I am fascinated by dates [the historical kind, just to clarify]; and so, little wonder that History happens to be my favourite subject. The lockdown was a time where many of my ilk would organically teleport ourselves to another time with alarming regularity. Others called it nostalgia. But for this small band, it meant rewind time with serious, academic-like focus. Damn the calendars. And, Google Baba. It was this spirit that I found myself travelling back to as recently as last year [January 17, 2020, to be precise]. It was an important date for my learning curve, as a heritage and history nut, but most importantly, as a Bombaywallah, which is why this felt worth sharing with you, dear reader, so it wouldn’t remain confined as a footnote in my book of significant timelines. As I jogged my memory to recall the impact of that session, it also led to me to realise what a premonition it turned out to be.

I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion hosted by Art Deco Mumbai Trust on single screen cinemas in India that was followed by a discussion between Professor Mary Woods and filmmaker Vani Subramanian at CSMVS (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya). The discussion included city chronicler Dr Simin Patel as well.