Vikas Dilawari, the unassuming conservationist behind the grand facades

Anjuli Bhargava finds leading Mumbai conservation architect Vikas Dilawari as rare as the old heritage buildings he works to preserve

He’s the anti-thesis of what I expected. Earnest, extremely grounded, understated, a bit hesitant, I am rather taken aback when I first meet Vikas Dilawari, a leading conservation architect in Mumbai city with 16 UNESCO awards to his credit. 

For someone whose work involves rubbing shoulders with the who’s who in Mumbai’s art and culture world, he strikes me as rather unusual. Neither is he the archetypal architect I have met over the years. I expected slippery, smooth, suave and even slightly brash but I find sincere, simple, self-effacing and soft spoken. I am, to be honest, rather pleasantly surprised.

Strange are