Jalnawalla

In 1803 the Nizam of Hyderabad made a pact with the British Military to guard its borders. One Mr. Meherwanji Khurshedji Hamawala, a Parsi Merchant, who was living in the Bharuch town of Gujarat accompanied the British Garrison and landed up in Jalna town in 1803. Mr. Meherwanji was a contractor supplying goods to the British Military stationed there. He along with his son Pestonji worked hard and soon became wealthy Merchants and adopted the surname Jalnawalla. They were also the 'Customs Duty Collectors' as the collection of customs duty was auctioned during those days. They purchased a farm land in 1845 which is still in ownership and possession of their heirs. They built the first Fire Temple in that area in 1841. They also established the first Cotton Ginning & Pressing Factory in Jalna in 1863. Mr. Pestonji died in 1888, leaving behind two sons i.e. Faridoonji & Padamji who carried on his business and farming activities. Mr. Faridoonji had three sons i.e. Bezonji, Byramji, Meherwanji and Mr. Padamji had two sons, Dhanjishaw & Pestonji. The Jalnawalla family did well in business and industry and were highly prosperous. By the end of the 1930s they owned Six Thousand Four Hundred Acres of land, Seventeen Cotton Ginning & Pressing Factories and more than Three Hundred houses & bungalows.