When architect Robert Stephens came to Mumbai for the first time, to visit friends that he had made at a university in America, he had no idea that the city would become his home. &ldquo;This was December 2006. I stayed with friends in Thane and Mulund. I went back that year to finish my last year in school.
<img title="An aerial view of north Mumbai shot by Robert Stephens" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/aug/Mangrove.jpg" alt="An aerial view of north Mumbai shot by Robert Stephens" /> An aerial view of north Mumbai shot by Robert Stephens
I decided I wanted to come back to Bombay and look for a job here. I looked for a long time and had almost lost hope when I found an architectural firm I liked. I met them, and they said you are totally crazy let&rsquo;s try and work together,&rdquo; laughs Stephens, during our chat with the architect and photographer at The Pantry in Kala Ghoda.
Getting local He made a humble start, living as a paying guest in Tardeo. &ldquo;I stayed in Tardeo. I was a paying guest with a Parsi man. I used to walk a lot. Now, I take the local train. I love the train and find it peaceful. I use that time to think.
<img title="Robert Stephens. Pic/Bipin Kokate" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/aug/Robert-Stephens.jpg" alt="Robert Stephens. Pic/Bipin Kokate" /> Robert Stephens. Pic/Bipin Kokate
It is much faster. Bombay (Mumbai) allows you to function with various budgets,&rdquo; he explains, adding, &ldquo;The train empties out at Dadar. Currently I live in Bandra and take the train from there to Churchgate, every day.&rdquo; Confessing his love for the suburb Stephens reveals, &ldquo;In Bandra, I love that there are so many trees; Tardeo had none.
The quality of life in Bandra is better. From my experience, Mumbai has the best ideas and is most receptive to ideas. earlier, it had a lot more international communities settled here. Now, it&rsquo;s lesser. There are a few ghettos now but in terms of pan-India, it is fabulous. I didn&rsquo;t see too many foreigners in Tardeo; Bandra has a lot more,&rdquo; he shares.
Aerial Mumbai In November 2014, Stephens had exhibited a few stunning aerial photographs of South Mumbai in black and white that he had shot. &ldquo;I was always an artist; photography is a way to express myself.
It takes lesser time, unlike painting and sculpture where you can spend years in a piece. For a Mumbai resident who has a full-time job it becomes difficult. I will also be exhibiting some aerial photographs of north Mumbai soon,&rdquo; he reveals.
Hinglish &ldquo;Before I came to Mumbai I took a language class in the US, which was mainly alphabets like &lsquo;Ka kha Ga&rsquo; and I thought this knowledge is useless, they should teach us words and sentences. After coming here, I realised that it was the best thing I could have done. It made it so much easier to listen and learn. I am almost fluent now.
When I was a paying guest I was staying in the living room. I didn&rsquo;t have a room to myself, so every weekend I would leave the house get on a train and go to an area where I didn&rsquo;t know any people, get off the train and roam the streets; it was the best way to learn the language. I have to at work as we deal with construction workers and none of them speak any english,&rdquo; he explains.
Comfort zone &ldquo;South Bombay never appealed to me as a residence, it always seemed more commercial. It is also deserted after evening. I like to see people, families after work. My favourite place to hang out is at home, very boring I know,&rdquo; he laughs. &ldquo;My wife and I love the Farmers Market in Mahim. It&rsquo;s the best thing that happened to the city.
The Maharashtra Nature Park is phenomenal; you can&rsquo;t believe that you are in the middle of the city. It&rsquo;s under-publicized,&rdquo; he adds. After confessing that he is not much of a foodie, he tells us, &ldquo;Cafe Tardeo was an Irani cafe; it was my favourite restaurant.
It has shut down now, they sold out. Yoga House in Bandra is lovely too,&rdquo; he says adding that he feels that there are very few public spaces to simply hang out, free of cost. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t live in Mumbai for its restaurants, art and culture.
That is a value-add. I stay in Mumbai because my interests and passions find expression here and that is the most important thing for me. That&rsquo;s a powerful thing for a city to be able to inspire. I get to do what I love and not every city provides that opportunity,&rdquo; he reminds us.
&ldquo;Bombay also shows me what not to do in terms of being architects. As a profession we should provide spaces for others. Here, 90 percent of what is built is based on self interest. So instead of complaining we try and do something better,&rdquo; he concludes.

In the third part of our series on resident non-Indians living in Mumbai, we speak with two Americans from diverse backgrounds architect and photographer Robert Stephens and Daniel Weber, manager/husband of adult film-actress-turned-Bollywood-star Sunny Leone

'Mumbai is most receptive to ideas'

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In the third part of our series on resident non-Indians living in Mumbai, we speak with two Americans from diverse backgrounds architect and photographer Robert Stephens and Daniel Weber, manager/husband of adult film-actress-turned-Bollywood-star Sunny Leone

"Mumbai is most receptive to ideas"

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