When you live in Mumbai it isn’t hard to drive past its cluttered, eclectic veneer without giving it a second thought. So overwhelming and expansive is its assortment of neo-classical, Gothic, Indo-Saracenic and art deco architecture that it was, for a long while, overlooked. Decisive efforts to preserve this architectural wealth were only made with the belated formation of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee. Many structures already bore the brunt of negligence. Some were demolished altogether to make way for new constructions, while others like Buckley Court can be found in a Janus-ian warp, heading in two distinct directions, with one façade stubbornly holding on to the old while the other is forcefully fitted with the new.

Some of these styles garner attention and care, leaving the less aesthetically striking styles in their perennial second place. Even the manner of grading is cause for concern. Famous national monuments categorised as Grade I are given unwavering importance while those saddled in Grade III suffer, often because they make a weaker visual argument.

Art deco and Gothic forms have similarly been caught in a David-Goliath struggle for attention. The former is so prolific, that in sheer magnitude, its dense population in Mumbai is second only to that of Miami Beach. The latter though less abundant, is the bigger architectural draw and therefore serves as a cultural goldmine sheltered from spoliation.

In this brief photographic tableau I’ve looked at two of the metropolitan’s most memorable styles, both equally worthy of falling under the rubric of heritage structures. In looking at often-photographed structures like Mumbai University and Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) I have tried to capture interiors that the public isn’t always privy to. Mumbai University’s hallowed library, spiral stairs, beautiful stained glass and Shakespeare’s bust are a testament to why it has been so well preserved. CST’s complex and intricate dome, which I’ve focused on, is reminiscent of M.C. Escher’s Relativity and brings to mind his concern, ‘are you really sure that a floor can’t also be a ceiling?’ These photographs mainly document the benefit of nurture these structures were afforded.

The blithe art deco form I’ve captured appropriates from Mumbai’s topography. The style which thrived during the high-spirited milieu of the 1930s and 1940s is on the wane. Talkies like Metro are being converted into profitable multiplexes leaving those like Eros, Liberty, Regal, New Empire and New Excelsior struggling on. Residential buildings are being defaced by hoardings, concretisation, the superimposition of floors to accommodate burgeoning populations or due to sheer neglect. In capturing art deco motifs and elements of construction, I have attempted to bring to attention the modern streamlined, geometric facets of this form, which seems destined to be always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

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