PUKAR

and

Department of History, St. Xavier’s College

cordially invite you for a talk titled

The Trams are Coming … 

by

Dr. Frank Conlon

Date:             Thursday, 15^th February 2006

Time:             5:00 PM onwards

Venue:           Multi-Media Room, First Floor, St. Xavier’s College,
                       Mahapalika Marg, Mumbai - 400001

Dr. Conlon will analyse the growth of tramways in historical Bombay and their relationship to the urban development of the city.  Some issues of both the introduction of tram technology--horse and electric--will be explored, as well as the reception and use (or non-use) of the tramways by the Bombay public.  He will look at the ideas of tramway extension as a means to "de-congest" the old island by opening services to new areas for development.  Bombay provides a marked contrast to the history of tramways in Europe and America insofar as the tramway operators were unable to speculatively build lines and develop residential property sites or subdivisions.  The last trams operated in Mumbai in 1964 and the reasons for their being withdrawn will be discussed in the present context of seeking new urban transport solutions to Mumbai's monumental traffic congestion.

Dr. Frank Conlon, professor emeritus of South Asian History at the University of Washington, Seattle, is among the seniormost scholars of modern India.  His wide-ranging research interests include consumerism, religion, caste, and community.  Among his many publications are his chapter titled “Dining Out in Bombay”, in the book Consuming Modernity: Public Culture in a South Asian World, published in 1995 and edited by Carol Breckenridge, and his book A Caste in a Changing World: The Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmans, 1700-1935, published in 1977. Prof. Conlon earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1969, and has taught at the University of Washington since 1968.  His service to the academic community is recognized far beyond the field of Indian history, due largely to his founding and editing of the virtual network H-Asia in 1994.  This online community of researchers and teachers interested in diverse fields of Asian studies has benefited greatly from his contribution. 

PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge Action and Research)
 
Address:: 1-4, 2nd Floor, Kamanwala Chambers, Sir P. M. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001
Telephone:: +91 (22) 6574 8152
Fax:: +91 (22) 6664 0561
Email:: pukar@pukar.org.in
Website:: http://www.pukar.org.in/