Dear Reader,

We are delighted to share that the second edition of Bombay Imagined: An Illustrated History of the Unbuilt City goes to press today and is now open for preorders (with shipping in early December 2025). As a self-published title, your support means everything to us, literally. Please consider buying a copy for yourself, or for gifting a friend, or both! This weekend only we are offering a discounted price of Rs. 1,650 + packing and shipping, and you can place your order here.
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Enjoy the brand new book trailer below!

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Why a second edition?

Much to our surprise, all 1,500 copies of the first edition have sold out since the book was released in March 2022. If you were one of the many individuals who acquired a copy, thank you! It has been a great joy meeting so many people and making new friends, all thanks to Mumbai’s past futures. This second edition will also be limited to 1,500 prints.
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​How is this edition physically different from the first?

The second edition is a robust paperback with french flaps, while the first edition featured a heavy-duty hardcover. The internal paper thickness has reduced slightly, which makes the 464-page book much lighter, 1.3 kilograms, compared to the 2.5 kg first edition.
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​Are there any new projects?

Yes, one! The Mumbai Coastal Forest of 2025. This imagination holds special meaning because it is an early project I undertook (at the invitation of and in deep collaboration with a citizen’s group) after starting my own architecture studio in 2024. It is also unique because the ground upon which the proposal is envisioned is yet a live project. Who knows, perhaps some of the ideas and principles may yet germinate in some way along Mumbai’s west coast. Time will tell.

Tell us about the cover design.

I showed the new cover design to my mother about a month ago, and these were her exact words, “I like it! It is colorful and catches the eye!” The image that graces the cover is a speculation, a visualization of a dream that an Anonymous city resident had of Bombay in 1921, about how the city might look in 1971.
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But the real fun on the cover are the crumbs we have left to reveal my personal inspirations. On the front flap there is Le Corbusier’s Modular Man standing tall in the garden at Malabar Hill and then in the sky above is Patrick Geddes’ personal symbol of three doves, symbolizing Sympathy, Synthesis and Synergy. On the front cover the largest taxi plate number is “6767” which, if you don’t know, “67” is Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year for 2025, so the cover is dated, without putting a date. Lastly, on the back cover is the Urbs Indis stamp and my signature, inspired from a monograph by Juliaan Lampens, one of my favourite architects.

We hope you enjoy Bombay Imagined!

All good wishes.

Robert