The City as a Playground
The large map of the city of Bombay takes up most of the space on the page, and smaller details line the border. The title, “Bombay” is in the upper, left-hand corner. Its simple, bold lettering is surrounded by white flowers, again emphasizing the playful quality of the city. Along the top of the title is a small sketch of the Gateway to India, one of Mumbai’s most famous monuments. This feature reiterates the map’s purpose for tourism. Along the left side of the map, there is a zoomed-out version of the map depicting “Drives To Scenic & Interesting Places In & Around Bombay”. The left side also includes keys for the map, defining symbols for different types of places and markers, as well as identifying for “Places of Interest”, “Important Hotels”, and “Important Cinemas”. The “Places of Interest” only lists public institutions because the cultural ones are noted by symbols, and sometimes even by small sketches of the landmarks themselves. This artistic component extends visual understanding of the map.
The bottom, left-hand corner includes a small map of the “City & Suburban Railway-System” in Bombay. The lower, right-hand corner has a zoomed-in, “Detailed Map of Fort Bombay”, a business district in the city. This zoomed-in map helps give viewers a more thorough reading of a highly concentrated area. Above that map is a box of small sketches with the phrase “Welcome to Bombay”. The illustrations portray landmarks, such as the Rajabai Clock Tower and the Taj Mahal Palace. It also has embellishing flower designs and (what looks like) the Monopoly man. Additionally, there’s a picture of the shoe house from the nursery rhyme “There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe”. There’s a life-sized version of the shoe house in Bombay’s Kamala Nehru Park, so its drawing alongside iconic sites in Bombay highlights the map’s characterization of Bombay as a playground. The shoe and other small drawings of figures, as well as the playful font, add to the lighthearted quality of the map. Extremely distinct roads paired with the sketches of figures, such as the Monopoly man, characterizes Bombay as a board game for players (tourists). Hence, this map identifies Bombay as a fun, global attraction.