Allied Studies '22
Storytelling & Urbanity: In A City, Parts Do Not Make The Whole
Mentor: Prasad Shetty
The course started with taking long walks along different areas in the city of Mumbai - Dhanukarwadi, Ghatkopar-Powai, Churchgate, Byculla, and Dadar. The 4-week course consisted of watching movies, writing notes, reading stories, documenting the area, and having good conversations and food. It explored the areas through a framework of storytelling and understanding it's spatiality. All the participants in groups of 4 developed 'new-age' crime stories around one of the 5 locations. Here, crime becomes an opportunity to understand the emerging urban condition.
July 25: Kandivali
Route: Kandivali Village - Dhanukarwadi - Charkop
July 26: Ghatkopar-Powai
Route: Jolly Gymkhana - S.P.N Women's College - Hiranandani Hospital - Powai Lake - Hazrat Ali Chand Dargah
July 27: Churchgate
Route: Oval Maidan - Kala Ghoda - Bombay Highcourt - St. Thomas Cathedral - Horniman Circle Garden - Ballad Estate - Sir J.J college - Crawford Market - Mangaldas Market - Panzrapole - Kothachiwadi - Charni Road Station
August 8: Byculla
Route: Reay Road Station - Darukhana - Dockyard - Kuan Kung temple - Grant Road Station
August 9: Dadar
Route: Lower Parel Station - KEM Hospital - TATA Memorial - Sewri Cementary - Naigaon Police Quarters - Parsi Colony - Hindu Colony
Storywriting:
In the last two weeks of the course, we tried developing stories of 'new-age' crime around these spaces. My group started to develop a story about a crime committed in Byculla, keeping in mind the intricate spaces and the history of crime there.
The book can be accessed here.