Though the public lecture organised by Art Deco Mumbai Trust held at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalaya was all about single screen cinemas in India, the audience, and I am pretty sure about this, didn't feel the need for an intermission. Popcorn would have added a nice touch, but the masala chai that was served before the session kept me in a toasty space.

The two main speakers at the session held last week were Professor Mary Woods of the Cornell School of Architecture, and Vani Subramanian, filmmaker. Both have been working together for a while now on a documentary about single screen cinemas in India. Their insightful presentation gripped the audience, as they drew them into the many-layered ecosystem of this cinematic universe from a societal standpoint and about reimagining its position in the future. From a city context, they took us on a trail of some of the marquee single-screens like Liberty and Regal as well as Byculla's Palace Talkies and Super Plaza in Grant Road, both known for screening Bhojpuri flicks. It was during this section that I got drawn into the enormity of a role that they played in fuelling and feeding the city's huge migrant population. This parallel world was truly a fascinating one, like so many other elements in Bombay that add up to make it the true melting pot; these spaces offered an oasis of entertainment, a sanctuary really, for the lakhs who would have left their homes back in Bihar or Jharkhand, to seek new opportunities, new direction and find their own little slice of glory in the City of Dreams.