Sharada Dwivedi, the noted city historian of Bombay passed away on Monday, February 6, 2012. She was 69. She was credited with reintroducing Mumbai to her citizens. Author of several books on the city, her Bombay: The Cities Within (1995), co-authored with Rahul Mehrotra, was a watershed publication, breaking the old mould of ‘city histories’ with its conversational prose, breathtaking sepia images and broad detail. Her love for Victorian Mumbai was well known, and she was relentless in trying to preserve the fascinating architecture that this city holds. This has been a great loss, not only to Mumbai, but also to the world of art, history and conservation.