The shroud had been lifted, literally. Nearly six months after the long-overdue restoration work at Flora Fountain had commenced, we stepped behind the four-sided veil that covered the landmark, to enter a mini universe of stone and scaffolding in the middle of bustling Fort. Here, experts and their teams were sweating it out under the unforgiving April sun, working in sync to ensure that this magnificent fusion of water, architecture and sculpture is restored to its past glory.

Yours truly couldn't believe the opportunity that greeted us. Somewhere, the movie buff in us imagined that were on the sets of an Indiana Jones sequel, right here in Mumbai. As we made our way up the temporary ladder to examine each level, we soaked in the curious bytes and anecdotes shared by conservation architect Vikas Dilawari on the science and logistics of how Mumbai's most recognised fountain came into shape and form. Pointing to etchings, he mentioned how slabs of imported Portland stone with unique markings were shipped to the city, like Lego blocks, and assembled here. The design was by Robert Norman Shaw, a famous Scottish architect while James Forsythe sculpted it. By now, the blaring horns emanating from traffic, high decibel levels, and din from the four sides of the fountain had all magically faded away; we were in the midst of a real heritage lesson, many feet above the ground.