Perin Jamsetjee Mistri (1913 – 1989) was the first woman to qualify as an architect in India.

Early life and family

Perin Jamshedji Mistri was born into an illustrious Parsi family of engineers and master builders, originally from Navsari. Her father, eminent city architect and engineer, Jamshedji Pestonji Mistri, founded the architectural firm Mistri & Bhedwar (later Ditchburn, Mistri & Bhedwar), which built the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

Metro Cinema Metro Cinema may refer to: * Metro Cinema (Derby), closed 2008 * Metro Cinema (Mumbai) 1938–2006 name, now Metro BIG Cinemas, Mumbai * Metro Cinema (Kolkata), a single screen movie theatre in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) * Metro Cinema Edmonton, ...

Marine Lines Marine Lines is a locality in South Mumbai. The name ''Marine Lines'' is derived from the Marine Battalion Lines, a military establishment built by the British in the 19th century. The battalion was later converted to an air force residential ...

, the HSBC bank building at

Fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, the

Colaba Colaba (; or ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Kolbhat ...

and

Cuffe Parade Cuffe Parade is a historic and significant business district of the city of Mumbai, India. It is home to a collection of commercial and office high-rises. It is bordered to the north by Nariman Point which, along with Cuffe Parade, forms the gre ...

Sea walls, the Taraporevala Mansion at Cuffe Parade and the first runway of the

Mumbai Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic af ...

. Perin Mistri's younger brother, architect Minocher ‘Minoo’ Mistri, was one of the founders of the Indian art and architectural publication, Marg''.'' Following an early education in Gujarati in Bombay, she became a boarder at Miss Kimmin’s High School in Panchgani and moved to England at the age of 10, completing her education from the

Croydon High School Croydon High School is an Independent school (UK), independent day school for girls located near Croydon, London, England. It is one of the original schools founded by the Girls' Day School Trust. History The school was founded in 1874 in Welles ...

. When she returned to Bombay, she enrolled at the Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy (J.J.) School of Art and obtained her diploma in architecture in 1936. She joined her father's firm M/s. Mistri and Bhedwar in 1937, where she practiced for almost half a century as partner before she died in 1989.

Career

One of Perin's first major works, and one of the few to survive, was Sir Behramji Karanjia's airy, Art Deco bungalow at

Carmichael Road Carmichael may refer to: * Carmichael (surname) Other * Clan Carmichael, Scottish clan * Carmichael, California, United States * Carmichael coal mine, a proposed mine in Central Queensland, Australia * Carmichael (crater), a lunar crater * Carmicha ...

. Her other works included public, residential and industrial buildings, such as the Khatau mills in Borivali, and St. Stephen's Church at

Cumballa Hill Cumbala Hill (also spelled Cumballa) is a hill and upmarket neighbourhood in South Mumbai flanked by the sea on the West, Altamount Road on the East, Malabar Hill on the South and Mahalaxmi on the North. The hill is at an elevation of . Along ...

. At J.J, Perin is believed to have argued during a debate, "If men were compelled to do housekeeping, they would realise how avoiding cornices, carved ornament and other dust-traps was an advance." In 1936, when Perin made the news for securing a government diploma in Architecture, the first Indian woman to qualify, an anonymous letter in the Times of India praised the 23-year-old for stepping "out" of her home for the benefit of those women whose lives are spent "in" the home. "A woman architect would not make the mistake, I am sure, as the architect of the building I live in has done, of thinking that families have stopped having babies," wrote Housewife, adding that her "expensive" house in a "first-class neighbourhood" lacked even "the tiniest verandah" for her to air her kids' clothes. Perin's first bungalow on Carmichael Road with its deep verandahs and long balconies must have pleased the nameless mother. Perin's interests ranged from the piano to hockey, gardening and the study of snakes in th
Haffkine's institute
in Bombay. She married businessman Ardeshir Bhiwandiwalla and moved to Pali Hill in Bandra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mistri, Perin Jamsetjee 1913 births 1989 deaths Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art alumni People educated at Croydon High School 20th-century Indian architects 20th-century Indian women artists Indian women architects Women artists from Maharashtra Artists from Mumbai Parsi people from Mumbai Businesspeople from Mumbai Businesswomen from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian businesspeople 20th-century Indian businesswomen