Surrounded by the marvellous paintings, artworks and illuminated marble sculptures on the grey walls of Kalakriti Art Gallery at Banjara Hills, Robert Stephens introduced his book Bombay Imagined to the audience on Saturday evening.
The gallery witnessed the presence of renowned architects in the city and students, among several others. As an architect who left his hometown in South Carolina and settled in Mumbai for the past 15 years, the town and its dreams became close to Robert’s heart — Bombay Imagined is a book of 200 unrealised or partially implemented city plans that was born out of his passion. He started the talk by expressing his love for Hyderabad, where he began his career in India in 2008. He shared some exciting plans in the book, including Mumbai Devi temple tanks, a 400-acre park drawn from Arthur Crawford’s ‘Development of New Bombay’, and William Davidge’s back bay layout plan, among several others. He also shared how his son’s water birth made him dive into Bombay’s early water supply plans by Russel Aitken.
His simplistic way of storytelling, which he followed in his book and speech, combined with humour and personal anecdotes, appealed to the audience. He ended the talk by thanking the team of experts from diverse backgrounds, his family, and his cat for bringing the carefully handcrafted book to light. A conversation with Devendar Reddy, the chief city planner of GHMC, moderated by Prashant Lahoti, the founder of Kalakriti Art Gallery, followed the speech. The works of Padmasri Muhammed Fayazuddin — one of Hyderabad’s early architect, was appreciated during the discussion.
Anuradha Reddy, INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) convenor for Hyderabad, shared her insights and experiences. The conversation also highlighted the need to protect heritage and preserve archives and other valuable documents. The discussion ended with Robert saying, “Books are powerful — they help you fall in love with the city. Anyone who feels inspired to write a book on Hyderabad, go for it.” Robert sharing his love for Hyderabad, says, “City has many influential people who come together, work, think and dream together. It has its unique fabric, a beautiful old city, and it also has new things happening. That’s why I love Hyderabad.”