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Journalism of Courage
The year 1925 marked the birth of Art Deco — a design movement defined by dual-toned facades, rounded corners, nautical details like porthole windows and ship deck-style balconies, and motifs such as sunbursts and waves that reflected Mumbai’s identity as a port city. Built for Indians with modern sensibilities, the style also emerged in response to the plague.
“In the plague, the major problem was overcrowding and density. In the old city, which is Fort, there were issues like poor hygiene, lack of sewage and clean water facilities, and extreme congestion, so when the plague came, it spread like fire,” said Atul Kumar, founder-trustee of Art Deco Mumbai, adding that Art Deco design was a response to this crisis. “We needed open spaces, buildings that focused on light and air, and planned neighbourhoods. That’s how Churchgate, Marine Drive, Matunga, Dadar Parsi Colony, and Shivaji Park came up — all designed with plenty of light, air, and green spaces.”
Celebrating this architectural legacy is Art Deco Alive!, a cross-continental collaboration between Miami and Mumbai marking 100 years of the global Art Deco movement. Founded by Mumbai-based entrepreneur Smiti Kanodia, along with Miami-based co-founders Salma Merchant Rahmathulla and Gayatri Hingorani Dewan, the initiative commemorates the centenary of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts — regarded as the origin of Art Deco worldwide.
After debuting in Miami in October, the second leg was inaugurated on Thursday in Mumbai, home to one of the largest clusters of Art Deco buildings in the world, by Ashish Shelar, Minister of Cultural Affairs of Maharashtra. The three-week celebration, on till November 25, explores the shared and distinct legacies of Art Deco in both coastal cities.
“The fulcrum of the exhibition in Mumbai is at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum. It’s open to the public, and everyone should come and engage with it. There are walking tours across the city from Shivaji Park to Marine Drive. Eros is doing a cinema tour. There will be film screenings, sketching tours, and a symposium with about 20 participants from Miami,” said Kanodia.
Kanodia is pointing to the exhibition titled ‘Ocean Drive to Marine Drive: Mapping a Century of Deco’ which showcases the city’s many Art Deco landmarks — from cinema halls like Regal and Eros to petrol stations like Karfule, nursing homes such as St. Martin’s in Bandra, and hotels like Sea Green Palace. It also features rare Deco artefacts and furniture, including a curved table sourced from private collections.
Here one wall is entirely dedicated to the architects behind the movement — beginning with Henry Hohauser, who developed much of Miami Beach, and leading to Indian architects and firms credited for Mumbai’s Art Deco identity. Among them are Marathe & Kulkarni (G.L. Kulkarni and D.N. Marathe), Master, Sathe and Bhuta (Chimanlal M. Master, Laxman Vishnu Sathe, and Gopalji Mulji Bhuta), and Perin Mistri, the first female architect from Bombay. “Shivaji Park wouldn’t exist without Marathe and Kulkarni. Master, Sathe and Bhuta built the New India Assurance Building, whose facade sculptures were created with artist Narayan Ganesh Pansare,” said Kumar. “Barbara Baer Capitman saved Miami’s Art Deco buildings from demolition; in Bombay, we had Perin Mistri — the first woman architect from JJ College, who had the courage to challenge male peers and bring a woman’s perspective to design.”
Art Deco – an emotion for Mumbaikars
“What we’ve realised over the years is that Art Deco is not only about design but also about emotional connection for Mumbaikars, especially with its cinema halls,” said Kumar, noting that everyone has a story tied to them — from their first movie to their first date.
He credited the style for shaping Mumbai’s cosmopolitanism. “Unlike other cities, Mumbai has only private neighbourhoods, all built by the people for themselves, designed by Indian architects who studied at JJ School in the 1920s and gave us a new way of life. For the first time, we learned apartment living — families from different communities sharing the same space, celebrating each other’s festivals, eating each other’s food. That’s how Bombay’s cosmopolitan culture took root,” he said.
The exhibition also explores how an international design language was adapted to Indian identity. One of the exhibits features a sunburst with Om at its centre; another displays Samiksha in Devanagari, rendered in an Art Deco font. “You won’t see this in Miami or Paris — only in Mumbai,” said Kumar, pointing out local elements such as chatris, jali work, and petal motifs. “On the India Assurance Building, you even see a bas-relief of a woman carrying hay — an Indian agrarian symbol. It was okay to show your identity and incorporate it into architecture.”
Beyond the museum, Art Deco Alive! includes talks, and cultural events. Among them is Churchgate Street Rewind, which turns the Art Deco precinct of Veer Nariman Road into an immersive storytelling trail. Restaurants and cafes, from the century-old Gaylord to newer spaces like Mezcalita and Nksha, are featuring Deco-inspired menus, coasters, and visual installations.
There will also be themed walks led by conservation architect Kirtida Unwalla and Nikhil Mahasur, founder of Walkitecture, across landmarks such as Eros Cinema, New India Assurance Building, Soona Mahal and The Ambassador Hotel, offering a guided journey through Mumbai’s distinctive architectural heritage.
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