“One of the last remaining buildings of its kind, the Regal is a reminder of an age when people across class chose to spend three hours in a darkened hall. The Regal can, even today, cater to more than a thousand cinephiles, but are there that many people thronging the theatre on any single day any more, with OTT offering you the world?”

First published in the National Herald.

“Citizen Charles is less than 200 easy-to-read pages, but outstandingly comprehensive nonetheless. For this, huge credit to Dalvi, another quintessential ‘Bombaywallah’ – he recently retired after 21 years on the faculty of the storied Sir JJ College of Architecture – whose unbeatable mastery of his subject matter shines throughout. A familiar and well-loved annual presence at the Goa Arts + Literature Festival in his distinguished parallel career as poet and translator, here is the multifaceted author in yet another avatar: the highly polished academic and architectural historian, who has given us an instantly invaluable portrait of the city of Mumbai, of architecture in India after 1947, and also the paths not taken which have come to define our current era, while at the heart and spine of this fine new book, of course, is the proud son of Goa and his “lifelong advocacy for an egalitarian and uniquely.”

— Vivek Menezes. O Heraldo

During its heyday, the Light of Asia epitomized the cosmopolitanism of a growing city that was a magnet for international and up-country visitors.

“As a child, Charles would love to walk down to watch ships, big and small, come and go at the Ballard Pier. He was especially fond of the dry docks, where ships would be lifted out of the water in their entirety. He would be in awe of the massive hull, rising above him like an upside-down roof.”

An excerpt from ‘Charles Correa: Citizen Charles’, by Mustansir Dalvi.

In his biography of architect and urban planner Charles Correa, Mustansir Dalvi lets us into the life and practice of another kind of nation-builder.

दळवींनी चार्ल्स कोरिआ यांच्याबद्दल लिहिलेलं हे पुस्तक, केवळ व्यावसायिक किंवा अभिकल्पकार म्हणून कोरिआ यांची महती सांगणारं नसून ‘सिटिझन चार्ल्स’ या नावाला जागणारं आहे.

In the first biography of Charles Correa, one of modern India’s greatest architects, Mustansir Dalvi showcases not just his visionary genius but also his zeal to improve the lives of the common man, particularly in Mumbai.

On several occasions in his career as an architect, Correa would encounter resistance with ideas that pushed the envelope of public acceptance, whether in his additions to Rajghat, or providing for the homeless on the streets of Bombay.

The buildings on Marine Drive responded to the early 20th-century urge for long-distance travel by presenting a variety of nautical references.

In the rush to redevelop, Mumbai is losing old architecture as well as the skills to fix it.

This fortnight, in Alt/Urban: What Bombay’s ageing buildings need is caring renovation, not ‘redevelopment’.

Bombay’s Domestic Vernacular was shaped by Indian masons, carpenters and craftsmen with influences as far afield as Surat and Konkan.

A look at the free-flowing conversations between Bombay’s homegrown buildings and the streets.

What the nautical motifs on Bombay’s Art Deco buildings say about a period’s obsession with mobility

Navina Najat Haidar’s ‘Jali’ is a well-researched book that explores the significance of the lattice in Mughal architecture.