The year was 2005. Like any young, slightly impatient writer-researcher, a sense of panic began to take over as a deadline loomed large. I was desperately seeking to get my hands on a rare title about the city of Bombay, or at least hoping to stumble upon extracts from it in a journal or research paper. Time was running out, as my publisher's mood shifted from pleasant to firm-but-polite. Countless trips to the city's public libraries didn't help. It's when a friend, an alumnus of St Xavier's College, suggested I visit the Heras Institute. Hesitatingly and hopeful, I made my way to the campus.

With a little help from the friend, I was able to get access to their collection of titles, and lo and behold, a few extracts from that book as well. When a kind soul in the office learnt that I was working on a book on the city's heritage walks, she allowed me to use the office space to take notes. Around that time, in the studiously quiet environs, I stumbled upon a note that announced the ongoing activities of Bombay Local History Society (BLHS). It opened up a whole new world about Bombay, one that I barely brushed the surface of. Established as an offshoot activity in St Xavier's College, I learnt that BLHS grew out of a seminar under the then director of the Heras Institute Rev. Fr John Correia-Affonso, SJ in 1978.