movements that shape a city

Photo Essay by Alisha Vasudev

The human species is a force of nature.

Our imprint on the planet is unmistakable and surrounds us everyday. So much so, that a large part of the human race is on a constant mission to seek solace, discover untouched places, go where many of our own do not live. Be it that remote waterfall you want to visit with your friends during the monsoon or NASA’s historic operation of Ingenuity on Mars on April 19th, 20211; we want to seek, conquer, and leave our mark.

What if we took a step back, zoomed out a little from our human centric world.
Long before humans roamed the earth; atmospheric, oceanic, and geologic processes over billions of years played an integral role in creating an environment conducive to our existence.

This photo essay is an attempt to take a look at the kinetic movements that have shaped the megalopolis that is Mumbai, that as of 2018, close to 20 million people call home2.

What existed here before?
Before Mumbai became the film and financial capital of the country. Before the Quit India Movement and reclamation of the islands. Before it was colonised. Before the Koli community called it home.

Rock structures that formed over the Reunion Hotspot over 60 million years ago3 and since travelled north of the equator during the continental drift4; the 50 million year old Arabian Sea5 that has enabled trade, transportation, fishing livelihoods, and a source of oil and natural gas; the 5 million year old6 southwest monsoon that we depend on for replenishing groundwater and city reservoirs form the foundation of this city we call home.

Ancient rocks, rivers, creeks, tidal flats, forests, and monsoons all define one of the world’s most densely populated cities today; juxtaposed against infrastructure developments, a kinetic force in their own right, we see this constant tussle for space between human and environment.

1- https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-succeeds-in-historic-first-flight
2 – https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2018-Report.pdf 
3 – http://suvratk.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-geology-of-mumbai.html 
4 – https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/continental-drift/
5 – https://www.britannica.com/place/Arabian-Sea
6 – https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jess/109/03/0315-0328

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editor's note

Volume 09

clay | chlorophyll | crimson

Grass is green where you water it. LC’s words float along over Misch’s guitar. It’s a phrase that feels so obvious, and I’m sure those who tend to gardens know this more than most, but it seems to land more than before. The impact noticeable, memorable, echoing through my being. Perhaps we’re ingrained to think it’s greener elsewhere. This patch is the problem and not whether we’re watering it. The key is in the watering. How we go about this practice is what defines our patch of grass. No matter where we go, our patch is, perhaps, the same. Some attributes and characteristics have been changed but the essence is the same: Us.

Stepping into Volume 09 of imprint, marks our third year. I am learning that this patch of green that we have been tending to for the last several years will mould, shift, and sculpt. This depends on how we water it and allow it to take its own shape. It has already happened in wonderfully unexpected ways. There is only so much structure or shape we can predetermine. Beyond that, it will absorb what it needs and reject all that is unnecessary. And perhaps, in this practice, we are changed. Our grass is watered as we water that of our writing, our image making, our practice, our magazine.

From light to dark, rigid to supple, new to old, there is so much in between that is bright and vibrant and unexpected. The practice of our magazine has focused on being open to what we receive; being open to deeply listening to what is shared; being open to work taking us to new journeys. This volume, and this year, will be no different. We will continue tending to it as we have done, learning along the way, from past seasons and present ones.

And yet, I know it will be entirely different.
But still.
It will be watered.