Harsha Dehejia looks at paintings by street artists on the Kala Ghoda stretch leading to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Sitting under a tree on a footpath that connects Jehangir Art Gallery with CSMVS, an astrologer reads the kundalis and palms of those keen to know their future. Nearby, a quack sells jadi buti (herbal medicines) sourced from the jungles of India. "Sometimes, will digging up medicines, a snake or scorpion jumps at me," he regales Harsha V Dehejia, as the latter strikes up a conversation with him.