Long before glass towers
redefined its skyline, Bombay grew outward from its markets, its migrant
housing, and the harbour that made it a port city in the first place. In the crowded
lanes of Zaveri Bazaar and Chor Bazaar, in the one-room tenements of Girangaon,
and on the rocky outcrops where lighthouses have stood sentinel since the 19th
century, the city built the infrastructure of its everyday life, trade,
shelter, and safe passage.
For the eighth episode of our Icons series, we turn to
three kinds of spaces that shaped how Bombay bought and sold, how it housed its
working population, and how it navigated the sea that made it possible in the
first place. The city's bazaars are living archives of enterprise, craftsmanship,
memory, and multicultural coexistence, where generations of traders, artisans,
hawkers, and shoppers have animated the streets and sustained its mercantile
spirit. Equally intrinsic are the chawls, humble yet extraordinary spaces with
their narrow corridors, shared courtyards, common balconies, and closely knit
neighbourhoods. Standing in quiet contrast are the lighthouses that have
watched over the coastline for more than a century. These beacons bear witness
to the city's relationship with the sea, recalling histories of navigation,
empire, defence, and global exchange.
Join us as we rediscover the markets, neighbourhoods, and maritime landmarks
that continue to shape Mumbai's story.
Rupali Gupte is an architect, urbanist, artist, and educator based in Mumbai. She is a founding trustee, Professor, and Director of the School of Environment and Architecture (SEA), and a partner at Bard Studio. She studied architecture at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Urban Design, Architectural Theory, and Criticism at Cornell University, where she received the Richmond Harold Shreve Award for excellence in graduate thesis. She was recently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Brighton, UK. Her research and practice focus on South Asian architecture and urbanism, with particular interests in urban culture, housing, repair, gender, and spatial practices. Working across architecture, art, research, and pedagogy, her practice spans writing, drawing, installations, walks, and spatial interventions. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, Manifesta, the Seoul Biennale, the Dhaka Art Summit, Shanghai Biennale, MACBA, Barcelona, Matt Museum, Lisbon, as well as at galleries in India, including Project 88, KNMA, Mumbai Art Room, Devi Art Foundation, among others. She has published widely in leading journals and regularly lectures, curates, and serves on national and international juries.
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Mohan Dattatraya Khare graduated with a Diploma in Applied Art in 1975. Thereafter, he trained under the renowned artist Late Shri Ravi Paranjpe, gaining valuable experience in illustration and design. In 1981, he joined Lintas as an Art Director and later became a Creative Director, working on many of India's leading consumer brands before becoming an independent designer, illustrator, and marine artist in 2003. His paintings celebrate the beauty of light, water, sky, and the rich heritage of India's coastline. Inspired by lighthouses, harbours, warships, fishing boats, and marine life, he undertook five major expeditions, travelling over 35,000 kilometres by road and across the Andaman & Nicobar Islands to document more than 200 lighthouses. He has held four solo exhibitions in Mumbai, including three at Jehangir Art Gallery and one at the Nehru Centre. He was honoured when Admiral Sunil Lanba (Retd.) inaugurated his fourth solo exhibition in Mumbai in 2016. His marine art has been commissioned by Mazagon Dock Ltd., the Indian Coast Guard, and the Indian Navy, and his paintings are displayed in several prestigious naval and defence establishments across India.
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Pushkar Sohoni is an architectural historian and Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, whose work focuses on the built heritage from the sultanates through colonial India. His research ranges across the architecture, urbanism, and visual culture of medieval and early modern South Asia, with particular attention to the overlooked courts and craftsmen who shaped the built landscape of the Deccan. His books include The Architecture of a Deccan Sultanate (2018), Jewish Heritage of the Deccan (2017), and Taming the Oriental Bazaar (2023). He holds a PhD in History of Art (2010) and an MS in Historic Preservation (2002) from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Benita Fernando is a Mumbai-based writer. She has previously worked as an arts and culture journalist with publications such as The Indian Express, Mint Lounge, and Sunday Mid-day. She has also written extensively on Mumbai's urban heritage and urban history.
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