Murali is a researcher and historian. His areas of research emerge from his interests in 19th century Mumbai and Western India. His work is based on sources in the non-English languages of Mumbai - Marathi, Gujarati and Urdu. Tracking down the first printed newspapers and books in these languages led to an interest in printing history and now Murali finds that he "knows more about early printing in Mumbai than is good for him".

The other presentations on 8 November include a pictorial walk-through of Houston and Mainz Print Museums by Faheem Agboatwala, director at Hi-Tech Printing Services; a pictorial walk-through of St Bride Foundation by Noel D’cunha, deputy editor at PrintWeek India; and a special presentation by Prof Dr Rajendrakumar Anayath on the Future of Print. 

 

On 9 November, Murali will be speaking about his book Govind Narayan's Mumbai, its genesis and the sesquicentenial anniversary of the Marathi original. Since this event is being held under "printing" auspices, he will be reading short passages from the book about printing in Mumbai in the 1850s and 1860s.

 

Murali's book, Govind Narayan's Mumbai is a translation from Marathi of the first biography of Mumbai published originally in 1863. It also contains a biography of the author, Govind Narayan and extensive notes on 19th century Mumbai men and institutions. An India edition came out earlier in 2013.

 

The other speakers on 9 November will also highlight the best books on Mumbai in different languages and from varied perspectives. The list of speakers include Vishnu Khare (Hindi), Prabodh Parikh (Gujarati), Rafique Baghdadi (English), Sushma Deshpande (Marathi), and  Jaimini Pathak (Theatre perspective). 

 

PrintWeek India in collaboration with the Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Mumbai will host a five-day event to showcase the depth and breadth of top print work and print ideas in India. The event will see panel discussions, workshops and films about print.