There is an old video available on the Internet that contains slices of Bombay life from the mid-20th century. There are frames that show trams plying languidly around Churchgate, sharing space with tongawallahs being overtaken by vintage automobiles that are precursors to the sleek cars clogging streets in present-day Mumbai. All the office-going men seem uniformly dressed in white shirts and trousers, while the women cover their heads with sarees.

But there is one sequence that's of particular relevance. It shows seven coolies clothed in dhotis and vests ferrying a humongous grand piano from one location to another. That's the only way in which this integral instrument that fuelled the city's jazz age could be transported back then. Compact digital keyboards were still a product of the distant future. And so musicians had no other option apart from such coolies to ensure that their pianos reached the right venue.