This design-led exhibition focuses on the history of Khotachi Wadi, located in south Mumbai’s Girgaum, through disciplines as diverse as architecture, culinary histories, speculative art, early street photography and product design. In keeping with the mandate of C&L Design exhibitions, a wealth of archival material has been brought into conversation with contemporary design objects.

Curated by academic and local resident André Baptista, along with Chatterjee & Lal, the exhibition brings together the voices and stories of generations of residents at a moment of unique importance to the area. The distinctiveness of Khotachi Wadi is threatened by the erasure of its 19th and early 20th century bungalows and chawls. These structures – and the worlds created in and around them – have offered unique design solutions for centuries.

Khotachi Wadi is a heritage precinct where built structures and cultural elements trace their antiquity to the early 19th century. Girgaum, as an early historical village, would have been filled with orchards and groves – memories preserved in the names of streets, by-lanes, and wadis. As part of the city’s expansion, East Indian Christians, who originally inhabited the Islands of Bombay and surrounding areas, moved into the locality establishing an enclave complete with distinctive bungalows derivative of Portuguese Colonial Architecture mixed with regional sensibilities.