Sir PM and Lady Flora were moments away from stepping on to the stage for their biggest night of the year – The annual World Heritage Day Awards: Bombay Chapter. The venue was the central hall inside the historic Asiatic Society. It was a midnight, hush-hush affair known to only a select, privileged few, and safe from the prying eyes of the fourth estate and other inquisitive folk. The two hosts, dressed in their Sunday best [Sir PM had ordered his Bond Street three-piece a year in advance while Lady Flora’s white gown was gifted by a secret admirer] glanced at each other, smiled, exchanged good luck wishes and went live in 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1….

Seated in the audience were the who’s-who from another era, the real bosses who had contributed to the growth, and its heritage movement in the city in some way or the other -- Sir David Sassoon, Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy, Sir Cowasjee Jehangir, Sir Jagannath Shunkersett, Dr Bhau Daji Lad, Seth Manockjee Cursetjee [Sir PM had an eye on him; after all his statue was quite the showstopper of Byculla], Sir Bartle Frere [Lady Flora was checking him out for reasons, which if revealed, could distract our readers from the intent of this column]; other luminaries included architects and father-son duo, Frederick and Charles Stevens, John Adams, George Wittet and George Gilbert Scott. It was quite a star-studded gathering.