Elephanta boat tragedy: Mumbai lawyer recalls how his grandfather died in a similar accident 60 years ago

A Mumbai lawyer recounts eerie similarities between Wednesday’s collision and a 1964 accident that claimed his grandfather’s life

As news about Mumbai’s boat tragedy started trickling in, lawyer Rayomand Zaiwala, 45, was reminded of the adage ‘History repeats itself’. “The incident is eerily similar to May 10, 1964. My mother, Meher Talati, was 16. She and my maternal grandmother had gone to Navsari and were watching a movie. While at the cinema, they got word that my grandfather, Minoo Talati, had been hurt and they must return to Bombay,” said Zariwala.

He added, “They took a train and were informed on their arrival at Bombay Central (Mumbai Central) station where they alighted, that my grandfather was no more. He had perished in a boat accident.” According to Zaiwala, his grandfather Minoo Talati, along with others including neighbours and their children, perished in a boat accident. “My grandfather was 48 years old at the time. It was naturally a tremendous shock for the family. Not only the passing away, but the way in which he and others had perished,” he said.

Chilling similarity

The May 10, 1964 accident was chillingly similar to the one that took place on Wednesday evening. Zaiwala’s maternal grandfather, Minoo, some of his family members, the neighbours and their children, had accompanied him for a picnic to Elephanta. Said Zaiwala, “They were off on a day-long expedition or picnic, on a boat they boarded from the Gateway of India.”

Passengers being rescued after the accident off Mumbai coast on Wednesday. Pic/PTI

That boat collided with a naval ship said Zaiwala. “The boat collided with navy vessel INS Betwa, just like what happened two days ago. The irony is that all those who knew how to swim died, and those who did not know survived… they were rescued from the sea. Who can explain that? Strange are the ways of nature. My grandfather was amongst those who did not survive.”

Zaiwala recalled that his grandfather worked for the Tatas. “After his death, Ratan Tata’s father Naval Tata offered my mother a job on humanitarian grounds. She told the Tatas that she was in college and needed time for her studies. They acquiesced saying that she could attend college and then come in to work. That is how helpful they were. My mother also told me about how navy personnel had come home a couple of days after the accident, with bouquets for the family.

Today, these parallels seem uncanny and surreal. I have a message for people who are on the water, whether in a ferry, a boat or any vessel for that matter—do wear a life jacket; make that non-negotiable, in fact!” he signed off.

May 10
Day of similar accident in 1964

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