Ever since they were renovated three years ago, the zig-zagging St Stephen’s Steps at Bandra’s Mount Mary road have emerged as a prominent public space which frequently comes alive with community gatherings and fun-filled activities. Built on a once-neglected and poorly-maintained slope, the steps were envisioned by Bombay Greenway, a not-for-profit urban design and research platform by Abraham John Architects.

Soon enough in 2019, the project that set out to create a safe and accessible urban space inspired a 'Festival at the Steps', where art, craft, music and other activities took place over five weekends on the stairway. The active members of the festival team are Tina Nandi and Anca Abraham of Love Your Parks Mumbai, Zahabia Contractor and Shruti D'Souza of Little Big City and Dhanashree Diwane from Haribhau Vishwanath Musical Industries who co-curates the music and arts programmes. After a long pause caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, the festival is making a comeback to help locals recover from the pandemic blues and heal together as a community.