21 October,2026 07:31 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
Aashima Mehrotra, executive director (heritage), Railway Board and artist. Pic/Facebook/aashimam1
The visit of heritage crusader Aashima Mehrotra, executive director (heritage) with the Railway Board and a practising artist, to Mumbai on Tuesday comes amid renewed attention to efforts to protect two historic railway treasures: the dome of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and relics linked to India's first passenger railway. She is in Mumbai for the opening of Nepathya Ke Rang, a group exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery.
[popcorn number="Oct 20" desc="Day Nepathya Ke Rang exhibition opened" class="Default"]
The iconic CSMT dome, part of Mumbai's UNESCO World Heritage railway terminus, came under the spotlight in July after leakage affected the foyer beneath it.
On July 10, within three days, after mid-day published the report, Mehrotra highlighted the matter to Central Railway and called for a corrective action plan. The Railway Board's intervention put the problem under formal scrutiny as concerns mounted over the condition of the historic structure during restoration work.
The Rail Land Development Authority subsequently attributed the leakage to porous stones and ageing masonry joints, with repair measures and expert consultations undertaken to address the problem.
There has been another heritage fight - this time at Sion, where an old railway structure associated with the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) had to make way for new tracks.
The GIPR operated India's first passenger train between Bombay and Thane on April 16, 1853. Its surviving signs and fittings have been tangible links to the beginnings of the country's railway network.
After this journalist took up the issue, this time too, Mehrotra intervened in a timely manner to salvage the historic material before demolition and saved 18 cast GIPR signs and old ticket windows along with the remaining wooden frames. The recovered material has been safely shifted to Kurla car shed, while a proposal envisaged reusing the old structure and its GIPR frames at Lonavala Heritage Park.
Nepathya Ke Rang, featuring works by Mehrotra and a 97-year-old veteran artist from Santiniketan, Banshidhar Pratihary, runs until October 26.
With Pheroza Godrej, founder and director of Cymroza Art Gallery, as the chief guest, Konkan Railway Chairman and Managing Director Santosh Kumar Jha, and Rajendra Patil, president of the Bombay Art Society, were the guests of honour.
Mehrotra's own artwork has earned recognition: her painting âMove On' was recognised and awarded at the Bombay Art Society's 134th All India Annual Art Exhibition in 2026.
"Through Nepathya Ke Rang, I explore the unseen layers of Varanasi - its memories, emotions and spiritual energy that lie beyond its visible architecture and rituals. Using colour, texture, and layered forms, my works seek to reveal the inner landscape of a city where life and death, the finite and the infinite, coexist in an eternal dialogue. For me, Varanasi is not merely a place to be seen, but an experience to be felt and contemplated," Mehrotra said.
