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STUDIO . BOMBAY IMAGINED
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STUDIO . BOMBAY IMAGINED
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Beginning in 1670, Bombay Imagined: An Illustrated History of the Unbuilt City tells the story of 201 unrealised urban visions — aspirations of an evolved metropolis boasting everything from humane housing and expanded parks to sanitation systems and more. Ideas that never saw the light of day are richly illustrated with archival drawings, contemporary speculations and artistic overlays, illuminating long-lost futures from the city’s never-before-seen past.
Bombay Imagined is a testimony to the audacious dreams of city-lovers, a chronicle of untold narratives across centuries and an insight into the tides that have shaped present-day Mumbai.
NARESH FERNANDES
Author of City Adrift: A Short Biography of Bombay
"A loving tribute to the eccentrics and altruists, hucksters and geniuses who have called Bombay home."
NARESH FERNANDES
Author of City Adrift, a Short History of Bombay
"The sheer weight of the book, the beautiful illustrations, volumes of untold history….possibly the most deeply researched book I have read in years."
Tushar Kanade
"The book is more than what I imagined it to be. Truly incredible work."
Ashwin Mallya
“Love the idea behind this book and can only imagine the efforts that went behind bringing this to life.”
Sam Kulavoor
"One of the most fascinating, gently humorous and eye-opening books on the city. Filled with wonderful narratives on the city that might have been. A beautifully crafted treasure trove. "
Sunhil Sippy
"Written with brevity, humour, even fun, it left me amused, amazed and inspired. Trust me, this is a Bombay book for everyone!”
Alisha Sadikot, public historian
"I love people who make books. I am impressed by people who complete book projects. I am simply in awe of people who complete books as ambitious as this one."
Sanne van der Kaaij-Gandhi
"It is almost as if the book translates Bombay’s urbanscape into figurative poetry of a collective history. Thank you for writing such a wonderful book! Hope you write more of these. "
Arushi Bhargava
Chowpatty Cliff Zoo, 1888
"It is by far,
the most beautiful book I own."
SURABHI OHJA
"It is endlessly immersive and I keep making connections to the city as it is. This book will be an essential part of the canon of writings on Bombay's Urbanism..."
MUSTANSIR DALVI
“Intense research + beautiful documentation = Bombay Imagined.”
NAMRATA TIDKE
A Living Archive
The entire Bombay Imagined research archive, comprising more than 400 rare books, maps, pamphlets and photographs is located at the Urbs Indis Library in Bengaluru.
The collection is publicly-accessible Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.
"Exceptional.
A refreshing take on what could have been. We need more publishing like this instead of staid stories of past glories."
Amita Kini SingH
Frequently Asked Questions
Much to our delight, all 1,500 copies of the first edition have sold out since the book was released in March 2022. If you were one of the many individuals who acquired a copy, thank you! It has been a great joy meeting so many people and making new friends, all thanks to Mumbai’s past futures. This second edition will also be limited to 1,500 prints.
The second edition is a robust paperback with french flaps, while the first edition featured a heavy-duty hardcover. The internal paper thickness has reduced slightly, which makes the 464-page book much lighter, 1.3 kilograms, compared to the 2.5 kg first edition.
Yes, one! The Mumbai Coastal Forest of 2025. This imagination holds special meaning because it is an early project I undertook (at the invitation of and in deep collaboration with a citizen’s group) after starting my own architecture studio in 2024. It is also unique because the ground upon which the proposal is envisioned is yet a live project. Who knows, perhaps some of the ideas and principles may yet germinate in some way along Mumbai’s west coast. Time will tell.
I showed the new cover design to my mother about a month ago, and these were her exact words, “I like it! It is colorful and catches the eye!” The image that graces the cover is a speculation, a visualization of a dream that an Anonymous city resident had of Bombay in 1921, about how the city might look in 1971.
But the real fun on the cover are the crumbs we have left to reveal my personal inspirations. On the front flap there is Le Corbusier’s Modular Man standing tall in the garden at Malabar Hill and then in the sky above is Patrick Geddes’ personal symbol of three doves, symbolizing Sympathy, Synthesis and Synergy. On the front cover the largest taxi plate number is “6767” which, if you don’t know, “67” is Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year for 2025, so the cover is dated, without putting a date. Lastly, on the back cover is the Urbs Indis stamp and my signature, inspired from a monograph by Juliaan Lampens, one of my favourite architects.
