Malvika Bhatia, oral historian and archivist. Pic/Ashish Raje

The sea-facing flat in Marine Drive where 27-year-old Malvika Bhatia lives, has witnessed a trunk full of stories. At one point, several decades ago, Bhatia informs that the home was brimming with people — her grandparents and nine children, included. Over the years, almost everyone moved out — many abroad, and a few even some blocks away. What they took along with them were the experiences of a life that they shared together. Bhatia, who belongs to the Kutchi community of Mumbai, which she says is as small in number as the Parsis, has always felt the need to record the complex history of her family, before they were lost forever.