A graphic novel called Grafity-s Wall changed the way I look at Bombay recently. This is no mean feat, given that we are constantly bombarded by clichés about what our city looks, sounds and feels like. Written by a former Bombayite called Ram V and illustrated by current Bombayite Anand R K with letters by Aditya Bidikar, the book documented the lives and times of a street artist named -Grafity- and his friends Jay and Chasma. Set in and around a chawl, it took me back to years when I would trawl a city not half as populated by high-rises, long before the first mall darkened our already crowded streets.

To be fair, much of the novel-s narrative betrayed the influence of Hindi cinema that tends to sink into our collective consciousness, but there was still enough about the book that made me love and celebrate it, nonetheless.