Foy Nissen, contemporary chronicler of Bombay & its architecture, bids adieu

Mumbai: In 1975, late Howard Hodgkin, a critically acclaimed British artist, finished a painting titled ‘Foy Nissen’s Bombay’. The overlapping slabs of vibrant oranges, reds and greens were inspired by Hodgkin’s visit to

Foy Nissen

’s apartment. At the time, Nissen was the British Council representative in Bombay and Hodgkin explored the city —Bambaiya style—while riding pillion on Nissen’s Vespa. The painting is a tangible reminder of how scholars, artists and even authors such as Gillian Tindall and Christopher London, who went on to write seminal books on the city’s history and

architecture

, thronged to Nissen’s flat to consult his “encyclopedic” knowledge.

Nissen, who was suffering from both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, died at 6am on Tuesday morning in his Altamount Road apartment. He was 88 and had lived most of his life in Mumbai, though he was born in Pune. His family had Danish roots but had lived in Vadodara for several generations serving the royal family. He studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School where he excelled in art and was nicknamed the “mad professor” because of his studious demeanour, dislike of sports, and penchant for writing notes. “He was a brilliant guy but very whimsical,” says his classmate Alyque Padamsee, who recalls his “twinkling eyes” and “half-smile” fondly. “Our professor Foy was more intelligent than most of our teachers.”

After school, Nissen went on to do a Master’s in History from Christ’s College, Cambridge. He then returned to Bombay and worked for Marg Magazine before joining British Council. “His main passion was the history of our city and the preservation of our architectural heritage,” says his neighbour Manju Mehra. “There is hardly any book written on Bombay without referring to him because he parted with his wealth of information and research to anyone willing to imbibe it.” She adds that he was an avid photographer who travelled across the country photographing monuments and juxtaposing his human subjects against stone backgrounds and light.

Author Rahul Mehrotra describes him as “one of the earliest contemporary archivists of Bombay”, who kept copious notes and had a wonderful collection of material on the city. He recalls approaching the British Council for information on English architect Claude Batley and being ferried on Nissen’s scooter to look at some of his buildings.

Conservation architect Vikas Dilawari says Nissen was instrumental in creating the city’s first heritage list for INTACH in the mid-1980s, which eventually morphed into the heritage regulations which exist even today. “Just as we are losing our heritage, we are also losing these old custodians, who are difficult to replace,” says Dilawari.