A view from the top

Venturing beyond the island city and all its splendours, architect and photographer Robert D. Stephens has turned his camera’s eye to the overlooked suburbs. His pictures, taken from an aeroplane about 15,000 feet about sea level, freeze in time the perilous advance of urbanisation into the ecologically sensitive region. Stephens’ exhibition ‘Mumbai North’, which was recently held at the ARTISANS’ Centre at Kala Ghoda, however, went beyond the mere display of these breath-taking images, as each picture was accompanied by the pollution levels on the day it was taken, as recorded and published online by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. It also included a ‘Reading Room’ installation where visitors were encouraged to pore over rare archival books on Bombay dating back to the mid-nineteenth century that were bought and read by the architect-photographer, the excerpts of which were creatively juxtaposed with the photographs, providing insight and contrast and often proving that the more things change, the ore they remain the same. Explaining why he chose to focus on the suburbs, Stephens, who has previously documented South Mumbai and Chennai in aerial photos, refers to the introductory essay in a 1965 edition of Marg magazine,edited by Mulk Raj Anand, which issues the challenge ‘Nature has been bountiful to Bombay. Can it be said that, apart from a few men, many of us have done anything to embellish the beauty of this landscape ’

“Exactly fifty years after these lines were composed, the average Mumbai citizen struggles acutely to experience, on a day to day basis and in a meaningful way, the ecological bounty that is Mumbai. One of the world's most populated and diverse urban centers also hosts a cosmopolitan complexion of natural systems — ranging from tropical forests to mangrove forests, freshwater lakes to rivers, basaltic intrusions to meandering seashores. Mumbai North gives visual expression to these under-experienced (and often unknown and increasing marginalised) ecologies of Mumbai. Spanning from Sanjay Gandhi National Park to Gorai Creek, Bhiwandi's Waral Lake to Powai, Vihar and Tulsi Lakes, this black and white series engages with the yet remaining natural beauty that surrounds, and some (rare) cases, abounds. It is at this point of greater understanding that one is better enabled to respond to the challenge to “embellish the beauty” of Mumbai's landscape,” Stephens, principal at AMA Architects, said.

Stephen’s earlier collection of aerial photography, the vibrant and eye-catching Madras Transit gives the viewer a rare birds-eye view of Chennai.

Delving into the reasons why his Mumbai photos are monochromatic in comparison, Stephens says it is because the two cities are very different from one another. “Of course many of the challenges both cities face are the same, yet in their overall character and atmosphere, they are starkly different. If Mumbai is a city that demands monochromatic contrasts to best represent her physical form (both natural and manmade), then Chennai demands pigment rich representation. To date, Chennai is yet (for the most part) a city of low rise buildings that continues to grow horizontally - and therefore the inclusion of colour in Madras Transit is crucial,” he says.

Among the Mumbai North exhibits — which are simultaneously dreary and gorgeous — is a wide photo of Aarey Colony, the proposed site of a contentious Metro car shed, which has met with resistance from citizens and activists. Here, Stephens uses a snippet from writings by former viceroy Lord Curzon in 1907 that allude to the spirit of Mumbai: “Bombay possesses an exceptional number of public-spirited citizens, and the sense of civic duty is as highly developed as in any great city that I know. If there is a big movement afoot, you lend yourselves to it with a powerful and concentrated will, and a united Bombay is not a force to be gainsaid.”

Reflecting on concerns voiced by the intelligentsia about Mumbai’s metamorphoses, Stephens, a native of South Carolina in the US, who has made the city his home, says, ”As a city starved for space, growth in Mumbai has often been at the cost of man made fortunes replacing natural bounties. Interconnected and holistic ecosystems have historically been interrupted at the expense of isolated aspirations. For centuries activists, writers, and historians have commented on this “drift” — the transition from a tropical city surrounded by and submersed in the natural world, to an artificial world of man-made (mis)fortunes. In 1965 Jal Balsara wrote “If allowed to drift as now, the City will be beyond redemption in the next 10 years.

Naresh Fernandes’ short biography of Bombay, published in 2013, is aptly titled City Adrift as if in confirmation that the deed is done. Regardless of one’s perspective of the tense of the movement, the fact is that Mumbai is changing quickly, and more intensely today than at any other time in history.”

“Air pollution levels are regularly well beyond recommended safety norms by the World Health Organisation, and the dearth of open spaces creates vacuums in the youth (and adults) of today — consequences of which will only be fully seen and irreversibly experienced in the years to come. As the quality of Mumbai's atmosphere and environment degrades — impacting each and every citizen of the city regardless of socio-economic class, the value of Mumbai's remaining natural environment increases exponentially. If the city is to survive, the understanding, valuation and subsequent embellishment of Mumbai's remaining ecology demands collective engagement from citizens of all classes – a transitional process that I believe has commenced in the midst of the drift,” he added,

But it is not all doom and gloom. Speaking about positive changes he has discovered, Stephens says, “Family planning practices (voluntary) have certainly improved in the suburbs, from the early 1970's (at which time only 18% of the suburban population was practicing some for family planning. In addition, there has certainly been an increase in educational and cultural activities available for children and youth — a need which was highlighted in ‘A Report on the Situation of Children and Youth in Greater Bombay’. However, these activities are, to a great extent, private in nature and available to select children with sufficient financial resources.”

Stephens in now working on two aerial photography series Delhi Birds and Ahmedabad Social, and is enthusiastic about the projects. “Both cities are historically, ecologically, and socially rich urban centres, so I am enjoying the early stages of research!” he says.

Mumbai North was an allied event of the State of Architecture Exhibition ongoing at the NGMA. You can own a piece of these exquisite photographs of Robert’s collection too. You can contact the ARTISANS' Art Gallery to buy these pictures. The price ranges from Rs 6,500 to Rs 14,500.