Our museums and cultural spaces must think of new avenues to ensure that younger minds continue to trickle into its corridors
It was one of those rare opportunities when we were able to soak in the sights and sounds of some of the landmarks of Fort and Colaba twice in one week. If your workplace happens to be what many call the 'boondocks' of the 'burbs, then yes, the two trips did feel like a privilege for the heritage buff in us.
Coincidentally, both occasions that took us to those parts were timed around events at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly Prince of Wales Museum). The first was the soft launch of the Children's Museum, that much-awaited addition to the museum, ushering the opening of a new avenue for kid-friendly spaces in the city. As we walked towards the glasshouse that seamlessly fit amidst the older Indo-Saracenic structure, the frame looked just right. If the grand, old baobab in the backdrop could speak, it would have had so much to say, and would have smiled for sure at the bunch of schoolchildren who were the real showstoppers at the opening. After all, they were the curators of the first exhibition at their new cultural playground. The bachchas of this city, ever so starved of places to call their own, now had an engaging space set in an oasis of nature in the heart of the city. Among the corporate suits and kanjeevarams that were in a majority, the tiny feet, and child-like laughter that wafted around seemed to reflect the mood – apna time aa gaya!
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In a few days' time, we were back in familiar territory. This time, it was for the opening of Foy Nissen's exhibition at the Jehangir Nicholson Gallery. At the inauguration, chief guest Justice Gautam Patel took the audience on a remarkable journey of Nissen's umbilical cord-like connect with Mumbai, Bombay at the time. At this talk, which was held in the Visitor's Centre of CSMVS, we scanned the room to notice that nearly 75 per cent of the crowd must have been in the 60-plus age category. It was a stark contrast from the earlier trip. As we gazed in admiration at the Danish photographer's frames of 1970s and 80s Bombay, we felt it was a wonderful treasure trove for every Bombaywallah to soak in, and perhaps learn a lesson or two from, about their great city through the eyes of this Danish chronicler. To paraphrase Justice Patel, he felt that Nissen's frames should serve as a reminder of the city that once was, and how its character has rapidly changed in the past few decades. As we crawled through traffic after the event, a thought crossed the mind. Why did every such event have to be defined by a predictable age bracket? The contrast that we witnessed in the course of the two events made us wonder about this even more. For, we were sure that many younger, probing minds would have benefitted from Nissen's archival photos of the city as much as their parents, and grandparents, in this case. What was a good step in this direction was that at the end of the exhibition, its curator Kamini Sawhney announced that they intended to open up this priceless treasure for researchers and students.
The more we break away from these compartments in our cultural spaces, the better chance we have at nurturing an engaging, sensitive and evolved gen next, especially in a city like ours that seems to be in a tearing hurry to disturb its existing cosmopolitan ethic and fabric. The cultural revolutionaries and movements within the city must find new ways to engage with the coming generations – it's our only hope to insure and ensure that we retain the spirit of Bombay. The same one that Nissen knew and fell in love with.
mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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