Seeing Bombay/Mumbai through the words of R.B. More is a fascinating challenge to the historical conundrum of archival absence or textual misreading. Narratives about Dalit life in Bombay appear in More’s autobiography through descriptions of spaces hitherto little explored, or documented, especially through histories of performance such as theatre, and songs of protest and persistence that are passed down generations. Wandana Sonalkar’s translation of More’s autobiography is revelatory of More’s own Bombay, a spatial and cultural entity emerging from the places of cultural production he frequented. When describing his early life in the city, Moré leads the reader into these cultural spaces.

Read More