Art deco arrived in Bombay in the Thirties, around the same time it did in Calcutta, and spawned buildings, apartment blocks, hotels and cinemas that looked like many-tiered wedding cakes, decked out with maritime motifs, sinuous lines and geometric designs such as interlocked circles. BOMBAY ART DECO ARCHITECTURE: A VISUAL JOURNEY (1930-1953) (Roli, Price not mentioned), by Navin Ramani, is exclusively on the Bombay buildings inspired by this French art movement which brings us close to the Miami beachfront. It takes account of the motifs which are the distinguishing features of art deco. The frozen fountain, Egyptian and classical elements (middle), Ziggurats and Zigzags are some of these. Ramani also records how Indian builders often used indigenous imagery (top right) instead of classical façade reliefs to leave their imprint on the design. The book has a chapter on preserving and resurrecting Bombay art deco at a time when realtors think it is their birthright to erase old structures. On the left is Shangri-La of Cumballa Hill. The window on bottom right belongs to Rajjab Mahal on Queens Road.