The Motiwalas of Bombay
My aunts Zehra, Zainab and mother, Rubab Bombay. Circa 1946 Image and Narrative contributed by Fawzan Husain, Mumbai This picture was taken at my grandfather's home, on the occasion of my aunt Zainab’s pre wedding ceremony. She was about to be married to a fireworks merchant. Zehra, was my mother Rubab and Zenab’s half sister. My maternal grandfather Abdul Husain Motiwala, a Pearl Merchant, belonged to the Bohra Shia Community in Saurashtra (now Gujarat State). At the time, during the early 20th century, Saurasthra’s coast line had been a rich hub for pearl hunting, and trade was in the community's blood. The word Bohra itself comes from the Gujarati word vehru ("trade"). As most merchants and families began to adopt and attach last names after the products they traded in, my grandfather's name Motiwala too, literally translates as “Pearl Man”.As a teenager, he decided to go to Bombay with Rs. 5 in hand, and landed up at the shop that dealt with pearls, for a job. Soon he grew in stature and bought the same establishment that he worked for. He turned the business around, made it hugely profitable and became one of the top businessmen of the community. My grandfather was a liberal man and was inclined towards reformism. After the death of his first wife at a rather young age, and a young son to care for, he decided to marry Fatema, a young widow and mother to a daughter Zehra, from her own previous marriage. The Bohra community was hugely upset and wondered aloud as to 'why this very rich and eligible man needed to marry a widow with a child, when there were so many other eligible proposals from the…
