When we were free-as-a-bird collegians, there was a trail that a friend and I had invented that we would set out on each time we wished to bunk a lecture, or simply "chill". Since our college was located in leafy, happy Matunga that was surrounded by Parsi Colony and Hindu Colony, the game involved having to look for interesting motifs or crests on building facades or the year in which it was established, and later, compare notes. We'd give each other an hour and head out in different directions before returning to the same spot where our hunt had begun. It ended up being an educational project that we had unwittingly created.

For, not only did these trails offer tremendous insight into the colonies and its inhabitants, but it also led us to respect such structures that displayed elements from the Art Deco style of architecture as well as traces of vernacular designs. We also learnt about the Parsi and Maharashtrian communities, as they lent character to the two neighbourhoods. They were largely middle-class, and looked after their homes with pride. From green-top balconies, to aesthetically decorated frontages, and in some cases, spacious verandahs, we'd look forward to spotting these sights. It was in many ways, an initiation for us that grew to a near-obsession about the city's heritage and the factors that breathed life into it. She went off to study the subject in detail in a foreign land where she pursues it as an academician, while my research as a journalist and author gave this curiosity wings to fly.