Bombay Before Mumbai

'This volume of essays inspired by and dedicated to the Australian scholar James Masselos, the most important historian of colonial Bombay, represents an equally important contribution to scholarship in its own right. Bringing together many of the best historians and specialists in popular culture working on urban India, and Bombay in particular, it sets a new benchmark for studies of this financially, culturally and politically crucial city, and will almost certainly become a point of reference for new work on it.' -- Faisal Devji, Professor of South Asian History, St Antony's College, University of Oxford 'An interesting and engaging set of essays on colonial and modern Bombay, responding to the work of eminent urban historian, Jim Masselos, who has written on Bombay for several decades.' -- Aparna Kapadia, Assistant Professor of History, Williams College, Williamstown 'A feast of writing on the history of Bombay, in honour of the pioneering Jim Masselos. This stimulating collection probes the inner life and many contradictions of India's great metropolis. These richly vivid essays represent the cutting edge of South Asian urban history.' -- Sunil Amrith, Mehra Family Professor of South Asian Studies, Harvard University 'Anyone wishing to understand the transition of Bombay into Mumbai will profit immensely from this rich array of essays, which dig deep into the city's many-faceted history. Their quality is a fitting tribute to the depth and range of Jim Masselos's scholarship on the metropolis.' -- Gyan Prakash, Dayton-Stockton Professor of History, Princeton University