Weighing nearly 2 kg, MultipliCITIES, a new and undersold hardbound on the multiple urban cultures of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, is quite a dense volume. It deals with a gigantic geographical expanse of over 4,000 sq km under the MMR, covering a crucial part of North Konkan, including Bhiwandi-Kalyan up north, and Alibaug, Pen and Khalapur down south. Little wonder that author Neera Adarkar—aided by a team of academics-architects archaeologists-visual artists, chiefly Suraj Pandit and Archana Hande—devoted over five years to showcase the history of the urban settlements in MMR.  

The book zeroes in on 500-odd sites, of the total 2,800 listed by the MMR- Heritage Conservation Society.  It accounts for a mega span of 25 centuries—focusing on sites as old as Gilbert Hill (Andheri) dating back to 5th century BC, and modern mansions like Dr BR Ambedkar’s Rajgruha (1933) as well as the famous Shivaji Park Housing Scheme, which rose after reclaiming Mahim’s coconut groves in the 1930s. The book draws from varied reference texts—cave inscriptions to travelogues to modern history accounts.