Art Deco Mumbai Trust and Mumbai Research Centre, The Asiatic Society of Mumbai present “Indoor Deco: Styling Bombay’s Modern Interiors, 1920s – 1940s” a Public Lecture by Dr. Abigail McGowan

Date and Time: Saturday, 7 January 2023, 5:00 PM IST
Address: Durbar Hall, The Asiatic Society of Mumbai Town Hall, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai – 400001

The turn of the 20th century transformed several facets of life in Bombay. Modern amenities, travel and ideas shaped the city into the metropolis we recognise today. Key among these transformations were Bombay’s homes and how they were decorated, and the style we know as Art Deco had much to do with this. With its machine-age aesthetic, it is well known that Art Deco reshaped Bombay’s streetscapes in the late colonial period. But it also brought a similarly important – but lesser known – transformation to its interiors. Join our speaker Dr. Abigail McGowan as she explores how the Deco style brought a wholly new approach to interior design.

This new home decor depended on sleek lines, the transformative power of electricity, and novel materials like metal, glass, concrete, and veneer. In the newly emerging apartments in the city – and through advertisements – designers, furniture makers, and suppliers now offered holistic plans that integrated flooring, lighting, furnishing, fabrics and wall treatments. Deco moved indoors to transform lived spaces and set new standards for interior design. Supplementing the more familiar focus on facades and architecture, the talk will explore how the new style came to life not just in Bombay’s iconic “picture palaces” but also offices, clubs, and homes across the city. 

About the Speaker

Dr. Abigail McGowan is Professor of History, and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Vermont. Her work lies at the intersection of material culture, politics, and everyday life in colonial South Asia. She has authored Crafting the Nation in Colonial India (Palgrave, 2009), which explores related issues of craft, consumption, and cultural expression during a period of nationalist development. She is also the co-editor of Towards a History of Consumption in India (Oxford University Press, 2010), which returns to the question of consumption in late colonial India. Dr. McGowan puts the home at the centre of the history of late colonial India to argue for a materially-grounded understanding of the social, cultural, and economic politics of this era. She makes a significant intervention in the scholarship on modernism by bringing women into the conversation through a study of advertising and exhibitions of modern homes directed at them. Her current research explores how the relationship between changing ideas about domestic space in early 20th century India affected town planning, architecture, consumption, and family life.

You may register for the talk here. Kindly join us for tea at 4.30 p.m.

- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande, Hon. Secretary,Asiatic Society of Mumbai
- Dr. Shehernaz Nalwalla, Chairperson, Mumbai Research Centre
- Atul Kumar, Trustee, Art Deco Mumbai Trust.

The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, Mumbai Research Centre
World Postcard Day in Association with ATLASkeeda
October 1, 2022 from 9.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
The Mumbai Research Centre of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai presents "From Mumbai with Love", a day-long event celebrating World Postcard Day in association with ATLASkeeda, a visual storytelling initiative.
In a world where we exchange GIFs and WhatsApp messages at the speed of light, there comes a day when you can learn the art of slowing down. Where the message exchanged can be personalized, meaningful and a lovely surprise for the recipient.

Dive into the fascinating 153-year-old history of postcards, get your hands on postcards and stamps from all over the world, design and write your own, affix stamps, and actually post it! And if that isn’t enough, meet a thriving community of young ‘postcrossers’ who keep this tradition alive!
09.30 am - 10.00 am: Registrations
10.00 am - 11.30 am: Postcard workshop 1 (Max 25 participants)
11.30 am - 11.45 am: Break
11.45 am - 01.15 pm: Official postcrossing meet up.
01.15 am - 02.15 pm: Lunch
02.15 pm - 02.30 pm: Registrations
02.30 pm - 04.00 pm: Postcard Workshop 2 (Max 25 participants)
04.00 pm - 04.30 pm: Break
04.30 pm - 06.00 p.m. "To Bombay with Love" - Presentation by Adv. Rajan Jayakar
Each participant gets a workshop kit to design their own postcard. Also, all participants are invited to stay back for a talk on his personal collection of postcards by Adv Rajan Jayakar, one of Mumbai's most prolific collectors.
About ATLASkeeda: ATLASkeeda celebrates stories from India and the world every day. Founded by architect Ashwin Tahiliani to explore the world in the 2020 pandemic, team ATLASkeeda is on a mission - to celebrate positive, lesser-known and jaw-dropping stories from India and the World visually.
Please Note: The double vaccination certificate is mandatory for participation.
To register:
General: https://pages.razorpay.com/PosGen
Members: https://pages.razorpay.com/PosMem

- Dr. Shehernaz Nalwalla, Chairperson Mumbai Research Centre
- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande, Hon. Secretary

The Asiatic Society of Mumbai
takes pleasure in inviting you and your friends to the
17th Dr Mani Kamerkar Endowment Lecture
by
Dr. Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi
Professor of History, Aligarh Muslim University and former Chairman and Coordinator, Centre for Advanced Studies in History
on
‘Archival Material of the Mughal Period’
on Monday 7th November 2022, at 5.30 p.m.

Prof Radhika Seshan
Former Head, Department of History,
Savitribai Phule Pune University, will preside.
Please join us for tea at 5.00 p.m.

- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande, Hon. Secretary
- Meenal Kshirsagar, Vice President & Chairperson - Endowment Lectures Committee

The Literary Club of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai & The Museum Society of Mumbai  invite you to a talk on “Rosaries of Raindrops:
The River Myth as  the Mother Matrix of Literature” by Vithal C Nadkarni on Thursday 6th October at 5 pm in the Durbar Hall

The Literary Club of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai and the Museum Society of Mumbai are delighted to invite you to a talk by Vithal C Nadkarni titled “Rosaries of Raindrops: The River Myth as the Mother Matrix of Literature” in the Durbar Hall of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai on Thursday 6th October at 5 pm.
 
On World Rivers Day last year in late September, Vithal C Nadkarni was wandering in the verdant Sahyadris, paying homage to the Seven Mother Rivers of India at their sacred grotto of origins in old Mahabaleshwar.  He has now brought back the marvels and secret stories revealed to him on that magical journey. This includes the Oldest Story in the World which bestowed the twin gifts of warmth and wonder upon the whole of humanity.

Earlier, Mr Nadkarni had created a magnificent ‘source to sangam’ tribute to the river Narmada in a coffee-table book form. This was followed by a paean to the Kumbh Mela for UNICEF and Government of Maharashtra in a book and film format.
 
Now, the distinguished editor and columnist and former Vice -President of the Asiatic Society shares his newest work on river myths from across Eurasia, Africa and the Americas that are often reflected in literature.
Please join us for tea at 4.30 pm.

- Meenal Kshirsagar, Vice President of the Society & Chairperson - ASM LitClub  
- Prof. Mangala Sirdeshpande, Officiating Hon. Secretary, Asiatic Society of Mumbai  
- Dr. Pheroza J. Godrej, Chairperson Museum Society of Mumbai