Remember that jazzy-looking building that you’ve passed a hundred times before, but never really thought about? Take a step back and enter the world of Art Deco, a 1920s movement that defined the architecture of Bombay! Even though Bombay is the second city in the world with the most number of Art Deco buildings, not many people are aware of this rich heritage of the city. Bombay’s architecture exhibits geometric beauty and the love of romance that has been shaped over time by the Art Deco movement. The Cocktail Book by The Bombay Canteen wanted the city’s architectural treasures to evoke pride in the locals and the tourists.

 

While each structure got its own intricate pop-up design, it was also accompanied by a poem inspired by tales and anecdotes as old as the structure itself. We went out to each chosen Art Deco building and talked to people closely associated with it, from the residents to the chowkidars who have been guarding the city’s heritage and taking pride in it for as long as 15 years. We learnt the stories of the buildings’ designs, their place in the city over the years and their people - all the things that made them truly unique - and made them into simple poems that would give any reader a view of the glorious days of Bombay.