Lockdown perspective: With no balconies in Mumbai’s new constructions, is it time to save the space? vrajtiara.com

A neighbourhood in Spain organized a game of group bingo, which saw people once again walk out into their balconies. Residents in France thanked caregivers by hanging banners from their balconies. The balcony has helped people all over the world to experience a sense of belonging beyond their physical separation and feel the impact of coronavirus less. Unfortunately, in Mumbai’s newer constructions, there are no flats with balconies in South Mumbai.

The balcony has long been a place to communicate with the neighbourhood, enjoy festivals together, and even have political discussions in old Bombay, or in picturesque art deco buildings or chawls. “Back in the day, people would read their newspapers, speak to their neighbours, dry herbs, and watch such processions from their balconies. It was an important feature of the neighbourhood and the city as a whole,” said a history professor and assistant dean of Mumbai University’s faculty of humanities. Mill workers have used verandas in chawls to address politics, he said.