Looking at architecture is like reading poetry for Nachiket Joshi. Even though the 30-year-old isn’t remotely connected to the subject by profession, he has always been fascinated by the intricacies in structures — railings, gate posts and arches — around him. “As a child, I liked the area around Central Avenue and the roads perpendicular to it near the railway station and I am completely charmed by it. You could tell that they were old, special and looked different,” says a mesmerised Joshi. All these years later, Joshi, a Chembur resident has found love in poetry and prose which he finds resonate with architecture too. This interest in houses around him made him start @housesofchembur, as an amateur attempt at documenting them on Instagram in 2019. 

Joshi is one of several people in the city who document different regions for the sheer beauty of their architecture on Instagram. There are others who are doing it not only because of their fascination with architecture but also because of the need to preserve regular heritage structures in the city beyond well-known monuments. One of them is Mallika Keer, who like Joshi is a city-based architecture enthusiast and is attempting to preserve heritage by showcasing them on her Instagram handle @beyond_heritage, to drive home the message against their redevelopment in Mumbai. 

On his many walks through Chembur, Joshi has found beauty in the Grotto near Central Avenue and Ling Mahal, an art deco home that has now been demolished. Photo: Nachiket Joshi

Poetry and development
Interestingly, while both pages display a common love for architecture, buildings appealed to the content creators for different reasons. Joshi explains, “The page is sort of inspired by the poetry I am reading as well for my work. There’s a whole tradition in literature of Le Flâneur or the loafer, who is loitering around the city streets and documenting them through poetry or prose and writing about random things that are seen on the streets.”