The breakneck pace of development in India's financial capital Mumbai has left a small but dedicated group of heritage lovers to shoulder the task of protecting the art deco buildings that dot several of the city's southern neighbourhoods. Local NGO "Art Deco Mumbai" began documenting the sites in 2016 with several buildings gaining UNESCO World Heritage status two years later. Art Deco architecture emerged during the 1910s-1930s in Western Europe and is inspired by sleek geometric forms and aerodynamic curves. It gives Mumbai a unique cosmopolitan identity and Western atmosphere that differentiates the city from any other place in India. "The style enabled a certain quality of life... It brought in apartment living," Atul Kumar the founder of Art Deco Mumbai told AFP. "People learnt to live with other communities, share other cultures, other religions, other food... the Bombay culture of being a modern, open, friendly." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES