Close-up photograph of Cotton Exchange building

A close-up photograph of the relief work that horizontally runs along the street corner facade of Cotton Exchange Building situated in the Kalbadevi neighbourhood of South Mumbai.

Built in 1938, the Cotton Exchange Building was a hub for cotton trade. Now a jewellery market, the building’s origins remain chronicled in the bas-relief that winds around its façade. The bas-relief not only outlines the journey of cotton, from fields to trade, but also grounds this commercial building in India’s ubiquitous agrarian and rural life.