Re-reading Cities and Communities

The ferry left the docks with the squealing children, energized families and popular Bollywood music playing in the background. Some gazed at the gentle waves and were completely lost in thought. The fifteen minute boat ride from Gorai jetty takes the commuters to the Essel world and global vipassana pagoda. Gleaming in the bright sun in the otherwise hazy days of July, the gold of the global pagoda grabs more attention that the amusement park for many. Mumbai boasts of yet a

March had been a busy month. Let me share some field notes from one of our authors: Sriram Natrajan While doing research on a city, figuring out where to start can be a daunting task – especially in a large and physically diverse city like Ahmedabad. But there are interesting stories to be found, even in the most unexpected corners. Here I’ve outlined my experiences with the city while researching for the book ‘People called Ahmedabad’ over the last week. Day 1: I arrived at

The post production saw an infinite gush of interesting activities. The book launch on 14th January, 2015 was held at THE HIVE and was attended by a solid strength of 230. The HIVE being written about in the book was highly upheld. The ‘people’ of Mumbai, then travelled to Istanbul at INTCESS - the social sciences forum. Commencing the presentation with PIXELS, the elite crowd of Turkey was in awe for the impact the people had on the faces of the city. The month of February w

LITMUS, Banglore was our first stint at a literature festival. The workshop helped re-live the experience of the making of People called Mumbai. A narrative workshop was organised. The enthusiastic participants communicated with each other and then with the localities to create a miniature version of People Called Bangalore. They ventured upon a brand new path of knowing their city. A path where they would keenly observe their daily helpers, their work colleagues and themselv

Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai is regarded as the prime nucleus that displays the best of performing, literary and fine arts. The month of February 2015 witnessed an in-conversation between Nisha Nair-Gupta with People Called Mumbai and Kamu Iyer talking about his book Boom-bay. While Kamu Iyer’s autobiographic-historical book featured the changing urban-scapes, People Called Mumbai was seen as a lucid stroll of concise and precise words covering a wide spectrum of faces of th

A compilation of 55 stories about Mumbai and Mumbaikars! #video #People #Collective #Narratives #Stories #Mumbai #PeopleCalledMumbai

People Called Mumbai – was a compilation of the chosen moments that gently swayed in the Mumbai’s air but had the strength to freeze the gazer in its time and place. The publication was a compilation of 55 narratives that mapped the city breaking the barriers of occupations, geography and income. It was about striking the right chord. It was about bringing out a quality of a cosmopolitan that would render the place humane. It was about discovering the identity of the unsung h

Nisha was the backbone, the guide, the friend and the boss. Sahil was the only guy amongst a strong team of 6 girls. He was the buddy who always helps and is as friendly as possible. Soumya was the silently cool one who designed the graphics. An office that had transformed itself into a research cell had been nothing short of awesome. Vanessa came with her brilliant stories, Zankar with his sensational style, Mariel with her calm and adorable personality and Krupa came with h

Mumbai derives its signature characteristic through its people. With a diverse population influx each minute, every person here is a story in its own. However, their story is not theirs alone. Many a times, it belongs to a collective narrative, falling into the compartments of the city's history. It is in this context, the publication project- People Called Mumbai, by the architecture studio - Design [Variable] draws a parallel between writing and designing and views the city