New Delhi, Oct. 10 -- How does a photograph capture the spirit of the city, its citizens and the revolutionary spirit prevalent at the time? It's an idea that informs a forthcoming exhibition, Disobedient Subjects Bombay (1930-31). Here, Bombay of old essays the role of a protagonist-its architecture and landmarks serving as sites for protest. The show, which draws from an archival album, Collections of Photographs of Old Congress Party-K.L. Nursey, presents a multi-layered narrative. For one, it harks back to a significant chapter in India's freedom struggle, the civil disobedience movement, which is often centred around the figure of Mohandas K Gandhi in popular culture.

"We associate the Civil Disobedience Movement quintessentially wi...