Every artist has that one experience that shifts something internally, where an idea for inspiration becomes an experience. For the students of Parul University, Writer's Tour Mumbai epitomized that experience. One week where art, literature, and life melded into one story. From the silence of galleries to the buzz of studios, from eyes flowing across the pages to ears listening aloud, the sequence of every moment was unhurried, from one precious beat to another.

Where a Dot Becomes a Universe

The tour officially began at the National Gallery of Modern Art, where the energy in the space was electric with creativity. Raza’s hypnotic dots almost jumped off the canvas, while Souza’s bold paintings “spoke for angels,” showing humans in their most expressive forms. Laxman Shrestha’s sweeping bird’s-eye landscapes stopped students in their tracks, and Balkrishna Vaidya’s retro Bollywood portraits brought smiles and nostalgia.
A Raavan statue was a quiet reminder that education doesn’t shape character. Raza’s words: “Every creation in the universe starts with a dot” stuck in their mind – a sort of mantra for the journey ahead. Art is an experience that requires curiosity, attention, and wonder, and therefore it was a short leap to a place where stories live in letters, and not necessarily images.

A Library That Whispers Secrets

When they entered Title Waves, it was as though they were stepping into a place of stories.The sound of pages being turned softly, the subtle smell of ink, and the orderly arrangement of books slowed everyone down. Executive Director Trushant Tamgaonkar said it best: “This isn’t just a shop. It’s a community that breathes literature.”
Life coach Ritu Walia reminded students that the most important story begins within: “Self-love is the permission you give yourself to be who you really are.” Books connect us outwardly, but creativity starts inside. The spark from reading quickly ignited at the next stop, where imagination transforms into full-blown stories.

The Spark That Ignites Worlds

At Whistling Woods, the possibilities of the page came to life. Screenwriter Deepanjan Roy demonstrated how one question, “what if?” can create entire worlds. Characters, conflicts, and themes do not exist before writing; they are made, tested, and pushed to the limits. The students began to understand that stories are not things which just live on the page, they breathe. Every choice changes the course of the journey, every challenge adds tension, and often the weird turns out to be the brilliant. Moving from screenwriting to then exploring how ideas become books was a natural next step.

Crafting Dreams Into Reality

At Chetana Publications, the abstract became real. Shamlee Bhingarde walked students through how a manuscript becomes a book , editing, designing, typesetting, printing. "Every word, every picture, every layout counts", this is exactly what editors like Smita Sale conveyed to us, particularly in the writing disciplines focused on children.
Students learned that there is a careful craft, patience, precision, and purpose behind every story. Smoothly, this transitioned into the next lesson: stories in voice and performance.

Words Come Alive

At Radio Club, words came alive. The excitement of Shubha Vilas, Malini Agarwal and Shabnam Meenwala told us about the joy of doing storytelling in action. Shubha reminded the students that Itihaas is not mythology, it is the lessons we pass down through generations.
Malini and Shabnam reiterated that writing is heart, courage, and authenticity. Hearing stories in person led to connecting with the personal experience, providing a deeper understanding of the roots of creativity

The Burden of Centuries

Curators Anil Menon and Zeyad Khan took students to examine sculptures and artifacts while showing how creativity evolves over time. Students recognized that their own work is informed by wider narratives, a chain of ideas that extend both this way and that way.

Into the Minds of Masters

To wrap up, students engaged with creators who themselves acted out the concept of storytelling every day. Smriti Kiran reflected on the notions of chaos, discipline, and letting ideas unfold in real time. Abbas Tyrewala discussed the idea of restraint, using fewer adjectives, and trusting the reader to make up their stories in their heads. Collectively they modeled that creativity is a process, rather than a product.

The Story They Took Home

When it was finished, in addition to inspiration, Mumbai had given students a new sense of perspective: from dots to brushstrokes, pages to scripts, and history to contemporary voices, the students learned that creativity was not the goal; it is something you live, share, and nurture. And as the city faded into the distance it treated them to a whisper, "Every story starts with a dot, what will yours be?"Because man is the only creature who consumes without creating, & what makes us human is that spark of intention to create, to shape something from within, to leave a world behind that didn’t exist before. Every stroke of paint, every written word, every crafted story is a reflection of that desire, to make, to express, to create meaning from the world inside ourselves.