Classics... at the Sir J.J CoA

browsing through old pics... memories of good times... meaning less afternoons at the studio... fooling around at study trips... late nights at marine drive... studying sessions at namu's house... long hours of doing nothing at the LCR, whiling away time amidst the greens oof the workshop!!!

scanned images of our times in undergrad!!!

Rang de Basanti

Rang de Basanti is sure a must see...

and not for one reason but several...

the starcast
the storyline
the cinematography
the actors... aamir khan rocks no doubt.. but this siddharth(playing karan) takes the cake ... n to top it he is hot too
the presentation and narration
the music
...almost everything ( discount the length of the movie though)

the thought... rise for one's cause..doesnt matter who you are... if u believe u shall... n how!!!

i am gonna have to stop here ... cos I have been warned not to say much by gav since he hasnt seen the movie yet ..so i shall be an obedient girl!!! but if you havent seen a good hindi movie in a while, here is one which that wont disssapoint.

in the first half for sure..second half wasnt appreciated by all as much though i love it.

update

life has pretty much been ordinary since I got back from Bombay... it feels like been put into heaven for a few days n then brought back to hell... nothing excitig happening off late on my front except the weekend of Sameer's birthday with gav chanda n sameer. went to the detroit auto show..shall post some pictures.. i liked it.

the cars were nice n all..but i really liked the sets. i couldnt help but notice people glaring at me when they caught me clicking details of the set designs when every camera was focused on those cars... i think i even embarrased gaurav on that front once:)

its friday evening. i am in school.thts a good thing... but not a good thing when i realise its just the beginning of the semester. looking forward to an intense semester.


hope to join my friends for dinner at TGIF in a couple of hours!!!

SLEEEEEEEEEPPPPP is all i want

...so my sem ended last evening.

... i finally got home way before the routine 4-5 am.

... i slept for 9 + hours... n still feeling sleepy!!!

... at this moment i wish i could sleep in the afternoons. sleep is on my mind and on my eyes but i just cant get my self to sleep in the middle of the day. so annoying. n thats why the 'crib filled' blog at 2.30pm

of good times

Amidst the whole craziness of work and the excitement of goin back to India soon is something which I really feel sad about... and what else but change most affects the human mind.

As I see Niki getting ready to leave..her packing all around the house it is suddenly sinking in that what 'family' was for the past one n half years is not gonna be the same.

I am not goin to shy away from saying that I am really gonna miss her and it is affecting me in many ways.

N then in a way I am glad about that cos that means the ability to miss people and not accepting change easily is still with me. Thought I was losing it!!!

So this ones to all the good times in the past one n half year!!!

K's frustrated?

May be a stupid question but I have always wondered does a good designer have to be a good craftsman? are the abilties of designing representating well enough to convey and capacities to get something crafted enough to complete his definion? does his capacity to himself execute the act have to be included to complete the definition?

I personally belong to the first category

The way my work has shaped in the last few months made me realise sitting on the drawing board or in front of fancy softwares and desiginging/representing/working out something is sure an exercise but not a complete one: the amount of thought and time in execution is a surely one hell of a task.. i wonder how it is to understand someone elses work and execute it.

Maybe as an archtiect I wont necessarily need the prowess of execution in the longer run...hopefully once my academic life(as a student ofcourse) is over.
Does that apply to more pure yet applied forms of art...scuplture, jewellery, fashion etc?

all this will i am trying hard to float on the surface and not drown in the work load... waiting for the month end:)

Stress is in the air

Everyone around me looks completely harrowed and stressed out..wonder why..its tht last lap of the semester... 3 weeks to go.

there is joy of only three weeks to go and then there is realisation in tht very minute about the amount of work to be done in those three weeks.

somehow i feel my fittest best when i am stressed and i know i hv loads of work to get done... i like that pleasure in pain feeling!!! :)

...and it shall last!!!

Its been a while since I have put up anything. sometimes cos I didnt have time, sometimes cos I didnt feel like... but its that time of the year which you just cannot miss...

once again I look out to a white blanket. I know it'll last for long..but its just so pretty right now.

Standing in the snow for two hours this morning was no fun...

but gettin back to the warmth... its so different this time... :)

"When we finally kissgoodnight

How I'll hate going out in the storm!

But if you'll really hold me tight

All the way home I'll be warm

The fire is slowly dying

And, my dear, we're still goodbying

But as long as you love me so

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

of cravings

I crave right now...


1.to be at home and eat sabudana khichdi or pohe for breakfast!!!... am sick of a waffle and cereal breakfast
2.for shoppin in bombay... so so so so very badly right now
3.for junk food off the streets( hmm almost)... pani puri and spring dosa!!! and oily chinese!!! aaahhh
4.for an i-pod
5.and a new digi cam...

its funny how the list progressively changed to the materialistic

INDIAAAAAAAAA...AAAAAH

ok i just blogged a few minutes ago... but I so have to write this right now. (so read the previous one first to get the link)

i came back form the 'bombay exhibit' in the gallery space...


just to remind u that the exhibit was in ' an architecture school' and not any part gallery or soemthing...

the contents of the exhibit....

1. tandoori chicken and samosa...both deformed... but a great attempt!!!
2. monsoon wedding being screened on a tv
3. bunty aur bubli being screened on a tv
4. a video about the squatters and random people walkin on the road
5. several sarees.... hanging form the top
4. pottery and mirror work and other 'artifacts'...which u as a 'foreigner' just cannot skip on colaba causeway
5. chappals and junk jewellery sold by the same guy outside mondy's(cafe mondegar) for 1/10th of the price that shamli and I used to buy it for.

So how many of you think the entire essence of India was captured? well thats not easy a task... but still!!!

Overheards " oh isnt that THE BIG SUPER MALL"... thats about 'crossroads'..didnt we leave that one behind ages ago?

" 'bombay store'... I loved that place... have never seen anythin more beautiful ..blah blah.. "

and finally wine... i dont knowwhere that came from..may be desi daru would have been a better fit...

Well that was about what was on display..am not gonna be judgemental about this scenario..but am extreemly amused to say the least!!!

only one thing kept ringing in my ears... this audio I had heard on "INDIAAAAA" in a sultry trying to be deeeep voice describing India some many years ago... it was as though the whole exhibit was shouting out the samething to me in that exact same voice.

A declaration and concern

I have to admit that about two weeks ago my blogs were becomin more and more depressing leaving a lot of people wondering as to whats goin on...i think i finally figured it out today...
what i would call the architect's version of the 'writer's block'...

i was gettin bogged down so much so that I began to even debate my career choice... i was more than over worked but was just not happy with what was comin out of it...maybe i was pushin myself too hard!!!

I am never satisfied with my work is a given... but this was a completely different feelin ... and am so glad am out of it now.

it was a feelin of being at the completely wrong place... but I guess like all other things this one too fell in place... and I know as a 100 percent track record that every architect goes thru this 'feeling' and that too frequently... anyway thats tht.

there is wierd korean couple in the desk behind me right now....the wife keeps squeekingly complaining about every damn thing it seems like.. wierd noises is all i can gather of the whole scenario behind my back

another thing which is on my mind off late is this overdose of 'exotic india' 'incredible india' imagery which is floating in my school...thanks to atleast a dozen out of 80 people having visited bombay-delhi-agra in the past 5 months... and yelling out the word 'bombay' in the studio in that oh so typical accent atleast a dozen times in the day.

i am glad and sad too... glad about the awareness yes... but its all the same old redundant awareness...

of exotic sadhus,oh so pretty fabrics,(these fake silk sarees are hanging down in the corridor and people who are not meant to look nice in salwar khameez' are wearing jsut that) homelessness, diversity( in costume?), chat and blah blah...

i totally agree that its a great thing that these guys are gettin exposed to the 'contemporary indian culture' but why yet in the 'exotic india way?' why dont we just project the image of a real contemporary india....

whtever... i am goin to hog on the 'bombay food' apparently which is a part of the exhibit.

Happy Diwali

an eventful weekend just passed by...away from books and work and studio...

and loads of fun!!!

it all began with a girls evening out to 'dominicks'... sangria time!!! followed by an unsuccesful attempt tht evening to watch iqbal...ending up in a round of truth or dare..or rather truth and truth...hadnt played that game for yrs...

a lazy saturday morning... brunch on 'zingerman's' sandwiches...its one of my favorite places in ann arbor.
the afternoon was well spent watching 'fight club'...i dont know why I hadnt seen such a wondeful movie yet!

Halloween party time on Saturday evening.... at the 'heidelberg'- followed by witnessing some pumpin carving and falling asleep to ghost stories!!!

Sunday was the most eventful day of all though.... it was 'our wine- n dine-' ' diwali-halloween-id' party... characterised by an exotic meal we cooked for ourselves coupled with a variety of yummy wines!!!! it would be a sin to not post pics of this party.... so a picture post coming up soon.

As promised...

...ignore the straight face and dark circles... thts cos of a cumulative of 10 hours of sleep over 4 nights!!!

but I love that feelin of exhaustion due to intense work.. that strain on the eyes...the anticipation of a sound sleep... it all resonates 'satisfaction'- especially when the work has been fun and stimulating...

getting more specific... when u think you design and thought is finally getting somewhere where you want it to go.

Random Moi

The week rushed by almost at the speed of light.

The weather is changing.... its become awfully cold already!!! the trees are at their prettiest best... changing color by the hour!!!

Was a heavy week so far at school... mid term exams and couple of reviews.

Diwali is round the corner... i totally miss the ritual of 'diwali' shopping... i think I shall try and not break the tradition:)

I already have a wish list though..if anyone volunteering to obidge I shall disclose my 'gifts wanted' list.

I went and got my self a hair cut this evening... not anything drastic...i like it... will post a picture as soon as I take one.

So much for the ramble...hope I have something worthwhile to contribute soon!!!

REFRESHED

So none of my wishes obviously came true...fall break is over n am back in AA...

but feel totally refreshed... didnt get much work done over the weekend.

I dont regret it at all though...

shall work harder in the coming weeks!!!

Making a wish

... for fall break to never get over...

... for all my ties in ann arbor be brought to me here in Champaign...

...the feeling of feeling at home to last forever...


SELFISH ME!!! hahahaha!!!

Designer= expensive?

Why is something that can be remotely qualified as good architecture for a home always unaffordable?

Recently a friend of mine looking for a new house called me up all excited about buying a new house in some suburb here- to my surprise she was talking about a nice contemporary minimalist'ish' looking LoFt...well out of the conventional real-estate ugly lookin developers realm...

I myself was completely excited about it!!!
but just yesterday I heard the plan fizzled out... cos the Loft turned out to be more expensive for the size and place ocmpared to rest of mediocrity floating all around.

I just feel bad how a 'designer' label shoots up the cost of every thing right from a small piece of clothing, jewellry, furniture or even a house!!! :(

PLACES

Have you ever looked down upon the stars?

I loved the feeling of flying in a tiny plane...on my flight from Detroit to Champaign... this lil plane which didn’t fly very high in the sky...told me a new story... a story of density- told not by people or by landscape but by the lights... the lights which shimmered at intervals... suddenly gathering close... indicating life... suddenly sparse- when away form civilization. Streaks of light...just like comets... in reality vehicles on the road!!! Flying as an act is one that brings about disconnection of the highest degree to me... but this one still kept me close to civilization...at least visually... as was so much fun.. .as i derived a whole new story from what I saw of everyday life... but just from a different perspective and a different actor telling the story....

So I am in Champaign on my fall break... YIPPPEEE!!!!

I have been on this major travel spree... last weekend our studio went to Minneapolis for a field trip. It was a lot of work but AWESOME fun!... the high light being seeing a Herzog de Meuron ( the walker arts center), a Jean Nouvel(Guthrie theatre), Raplh Rapson work...and actually meeting him in person... was so great to see an absolute modernist of his time(91 today)... Also visited a Saarinen church and saw one more Gehry building- don’t know how I feel about that one though. My flickr has pictures of Minneapolis!!! (People less but a feast for the eye). I liked the city. Is a small big city yet holding on to its character!

The week before that was also characterized by day trips in various parts of Michigan and Ohio...so essentially in the past 3 weeks I have visited four mid-western states- Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Minnesotta coupled with tons of work at school too and a couple of party scenes adding to the drama!

Happy Dassera

Chocolate party

I am entertaining myself a little in the middle of a long reading... a visual treat.. pics from the chocolate party last thursday.

YUMMY ISNT IT? look at all the greedy souls waiting for the picture taking part to get over fast and get to the real thing.