National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, Kala Ghoda
Association, and Avid Learning
present Uncovering Urban Legacies: Icons
of Bombay – Local Trains, Cricket Maidans, Forts.
In the rhythm of rattling railway carriages, the crack of leather on
willow, and the still defiance of stone bastions, the city finds its heartbeat.
These icons carry millions of dreams across the metropolis through monsoon and
sunshine, nurture champions under the unforgiving sun, and stand as silent
sentinels from a time when the sea-wrapped city was still a group of islands.
After traversing Bombay’s diasporic communities and historic precincts, we
return with the next iteration of our Uncovering
Urban Legacies series. In the fourth episode, we turn our gaze to three
more enduring and evocative emblems of the city. The local trains, running
since 1867, are a social ecosystem, a shared stage for daily dramas and
lifelong friendships. The cricket maidans, both proving grounds and places of
play, have shaped not just sporting legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit
Sharma but also the spirit of youthful ambition. And the city’s forts, from
Bandra and Worli to Sion and Bassein, stand weathered but unwavering, relics of
Maratha, Portuguese, and British reigns, still watching over a city in constant
flux. Together, they form a dynamic map of movement, aspiration, and
resilience, a portrait of Bombay in the tracks, fields, and ramparts that
continue to define it.
Join us for an evening of stories and chronicles
through the platforms, playgrounds, and parapets, spaces where the city’s
character is forged and its past still breathes.
Speakers:
Author, Rail Historian, and Newsman Rajendra B. Aklekar
Sportswriter, Columnist, and Commentator Ayaz Memon
Associate Professor, Dept. of History,
and Vice-Principal
(Arts), Sophia College
for Women Dr. Rashna
Poncha
Assistant Editor, The Times of India Richa Pinto (Moderator)
Rajendra B. Aklekar is an Indian author and a journalist with interests in railway history, public transport & infra, archiving & documentation and also a trained museologist. He has been a working journalist with nearly 30 years’ experience reporting on Mumbai’s public transport and infrastructure. He is presently with Mid-Day Mumbai as Deputy City Editor, and author of best-selling books on India’s railway history, heritage and trains. He is also the biographer of India’s legendary railway engineer Dr E Sreedharan. With training from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, Aklekar is also certified in museology and has contributed significantly while setting up the Rail Heritage Gallery at the UNESCO-listed Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station, formerly Victoria Terminus building, Bombay and documentation of heritage relics of India’s first railway. He is also the author of officially published history narrative and coffee table books of Western Railway, Konkan Railway and the B.E.S.T undertaking in Mumbai. His second book India’s Railway Man- A Biography of Dr E Sreedharan, also released by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu (Rupa 2017) is the biography of India’s prominent railway engineer Dr E Sreedharan. His next book with Rupa Publications (June 2019) ‘A Short History of Indian Railways’ is a lighter read weaving together anecdotes from the 1830s to 2019, taking the reader on a thrilling ride of over two centuries on an ‘express’ time machine. It has been received well by readers. His other online book ‘The Great Indian Railway Romance’ is a compilation of his weekly news update column that used to appear online on England-based RailTube website. He has also written a book narrating the story of Konkan Railway officially published by the Konkan Railway.
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Ayaz Memon has been a journalist for over 45 years. A graduate in Economics and Law from Bombay University, he got into journalism by chance, for Sportsweek Magazine, when still in Law school. Reporting on the 1983 World Cup in England and seeing Kapil Dev's team pull off a spectacular victory made up Ayaz's mind to pursue sports journalism rather than law as a profession. He rose to become Editor of Sportsweek magazine and and later sports editor of major newspapers like The Independent, Mid-Day, Times of India. Expanding his repertoire, Ayaz subsequently went on to edit newspapers like Mid-Day, Bombay Times and DNA.Ayaz has also worked for Star Sports/Sony and other networks commentating on international cricket, IPL, the Olympics, Asian and Commonwealth.Currently, apart from TV engagements, he is a regular columnist for media like Hindustan Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Lokmat Times, Mint, BB online among others, writing on sports, politics and social issues.Ayaz has authored 4 books on cricket and co-authored one on 50 years of India’s Independence
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Dr. Rashna Poncha is Associate Professor at the History Department, Sophia College for Women (Empowered Autonomous) and Vice-Principal (Arts). She is passionate about teaching and about History. She completed her Ph.D. thesis on ‘A Study of Frere Town, Bombay (1862-1947)’ in 2016 and was awarded the Ph.D. degree in 2018. Her area of specialisation is 19th century Bombay history. She is the co-editor of the books ‘Mumbai-Socio-Cultural Perspectives: Contributions of Ethnic Groups and Communities’, ‘Down the Corridors of Wisdom’, the history of Sophia College, and ‘Mumbai no Bahar’, the English translation of the Gujarati volume by Ratanji Faramji Vacha. Dr. Poncha has presented papers on the Parsis, Forts, the history of Bombay city and its architectural heritage at both international and national conferences.
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Richa Pinto is an Assistant Editor at The Times of India in Mumbai, where she covers news stories pertaining to urban governance, climate change, and citizen impact. With experience across both print and digital platforms, her journalism is rooted in civic accountability and Sustainability. A graduate of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and a law degree holder from the University of Mumbai, she brings legal and journalistic depth to her reporting. Her work has taken her beyond borders — from covering FDI and Ease of Doing Business initiatives in the U.S. through a program by the U.S. Consulate General in the year 2016, to reporting from Dubai in the lead-up to COP28, where she profiled Indian-led sustainability efforts in the region. In 2024, she was selected for the National Press Foundation’s Journalist-to- Journalist International Trade Training in Singapore, joining 25 Asia-based journalists to explore sustainable global trade practices. She is also a TEDx speaker, having presented a talk titled ‘Stories Behind the Headlines’ that offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look into the life of a field reporter. Watch it here. Committed to nurturing the next generation of journalists, she also teaches postgraduate students at the Xavier Institute of Communications (XIC), Mumbai, focusing on civic journalism, news identification, and writing for mainstream media.
Read moreA journey through Mumbai’s most enduring icons—its local trains, cricket maidans, and coastal forts—that continue to shape the city’s movement, memory, and ambition.
The Lifeline of the City: Mumbai’s Local Trains
Whether it's a hurried morning commute, a food shared with strangers, or just watching the city fly by outside the window, every Mumbaikar has a local train tale. The local train system in Mumbai, which began service between Bombay and Thane in 1853, is frequently referred to as the city's lifeline. It transports more than 7 million people daily between the island city and the suburbs. Over the years, these trains have evolved into more than just a means of transportation; they now symbolize the city's beating heart, where everyday life happens at breakneck speed. The local train is a poignant microcosm of Mumbai's diversity, with commuters making quiet agreements over common routines and hawkers switching between compartments. While modernization has brought AC locals and digital signboards, the spirit of the locals remains rooted in shared resilience, community, and an unspoken choreography of movement.
Maidans of Dreams: The Cricket Fields of Mumbai
Before sponsorships and stadiums, there were maidans. Innumerable cricket players' ambitions have been influenced by expansive open spaces like Shivaji Park, Oval Maidan, and Azad Maidan. With the sun on their backs and a bat in hand, young boys and girls pursue aspiration in these areas. With more than 20 cricket grounds, Azad Maidan in particular has played host to some of India's top cricket players in their formative years. These fields serve as more than just practice areas; they are historical locations that reverberate with the voices of proud parents, coaches, and ambitious cricket players. Here, Mumbai cricket's tough, realistic, and intensely competitive culture was established. Even now, a stroll past these maidans shows how the upcoming generation of aspirants is influencing their own lives, one game at a time.
Watchtowers of Time: Mumbai’s Forts
Stone fortifications served as the skyline's anchor long before glass structures did. Forts from colonial and possibly pre-colonial eras previously protected Mumbai's hillocks and shoreline. The Portuguese or British initially constructed the most well-known of fortresses, including Sion Fort, Sewri Fort, Dharavi Fort, and Madh Fort, to fend off maritime attacks. These buildings, some of which are in active conservation and others of which are in disrepair, serve as reminders of the city's complex history. They are silent observers of the times that are changing, tucked away in the urban sprawl. City dwellers are being invited to explore lost parts of Bombay's history that are inscribed in laterite and basalt thanks to conservation initiatives by heritage architects and community organizations.
Together, these icons—trains, maidans, and forts—represent a city that moves, dreams, and remembers.
