National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, Kala Ghoda Association, and Avid Learning present Uncovering Urban Legacies: Icons of Bombay – Gates, Libraries, and Film Posters.

Literary halls, cinema art, and ceremonial arches, these markers of knowledge, entertainment, and passage, reveal how the city negotiates with its environment, nurtures its cultural life, and connects to its history. After exploring Bombay’s diasporic communities and historic precincts, we return with the fifth episode of our Icons series.

From the historic Asiatic Society to the smaller neighbourhood reading rooms and public institutions, libraries have long served as centres of knowledge and learning. Even as digital media reshapes how we access information, these institutions continue to symbolize intellectual heritage. Film posters, once plastered across theatre walls, lampposts, and billboards, brought the magic of cinema to the streets. These works of popular art also mirrored the people’s evolving tastes and aspirations. The city’s gates, from the long-demolished Apollo and Bazaar Gates of the old Fort to the naval dockyard entrances and the enduring Gateway of India, tell the story of how Bombay opened itself to the sea, to trade, and to the world.

Join us as we uncover three more city emblems, tracing their journeys through heritage, transformation, and contemporary relevance.

Speakers:

Solicitor, City Historian and Antique Collector - Rajan Jayakar

Founder Editor, Question of Cities - Smruti Koppikar

Head & Associate Professor, Dept of Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai - Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare

Writer, Historian, and Anthropologist - Akshay Chavan (Moderator)