Mumbai Water Narratives and Confluence are supported by the Living Waters Museum, a digital
repository on our water heritage, and a member of the Global Network of Water Museums, endorsed by
UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrological Program.
Mumbai Water Narratives was conceptualised in June 2020 by the Living Waters Museum to document
Mumbai’s water wisdom and engage young stakeholders through the power of storytelling, digital technology
and new media. As a part of the long term goals of Mumbai Water Narratives, we hope to collaborate with
institutional and educational partners, public and private sector initiatives and non governmental groups
towards furthering our shared goals of securing a safe and just water future.
With a PhD from the University of Cambridge, Sara Ahmed has over 30 years of experience in applied research on water, livelihoods
and social equity. She is the founder and lead curator of the Living Waters Museum, and is an Adjunct Professor at the Indian
Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune. Sara is a member of the governing board of the Global Network of Water
Museums and WaterAid, India as well as an advisor to several NGOs across the country. Sara hopes that water museums, physical
or digital, will play a greater role in inspiring youth to engage with the diversity of water heritage around them.
Email: sara.ahmed1981@gmail.com
With a PhD from the University of Cambridge, Sara Ahmed has over 30 years of experience in applied research on water,
READ MORE
Ipshita Karmakar graduated as an architect from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies,
Mumbai, and will be joining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for her Masters in City Planning (‘21- ‘23). She is a Fulbright-
Nehru Master’s Scholar and JN Tata Scholar (2021). She has been coordinating the Mumbai Water Narratives exhibition since July
2020 as a part of the Living Waters Museum team. Her interest areas lie in stakeholder engagement and participatory planning,
particularly geared towards building resilience to disasters and climate change within cities.
Email: ipshitakarmakar2212@gmail.com
Ipshita Karmakar graduated as an architect from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture
READ MORE
Saachi D’souza is an anthropology graduate from Xavier's Mumbai. She is a freelance writer and joined the Living Waters Museum
as a research intern in 2019. Saachi has been leading the Water We Want competition in India for the Global Network of Water
Museums and designed the Volunteer Program for students at Ahmedabad University.
Email:saachidsouza@gmail.com
Saachi D’souza is an anthropology graduate from Xavier's Mumbai. She is a freelance writer and joined the Living
READ MORE
Bhargav Padhiyar is a new media designer who did his Masters from the National Institute of Design and is currently based in
Ahmedabad. He loves to apply his skills of designing experiences using digital, physical and hybrid mediums about contexts of
natural and cultural heritage. He has been working with the Living Waters Museum as a Research and Design consultant since
2018, leading the design of the virtual museum site and interactive mapping of the stepwells of Ahmedabad, as well as mentoring
many of the young interns on the team.
Email:bhargav.padhiyar@ahduni.edu.in
Bhargav Padhiyar is a new media designer who did his Masters from the National Institute of Design
READ MORE
Sukrit has a Masters in Heritage Management from Ahmedabad University. He’s an architect and heritage manager by profession
and a musician by passion. He plays the tabla and has been in the field of Indian classical music for more than two decades now.
His aim is to look at music and other intangible aspects to engage communities to start conversations around heritage management.
He is currently the Arts and Outreach Coordinator for the Living Waters Museum and the East Zone Representative for Emerging
Professional’s working group, International Council of Monuments and Sites,India.
Email:sukrit94@gmail.com
Sukrit has a Masters in Heritage Management from Ahmedabad University. He’s an architect
READ MORE
Vrushali is currently a student of Exhibition Design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. She's curious about the
environment, experiences, stories, arts, humanities and cultures, and everything in between. For her, design is a means to sensitise,
spread awareness and understand humanity.
Email:vrushali_m@nid.edu
Vrushali is currently a student of Exhibition Design at the National Institute of Design,
READ MORE
We would like to acknowledge all our partners and contributors
Abhijit graduated as an architect in 1999 from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. After completing his post-graduation in Urban Design, he worked on several projects at an urban scale and developed the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) course, which was streamlined for architecture graduates pursuing their post-graduation in Urban Design and Urban Conservation at the School of Environment and Architecture and Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental studies. Abhijit is currently the Secretary of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s Environment Improvement Society and former Secretary of Heritage Conservation Society, which are societies formed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority for funding initiatives towards the protection of environment and heritage in this urban metropolis.
Email:abhijit.ekbote@gmail.com
Abhishek Jamalabad is a Marine Biologist, Associate Director at Coastal Conservation Foundation and co-founder of the Marine Life of Mumbai (MLOM). MLOM is a four-year-old community project that aims to present the fascinating array of marine life right here on the big city’s shores - to take you on a journey of rediscovery of these forgotten natural treasures, and to collectively think how we can share and protect their spaces. MLOM now continues as the flagship community project of the Coastal Conservation Foundation (CCF), an organisation conceived by MLOM’s co-founders and key members to expand beyond the original project’s limits. Marine conservation research, outreach and public education are CCF’s pillars of work.
Email: abhishek.jamalabad@gmail.com
Ajay Nayak, CEO EdEn - Educated Environments, is an architect working with communities on sensitisation to local ecologies, mobilization and resilience. He was the editor for a popular architectural journal and is a writer, communication and outreach expert on environmental issues. Ajay is a founding member of Water Environs,- a social purpose professional services enterprise for rivers and water environment conservation.
Email:riverseecology@gmail.com
Leewardists’ is a talented group of young Architects, Urban Designers, Writers and Comic Artists who write and publish stories about cities and architecture. With an aim to uncomplicate the definition of everything that surrounds design and architecture, this team of young individuals hopes to contribute through their simple and thoughtful stories. Anuj Kale is an Urban Designer and founder of Leewardists, a series of comics that revolve around architecture and design. Anuj creates awareness about the importance of Design, Architecture, Sustainability and Urban Design through the medium of the simple art of ‘Comics’.
Ami Joshi, an architect, graduated from the School of Environment and Architecture, Mumbai. She has been deeply interested in research on various communities that reside around water landscapes in the city, and the evolution of their built form to cater to their diverse means of livelihood over years. Over the past year, she has engaged in the study of transformations of the Koliwadas of Mumbai which has culminated into her dissertation. Ami is currently involved with research on the evolving landscapes of urban villages in Mumbai.
Email: amikjoshi@gmail.com
Commonly referred to as ‘Bombay ka shana’, Aslam isan independent photographer who explores the world around him through his lens. He co-founded Hallu Hallu, a group which believes that engaging with communities helps best to destroy barriers, both real and imaginary ones. For this, they conduct a city visual interaction programme for students and citizens. Aslam started documenting the rivers of Mumbai with the aim to create awareness about the rivers and the communities dependent on them for their survival. Recently, Aslam did about 25 street exhibitions along river banks and in gaothans (villages) under the Mumbai Rivers Photo Project.
Email: aslamsaiyad@gmail.com
Fulbright Scholar, and Emeritus Professor, University of New Mexico, Basia Irland is an author, poet, sculptor, installation artist, and activist who creates international water projects which ask us to question our relationship with water. Many of these projects are featured in her books, Water Library (University of New Mexico Press, 2007) and Reading the River: The Ecological Activist Art of Basia Irland (edited with Museum De Domijnen, 2017). These books focus on projects the artist has created over four decades in Africa, Canada, Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and the United States.
Email: basia@unm.edu
Berjis Driver graduated from the Lokmanya Tilak Institute of Architecture & Design Studies, Navi Mumbai in 2017. He is an Architect, Urban Planner (M.Plan Master of Urban Planning, CEPT University), and Associate Member Institute of Town Planners, India and an Indian Green Building Council accredited professional. He has contributed to statutory urban policy and guideline preparation in Mumbai and Amaravati, and has worked briefly on an array of commercial, institutional and residential projects under Ar. Hafeez Contractor and Ar. Behzad Kharas. His primary research interests are related to the urban natural environment, governance, land, water, and energy use management. Berjis is a devout Zoroastrian priest and aspiring innovator upholding a ‘people and environment first’ approach in urban planning practices.
Dinesh Barap belongs to the Warli tribe and is a custodian of the Warli art form in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) where he resides. As the first graduate in the SGNP Warli community, he is a major influence on the youngsters in his pada (hamlet) and other padas close by. Even though he is a graduate with a Bachelor of Arts from Ruia College, he is more at home with his traditional art. Barap is trying to promote Warli art through exhibitions and some NGOs.His paintings have been bought by former and current chief ministers of Maharashtra at craft exhibitions. He hopes to promote this art form, that he learnt from his grandmother, at national and international platforms and narrate the everyday stories of the Warli community.
Email: basia@unm.edu
Jinisha Lodaya is an architect by profession and holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Design. She teaches in the humanities and social sciences at various architecture colleges and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Indian Aesthetics from Jnanapravaha. Her areas of special interest are the environment and Indian history. Jinisha is currently faculty at the Rizvi College of Architecture, and co-founder of the Dreamer’s Collective.
Email:jinishal@gmail.com
Kimaya Keluskar, Sustainability and Energy Analyst at EdEn – Educated Environments works on practising HSI (Holistic Sustainability Initiative) on various projects. She has been teaching in KRVIA since 2010. She is a founding member of “Water Environs”- a social purpose professional services enterprise for rivers and water environment conservation.
Email:riverseecology@gmail.com
Architect and dreamer, teacher and traveller, art and history nerd, book and nature lover, Minaz Ansari designs, teaches and writes. Minaz is a budding eco-warrior and attempts to lead a zero-waste life. A lover of all forms of art, she lives by the mantra ‘Art is Oxygen’. An incurable optimist, she looks at the various interests that she indulges in as a means to spread love and make the world a kinder place. Minaz is currently faculty at the Rizvi College of Architecture, and co-founder of the Dreamer’s Collective.
Esa Shaikh is an Urban Researcher who is trained as an Architect and Urban Designer from Mumbai University. He balances his time in research and academics. He is a city-explorer and heritage enthusiast who likes to capture various architectural nuances through mobile photography or live-sketches and features them on his Instagram handle @cityreader. He has previously worked with Ar Rahul Mehrotra on Extreme Urbanism IV and Harvard’s Urban Mellon Project. He has also worked with Bimal Patel (Ahmedabad) and Hafeez Contractor (Mumbai) on various projects across India but finally ditched office culture for learning creatively by observation outside the walls of an institution.
Email: esa769@gmail.com
Parag Tandel, is a Mumbai-based artist with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Creative Sculpture from M.S. University, Baroda. Some of his public art projects include the Tandel Fund of Archives, a pop-up museum of fisherfolk, Mumbai (2020 & 2019); ‘(En)counters- Daily Rations’ Public art project, curated by Artoxygen (2017) Breathing art works, Mumbai; ‘Geographies of consumptions’, Mumbai (2015); ‘Big Catch’, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai (2012); and ‘Sandarbh’, Rajasthan (2011). He currently lives and works in Thane, Mumbai. Originally from Thane, Parag’s work showcases the shifts within his Son Koli community, and the seven island city.
Email:paragtandel@yahoo.com
Prachi Adesara is a freelance writer and photographer currently based in Ahmedabad. She is drawn to human interest stories, especially those that revolt against entrenched notions of what is considered normal.
Email:prachi.adesara@gmail.com
An alumni of Sir JJ College Of Architecture of the 1995 batch, Ar. Rahul Chemburkar has been active in the fields of Heritage, Conservation & Awareness since his early years as a practicing architect. In his 25 years of a passionate professional journey, he has worked on some illustrious heritage conservation and ventures in the arts and culture sector through his architectural firm Vaastu Vidhaan, along with his batchmate Ar. Bhalchandra Tople. He is also one of the founder members of the Mumbai Pyaav Project.
Email:rchemb@gmail.com
Ritu G Deshmukh is currently a Professor at Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Architecture. She did her undergraduate degree at VNIT, 1993, and post-graduate studies at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, 1995. She has been a part of programmes like Kharghar Design Week, a Social Outreach Program supported by Panvel Municipal Corporation in December 2019 for spreading awareness about the different facets of architecture as a vocation amongst people. Ritu has authored more than a dozen papers and presented them at national and international forums on topics related to heritage conservation.
Email:ritugdeshmukh@gmail.com
Sarang Naik is a freelance photographer working with the Marine Life of Mumbai (MLOM). MLOM is a four-year-old community project that aims to present to you the fascinating array of marine life right here on the big city’s shores - to take you on a journey of rediscovery of these forgotten natural treasures, and to collectively think how we can share and protect their spaces. MLOM now continues as the flagship community project of the Coastal Conservation Foundation (CCF), an organisation conceived by MLOM’s co-founders and key members to expand beyond the original project’s limits. Marine conservation research, outreach and public education are CCF’s pillars of work.
Email:sarangnk@yahoo.com
Siddhesh Gautam is a Delhi based independent illustrator, visual designer, storyteller, educator, mixed-media artist, treasure hunter, fallen angel, and soul searcher. His work encourages people to live deeply, love fearlessly, and to appreciate this heavenly place called Earth. Minimalism and post-modernist thought are the main influence of his work and his work, in turn, is based on in-depth research on the subject.
Email:siddheshgautam@gmail.com
Sitaram Shelar is the Founder and Convenor of Pani Haq Samiti which was responsible for the landmark judgment by the Bombay High Court linking the Right to Water to the Right to Life. He has actively campaigned and initiated networks for advocacy for citizen’s right to water, sanitation, housing and participatory governance including the people’s campaign on the Development Plan of Mumbai 2014-2034. Sitaram is also a founder member and Managing Trustee of the Centre for Promoting Democracy and a consultant to several developmental organizations. He has a postgraduate degree in Business Management from the Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research.
Email:sitaram.shelar@gmail.com
Suraj started working as a citizen journalist in 2014 and realised the power that images could have on public perception. Since then he independently operates as a photojournalist and has had his work featured on BBC, Quartz and The Wire. After moving back to India in 2015, he has used his camera to document the work of grassroot campaigns, raising awareness for non-profits in both rural and urban settings. Suraj’s background as a communications professional gives him a unique approach as a photographer: immersing into communities and using his camera as a tool while bringing out stories that display humanistic values.
Email:suraj.katra@gmail.com
Vikram Pawar, M Arch (Architecture & Urban Conservation) is a practicing Urban Conservation Architect and director of Studio Architecture Heritage Environmental Consultancy. Through Water Environs, a social purpose professional service enterprise for water ecologies, he is actively involved in efforts for revival of Mumbai rivers. He has been a founding member of SPROUTS Envt. Trust. He is a faculty at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies, Mumbai.
Email:riverseecology@gmail.com
