities like

Delhi and Mumbai.

At its peak, in the 1960s and

‘70s, Godrej’s aluminium frames

and steel windows were supplied

for prestigious constructions all

over the country, and beyond.

Within Mumbai, Godrej’s archi-

tectural fabrications could be

seen on many buildings such as

Tata Institute of Fundamental

Research (TIFR), Larsen & Tou-

bro (Powai), Hotel Palm Grove

(Juhu) and Breach Candy Hospi-

tal, among others. Frames and

windows made by Godrej, have

also played an active but uncele-

brated role in the changing sky-

line of 1970s Mumbai, especially

in the high-rise offices of Nariman

Point, an iconic and well-known

waterfront façade of the city.

Mumbai’s original business dis-

trict, Nariman Point, stands on

land reclaimed from the sea. Back

in the 1920s, when the post war

boom put great stress on land,

the Development Directorate pro-

posed the Backbay Reclama-

tion Scheme. Accordingly, land

from Chowpatty in the North to

Colaba in the South was to be

reclaimed, thus extending the

breadth of the city on the west.

However, in 1926, these plans

were revised and only four of

the original eight blocks were

finally reclaimed. The pier at the

southern end of Block II, near

Colaba, was completed in 1960

and named Nariman Point, after

the firebrand Khursheed Framji

Nariman, a whistle-blower who

brought to light financial misap-

propriation by the British Gov-

ernment.

A construction boom in the fol-

lowing decade saw this region

spurting many commercial high-

rises. Some of the first few high

-rises to be constructed on this

new stretch of land were the

head quarters of Air India and

Indian Express. Interestingly,

Godrej fabrications can be

found on boththese buildings.

While 1502 windows were sup-

plied and fitted in the Air India

building, at the Express Towers,

false ceilings with trapezoid

perforations made possible by

the skills of the Panchals were

installed, along with aluminium

frames. On the Marine Drive

stretch too, Godrej installed

The Express Towers (left) and Air India Building, Mumbai, that sported Godrej’s architectural fabrications

An oral account of Godrej’s architectural fabrication business

The Archives Times April-May, 2014

Godrej installed fabrications for a

number of buildings such as the

National Centre for Performing

Arts. Mr. H N Khumbatta particu-

larly recollects the challenges he

faced while installing frames

at the sea facing 5-star hotel,

The Oberoi Towers.

Soon, Godrej had leading

builders and architectural

firms like Shapoorji Pallonji &

Co. Ltd., B. E. Billimoria &

Co. Ltd and Larsen and Tu-

bro as its clients. The com-

pany was also asked to do

major projects with Glaxo,

Siemens, MICO and Tata

Motors near Pune.

By 1983, Godrej decided to

quit the architectural fabrica-

tion market. “It was a hasty

Market for security products at insecure times Supplying locker cabinets and vaults to Punjab National Bank Ltd., 1944-1947

dated February 1944, is indica-

tive of this wave of expansion.

We are told that, presumably as

a result of augmented business,

the Delhi branch was ready to

equip their vaults at the Tropical

Insurance building with locker

cabinet units, ‘like those supplied

to Central Bank of India’.

Orders to G&B flew in fast and

furiously – Dehradun, Mussorie,

Saharanpur, Jaipur, Erinpura,

Patiala and several other

branches made queries. In some

cases, the need for security

equipment was perceived to be

far more pressing due to the

political and social turmoil of the

times. In a letter dated December

1947, the Manager of Jammu

(Tawi) branch emphasizes the

“importance of these lockers

especially at this juncture, when

many people (who have) escaped

from disturbed areas are coming

over to this side and want to

deposit their valuables with us”.

Sadly, it was not that simple. For

although Godrej was able to

meet demand in terms of pro-

duction, the unstable conditions

of 1947 led to a complete

suspension of railway wagons

bookings, which were used to

transport finished goods to

customers outside Bombay. The

The 1940s were a turbulent time.

Civil disobedience movements

and the threat of the Great War

resulted in regular break down in

government machinery. Later,

partition brought in its wake

violence, displacement, chaos

and insecurity. An estimated 15

million people became homeless

and about a million people lost

their lives in the communal riots

that spread through the north and

east. Political events of such a

magnitude, naturally, have an ad-

verse impact on markets and

regular business. A file, titled Pun-jab National Bank Ltd.—Correspondence, in our Manu-

scripts Collection, outlines the

challenges faced by Godrej in

supplying products during this

period. As suggested by the title, the file

contains letters exchanged

between Punjab National Bank

and Godrej & Boyce regarding the

installation of security equipments

such as locker cabinets and safe

deposit vaults, in the bank’s

branches across undivided India,

between 1944 and 1947.

Punjab National Bank, a Swade-

shi bank with purely Indian capital

and management opened for

business on 18th May, 1894 in

Lahore. The five years from 1941

to 1946, however, were ones of

unprecedented growth. From a

modest base of 71, the number

of branches increased to 278.

Likewise, deposits too grew from

Rs.10 crores to Rs.62 crores

around this time.

The earliest document in the file,

An advertisement from 1950s

decision”, feels Mr. Khumbatta,

“especially since the use of alu-

minium fabrication in buildings all

around India increased rapidly in

the decades that followed.”

For now, Godrej’s tryst with this

business lives on in the archive

through images (approx.100) of

projects— Godrej Bhavan, Cen-

tral Bank of India (Mumbai),

The South Indian Bank

Ltd. (Mumbai), Bank of

Cochin— undertaken by

the company. Two prod-

uct catalogues detailing

technical specifications,

features and ’points for

customer's special atten-

tion’ are also available for

reference.

Harini AlladiHarini AlladiHarini AlladiHarini Alladi

(Intern)

Window frames at the ITC Maurya Hotel in New Delhi supplied and installed by Godrej.


War Transport Department, cre-

ated in July 1942 to coordinate

the demands for transport in war

time, ruled that any movement of

material could be effected only if

supported by a Priority Certifi-

cate under Class I that was

issued by the department. Very

often though, security equipment

products did not always make

the cut for obtaining the certifi-

cate. This along with the sudden

dearth of raw material put the

whole supply-chain mechanism

out of schedule, resulting in

orders pending for long periods.

On a less grave but equally

significant note, the file also

gives a fleeting glimpse of the

prevailing market scenario which

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Mr. Maneck Engineer, a Godrej

veteran, recently sent across a

bunch of gorgeous black and white

photographs spanning his 50-year

association with the company. From

the Diwali function of 1963, light

moments of camaraderie shared with

colleagues at an office picnic,

interactions with revered seniors

such as B N Sethna and Fali Framji,

to a f i rst-of- i ts-k ind senior

management workshop held in

Lonavala in July 1986, these

photographs bring out the humane

side of a man, better known for his

buildings. More importantly, the

collection includes several aerial

shots of the Vikhroli campus and

documents a number of projects

such as Godrej Bhavan (1968), the

railway subway (left) and more recent

This Faber Castell Pocket Slide Rule with Addiator

calculator has been a faithful companion to Mr. Engi-

neer who has used it since his engineering days at

the Faculty of Technology, Vadodra. All projects—

buildings or factory sheds, undertaken by Mr. Engi-

neer were designed using this rule. “I had even used

this elegant rule to design Plant 19, which has one of

the heaviest cranes in the campus—a 120 ton gantry

crane”, recalls Mr. Engineer with pride.

The multi-purpose rule with a plastic body and a

slightly magnifying 5 line cursor has been transferred

to Godrej Archives in its textured green vinyl case.

unexpected ly compet i t ive .

Godrej’s security range of

products, it is understood was

being given a close run for its

money by Hyderabad’s M/s

Allwyn Steel Equipment Co. The

competition was so fierce that

one jittery employee sent an

anxious letter cautioning headof-

fice about the absence of Godrej

nameplates on locker units sup-

plied to PNB. Customers of the

bank could easily mistake them to

be of Allwyn make!

Punjab National Bank Ltd.- Corre-s p o n d e n c e , c o n t a i n i n g

documents such as quotations,

technical specifications, Priority

Certificates, drawings and impor-

tant letters between N. D. Sahu-

kar, G.M, Godrej and Lala Yodhraj

M.D., PNB is available for ref-

erence. Accession no. MS08-

01-419-1

Godrej’s Safe Deposit Locker Units from a catalogue of a later date

projects like the Godrej Baug building undertaken by

Godrej Construction.


What’s new on www.archives.godrej.com?What’s new on www.archives.godrej.com?What’s new on www.archives.godrej.com?What’s new on www.archives.godrej.com?

You can now take a walkthrough of Godrej Archives’ special themed exhibitions on our web-

site. A quick overview of Pirojshanagar: Then and Now in under ten minutes OR a detailed

study of Sohrab Godrej’s personal things in The Restless Visionary, our virtual tours are sure

to leave you wanting for more.

Url:http://www.archives.godrej.com/exhibitions.html

We’d love to engage in a dialogue. Send us your feedback and comments to [email protected]

Godrej Archives, Plant 19A, 6796-4197/ 4124

Democracy in Action, 1951Democracy in Action, 1951Democracy in Action, 1951Democracy in Action, 1951

In simple and lucid style, this documentary

explains the principles underlying the elec-

toral procedure and actual mechanics of vot-

ing on the polling day. Ballot Boxes manu-

factured for India’s first General Elections by

Godrej & Boyce are shown in the film.

The Great Experiment, 1952The Great Experiment, 1952The Great Experiment, 1952The Great Experiment, 1952

This is a report on free India's first General

Elections and tells the story of the people

who took active part in it. Covering a period

of more than three months it reviews the

elections from the time of preparing lists of

eligible voters, to the day of the actual poll-

ing. In this too, one can see the Ballot Boxes

made by Godrej.

Indian Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Indian Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Indian Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Indian Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Equipment, 1960Equipment, 1960Equipment, 1960Equipment, 1960----70s70s70s70s

This export promotion film shows the pro-

gress made in refrigeration cold storage

and air conditioning industry in India.

Industrial India, 1963Industrial India, 1963Industrial India, 1963Industrial India, 1963

A survey of major industries of India, their

targets and achievements is presented

here. The film also features the Godrej Re-

frigerator, cupboard and chair.

Women in Industry, 1962Women in Industry, 1962Women in Industry, 1962Women in Industry, 1962

The film shows the steps that have been

taken to improve the lot of women workers

in various industries in India.

Godrej Archives has recently acquired copies of the following documentary films produced by FilmsDivision of India

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