Amid clouds of cigarette smoke and the pungent aroma of spices, the swirling sounds of jazz took off in Bombay almost a century ago. The location, inside a corner of Barkers, the former art deco department store, will afterwards start its real, intended commercial life as an Indian restaurant. “I had the idea because I love jazz, I love performance and I love this forgotten era of Bombay, but people do think I have gone mad. Jazz was first introduced to Bombay in the 1930s by touring American artists, and Indian musicians caught on quickly. A decade later “hot jazz” had spread across the city and was booming alongside a uniquely Bombay version of the art deco style.

Source: The Guardian November 18, 2017 13:52 UTC