Temperatures have crossed over the 40 deg F line. The last snow-storm went by, it seems, as usual, without bidding adieu. It’s time to dry clean the winter coats and woolen wear and pack them in mothballs. Sweaters and scarves have to be replaced by skirts and kurtas. Snow boots will step behind, to make place for “jootees” and slippers. Spring fashion has already hit the store windows.
Trees will soon start showing signs of life. Days have already become longer and the skies are picture-postcard blue. Winter seems to have passed us by nonchalantly.
Windows at home, have started staying open. The fire escape will soon regain its social-pad status. Before long, the Air conditioner will have to be re-installed. The old Italian couple, next door, will soon start planting their garden in my backyard, accompanied by the clink of their wine glasses and loud Italian chatter.
The gym has become crowded, as women flock to shape up for the impending summer. ‘Happy hours’ are announcing themselves all over the city. My pushcart breakfast provider has started displaying “Cold-coffee” and “Iced Tea” in his regular menu.
Manhattan is going from black-and-white to colour, seems like Spring is here!
Friday, March 18, 2005
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Moving Windows
Give me a moving window and I am lost. It’s almost as though I’ ve been a captive in a cell without a window for years. All my life, I have been one of those “window-seat” persons. From my childhood days to the present, this is the best way to shut me up.
(I think it possibly originated when Mom would ask me to “look out of the window” when a T.C would approach us in the train. Apparently for a very long time after I had turned 5, I could pass off to still be under it. Mom always optimized this to her advantage and never bought me a full ticket (a.k.a adult fare ticket) in the train, for quite a few years. Yes, you can safely say, that my ‘cheating the system to save some money’ habit, is a much-valued inheritance.)
In a window-seat, I can sit and stare, without talking for hours. Time and again when I have done this, (in a train/ car), I have often been misunderstood to be arrogant, quiet, reserved, feeling out-of-place etc by my fellow travelers. But that’s usually me taking my time-out, from being the social, talkative person that I am, to becoming a recluse, engaging myself with the sights/ sounds/ smells that the window brings.
Looking out of the window, I acquaint myself with the outside. The window is a threshold, between the world and me, both of us moving in sync with each other, one ahead, the other behind. The window reveals different worlds, usually ones different than mine. Sometimes tinted, sometimes not, the windows always speak. They tell me stories and I listen. They show me sights that I see and emanate smells that I experience.
Not all windows engender a dialogue. Those that do, are ones in buses, cars and trains (in India), especially when kept open. Mainly, because they are also the most dynamic and interactive. Airplane windows fall more in the reflective category; the monotony in their view instigates my mind to reflect. Subway windows, reflect the inner scenes on themselves and ironically, superimpose the ‘inside’ on the ‘outside’.
Moving windows make voyeurism legal. They exist so they may be looked out of, sometimes even looked in to. Moving windows are frames in motion, their movement being the essence of their existence that perhaps lures everyone from children to adults, to window-seats.
It’s almost like sitting by a painting in process, a story in progress and a journey in rhythm; a collage of multiple images like a slide-show, where the slides proceed in an iota of a second...and I lose myself in what has gone and what shall soon be gone.
(I think it possibly originated when Mom would ask me to “look out of the window” when a T.C would approach us in the train. Apparently for a very long time after I had turned 5, I could pass off to still be under it. Mom always optimized this to her advantage and never bought me a full ticket (a.k.a adult fare ticket) in the train, for quite a few years. Yes, you can safely say, that my ‘cheating the system to save some money’ habit, is a much-valued inheritance.)
In a window-seat, I can sit and stare, without talking for hours. Time and again when I have done this, (in a train/ car), I have often been misunderstood to be arrogant, quiet, reserved, feeling out-of-place etc by my fellow travelers. But that’s usually me taking my time-out, from being the social, talkative person that I am, to becoming a recluse, engaging myself with the sights/ sounds/ smells that the window brings.
Looking out of the window, I acquaint myself with the outside. The window is a threshold, between the world and me, both of us moving in sync with each other, one ahead, the other behind. The window reveals different worlds, usually ones different than mine. Sometimes tinted, sometimes not, the windows always speak. They tell me stories and I listen. They show me sights that I see and emanate smells that I experience.
Not all windows engender a dialogue. Those that do, are ones in buses, cars and trains (in India), especially when kept open. Mainly, because they are also the most dynamic and interactive. Airplane windows fall more in the reflective category; the monotony in their view instigates my mind to reflect. Subway windows, reflect the inner scenes on themselves and ironically, superimpose the ‘inside’ on the ‘outside’.
Moving windows make voyeurism legal. They exist so they may be looked out of, sometimes even looked in to. Moving windows are frames in motion, their movement being the essence of their existence that perhaps lures everyone from children to adults, to window-seats.
It’s almost like sitting by a painting in process, a story in progress and a journey in rhythm; a collage of multiple images like a slide-show, where the slides proceed in an iota of a second...and I lose myself in what has gone and what shall soon be gone.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Keys!
I am an only child; I do not have siblings. Never felt the need for any too. Except, when both my parents ganged up against me, and my arguments alone did’nt stand ground. Perhaps then, a sibling who could be part of my defense team would have helped. But otherwise, I didn’t really need anyone.
Both my parents are professionals and have worked throughout the time I was raised. My Mom proudly narrates that she was back to work three months after I was born. She is also proud of the fact that I was raised in a crèche, run by a neighbour, since I was 6 months old.
Since I was 10, I have been spending a lot of time alone at home. Until that age, Mom (She’s a teacher) and I both went to school at 12 pm and got back at 6 pm, conveniently synchronized.
At 10, when I graduated onto the fifth grade, I had morning school, from 7 am to 1pm. Since I was old enough according to Mom, I was handed a set of house-keys and allowed to stay home alone after school. Thus; I had my first set of house keys at the age of 10. That, in retrospect, was a lot of freedom, at a rather young age, which none of my friends enjoyed.
By handing me the house keys, Mom had entrusted me with the responsibility of the house for six hours everyday. Six hours of being alone at home, every weekday, for the next 13 years of my life, was an important lesson in responsibility, independence and in a little way, house management.
The keys gave me independence. I no longer had to wait in a crèche, until Mom came home from work. And when I went home, I had the house all to myself. I started to make my own decisions at a very young age.
Time spent alone at home, made me think a lot, so I became frequently introspective. Since I am quite talkative and there were no siblings to talk with, I spoke to myself; sometimes aloud, at others through prose or poetry. It is around then, that I began to write. Being home, alone, also made me responsible, not just towards the house, but generally towards my own life and possessions.
As I grew up in these circumstances, I started valuing my time spent with myself. It became an important part of my life. I also acquired the skill of withdrawing myself from the world whenever I felt like it, much to their annoyance. It didn’t matter how many people or how much noise surrounded me, I could contract into my shell and delve.
It is through this one act, of handing over a set of house keys to me, at a very young age, that my Mom indirectly introduced me to qualities such as independence, responsibility and decision-making. By having me be home alone, she unknowingly instilled in me, value for time spent with myself. In those moments of being home-alone, I gravitated towards expressing myself through poetry and prose, both essential parts of me, even today.
It’s almost as if the keys opened the doors to growing up.
Both my parents are professionals and have worked throughout the time I was raised. My Mom proudly narrates that she was back to work three months after I was born. She is also proud of the fact that I was raised in a crèche, run by a neighbour, since I was 6 months old.
Since I was 10, I have been spending a lot of time alone at home. Until that age, Mom (She’s a teacher) and I both went to school at 12 pm and got back at 6 pm, conveniently synchronized.
At 10, when I graduated onto the fifth grade, I had morning school, from 7 am to 1pm. Since I was old enough according to Mom, I was handed a set of house-keys and allowed to stay home alone after school. Thus; I had my first set of house keys at the age of 10. That, in retrospect, was a lot of freedom, at a rather young age, which none of my friends enjoyed.
By handing me the house keys, Mom had entrusted me with the responsibility of the house for six hours everyday. Six hours of being alone at home, every weekday, for the next 13 years of my life, was an important lesson in responsibility, independence and in a little way, house management.
The keys gave me independence. I no longer had to wait in a crèche, until Mom came home from work. And when I went home, I had the house all to myself. I started to make my own decisions at a very young age.
Time spent alone at home, made me think a lot, so I became frequently introspective. Since I am quite talkative and there were no siblings to talk with, I spoke to myself; sometimes aloud, at others through prose or poetry. It is around then, that I began to write. Being home, alone, also made me responsible, not just towards the house, but generally towards my own life and possessions.
As I grew up in these circumstances, I started valuing my time spent with myself. It became an important part of my life. I also acquired the skill of withdrawing myself from the world whenever I felt like it, much to their annoyance. It didn’t matter how many people or how much noise surrounded me, I could contract into my shell and delve.
It is through this one act, of handing over a set of house keys to me, at a very young age, that my Mom indirectly introduced me to qualities such as independence, responsibility and decision-making. By having me be home alone, she unknowingly instilled in me, value for time spent with myself. In those moments of being home-alone, I gravitated towards expressing myself through poetry and prose, both essential parts of me, even today.
It’s almost as if the keys opened the doors to growing up.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Images of the Season
The coming weekend will see the close of Cristo's art installation at Central Park, titled "The Gates: Central Park, New York, 1979–2005"....easily what this year's winter will be remembered for!
Some images that my walls will wear soon...
Cristo's sketch
Yellow
Silhouette
Some images that my walls will wear soon...
Cristo's sketch
Yellow
Silhouette
Saturday, February 12, 2005
The Colours of Winter
The weekend that passed, had a theme. It was colour.
Not pre-planned, turned out such.
From the insane wish-wash of colour at the newly opened Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Manhattan, to the artful expression of darkness, coupled with excellent technical lighting proficience in "Black" (the movie), to the vibrant hues of orange, smeared across the woody, barren and wintery canvas in Central Park....This weekend was about the colours in the New York winter.
The city infamously known to turn "black" in winter, revealed its subtle colourful side.
Manhattan is Modern again....The MOMA is back!
'Black' is beautiful!
Cristo's "Gates" at Central Park are fluttering in the wind, interactive, and 1.089 million yards of orange-yellow fabric pieces, enveloping its 23 miles of dynamic pathways!
All of them are forms of art, at its very best!
Not pre-planned, turned out such.
From the insane wish-wash of colour at the newly opened Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Manhattan, to the artful expression of darkness, coupled with excellent technical lighting proficience in "Black" (the movie), to the vibrant hues of orange, smeared across the woody, barren and wintery canvas in Central Park....This weekend was about the colours in the New York winter.
The city infamously known to turn "black" in winter, revealed its subtle colourful side.
Manhattan is Modern again....The MOMA is back!
'Black' is beautiful!
Cristo's "Gates" at Central Park are fluttering in the wind, interactive, and 1.089 million yards of orange-yellow fabric pieces, enveloping its 23 miles of dynamic pathways!
All of them are forms of art, at its very best!
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Overworked??
There's something about taking time off, on a regular day which doesnt seem appropriate to me.
As a child in primary and secondary school, I prided myself on winning the "Full Attendance" Certificate at the end of each year. As the name clearly indicates, this certificate was awarded to students who came to school each working day of the academic year. Perhaps, it was an incentive installed for students who otherwise would be tempted to play truant at times. But for me, it was a matter of personal pride to march up to the dias each year and claim my prized certificate. Now in retrospect, it seems to me that, that had been an obsession.
Of most of my other weird qualities as a child, Mom distinctly remembers this one. Of course part of this discipline was inculcated in me, by her...but I do remember there being times, such as when I fell and had to get stitches on my cheek. It was an accident that required me to be away from school for a week or so. The pain of the fall or the stitches did'nt come close to that of having to miss school. The Auntys' from the neighbourhood, could not understand this syndrome in me, as most of them tried to show me the good side of bunking school, but I was adamant. That "Full Attendance Certificate" had to be won!!
In High School, things did'nt change that drastically either. When most of my friends were enjoying their newly found freedom to 'bunk classes', I was attending them, most of the time. Even though, what I did inside the class, during a lecture, came nowhere close to jotting down notes. Instead my in-class duties included signing the attendance sheet for my 'absent' classmates. However; I was more 'in' than 'out' of most of my classes in High School!
In Architecture School, things did change a bit more, although only in the last 2-3 years when there was too much work to get done. I did begin to bunk classes now - but only when pre-decided by the whole class, to mass-bunk the day! So you can still comfortably presume, I had'nt got too far yet from my 'sincere' attendance days. After all, if people mass-bunked, then obviously there would be no classes held and I would'nt miss anything. So I figured it made sense to stay back at home and work, if I didnt go to school. I still remember the vaccum I felt, after defending my Final year Design Thesis. There was actually nothing to do, and I could'nt handle that, honestly.
Working in Mumbai as an Architect, is no different than studying to be one; you work more hours than you sleep! So the one year of work/ fellowship that followed my undergraduate years, was pretty much like an extension of school.
In Architecture School in the US, life again took the same beaten path it did in Undergraduate school; more studio hours, less sleep, lots of work!
Now I am in the Working Phase of my life. Everything is smooth and my ship is sailing very well. Except, there are days when there's nothing to do, like today!
In big cities, big offices (such as ours) handle big projects (such as airports) which have big time frames (such as 5 - 10 years). That just means, that the pace of work is never uniformally structured or disciplined. Its super fast at times and absolutely slow at others. The problem with me is, I feel the latter more than I do the former, obviously on account of my 'regular attendance' background. It's not like I dont take time off to vacation, I do, quite regularly too at that. But, there's always this feeling of wanting to get back to routine when I am away from work.
As a child, I always wished I was in my parents' shoes - go to work in the mornings and come back home at night and then watch t.v/ read/ meet friends. No homework to do, no projects to work on, no models to make, no all-nighter's to pull through. It seemed like on the other side of the fence, lay this beautiful world where there was time for the pleasures of life. Little did I know that by the time I made the transition, I would be so used to over-work that the normal pace of work would seem slow to me.
I know for a fact, that the five years of my undergraduate life and one year of graduate life, were the most hardworking years of my life! I may have not come too far from them, in terms of time, but I will not be surprised if, even after some more years, I still think that. That does'nt mean that I will not work harder and achieve what I want to in the future...It just means that nothing seems tougher now!!!
When we were growing up, our parents told us that adult life is not as easy as it looks.....For some weird reason, I beg to differ!!!
As a child in primary and secondary school, I prided myself on winning the "Full Attendance" Certificate at the end of each year. As the name clearly indicates, this certificate was awarded to students who came to school each working day of the academic year. Perhaps, it was an incentive installed for students who otherwise would be tempted to play truant at times. But for me, it was a matter of personal pride to march up to the dias each year and claim my prized certificate. Now in retrospect, it seems to me that, that had been an obsession.
Of most of my other weird qualities as a child, Mom distinctly remembers this one. Of course part of this discipline was inculcated in me, by her...but I do remember there being times, such as when I fell and had to get stitches on my cheek. It was an accident that required me to be away from school for a week or so. The pain of the fall or the stitches did'nt come close to that of having to miss school. The Auntys' from the neighbourhood, could not understand this syndrome in me, as most of them tried to show me the good side of bunking school, but I was adamant. That "Full Attendance Certificate" had to be won!!
In High School, things did'nt change that drastically either. When most of my friends were enjoying their newly found freedom to 'bunk classes', I was attending them, most of the time. Even though, what I did inside the class, during a lecture, came nowhere close to jotting down notes. Instead my in-class duties included signing the attendance sheet for my 'absent' classmates. However; I was more 'in' than 'out' of most of my classes in High School!
In Architecture School, things did change a bit more, although only in the last 2-3 years when there was too much work to get done. I did begin to bunk classes now - but only when pre-decided by the whole class, to mass-bunk the day! So you can still comfortably presume, I had'nt got too far yet from my 'sincere' attendance days. After all, if people mass-bunked, then obviously there would be no classes held and I would'nt miss anything. So I figured it made sense to stay back at home and work, if I didnt go to school. I still remember the vaccum I felt, after defending my Final year Design Thesis. There was actually nothing to do, and I could'nt handle that, honestly.
Working in Mumbai as an Architect, is no different than studying to be one; you work more hours than you sleep! So the one year of work/ fellowship that followed my undergraduate years, was pretty much like an extension of school.
In Architecture School in the US, life again took the same beaten path it did in Undergraduate school; more studio hours, less sleep, lots of work!
Now I am in the Working Phase of my life. Everything is smooth and my ship is sailing very well. Except, there are days when there's nothing to do, like today!
In big cities, big offices (such as ours) handle big projects (such as airports) which have big time frames (such as 5 - 10 years). That just means, that the pace of work is never uniformally structured or disciplined. Its super fast at times and absolutely slow at others. The problem with me is, I feel the latter more than I do the former, obviously on account of my 'regular attendance' background. It's not like I dont take time off to vacation, I do, quite regularly too at that. But, there's always this feeling of wanting to get back to routine when I am away from work.
As a child, I always wished I was in my parents' shoes - go to work in the mornings and come back home at night and then watch t.v/ read/ meet friends. No homework to do, no projects to work on, no models to make, no all-nighter's to pull through. It seemed like on the other side of the fence, lay this beautiful world where there was time for the pleasures of life. Little did I know that by the time I made the transition, I would be so used to over-work that the normal pace of work would seem slow to me.
I know for a fact, that the five years of my undergraduate life and one year of graduate life, were the most hardworking years of my life! I may have not come too far from them, in terms of time, but I will not be surprised if, even after some more years, I still think that. That does'nt mean that I will not work harder and achieve what I want to in the future...It just means that nothing seems tougher now!!!
When we were growing up, our parents told us that adult life is not as easy as it looks.....For some weird reason, I beg to differ!!!
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