Carved more than 1500 years ago,the Jogeshwari cave in Mumbai,India,directly influenced the plan form of the renowned Word Heritage Site of Elephanta,if not the monolithic megalith at Ellora.Unfortunately,while these other examples thrived,custodians at Jogeshwari were faced with the predicament of cutting out the sculpture and shifting it to a nearby museum.It was either that or complete extinction of the site due to accelerated issues of salt water penetration and movement,leading to degeneration of the carving.The conundrum was to face loss of context,a result of shifting of the historic sculpture to a different setting,or to give in to gradual loss of heritage that would be the likely outcome if the cave were left untreated.This paper examines the various conservation decisions taken at the 6th century A.D.site of Jogeshwari,from the inception of the conservation movement in India from the late 19th century to today.This wide spectrum provides a detailed cross-section of the various preservation processes initiated at the site and in a sense charts the conservation methodology in the country,trying to come to grips with a unique architectural idiom.