Sharada Dwivedi: Gentle chronicler of the Maximum City

It was with a little trepidation that I made the call to Sharada Dwivedi to seek an appointment. This was during my brief corporate stint, and I was to seek her advice on some thoughts around tourist attractions in Mumbai. I did not know Sharada Dwivedi, but had obviously heard of and read about her and her work for long: her reputation as Mumbai’s foremost chronicler was legend. I spoke to her on the phone, and fixed the appointment. She was businesslike, but warm and polite. It was raining torrentially the day my colleague and I were to meet her at her south Mumbai home. Her residence, bang in the heart of the Churchgate area and a stone’s throw from the sprawling Cricket Club of India was, perhaps, as appropriate a setting as one could get for exchanging notes on Mumbai and its heritage structures. [caption id=“attachment_206076” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Screen grab from the Taj Mahal Hotel’s interview with Sharada Dwivedi.”] [/caption] Braving the rains, we reached the old, sprawling apartment building where Sharada Dwivedi lived. She answered the doorbell personally, and greeted us with a disarming smile and warmth. That set the tone for the rest of the meeting. Apologising for the books scattered all around the huge apartment, she said: “I’ve just brought all these books from my office. So please don’t mind.” Insisting on making tea for me and coffee for my colleague herself, she made us comfortable almost immediately. It was as if we were visiting a very familiar friend, or relation, and we began chatting about Mumbai, the manner in which its heritage buildings and monuments are being destroyed or threatened, and some projects we both were familiar with. I knew little about the city’s heritage buildings and structures, something which she was an internationally known authority on, and yet, never once during our conversation, did Sharada Dwivedi come across as someone who wanted to assert that authority. But the animated manner in which she spoke of the places and monuments of Mumbai made it clear that this was something she lived and breathed. She loved Mumbai and its culture deeply. And it showed. Over tea and biscuits, we discussed the plan and she volunteered to help us whenever we needed to seek her advice on anything, and even suggested she could come with us if we needed to meet the authorities. She was delighted that we were keen to do something for Mumbai’s heritage properties and was ready to help in any way she could. As we prepared to leave, she was concerned that the rains hadn’t yet subsided and asked whether we would be able to manage going back to office. Her kind, smiling face at her apartment door, waving us goodbye, is the lasting memory I will always have of Sharada Dwivedi, someone who I had, till then, admired from a distance for the sheer knowledge and understanding she brought to a subject which even most seasoned city planners and politicians of today neglect greatly. She loved the streets and bylanes of the city that was her home, and she would do anything to protect its heritage. But above all, what I will remember about Sharada Dwivedi is her warmth, kindness and generosity. Those who were fortunate to have known her well, have spoken about it. But in that one meeting, she won my heart. To me, more than the celebrated historian which everyone will remember her as, she will always be this wonderful person I was lucky to have met. Rest in peace, Sharada Dwivedi. Thank you for enriching our lives.