With the support of the new India Foundation, I am writing a book on the historic Empress Mills of Nagpur. This was the first major industrial venture of the Tatas. My research will cover their historic journey, eventual fall, and their indelible impact on my home town.
I would like to hear from readers who had any association with the Central India Spinning, Weaving and Manufacturing Limited that Jamsetji Tata set up in the 1870s.
My research concerns collection of oral and archival history. I am scouring through information in institutional as well as personal and family archives.
The iconic Empress Mills of Nagpur
The Mills attracted several Parsi families to Nagpur. I gather from my interviews thus far that two or three generations of Parsi families worked at the Mills. Several later ventured into other businesses and industries.
While I have interviewed many families and individuals in Nagpur, who worked in the Mills pre the 1970s and through nationalization, I have not been able to locate many elsewhere who may possess records of archival value. This information would add greatly to my research and the final product.
I will be writing on Sir Bezonji Mehta, who literally anchored the Mills to form it into a flagship venture, and his son Sorab.
My telephone number is +91 9373102923. My email is stated below.