Award

Ferry Terminal (the glass structure in the foreground)

Its time I put it here.
My first award – winning project ever, (one that I've worked on, albeit for a while) was awarded the AIA (American Institute of Architects) Architecture Merit Award, the NY Construction News Award and today it's in the NY Times.
The glory is shared by all those who worked on that project.
To………Our individual two minutes of fame!!!
Cheers!!! 

Wine.

"I like to think about the life of wine.
How it's a living thing.
I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing; how the sun was shining; if it rained.
I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes. And if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now.
I like how wine continues to evolve, like if I opened a bottle of wine today it would taste different than if I'd opened it on any other day, because a bottle of wine is actually alive. And it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks, like your '61.
And then it begins its steady, inevitable decline."
- Maya in the movie 'Sideways'

A quote that's refusing to leave my head!

Love letter

Sept 22nd 2004 was the last time I was with you.
Its the longest I've been away from you...One year!
And with each passing day it only gets longer.
I cannot cut myself off from you. You were my first and you could possibly be my last.
Its a long-distance love affair, and a passionate one, may I add, that we have, you and I. We live in each others hearts, minds and thoughts. Nostalgically, we reflect upon our times together and miss them. Often I wonder how you would have changed and you wonder how I would've grown? What must life bring to us now, each day as we pass living it?
We both have moved on, but our lives are still connected, a huge part of my life with a small part of yours. Not a day passes me by, when I don’t think of you and when somewhere inside you, there isn’t a thought of me that prevails.
You were with whom all my first’s happened; childhood spent, innocence lost, and youth commenced,
You were the first, whom I grew to love and who loved me right back,
You nurtured me, watched me grow, touched my life and put me on this threshold, only to watch me fly away from you, to further seas and future loves,
You were and still are, my friend, confidante, benefactor,
my foundation, lover, and partner in crime,
My first urban love, that taught me to love, understand, appreciate, assimilate, analyse and grow with other cities,
You were and will always remain, my childhood sweetheart,
My Mumbai!

Until we meet again, be well and take care!

"The Rising"

Mangala Mangala Mangala Mangala Mangala Mangala Ho!
The song stays with you long after the movie ends.
A unanimous standing ovation at the end of the movie, in the theatre hall, speaks for it's after-effects!
One of the finest story-telling endeavours in recent times; not necessarily as much towards good film-making, but more towards bringing back history and celebrating India's first independence hero. It's jolting yet true instances and issues addressed from pre-independence India of the 1800's, bring back to celluloid the stark revelation of one-man's determination, grit and patriotism. Of course it also brings forth how much we, born in independent India, take our freedom for granted.
Never the less, a must watch and a good start to an impending trilogy of India's rising!!
On a parallel note, I am currently reading M.K Gandhi's autobiography: "The story of my experiments with truth". My Gandhi quest; of trying to fathom into Gandhiji's personality and figuring out our common/ uncommon traits (We were born on the same date) started off with watching Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi". I strongly believe that people born on the same day, have to have something in common.
The two antipodal perspectives of both these heroes of the 18th century; Mangal Pandey and Gandhiji, aspiring towards the same goal of a free India, albeit with a few decades in between, form interesting cases for analysis.
The former- a violent rebel, the latter- a symbol of peace!
The former- a Hindu brahmin, the latter- a Bania Vaishnav!
The former- a celibate, the latter- a self-proclaimed lust-seeker (at first)!
The former-a soldier, the latter- a lawyer!
The former- India's first independence hero, the latter- India's last!
The former- a hardly celebrated martyr, the latter-India's most celebrated one!
The former- responsible for an army's rising, the latter- for that of the nation's!
Both- Hero's in their own might!

Happy Independence Day, India!

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I was very intrigued to see this comment on my last post.

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Three months...

Three months is a long time...
Three months is a short time...
You can never have too much of being spoilt, taken care of or fed with delicious home-made food!
You can never have too much of travel, too much of love or too much of your parents.
You can only have too little of them, when you live seven seas away!

Here's to the three most splendid months of my life;
to three dreams that came true!
It's the end of a phase!