Mapping Bombay’s Old Gullies February 28, 2020 at 03:10AM

Cinema paints a poetic picture of Mumbai. Skyscrapers overlook kaalipeelis zipping through the freeways. Local trains with people packed like sardines branch out to the ends of the city. Hawkers set up makeshift shops in the busy streets. And lovers steal kisses at Marine Drive’s promenade, a moment sweetened by the Arabian Sea. But move past the checkpoints, and you will discover the Bombay of yore, where dusty neighbourhoods house Bombay’s old soul. Here, you’ll run into long-time residents who have shaped the city by holding on to skills passed down the generations. Think the Koli fishing community selling their day’s catch, the washermen of Dhobi Ghat scrubbing clothes in a 4×6 feet cubicle, or the potter families of Kumbharwada in Dharavi moulding hundreds of clay models every day.  Photographer Tanvi Joshi follows six groups of traditional Bombay artisans—headstrong to hold on to their identity in a metropolis embracing modernism.