Conclusion: The Next Map

The Times of India’s map of Bombay is an invaluable snapshot of a city in motion. Per Lotman’s analysis of eccentric cities as sites of cultural transfer [1], we should view the Times map not only as a snapshot of a bygone colonial hierarchy, but as an expression of the multiculturalism that remains prevalent in Bombay to this day.

Nevertheless, the Times map would have been limited by its own demographics. Having been published in a colonial-language newspaper, it would have likely been viewed only by the city’s globalized elite classes. It represents Bombay’s uncertain status at the dawn of the twentieth century: caught between Europe and India, between past and present, and between stability and seismic change.

[1] Lotman, 192.