Mumbai has long been documented through its skyline, colonial architecture, bustling markets, and cinematic allure. Yet, some of the city’s most compelling stories are found far from its landmarks—in family kitchens, neighbourhood eateries, crowded markets, and the everyday rituals that bring communities together. In Mumbai, the James Beard Award-winning publication from Heirloom Cities, food becomes a powerful lens through which to explore the city’s history, culture, and identity.
Through thoughtful design, immersive storytelling, and a deeply local perspective, the book captures the many layers of Mumbai as a living, evolving city. In this conversation, Sri Bodanapu, Co-founder of Heirloom Cities, discusses the inspiration behind the project, the role of design in storytelling, and why food remains one of the most authentic ways to understand a place.
Here’s the edited excerpts of Thought Habitat’s discussion with Sri Bodanapu, Co-Founder, Heirloom Cities
What inspired the idea of documenting Mumbai through its kitchens, streets, and stories rather than through a traditional travel or city guide format?
Traditional travel books often focus on where to go and what to see—the restaurants, landmarks, and establishments that visitors are expected to experience. While those places are certainly part of a city, they only tell one part of the story. We wanted to create something more multifaceted. Food became our entry point because it allowed us to explore not just what people eat, but how they eat, who they eat with, and the communities and traditions that sustain those practices over time.
For us, the most interesting stories weren’t necessarily found in the most famous restaurants, but in the homes, markets, streets, and neighborhoods where food traditions are adapted and passed down through generations. We wanted to highlight the true stewards of Mumbai’s food culture and offer a perspective that felt closer to how a local experiences the city. Ultimately, the goal was to capture the many layers of Mumbai; not just as a collection of destinations, but as a living, evolving place shaped by its people, histories, and everyday rituals.
What design philosophy guided the visual identity of Mumbai?
From the beginning, we were conscious of creating a visual identity that felt authentic to Mumbai rather than one shaped by outside expectations of what an Indian city should look like. The city is vibrant and energetic, but it’s also nuanced, complex, and shaped by countless details that are easy to overlook. The visual identity was built around the idea of discovery. We wanted readers to move through the book the way they might move through the city – encountering different voices, textures, images, and perspectives along the way. Every design choice, from typography to illustration to photography, was intended to support the storytelling rather than compete with it. Ultimately, we wanted the book to feel like the city itself. The more time you spend with it, the more you begin to appreciate just how rich, layered, and nuanced Mumbai really is.
Why is food such a powerful way to tell the story of a city?
Food is one of the most universal ways to understand a place because it touches every aspect of life. It reflects a city’s history, cultural exchanges, religious traditions, economies, and communities. What interests me most is that food is ultimately about people. Behind every dish, recipe, market, or
street stall is a story about who built the city, who shaped its traditions, and how those traditions continue to evolve over time. In a city like Mumbai, food offers a unique lens through which to explore both the everyday and the extraordinary. It allows us to move beyond landmarks and institutions and into homes, neighborhoods, and communities. Through food, you begin to understand not just what a city eats, but how it lives, adapts, and celebrates.
The book has been praised for moving beyond a conventional Eurocentric lens. Was that a conscious objective from the beginning?
Yes, very much so. Indian cities have an extraordinary food history and culinary legacy, yet much of what has been published about them tends to fall into two categories: recipe books or academic texts. There are far fewer works that explore how a city’s food culture has evolved over time, how communities sustain vibrant food ecosystems, or how these stories can be told through a contemporary design and visual lens. From the beginning, we wanted to create a book that felt rooted in the city itself and shaped by the people who know it best. We were interested in documenting Mumbai as it is experienced by locals – not as a collection of landmarks or stereotypes, but as a living, evolving place.
That also influenced the visual language of the book. We wanted it to feel contemporary yet authentic, reflecting the many contradictions that make Mumbai so compelling. It’s a city where century-old food traditions exist alongside constant innovation, where you can eat the best pani puri of your life and, a few blocks away, find truffle mac and cheese. We wanted the design and storytelling to embrace that complexity rather than simplify it.
What does the James Beard winning recognition mean for Indian design, publishing, and visual storytelling more broadly?
For us, this recognition is a wonderful validation of what we set out to do from the beginning: bring a design-led approach to food storytelling and create books that allow readers to experience a city in a deeper, more immersive way. One of the things I’m most excited about is that it demonstrates there is an appetite for books that go beyond traditional formats. It permits us to be more creative in how we tell stories and to draw from the incredible wealth of visual culture that exists in our cities – whether that’s textiles, architecture, signage, illustration, photography, or local craft traditions.
Each of our books is designed to be an authentic representation of a city and its people. The fact that a project like Mumbai can resonate on a global stage is incredibly encouraging. It suggests that readers are looking for nuanced, visually rich stories that capture the complexity of a city rather than reducing it to a set of landmarks or stereotypes. More than anything, it motivates us to continue investing in thoughtful design, ambitious storytelling, and the documentation of food culture. We hope it’s a sign that there is space for many more books that celebrate the richness and diversity of cities across India and beyond.
In conclusion
What does it take to tell the story of a city that refuses to be defined by a single narrative? For the team behind Mumbai, the answer lay not in its monuments or tourist trails, but in its kitchens, streets, markets, and communities. The result is a richly layered exploration of India’s financial capital that has earned global recognition, including a prestigious James Beard Award. Blending food, culture, history, and design, the book offers an intimate portrait of Mumbai through the people and traditions that shape it every day. Thought Habitat spoke with Sri Bodanapu, Co-founder of Heirloom Cities, about reimagining city storytelling, celebrating local perspectives, and documenting the soul of Mumbai through food.
