'Sharada gave us a sense of civic pride'

The mood was solemn as more than 100 visitors gathered to bid goodbye to Mumbai historian and author Sharada Dwivedi at the Chandanwadi crematorium in Marine Lines on Tuesday morning.

The mood was solemn as more than 100 visitors gathered to bid goodbye to Mumbai historian and author Sharada Dwivedi at the Chandanwadi crematorium in Marine Lines on Tuesday morning.

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Dwivedi died of a suspected cerebral haemorrhage on Monday. She was 69.

Among those present to support the historian's husband Bhagirath and daughter Radhika, who performed the last rites, were author Kiran Nagarkar, conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah, historian and academician Mariam Dossal and social activist Nayana Kathpalia.

Dwivedi's sisters, Vijaya Anand and Lalita Gupte, were also present.

"Mumbai does not have too many caretakers left anymore," said Kiran Nagarkar.

She could always call a spade a spade and had admirable persistence, added Camellia Panjabi, a school and college friend who later commissioned Dwivedi to research and write The Taj at Apollo Bunder, which was released in December.

Mariam Dossal, who had known Dwivedi for several years, described her as a person with drive, initiative and organisational capacity. "Sharada gave all of us in the city a sense of civic pride," Dossal said. "She showed us there is something special about our city, and now we have the additional responsibility to look after it. That would be the greatest tribute we could give her."