By the time I had left the artfully restored interiors of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum in Byculla — an oasis amid cosmopolitan chaos, I had soaked in a silent, solid initiative to bridge the gap between vision and reality, despite the odds.

A few hours earlier, Alisha Sadikot, curator at the museum, had walked me through the air-conditioned section on the first floor where Social Fabric, a collaborative effort with Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts), London, about the textile revolution, is being showcased. This ongoing exhibition is one of the many diverse events that have come to be regulars on the museum itinerary since its was reopened after restoration in January 2008.