A Walk Through the City

Slow Wanderings

Faculty Co-ordinator : Rupali Gupte

Rishika Waghmare

We began our walk in Prabhadevi with Rupali, Prasad, and Dipti leading the way. Our first stop was the old chawls, the kind of places that still hold traces of how Mumbai once grew. Standing outside BBD Chawl and a few others nearby, it was easy to imagine how life moves through these spaces. Families sitting by their doorsteps, children running through the narrow corridors, the smell of food mixing and drifting from one home to another.

The chawls of Mumbai have their own rhythm balconies turning into living rooms, gardens, drying spaces, and spots for conversations with neighbours.

As we walked further, we began to notice how one settlement differed from another. Some had shops on the ground floor, chai stalls, laundry places, tiny provision stores, all spilling life onto the street. People called out to each other, stopped to chat, watched who passed by. The place felt warm and alive. But the newer buildings were different, blank ground floors, no shops, no faces at the windows. The street felt quieter there, almost empty. Rupali pointed out Jane Jacobs’ idea of “eyes on the street", how people simply being present outside their homes bring a sense of safety and belonging that walls and gates never can.

From there, we went to the Parsi Colony. The houses stood apart, surrounded by gardens and wide, quiet streets. It felt calm and beautiful, but also a little lonely, especially compared to the lively chawls we had just seen.

At the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, there was a change in the atmosphere again. The building’s details spoke of another time, and inside, glass cases displayed miniatures of people from different communities. They weren’t just about craft but also about how the British once tried to define and classify people.

In another section, we saw Eckart Muthesius’ drawings, not rigid plans, but flowing perspectives that let you almost walk through the spaces. They reminded me of the miniature paintings nearby, both inviting you to look closer and wander through the worlds they created.