Uncovering Urban Legacies: Stories of Bombay's Precincts - Colaba

Arjun Bahl / Creative Entrepreneur With over 20 years of experience, having worked on more than 300 commercial and high-end private events as well as having booked over 500 Indian and International artists, Arjun is an experienced, knowledgeable and driven specialist in the Creative Industry. As a passionate Creative entrepreneur, he has a vibrant, wide ranging network and well-established business relationships with the biggest Indian and international vendors in amongst others Artists, Production, AV, Multimedia, Talent agencies, etc. This combined with an in-depth knowledge of the latest trends in the worldwide production and entertainment technology, has allowed his companies Crayon Events & Entertainment and Most Technical India to become one of the leaders in the nightclub AV design & installations and special events in India and Europe. In 2014, Arjun co-founded St+art India Foundation, anon-profit,urban art festival that brings together Indian and International urban contemporary artists. This inspiring, first ever initiative promotes artists in the Indian landscape, as well as provides a collaborative platform for artists from all over the world. Over the past 8 years, the foundation has organized over 21 St+art festivals across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Chennai etc. in 2019, St+art inaugurated Lodhi Art District, its first completed the first of the six public art district (the others which are in progress are Mumbai, Goa, HYD, Chennai, Coimbatore). The Lodhi Art District has 65 plus unique murals which have been painted by artists of over 20 different nationalities including Indian Artists. In addition the Foundation is working with the Central govt on Art Policy, Urban Planning and Smart City Projects as well. In 2015, Arjun become a partner in an award winning underground agency, Guerrilla Art & Design. Guerrilla is an artistic collaboration, a playground, and a creative incubator for innovative design projects. We adapt our approach to each and every brief and bring an open mind to all our projects. We overlap and produce cohesive work that unites a broad variety of techniques. Guerrilla strives to further blur the boundaries between art and design, and to evolve the relationship between brand and it's consumer through a diverse range of communication mediums. Some of Guerrilla’s clients include Apple, Adidas, Nike, Facebook, Namshi, Noon, Emaar, Airtel etc. In 2017, Arjun co-founded XXL Collective. XXL is a creative lab and artists incubator, it curates and produces immersive art experiences, create bespoke content and manage a roster of artists working across a variety of mediums. From placemaking and cultural strategies for cities to brand campaigns and experience, XXL thinks, creates, produces and challenges the stereotypes to create unique projects. Some of XXL’s clients include Instagram, Google, HP, Absolut, GUCCI, Asian Paint, Miral, JSW etc.

Gauri Devidayal A law graduate from University College London and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England & Wales, Gauri Devidayal left her tax consulting career to co-create The Table, a renowned restaurant in South Mumbai. Her journey into hospitality, despite no prior experience, led to numerous accolades including being rated #78 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2023. Gauri is also the co-founder of Magazine St. Kitchen, The Table Farm, Mag St. restaurants and bakery, and Iktara. She has hosted podcasts like 'The Colaba Cartel', 'This Round Is On Me', ‘Women On Top in India’ and most recently ‘Speak Greasy’. She has also co-authored a tell all story of the behind the scenes of the restaurant business called 'Diamonds for Breakfast'. As one of India's few women restaurateurs, she juggles her roles as a businesswoman and mother with equal fervor, recognized in Forbes India’s 120 Leaders of Change and GQ’s 50 Most Influential Young Indians. Gauri's passion for food and travel extends to her writing for various publications.  

Shabnam Minwalla is a Mumbaiholic, an ardent saree shopper, a murder mystery buff and an occasionally frazzled mother of three. She has spent all her life with words -- working as a journalist with The Times of India, writing columns and features in various publications and non-fiction books about facets of Mumbai. What she is best-known for are her books for children and young adults.  Shabnam’s popular books include Zen, The Six Spellmakers of Dorabji Street, What Maya Saw, Saira Zariwala is Afraid and the rib-tickling Nimmi series. She has won numerous awards, including the Auther Award, the Neev Book Award and the Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Prize and the Valley of Words Award. Shabnam teaches creative writing in a Mumbai college and has conducted workshops in schools around the country. Her new book, `The Body in the Swimming Pool’ is an entertaining murder mystery set in a Mumbai high-rise.

Raell Padamsee is a vibrant, versatile, dynamic well- known theatre personality. She is well reputed in the field of theatre production, design and execution of mega events and her company, Ace Productions Pvt. Ltd. has been involved in all these activities for over 20 years. She founded CREATE Foundation, a public charitable trust, in 2002 in loving memory of Pearl Padamsee. The trust aims to devise a revolutionary system of education by using the creative arts. CREATE’s approach is holistic and aims to take learning out of the textbook and into the imagination, to make learning come alive! “Integration” has been the key motto of CREATE Foundation, i.e. integrating children from mainstream schools along with children from underprivileged and challenged backgrounds. CREATE works in integration with many NGO’s for their upliftment and it also gives them amazing opportunities to work in plays by Ace Productions. Various NGO children along with children from the Ace Academy have been part of many Ace projects such as ‘Freedom’, ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Grease’. Some of the NGO’s that CREATE has worked with are ADAPT, Aseema, Central Society for the Education of the Deaf, Maharashtra Dyslexia Association, Muktangan, Salaam Baalak Trust, Salaam Bombay Foundation, Seva Sadan Society, Society for the Education of the Crippled, The Akanksha Foundation, The Bombay Community Public Trust, The Vatsalya Foundation, The Victoria Memorial School for the Blind and many more.

Vice Admiral (Retd.) IC Rao served in the Indian Navy for 41 years having joined the National Defence Academy as a cadet in 1952. He was the Chief Engineer of the Aircraft carrier Vikrant and the Frigates, Trishul and Cauvery. He was the Commanding Officer of INS Shivaji at Lonavla and the Admiral Superintendent of the Naval Dockyard at Mumbai. On retirement from the Navy, he was Director (Projects) of BHP Engineers from 1995 to 2013 dealing with supply of bulk handling equipment for coastal ships. He was a founding member of the advocacy group APLI Mumbai which presented proposals for the regeneration of the Mumbai’s Eastern Waterfront, and has been a contributor the ‘Mumbai Reader’ The introduction to the current draft development plan of the Mumbai Port Authority acknowledges the contribution of APLI Mumbai and UDRI. He is the author of the article on Sassoon Dock in the newly published compilation by the Maritime Mumbai Museum Society titled “Gateways to the Sea : Historic Ports and Docks of Mumbai Region.”  

Nikhil Mahashur's strong passion for hospitality and commercial architecture is blended with a broad experience in PMC. He believes in creating a space not only for the person who commissions it but for the people who are going to use the space – each project is a celebration of that space and its intimacy. He describes his architectural style as Eclitecture - designing cotemporary buildings and layering them with traditional elements. He firmly believes that the first impression is the one that will make you fall in love with the building. Helmed by Nikhil Mahashur, Nikhil Mahashur & Associates (NMA) is accustomed to delivering exemplary projects across Architecture, Renovation, Interiors and PMC. NMA's design philosophy is therefore entrenched in creating the right first impression and a WOW factor through simplicity, where even a little chaos can be simple.