In the late 1930s and ’40s, a large number of buildings came up in Bombay, first in the Marine Drive and other parts of South Bombay and then in the new suburbs. These were called Modern and later Art Deco.
The city had the architects, the builders and the money, plus magazines which wrote about the latest designs and materials from abroad. “That’s why it happened in Bombay first and spread to other cities, such as Poona, Calcutta and other centres,” says Abigail McGowan, Professor of History and Associate Dean of the University of Vermont, in this podcast discussion with Sidharth Bhatia.
McGowan teaches about South Asia with a particular focus on the material culture and has written two books on the subject. She says when the occupants of the new buildings moved into them in the 1940s, they wanted to start afresh, with new furniture, tiles and other interior materials, and there were Indian producers who were available to furnish those apartments.
