"Emboldened by the success” of their online lecture series and virtual walks that "resulted in a very strong community of Bombay lovers coming together,” the Mumbai Research Centre (MRC) of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai (ASM) "thought of having a festival” themed around the city, stated MRC chairperson Dr Shehernaz Nalwalla to Parsiana on January 1, 2021. The three-day online festival "Jashn e Dastaan e Mumbai” held between December 18-20, 2020 comprised nearly 20 talks, a treasure hunt, panel discussions, curated walks, book discussions and stories about the city The program was designed to raise funds for the Society’s conservation, digitization and research projects. Besides the main events, "there were a lot of behind the scene activities… people were asked to send in recipes, trivia, nostalgia stories, poetry, haiku, all revolving around the city… These will be published as a part of a commemorative volume of the festival,” stated Nalwalla, a former associate professor of philosophy and vice principal at Wilson College.
"To begin with, it was a ticketed event and people could register day-wise or for the entire festival… Since we got good sponsorship, we decided to throw the event open for all and are refunding the fees paid. Most persons however have asked us to hold on to the fees as a small donation for the activities of the MRC,” she stated. Among the more popular events were talks on city dynamics by journalist and novelist Jerry Pinto and art critic Ranjit Hoskote, and a music program on Bombay by film music historian Maneck Premchand, Nalwalla noted.
Established in 2009 to undertake studies on the city and the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, the MRC’s aims, among others, are to build a data base of books, manuscripts, maps, paintings, illustrations and photographs in possession of the ASM, to scout for material from other sources, to organize seminars, etc, on related topics, to collect a team of scholars and interested amateur historians for research activities and remind citizens of the cosmopolitan cultural fabric of the metropolis, among others, wrote Nalwalla in a detailed email to Parsiana. "Both academics and non-academics have come together through this Centre to make Bombay regain its intellectual lead, for which it was once well-known.” A Times of India report of December 13, 2020 quoted Nalwalla as attributing the formation of the MRC to former ASM president Aroon Tikekar who "felt the city was getting neglected within the larger gamut of oriental studies.”
Besides Nalwalla and convenor Dr Madhu Kelkar, a committee of about 10 persons organize the activities of the Centre. She appreciated the efforts of members Dr Madhumita Bandhopadya, Raamesh Gowri Raghavan and R. Venkatesh.
In 2021, MRC will "continue with the events, (and) start certificate courses on Bombay which would be useful to the students, have more collaborative activities, publications and research projects,” Nalwalla stated, adding, "We are going to have one music program each month, and a new series on sacred spaces.”