Historian Sharada Dwivedi dead

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Noted urban historian and author of several books on the history and culture of Mumbai, Sharada Dwivedi passed away here on Monday, a family member said. She was 69.

"She suffered from a brief illness, following which she was taken to hospital this morning," said a family member who declined to be identified.

However, sources at Bombay Hospital said that she was brought dead. Although hospital sources said she died because of cerebral haemorrhage, family members declined to comment on the matter.

She is survived by her husband Bhagirath and daughter Radhika. Her funeral is scheduled for Tuesday.

Dwivedi was actively involved in several conservation projects in Mumbai. She has also served as a member of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee and was a part of the executive committee of the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI).

She has authored many books on art, architecture, urban history, heritage and conservation.

"To Sharada, the modern city was a guarantee of the highest civilisational possibilities that humankind could craft for itself," said Ranjit Hoskote, an author and Dwivedi's long-time friend.

"She believed in the primacy of the liberal, secular and cosmopolitan imagination. Her versatile practice, and her manifold contributions as researcher, historian, columnist, heritage conservation activist and publisher grew from this central belief," he added.