SHIRIN BHARUCHA'S HOME IN SOUTH MUMBAI'S ART DECO PRECINCT OF OVAL MAIDAN IS AN ABSORBING STUDY IN THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLE AND ITS TIMELESS FLAIR.

Octogenarian Shirin Bharucha feels it is a rare privilege to live in a neighbourhood that has remained more or less the same through all the eight decades that she has spent there.

-  WRITER RAJASHREE BALARAM PHOTOGRAPHER RAGHAV GOSWAMY

Bharucha's 2,500-square-foot apartment in a marvellous art deco building faces the 22acre Oval Maidan, one of the most cherished landmarks of Mumbai. The angry grunts and shrill cheering of children who come to play cricket and football there is an oddly comforting sound for this heritage activist as she tends to the gardens in her five balconies. "I used to be one such kid. In the evenings, I would go off to play in the Oval with all the kids in the neighbourhood." Bharucha's love is not confined to sweet sentimentality; it's something she has passionately fought for. A former lawyer with the Tata Group, she is one of the founder-trustees of the Oval Trust-a role in which she has crusaded against building plans within the area that included proposals for commercial establishments and underground parking.