A Heritage Walk!

My friend, Deepa teaches at an Architecture College and we always discuss academics and students. Thus, one fine Tuesday March morning, I landed up in her college to be a Guest Lecturer for her third year Humanities class. I had never addressed a class formally before and was quite anxious about the response of the students. Like some calm reverie, I set foot in the class, was introduced and began my talk. It was a wonderful 2 hour session with a 15 minute break. The students were attentive and quite responsive. Once I felt comfortable talking to them, we had a great discussion on cities and city dwellers. While I was lecturing them on Urban Planning and Mumbai Metropolitan Region, they seemed very eager to visit the heritage villages pocketed in Girgaon, Bandra and Mazgaon. Dee took this idea forward and now after a month, we have a group of students from the same class who will attend a heritage walk with Dee and  me. It feels great to have culminated an idea into such an event.

While we two are chalking out a unique walk experience for architecture students, it makes me realise how little all of us know of our city's heritage and history. I've always wandered around Mumbai's by-lanes and pockets with maps, sometimes on an instinct, sometimes with history in my hands- it's been a great adventure. Traveling alone is definitely fun, but moving alone in your own city is even better. I've had some beautiful memories of walking through this city I love so much. And, I don't just restrict it to Mumbai. I've had my share of walks in Bangalore, Pondicherry, Kolkata. These places have a mesmerising history behind them. While other big cities like Delhi have not really enticed me for exploring them, I've had my best memories in these three cities. I love reading up about the places I visit. And I rarely photograph while I walk. It's so easy to be quiet and not attract unwanted attention when we are without a camera. Also, its best to observe and savour the many facets of the very place we live, work, move through almost absent-mindedly in our daily lives, in some solitude. While I cherish company of my friends, especially ones from Architecture background because now I just seem to know Architects and Designers more than any other diverse faculties, its always a great pleasure to be with Dee and Shree - the two bestest gals I've been with for quite some time now. Our talks range from Literature and Art, Economics and Politics, Books and Sports, and almost everything we read and communicate in between the massive load of text messages and whatsapp. Its a laugh riot with these two. I've had many an amusing conversations with Dee & Shree over tea and coffee and some poetry. The Sea has been a constant in our meets and it's a steady witness to our crazy world-changing ideas.

I wish to make these kids aware of this amazing and awe-inspiring city they breathe in and hope to infuse in them a thirst for exploring histories and forgotten landscapes, from our superfast lives.

Posting a picture from one such quiet walk off the Ballard Estate by-lanes.