Once Upon a Time in Bombay

Bombay, the bustling port city of colonial India, was a crucible of cultures and ambitions in the 19th and 20th centuries. As the ‘Gateway to India’, its docks welcomed traders, workers, and dreamers, shaping a metropolis that inspired vivid artistic depictions of its people, architecture, and landscapes.

Once Upon a Time in Bombay offers a glimpse into the city’s evolution from seven islands to a thriving urban centre. Spanning primarily the 19th and 20th centuries, these works capture Bombay’s dynamic street life, colonial grandeur, and the quiet beauty of its hinterlands, reflecting a city that continues to be a symbol of opportunity and cosmopolitanism.

While this is a prelude to a larger and comprehensive exhibition on the city, this collection offers a peek into Bombay’s layered history, revealing stories that will further unfold in myriad directions in the larger exhibition—from its shifting urban landscapes to the lives of those who built, inhabited, and dreamed within them. Through diverse styles and mediums, these artworks invite viewers to reflect on a city that, though transformed, remains vivid in memory and imagination.