Years ago, at an exhibition held inside the Sir JJ School of Architecture, I had the good fortune of poring over some hand drawn plans for Victoria Terminus (today's CSMT) created by its architect FW Stevens. Having a keen interest in original plans of buildings (the heritage kinds) I had seen quite a few splendid works of precision and most importantly, 360-degree, all-inclusive visions on paper in the past. But Stevens's works were something else altogether.

First of all, his clarity of thought that covered the plan for every floor was fantastic. Collectively referred to as the GIPR (Great Indian Peninsular Railway, former name for Central Railway) Terminus Station and Administrative Offices Plan, not only had he outlined sections on every floor but he had also taken great pains to sketch out stunningly accurate architectural details that included arches, ornamentation and pillars.