You are (no longer) here.

There was a time when it was common to have maps dotting cities, towns and villages. They welcomed you to a neighbourhood and showed you the spot where you are standing. They still exist in many places, most commonly in smaller tourist towns and major tourist spots in larger cities.

For example, here are a few maps from Darjeeling, a tourist town where the main streets and restaurants have a map.

These images are from 2014.

We are in 2021 now and over the last decade, we have all become better at reading maps. However, the maps on our mobile phones are different from the ones that were painted to pasted in public places. On the phone, you are the centre of the universe. All roads lead away from you or to you.

You are Rome.

I would like to share a few photographs of some old maps that I stumbled upon in the Greater Mumbai region:

Then there are political maps of various kinds.

A caste map from Dharavi where leatherworkers live and work.

Maps as decoration

A maps inside a school in Dadar

Maps in wall paintings

A relief map of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Maps that show how a city enveloped villages and their fields from Navi Mumbai

And an accidental map or outline of the city.