Why you need to attend this exhibition about Khotachi Wadi at 47-A gallery

Street smartThrough the Ferreira House one encounters the evocative prints of photojournalist Bruno Ferreira who documented Bombayrsquos streets right untitled streetscape outside 47A Khotachi Wadi right untitled acrobats near Sai Niwas Khotachi Wadi circa 1950s vintage photographic prints PICS COURTESYBruno Ferreira Archive while his photographs are a portal into the wadirsquos past current resident Keenan Pereira has captured the contemporary streetscape that will be on display at the exhibition tooFood Language of loveOne of the houses that offer a window into the neighbourhoodrsquos culinary past is fourthgeneration resident academic and curator Andreacute Baptistarsquos Baptista House His ancestors moved into Khotachi Wadi in the 1890s By displaying traditional EI pots pans cutlery and other cooking equipment that have been passed down generations in his family since the 1930s and rsquo40s he hopes to stir up a conversation around EI cuisine and how smell and taste conjure identity On Saturday for those who hope to taste this ldquolove language of foodrdquo therersquos a popup at The Girgaum Catholic Club down the road where aunties of the wadi will whip up treats morli a kitchen tool from the Baptista HouseArt of the wadiEdwankar House mdash whose late owner was a goldsmith who trained at Sir JJ School of Art mdash offers the opportunity to look into the art schools in the beginning of the 20th century and the influence of art and aesthetics through the popular forms of lithography and stained glass windowsTara Lal and Mortimer Chatterjee hold up a stained glass window made by students of the Government School of Industrial Arts Madras early 20th century reputed to have been commissioned for the Maharaja of Travancore objectChatterjee amp LalA sense of loss lingers in the air when you pass by 28 Fernandes House in Khotachi Wadi Wilting flowers and wrinkled decorations on its faccedilade fail to mask the scars of tarpaulincovered demolitions In the past two months residents of the 200yearold heritage hamlet have been battling with the powers that be over the redevelopment of the 90yearold building But this isnrsquot the first messy redevelopment in the village that traces its origin to the 19th century when East Indians EI from Bombay and beyond moved into the locality that has since housed Goans Mangaloreans and Maharashtrians among others Academic and fourthgeneration resident Andreacute Baptista points out that when Burmese teak doors or ornate loadbearing structures hundreds of years old are carted away a part of the wadirsquos identity is chipped away ldquoWe welcome people of all backgroundsAll we ask is that when you buy a property here you realise yoursquore moving into a village Yes therersquos mutual exclusivity here but in that therersquos coexistence and respect mdash reflected in our streets and architecture which we want to preserverdquo he sharesIt is only fitting then that Fernandes House is among the houses that feature in This Ground Plus Khotachi Wadi in Design Context an exhibition at the hamletrsquos monthsold gallery 47A It is curated by Baptista and CampL Design and will trace the layered histories of Khotachi Wadi The gallery is in a flurry of activity when we drop by with bubblewrapped photographs and artworks offering a peek into the wadirsquos past Mortimer Chatterjee cofounder Chatterjee amp Lal shares that therersquos a polemical side to the show ldquoTherersquos been so much destruction here in the past 15 years We will highlight that through newspaper headlines Wersquore also trying to use specific houses in the area as windows into different parts of design historiesrdquo he tells usThe houses include 47A Crasto House 28 Fernandes House 47G Ferreira House 38 Ferreira House 27 Baptista House 14 Worlikar House and 27AA Edwankar House Allied to them are photographs by residents old and new maps speculative artworks from architect Robert Stephensrsquo Bombay Imagined items of family history lithographs from Raja Ravi Varma press and more which will help contextualise Khotachi Wadi in the present through the stories and voices of residents and the big ideas that shaped Mumbai ldquoTherersquoll also be an audio element that will lead visitors in so you get snippets of sounds that one can hear hererdquo Chatterjee informs usThe curators plan to host walkthroughs and discussions with culinary anthropologists and historians Therersquos also a food popup in store The threat of losing its identity still looms large but for now Khotachi Wadi will put up a lsquofeastyrsquo fightFrom July 23 530 pm preview to September 9 11 am to 7 pm from July 24At 47A Khotachi Wadi GirgaumFree