The Small Town Crafter

I have many opinions about Kolkata. I have not lived there much, but since my parents moved it is home. It's hot and humid, big and always busy. It has a charm unlike any other big city. The monumental scale of a former Colonial capital is hard to beat. Kolkata is also about it's people. The very many kinds of them. The rickshaw walas who live in a shanty opposite my home. The LPG cylinder guy who makes a visit monthly. The puchka wala who makes mouthwatering puchkas outside New Market. They are the ones I didn't draw. I wish I could. Today's post is all about the people who call Kolkata their home. The aam junta , everyday folks. This is Rekha  di . She is my aunt's household help. She lives in a small apartment on the terrace, and walks down the stairs to help with homely tasks around the house. She's a kind and gentle lady and I tried to capture her calm demeanor in this sketch. I sketched Seema di while she cooked some lunch for us. She is...

I never had imagined that I would go to Scotland.  But, I did. I had imagined Scotland to be like this, but it was all that and more. Five days at the Scottish Highlands, and I was hooked. I still dream of the landscapes I saw from the bus windows. The Glens and the still mirrors of the lochs.its what a traveller's dreams are made of.  If I start writing about Scotland,  it may never end. So, obsessed that I am about houses, I will share some photographs of croft homes that I took. Crofting is working on a little piece of land (croft) , and living off it. Crofting conflicts everything that I am, its hard work,  very hard, fighting bad weather,  living where there may or may not be running water or proper sanitation facilities,  living with smelly farm animals and things like that. But I am willing to do it,  just so I could live in a crofter dwelling. Who wouldn't with views like this ? Thatched roof croft dwelling Or a room with a view like ...

One of my colleagues lives in Kinhai (which I believe) one of the most picturesque towns in the country. Surrounded by green fields and hills, and an old temple in the background, this place is the embodiment of peace itself. The village in question, with great views  Luckily, I happened to visit it with a few of my colleagues from work last year, during harvest season. This village is very remote, I don't think I could have gone there otherwise .The weather was great , the fields were ripe with produce and it was the perfect light to take some photographs. I have always enjoyed visits to old towns, especially remote ones. I enjoy looking at the buildings and the people. They live so differently from us, like they belong to another planet altogether. Here are some pictures I took of that place .. An old temple dedicated to Rama  The old temple complex begins  Children climb down the temple complex...

This was my first visit to IUCCA (Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics) in Pune. This visit was special for me, more so because it is one of the best designed campuses in India.That too, by one of our country's pioneer architect  Charles Correa .I had read and heard about it during my architecture days at M.S.U. Baroda , and I was thrilled at the chance to visit it, finally. What impressed me the most was the use of windows / frames / cut-outs throughout the campus. I found many inspired by the Mandala ( 9 squares ) , a concept Correa also used in creating in Jawahar Kala Kendra , in Bhopal. They created interesting patterns of shade on the walls - they changed throughout the day, with the sun. The day I visited , it was open to the public who wished to see the science display as well ( set up specially for that day). There were lots and lots of school going children, lots of University students. Most of them were there to see the Science display, I gue...