It was a bit of an anticlimax. Frederick William Stevens’ simple grey marble gravestone inside Sewri Christian Cemetery was nothing like what we had expected it to be when we had spotted it for the first time while on a trail over a decade ago. After all, the celebrated architect had planned so many grand public buildings in the city, from its two railway termini to its municipal headquarters, commercial banks, offices and a water fountain, including other sites. He was a visionary mind who raised the Gothic style of architecture in its entire splendour in one of the Raj’s most important cities.

Ask any city-based urban planner or architect about where he stands in the echelons of Bombay’s best when it comes to architectural thought and vision from a practical and visual standpoint, and they will rank him high on their lists. Okay, so I am no architect nor an expert who can highlight every minute detail that he got right in his plans but what I can safely say, after years of observing his creations—big and small—from close quarters and from afar, is that it adds a fantastic dimension to the city’s landscape.