VINTAGE WATSON’S:
A Walk Around Bombay’s First Grand Hotel
29th September, 2019.
Some thought it resembled a birdcage, some a skeleton, but Watson’s Esplanade Hotel was undoubtedly Bombay’s first grand hotel. Expressly designed as a first class hotel with upwards of 120 rooms and a steam lift, Watson’s Esplanade Hotel was conceived in the 1860s along with the grand structures it stands alongside- the University, the High Court, the Secretariat.
Join us as we stride along the structure, stopping by at the archives where we will present rare archival material on the Hotel from the Public Works Department and the Bombay Gazette newspaper; visit the site of the erstwhile Watson’s Annexe at Apollo Bunder and end with a first class lunch service at the Bombay Vintage restaurant.
The Metromod team reports on our walk and the select breakfast service at Ripon Club thereafter.
FOY’S FORT ON FOOT:
A walk curated around the exhibition Foy Nissen’s Bombay
23rd March, 2019.
From the gifted 8-year-old who lived on Bastion Road, to the discerning teenager who shopped for blankets at the Bombay Swadeshi Stores in the 1940s, to the conservationist who was appalled at the painting of Flora Fountain in the 1980s, Foy Nissen inhabited Fort Bombay in formidable ways.
Join us as we retrace Foy’s footsteps in the Fort, past the fountains he admired, the libraries he visited and the statues he loved to photograph, to the photographs themselves exhibited at the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation at the Museum.
Through the walk and exhibition, we recreate the world of Foy Nissen (1931-2018), city historian, pioneer conservationist and artist, who was one of the finest guides to our city and whose gifts in perpetuity continue to guide us through Bombay of the 70s and 80s.
ROUTE 123:
A Walk Down Deco Marine Drive with Sidharth Bhatia
21st April, 2018.
Journalist and author Sidharth Bhatia takes us down the sparkling stretch by the sea, reliving the romances and rivalries of Marine Drive’s most famous residents, actresses Nargis and Suraiya, of Chateau Marine and Krishna Mahal.
To know which route Raj Kapoor took to Nargis’ door and more, join us next Saturday on this special guest walk.
THE BIRTH OF INDIAN CRICKET:
Tales from South Bombay by Prashant Kidambi
15th April, 2018.
Commencing at the Oval Maidan and concluding, via the Bombay Gymkhna, at the Brabourne Stadium, this walk traces how cricket became a popular Indian sport in Bombay.
BOMBAY’S PHOTOGRAHPIC STUDIOS:
A Walk Curated Around the Exhibition Portrait of a Nation,
A Nation in Portraits
3rd February, 2018.
Shortly after Raja Deen Dayal & Sons opened their photographic salon at Whiteaway, Laidlaw Building in Bombay in 1897, the salon was cited as an example of Indian technical excellence at an international congress in London. The artistic merit of the portraits and pictures, the elegantly comfortable surroundings and the intellect of the photographer, were all praised. In Bombay, Raja Deen Dayal & Sons were equally confident, describing their salon as ‘The Finest Studio in India’ and informing visitors that the hydraulic lift that will deliver them straight to their door.
Our walk maps the rise of the photographic studio in Bombay as an essential stop in the itinerary of visiting royals, officials and aspirational locals. We will begin in the Fort district, with a tour of the sites of the photographic studios established in the 1860s and 70s such as Lindley & Warren and Bourne & Shepherd and then move to sites of the studios that were setup in the 1890s such as Raja Deen Dayal & Sons and Vernon & Co. In the span of 30 years, studios were calling the shots, with visiting royalty stopping by rather than photographers paying them a visit at home. Moreover, presenting photographs of oneself as gifts to others had become so popular that more valuable gifts like tea sets and watches were being sidelined.
We will proceed to visit the iconic Hamilton Studios at Ballard Estate, for a chance to experience a historic studio space with its props, equipment and records.
Our walk will culminate with viewing the works of these leading 19th century photographic studios at the exhibition Portrait of a Nation, A Nation in Portraits. Lindley & Warren’s carte de visite series, Bourne & Shepherd’s focus on monumentality and Deen Dayal & Sons and Vernon & Co.’s portraits of Indian royals, all come to life at Sarmaya’s debut exhibition.
Mid-Day reports on a daring Parsi widow who will also feature in the walk.
