Seminar on Bombay

A two-day seminar titled "Architecture As Social History: Reflections On Bombay/Mumbai” will be held under the auspices of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute (KRCOI) on January 23 and 24 at the Dr Sir Jivanji J. Modi Memorial Hall in the Institute premises.

"This seminar aims to traverse the emergence of Bombay using its architectural development as signposts to its social growth. Its objectives are to critically revisit both, structure and styles of buildings now canonized in the many popular publications on the city, as well as to challenge the hegemonies of these very canons by looking at buildings, practices and trends that have been waylaid in the process of documenting the past,” notes a write-up forwarded by the trustees and governing body of the KRCOI.

The seminar will consist of five parts: Ancient to Urban — from islands and backwaters to a port city (until 1660); Company Bombay — its port and walls (1660-1860); Bombay after the walls come down — the public buildings (1860-1920); An emerging modernity: the people’s city (1920-1947); and Contemporary Mumbai: Bombay and its many absences (1947 and beyond).