Desicritics Category: Culture: Design

Trident Gurgaon- A Nice Hotel

Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:23:50 EDT

Ever since I joined the current firm, I have had to make 2 trips down to Delhi. Short trips, both of them, but one of the good points is that I have had the pleasure of staying at Trident Gurgaon. I had never heard of this chain before and was a bit doubtful about this entire thing but hey, it had a bed, didn't want anything else by that time.

My first trip in June was only for a day and 1 night and did not really get to appreciate the ambiance but it was still lovely, the suite was good, the views were brilliant. But this time, I stayed for 2 nights and 2 days, and got a chance to enjoy the hotel.

The first thing that strikes you is the simplicity and clean lines of the hotel. Nothing too much hits your eyes, simple clean lines, open spaces and minimalist architecture and furnishings.

Another thing that I liked was that each and every staff member would do an namaste to you. Feels good to see and reciprocate. Anyway, between running around like an idiot, I took some photographs. You can see some 3D views here.

I searched up and down but did not get much information on the architecture. It reminds me of Mughal and Rajput architecture in strange mixes. See here for an example of the gates. Here are some examples of the arches and gates in Alwar. Here's an example of the same arch on a tomb. The same window in the Madrasa Ghazi-ud-Din Khan from a distance here. Interesting, no?

In the middle, you have a pool which is lit up in the night, but the poor chap in the middle, is dressed in a raincoat and his job seems to be sweeping the excess monsoon water from the sandstone flagging. What a job.

Anyway, when you enter the reception, its white, cool, minimalist and just two desks, with not much clutter on the desk. And a beautiful flower arrangement. 25 rose buds, arranged in a tight 5x5 square, looking beautiful. I took almost 50 photographs before one came out right, the shiny white marble was creating havoc with the photographs. But you can see how lovely it looked. My eyes kept on getting back to it. And the staff were lovely and patient with my credit card details till I finished grumbling and muttering and bubbling over the flowers with my little mobile camera.

I was lead into the hotel. And there were lovely views. The rooms are arranged around a set of pools. The next set of 2 photographs is from my previous trip.

The pools have frangipani trees strategically positioned around the pools. I just love their aroma. Funny story, me and my boss were waiting for our car to come and I noticed the trees. I told Peter- <i>you got to smell this, its lovely<i>. Muppet BD. Anyway, my room is on the other side. Following are some of the photographs of the room.

a small kitchen

with a sink and stuff. Did not use it.

the dining room and the view of the pools and frangipani trees outside

in the foreground is the desk and in the background is the sitting room

another view of the living room (can you see the fat git in the mirror in the bedroom?)

the pool viewed from the living room

the living room from the hall

the hall

the dining room

the living room with the hallway

the bed before I ruined it :)

view of the left hand side wall with the door to the loo

entering the bathroom. Nice butt

the Jacuzzi, bloody hell, you can play water polo in there

the basins, there were two, one on each wall. Hmm, too far away...

What's with the backside pictures, eh? But hey, to have two apsara's in my bathroom, I wouldn't mind at all.

All in all, lovely hotel and I think I have found my regular haunt in Delhi! :)

Full resolution pics and slide show here

Technorati Tags: Hotel,India

Born Confused: Hi Dad...er...Mom

temporal — Fri, 4 Jul 2008 01:50:40 EDT

Poor baby!

The two word opening is not condescending.

Can you imagine the little baby being utterly confused between mom and dad. Thank you mom….er……dad….er…..not you mom, dad…

34 year old Thomas Beattie, former pageant queen Tracy LaGondino of Hawaii, lately of Oregon has given birth to a baby girl, ABC News has reported.

He told People magazine he decided to get pregnant after wife of five years Nancy had a hysterectomy.

So to answer the question: how can a man be pregnant? Well, Beatie actually used to be a woman, then decided he wanted to be a man, and then decided he wanted to have a baby. When he had surgery to become a man, he had his breasts removed and was given testosterone to make him look and sound like a man, but he chose to keep his female reproductive organs. So Beatie is really a man/woman hybrid. Call him a freak, if you like.

Baby incubating aside, renting a womb aside, switching roles aside, I found this very interesting. Beattie has a penchant for coining words. Look at this play on maternity clothes:

'Unfortunately, they don't make man-ternity clothes,' he remarked recently.

Is it progress? Tides run - time does not remain still. But what is this? Will pigs fly next? Will democracy take root in Iraq? Or Pakistan? Will Bal Thackeray come out of the closet? Will Modi waltz with Mullah Omar?

What will the kid do when the school wants her to bring her dad with her next PTA meeting?

Now there will be no solace in beer drinking. A beer belly can be mistaken for pregnancy.

And did you read about the one year old baby carrying another fetus? No, not another miracle, I assure you. It is a medical condition called FiF. Fetus-in-Fetus.

So to the All India Eunuch Association Chairperson and the Von Siffers: hold your peace. We are not there yet.

Why do Women Get More Tax Exemption Than Men?

Varun P — Fri, 9 May 2008 13:28:47 EDT

While I was busy catching up with my work and those rare, few friends of mine who missed me, one of them asked me a very common, sometimes unnoticed question: Why do women get greater tax exemption than men??

Here is my reply: Historically, women have earned less than men on average. Plus, their working life-term is shorter than men, hence they are given more tax-breaks to enable them to save a higher amount over a comparably lower working life period.. Does this sound reasonable?

The question gave me a pretty weird idea and so I decided to conduct an in-office poll of the same.. Here are some replies which deserved special mention!!

--- because they deserve the best in all areas of life (a feminist..)

--- I think women are better than men and should have some privileges enhanced. (a thoughtful feminist)

--- they already have so many extra expenses (Definitely a shopaholic!)

--- because they have two letters more than we do!! (Wise-ass!!)

--- because men are better managers than women!! (This seemed like such a chauvinistic reply.. Does this even answer the question?)

--- because men keep asking for money from us!! (Certainly a lady-in-command. I wonder about the asking for money phrasing -- doesn't it go vice-versa?)

--- because they are the best in every way, and the best people get the best reward. (Hmm. I wish this person had elaborated further -- "best in every way.. which way?? how many ways?? Okay, okay, Censor Board calling!!)

--- because P Chidambaram (and FMs before him) seem to like women more than men ;) (What a sad truth! Sigh. No comments on this one!)

So, dear readers, I would love for you people to come forward and express your opinion on this question

While you are at this task, do check out this article which appeared in the Times of India in 2005. "All's Fair in Love and Tax"

For women seeking emancipation from the clutches of a male-dominated society, this year's Budget by finance minister P Chidambaram takes the first definite step not only towards gender equality, but gender empowerment. Like a Times of India editorial recently argued, finally it is the woman on top.

For generations, man-woman relationship in India has been defined by the contours of a woman's role in the family and, thereafter, by extension in society. And I dare say that these contours have been drawn since the time of Ramayana by male guardians of civil society, first with Lakshman's rekha and finally with Sita's banishment from Ayodhya on grounds of staying in Ravana's Lanka, far and away from her husband.

You will agree that our role as women is first defined by the duties we perform as somebody's daughter, then as somebody's wife, and then again as mother, grandmother... We are never really expected to be ourselves.

So in a small way, this year's Budget gives Indian women the chance to stake greater ownership over her 'real' streedhan. In terms of the income-tax benefits offered to women income earners, the Finance Minister has taken a small step towards gender equality and a giant leap for womankind. It makes a fine distinction between incomes earned by men and women and the need for women to retain a greater control over their earnings by way of providing an income-tax exemption limit of up to Rs 1.25 lakh against a limit of up to Rs 1 lakh for men.

...

Let us hope that we all move towards less taxing, more relaxing times - and make this world a better place to live in.

The author's wish sure seems to have been answered, with Mr. P. Chidambaram hiking the tax exemption limit for women from Rs. 1.45 lakhs earlier to Rs. 1.80 lakhs in the budget for financial year 2008-09!! Rock on gals!!

Sometimes I do wonder that when women all around us are fighting for equal rights, then why do we even have this reservation quota/preferential treatment for women? If you want equal rights, then shouldn't you be allowed to stand up for it and fight? Why this discrepancy? Why is it in some office places/educational institutes that they strive for a healthy male:female ratio? Why is a comment against a women by a man considered sexist while a women can get away with anything she says to a man, sexist or non-sexist? This society, which is now increasingly getting behind the female side of human beings, needs to reconsider some of the shortcomings in the justice which is meted out these days.

While I am all for females having equal rights, I certainly am amused by the fact that women in all spheres of life get preferential treatment over men in most cases. A woman's word is given more weightage than a man's word: now many of you might disagree with this generic statement but those of you who have been at the receiving end of just such a thing will know how it feels like!

Sigh! I think I have just sowed the seeds of a major debate here and while I would love to rationalize and explain my stance more elaborately, I believe in listening to the most primal and urgent calling in this world: that of your body's and mind's telling you to put all rubbish, garbage and dumpsters aside and climb into a sweet, inviting bed for a good night's rest!

But hey it's just me who needs to listen to my mind and my body -- you merry fellows go all out and rage a huge debate among yourself over what ever I have said. However, I would like to add that I do not hold any grudges against the females -- I love my Momma, I love my sisters and pretty, single girls, I am crazy about you all! :-)

The Wired Life

Manasa Pamaraju — Thu, 1 May 2008 14:25:20 EDT

Everything these days is automated, electronic and somehow or the other designed to reduce human effort/intervention. I have absolutely no complaints about these new inventions. After all, they make my life easy. But, did you notice that every such gadget has to come with a wire, usually black. The television needs a power supply, a wire here, the cable for the thousands of channels that we never see has another big wire. The laptop has wireless internet, but the router needs the power connection and hence the wire, and yes, the laptop needs a wire too. Thankfully the TV remote does not. We have indeed made great progress from the days when electrical lines used to run over the walls, I still remember my old childhood home, where the wiring was exposed in that manner. There are a number of other things that have come up in the recent past that can operate using the wireless technology and I am not unaware of them.

But, for a person who is trying to keep her home neat and clean, these wires have now become a necessary evil. In a way they bring out individual creativity. These wires give us an opportunity to utilize our brain to come up with contraptions that will help us conceal them or make them look less obvious. In our small apartment, my husband and I have tried hard to conceal a huge chunk of those necessary evils - wires. It all started many days back when I tried to clean my home. Somehow, I always felt that the hall looked really untidy and whatever I did, it never ever seemed to look prim. At the heart of the problem lay the chunk of black and white wires, running all along the room. Ma’s words then struck me like a lightning bolt . She used to remind us time and again to wrap up those wires when we were done. I can now strongly empathize with her feelings.

Anyways, back to our small home, we did manage to conceal the bunch of wires. We used some coloured paper as screens, and in the process, induced colour into our rather white and boring looking apartment. (The rent restrictions make it too much of a bother to paint the walls.) Let me confess, we still have some wires that are visible. I suppose we can’t hide everything. But, it's now much more tidy. Ah! So wires also lead to good teamwork and help in relationship bonding. After all, my husband and I were working collectively toward a certain cause that plagued us. It takes me back to another aspect, my degree in Electrical engineering, how coincidental. Now that I think of it, I used to be irked sometimes by the bunch of wires found in the labs too. I suppose my aversion to bunches of electrical wires is dated.

I have come to conclude, never take electrical connections lightly. When you decide to do your home, make sure you plan the connections and points ahead. If you don’t, trust me, they would create a havoc later in your otherwise well-planned home.

However weird this may be, our lives are wired and connected in a number of ways with all these modern contraptions - so live an Electric life!

Photo Essay: St Paul's Cathedral, London

Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta — Sat, 5 Apr 2008 06:02:32 EDT

It was evening when I got to walk past St. Paul's on the way to a meeting at the London Stock Exchange and as I was a few minutes early, I took out the camera to take some photos of the St. Paul's Cathedral. It is an imposing building.

Once upon a time, many moons ago, I was working at Goldman Sachs, which had a building right in front of St. Paul's and at that time, I used to walk over to the grounds of St. Paul's and have my lunch there. But of course, at that time, I did not have a handy camera. But now I do and here are some of the pictures taken in haste.

the pillars on the front of the cathedral with quite intricate carving

this was an iron fence which presumably protects the corner of the building from getting knocked and damaged.

this is a view of the northern side of the cathedral looking due east. The cathedral has a strong Greco-roman feel with those columns and crenellations.

Looking back up west and if you keep on going up, you will hit Fleet Street.

There seems to be some restoration going on as well, its Albion Stone, a very nice buttery cream coloured limestone. Can you imagine trying to restore stone to what it was like before? And St. Paul's restoration is a long term project. Mind you, this particular building is the fourth to occupy this site and this latest one was created around 1700's. Designed by that great man, Christopher Wren. See some pictures of the restoration here.

The fence is made up of some serious ironmongery, the casting of these fences should have taken up serious amounts of money, time and skill.

This is the statue of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He looked far too stern for my liking, reminded me of one of the teachers I had in my Jesuit school, but you can see the man who is perhaps responsible for one of the greatest flowering of evangelical Christianity in modern ages.

The base of the pillar containing the statue of St. John the Baptist (I think, it wasn't clear which John...) But the raised bronze/copper? inscription was very interesting. Makes you wonder about your own mortality. One erects these monuments to the dead and 100 years later, a man will be standing in front of it and wondering who or what Anne Richards was. It says:

IN MEMORY OF ANNE RICHARD BVRIED IN THIS CHVRCHYARD OF HER SON FREDRICK RICHARDS FOR MANY YEARS RESIDENT IN WAITING STREET AND OF HER GRANDSON FREDRICK FIELD RICHARDS PRIEST RESIDENT FOR MANY YEARS IN ST. PAVLS CHVRCHYARD THIS CROSS WAS ERECTED BY HENRY CHARLES RICHARDS CITIZEN BAKER AND TVRNER ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'S COVNSEL TREASURER OF THE HONORABLE SOCIETY OF GRAY'S INN 1904 1905 AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR EAST FINSBURY 1895 1905 WHO SPENT THE HAPPIEST HOVRS OF A BVSY LIFE AS A FREQVENT WORSHIPPER WITHIN THE WALLS OF THIS CATHEDRAL "GOD BE MERCIFUL TO ME AS A SINNER".... 1905

Notice that the U's are replaced with V's, impact of Latin perhaps? A bit verbose and perhaps I would not have written so much, but hey, who pays the piper gets to call the tune. But the craftsmanship was brilliant, very nice.

Then we have a bench which has a plaque which states:

IN PROUD MEMORY OF THE LATE LT. COL. H. N. CLARK, DSO, TD, COMMANDING OFFICER, 290 BDE RFA (T) PRESENTED BY 2/1ST CITY OF LONDON, RFA, OCA, 1914-1918.

That's Royal Field Artillery for you. Here's an interesting site which tells you about the man who commanded this group of men, they were part of 1st corps, 58th London Division, and I quote: "58th Division advancing on Lens on the right" on 11th November 1918, the day the first great war ended...

So while I was sitting there on that peaceful evening looking up at the great building, this bench was commemorating a man who led men on the battlefields of one of the most violent conflicts known to man. All quiet on the western front?

Then I trundled around back to the front of the cathedral which has an interesting series of polished stone bollards around the front. You can see up the road and walk down the stairs holding on to this massive bronze handrail, very nicely crafted as well. Although I think the stone bollards are new.

The porch (although it is way too big to be called as a porch) was massive with the pillars and the marble flooring. You can see the huge wooden doors on the left hand side photograph behind the photographer. Although the alcoves looked empty. It was as if they were designed to hold statues, but they did not. I was also not sure about the purpose of the pillars, so close to the main wall. Are they really load bearing or just for show?

The wooden doors were massive and the bronze rosettes were big as well, and looking at the ceiling, it is very tightly sculpted in that Albion stone. Lovely warm stone, but apparently it gets dirty very quickly...

As before, for the full slide show (and some more photographs) in much bigger resolution, please click here or click on the thumbnail to go to a bigger resolution picture.

Technorati Tags: London,Photo Essay

Movie Review: Jodhaa Akbar - Mystery Solved: Why There Was No Birbal?

Aditi Nadkarni — Wed, 2 Apr 2008 10:49:52 EDT

Those who have read my movie reviews know of my unexplained aversion to commercial Hindi films....at least the plot-less, song sprinkled, melodramatic embarrassments that we have to watch dazzling at us from their lofty places on box office charts.

I now have developed significant and upsetting reactions to the Punjabi family of Bollywood, to the melodramatic unmarried uncle (Alok Nath), manic Papa (Anupam Kher), plump and cloying mummy-jis (Reema Lagoo, Farida Jalal), overtly shy, mature bahus (god, there are so many of them) and the immature and tomboyish damsels who continue to roller-skate in the house, eat unexplainable amounts of candy and pull kiddish pranks way into their twenties (usually the leading lady).

More about these characters "here" , but whatever. Since this is Bollywood's treatment of family dramas, I am all the more skeptical about how they would execute the period romances that require intricate detail. But this review is about the one film that I watched in the theater armed with my narrowest and most disapproving gaze and emerged not half as disappointed as I had expected to be.

If it hasn't been said enough, the visuals of Gowariker's Jodha-Akbar were breathtakingly beautiful. Aishwarya's couture stood out and so did Hrithik's brawn.

The actors did what they have always done. Aishwarya looked pretty and wept when she wasn't engaging in occasional bouts of hip-jutting sword duals. Hrithik flexed his biceps and fought wild elephants with his bare hands. Apart from a few notable performances such as Ila Arun as Maham Anga, this film was a director's feat and not really carried by any of the actors' performances. The director's sensitivity can be detected in scenes where the new bride cooks a feast for her husband, where a mother advises her daughter to pick death over humiliation, where a princess first earns her husband-to-be's respect by making known that her faith and beliefs warrant a non-negotiable place in her life and where a great king stands up for his wife and becomes a husband.

With Lagaan, director Ashutosh Gowarikar established that he could tell us a fascinating story, with Swades he demonstrated his prowess at weaving art into the escapist fabric of commercialism and now with Jodha Akbar he proves that he has the finesse to convey the delicacies of a love story.

The redundancy during every intimate scene in all the songs bare his weakest points and that somehow to me makes him seem like a better director than those who are brilliant at the choreography and love scenes but fail at the story-telling.

What is interesting to note is Gowariker's clever use of rich, warm colors that add to the cultural identity of each scene. He used this apparatus in Lagaan for the song "Radha Kaise Na Jale", did it again with Swades and Jodha Akbar is teeming with such cinematographic delights which underscore the cultural richness that a period romance would've been incomplete without. Gowarikar also uses a dash of unexpected humor especially in the Jodha-Akbar sword dual.

The art and creative direction is what truly gives this film its grandeur. The colors surround you and make the film worth watching in a theater rather than on a television screen. The orange and red hues with the dusky backdrop of the desert, the cackling fire set amidst colorful tents, the majestic pink forts and the glorious white robes light up the screen. A.R.Rahman as always delivers and while all his songs are catchy, the "Khwadja Mere Khwadja" number is sublime.

For those who criticized the film for its conspicuous lack of political detail and a sorely missing Birbal, I would just like to point out that the film is called "Jodha Akbar" and not "Akbar the Great" or "Akbar Birbal" or "Akbar and the Navratnas". Any focus on the navratnas or the presence of a witty Birbal would've, I strongly believe, pulled attention from the romance itself. Sure, Jodha's role could've been meatier, Ms.Rai could've sobbed less and Hrithik could've delivered his dialogs in a more believable tone without looking like he was going to sneeze each time.

My only major grouse was with the length of this film. This romance was about the cultural disparities between a couple that had an inter-religious marriage in a time when religious differences were probably more pronounced than they are in the present world.

The film showcased a husband-wife relationship and managed to include snippets of loyalty, trust, identity and respect that form the basis of a successful marriage.

It could've covered all those areas and been wrapped up in lesser time if we wouldn't have to watch Aishwarya riding a horse for ten long minutes only to then fall on Sujamal's chest and do what she does best...weep. We could always do without the classic "running to Krishna idol" scene whenever someone's life is in jeopardy and the listless stream of foreplay poses packed into a never-ending song. If Mr.Gowariker is reading, I would want him to know that with Lagan he changed the acceptable format of commercial cinema and no longer requires to stick to it.

But I am starting to make peace with these lost hours of my life that Bollywood devours and that I will never get back. I tell myself that directors have considerately made these lengthy inclusions just so I can have a samosa and still have time for a leisurely bathroom break.

...and that my friends is probably where Birbal went.

Photo-Essay: The Magical Collection of Ganesh

Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:47:38 EST

Ganesh is one of my favourite Gods, for many reasons, such as his knowledge, his writing ability (he should be the God of bloggers). But this essay is not about him per se, but about the collection of statues which my mother has put together. There are more than 200 statues of various types, but in the interests of time and not to be boring the pants off of people, I have selected the top 100 which I liked. Those are in the full slide show (link at the bottom), and then I have further selected some which "spoke" to me.

Ma got them from all over the country and some she sculpted herself. What amazed me was the sheer diversity of how people see Ganesh and then represent his divinity using clay or any other materials.

On the left is Bal Ganesh, baby Ganesh, crawling on the floor. It is a tiny statue, hardly 2 inches tall and 3 inches wide. Very cute statue from the Bastar District in India. On the right is a statue showing Ganesh playing the cymbals.

On the left is a statue of Ganesh from Calcutta wearing a dhoti, proper Bhadralok, a typical Bengali gentleman. In the middle, Ma made this out of twine and beads and on the right, Ma made this out of stones, pebbles and glue.

On the left, is a statue carved out of a Bamboo plant, very nice carving. The one in the middle is made out of gram flour. Can you imagine? It's Bengali again. And the one on the right is a modern art Ganesh, made out of polished marble.

A tribal Ganesh is on the left, made out of brass. Ma picked this up during one of her trips out into the jungles of Madhya Pradesh, while she was researching for one of her books. And then you have a rather startled looking colourful Ganesh in the middle. I am not surprised, I would be startled as well if I was painted in those colours! Then you have a rather corpulent fired clay Ganesh on the right. Again tribal (Originally from Orissa).

The orangish translucent Ganesh on the left is made of some kind of plastic material, it was gifted to Ma. On the right, you can see a Ganesh perched on the dashboard of a car. He is obviously there as driving on Indian roads requires divine assistance and protection. But what is worrying is that he is facing the driver and not the road!

The statue on the left bears a striking resemblance to Dumbo (or perhaps a gremlin?) but frankly, it is one of the few statues with an anatomical verisimilitude about the size of the ears. Most don't even have ears or if they do, they are more like afterthoughts, like the lacquer statue in the middle. And the statue on the right is made out of some kind of amazing stone. It almost glows from the inside and has tiny pinpricks of light. I was reminded of the sentence from 2010, OMG, it is full of stars when I took the photo of the tiny statue on my jeans clad thigh.

Three transparent and translucent statues, all made out of glass, two clear and one blue. The one on the right is a masterpiece, it is obviously not blown but they have made parts and then stuck them together to make up this statue. Can you imagine the workmanship and the amazing attention to detail?

On the left is a Sandalwood Ganesh from Mysore, in the middle is a Ganesh from Bihar made out of a strange kind of very light stone, while the Ganesh on the right is made up of tile pieces which Ma stuck on the wall of the roof. God (Ganesh!), she does indeed have an artistic eye!

Then we have a statue of a clay Ganesh dressed up as an English Gentleman, briefcase, three piece suit, umbrella and a hat. Very cute! Then another tribal Ganesh, which Ma found while she was filming somewhere in the depths near Gwalior. Apparently the tribe which makes this keeps women away from the entire process of statue making. And another statue which she made herself out of pebbles.
This was made out of orange wax and the wick is on top, not sure if you can make it out.

The left hand side is a Ganesh which Ma made out of sea shells and some string/beads. Another pebbly Ganesh in the middle, while at the right end you can see a Pushnir Ceramic Ganesh.

When people talk about worshipping statues, I smile because when you look at all these representations of Ganesh, you do not see a statue, but rather different emotions and feelings of each individual different sculptor. Every different representation shows how the Divine is seen and discloses how there just are so many viewpoints, infinite number of dimensions. He means something different to different people. If one was indeed worshipping the statue itself, then over the past thousands of years, the representation would have been reduced down to only a few common images. I see those statues and I feel the love. Perhaps that is worship indeed.

Here is the full resolution slide show. Warning!!! There are 100 images in there so only see if you have few minutes to spare! :) May Ganesh bless you.

Technorati Tags: Photo Essay,Hinduism

How Green is My Antilla!

arZan — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 01:00:28 EST

In a hard hitting and valid argument Daniel Brook talks about Mukesh Ambani's Antilla being billed as a Green Building by its American architects Perkins+Will.

When completed, the 24-story Ambani family home will include its own health club, terraced sky-gardens, and 50-seat screening room (the reclusive Ambani is reputed to be a huge Bollywood fan). Antilla also boasts three helipads and a 168-car garage. This may sound like transportation overkill, if not outright eco-terrorism, for a family of six. But despite its 38-to-1 car-to-person ratio, Antilla has been billed by its American architects as a “green building.” And under the leading standards for green architecture, the building will likely qualify.

The LEED rating system at best is a guideline and at worst is riddled with loopholes.

Installing a $395 bike rack is worth the same under the LEED checklist system as installing a $1.3 million environmentally sensitive heating system. Which is the cynical builder going to choose?

This allows for architects like Perkins+Will to claim to design green buildings while in reality it is all a hogwash.

The rating system is designed for US standards and when implemented on Indian conditions and buildings, every project could bag the "green" tag.

Perkins+Will is not the only ones who ride the hype-mobile. Even reputed Indian architects like Karan Grover do the same. By understanding the system and finding the loopholes, Grover has the "distinction" of being the first architect with both a LEED Platinum Building and a LEED Platinum Commercial Interior project.

Even FXFowle who is designing the India towers at Charni Road in Mumbai are billing their project to be

within a sustainable network of green roofs and hanging gardens; creating a singular, extraordinary building that, when completed, will be the tallest and greenest - building in India. [link]

Green has become the buzzword of the latter half of this decade. And it helps to sell everything from food to apartments costing millions (in whatever currency).

And from what I read and see, India seems to be picking up the hype which has somehow started clearing out in the US, as the article above points out .

The Indian Green Building Council has just now woken up to the big difference in standards and the first LEED guidelines are being formalized for India. However it will take a few years for the real effects to trickle down to the individual building level.

People like Mukesh Ambani and Reliance should be leading the way instead of being an example of the moral bankruptcy that Reliance has time and again shown.

Architects in India have an easier job designing in sustainable ways. A lot of our building materials procurement and construction technology are sustainable to start with. Indian architects, developers and designers have a real opportunity to push beyond the "green" envelope and set an example.

Girish Bharadwaj: An Unsung Hero

Tanay Behera — Sun, 6 Jan 2008 13:43:08 EST

In India, when we browse the newspapers these days, we read volumes about the 'digital divide' and how many of the telecom vendors and other entities are attempting to bridge this gap. To me, to be connected with the outside world, comes in the second level of requirement, after the core essentials for the proper functioning of a developing society are met.

The luxurious Western Ghats kissing the borders of Karnataka and Kerala are a fascinating series of greenery dotted with hills and valleys, simple people, countless rivers and loads of freshness. Traveling across this stretch in the Indian Railways is the best way to soak oneself with the flourishing vegetation. To an occasional visitor, all these appear charming, a perfect way to break free from the randomness of city life. But come rainy season, this region is completely cut off from the outside world, a place where people use boats or coracles in their daily lives to commute and to transport kids across the water bodies to the schools.

Living in cities and towns, we are tuned to getting all the facilities to reach our offices, schools, banks or for that matter any destination at time of the day. Now think of a scenario in a village where the boats are the only savior, and with the overflowing river during the monsoons, most boatmen are reluctant to ferry their boats. Life would come to a standstill, kids can't go to schools in time, pregnant ladies needing medication in the middle of the night can't be transported to the nearby hospitals and the problem list becomes endless.

But there is this unsung hero who with his engineering skills and humanistic activities has brought smiles and cheer in the faces of many people. This is Girish Bharadwaj, who hails from a small village Arambur, in Aletty district near Sullia town on the western slopes of Kodagu. Born in Mangalore in 1950, this virtuoso received his formal education from P.E.S. College of Engineering in Mandya near Bangalore.

He learnt the classical techniques in Mechanical Engineering, during the 1970's, a time when not much stress was laid on experimentation but rather on the application part of it. During those days, getting a job was considered a remarkable achievement, and Girish took up a part time job while running Ayas Shilpa (sculpture in steel), a small fabrication unit in Sullia town.

It was in 1988, that Girish's career took a dramatic turn, when few people from his native approached him and requested him to build a bridge. Girish replied that since he was Mechanical Engineer and was not at all adept in Civil Engineering and construction related designs, he was not qualified for the assignment. But persistence, tenacity and the people's faith in him, triggered an unusual fire within him and he started studying about bridges. He consulted the technical faculty at two of the top technical institutions in India, National Institute of Technology, Surathkal and Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai and thus started his journey.

Today at the age of 58, Girish is the proud architect and constructor of close to 68 bridges in the deep hinterland, the average length of most bridges being 70 to 80 meters. The skeptics who had the impression that bridges, cannot stand without the pillars in difficult terrain, are speechless today with his marvelous creations, the suspension bridges.

I know Girish for a while now and after interacting with him, he shared with me few other facets of his artistry.

Initially big trees were used as pylons, if those were available at the right place as in case of Kodagu district. The trees were the perfect fits, when the bridges stretched from 10 to 30 meters. Concrete pylons are now preferred for longer stretches because of their assured long life. The hanging floor element is quite stable supported by anchors and transoms. On both sides of the bridge, PVC coated chain-link fencing is erected till waist level. Over the years, the bridges have seen many conceptions and engineering innovations.

Girish is supported in his work by a team of 36 members, of which 18 perform the core design and implementation tasks. Since there is no other organized body in India, which is consistently building hanging bridges at a low cost, with uncompromising importance to safety and quality, Girish has to yield to pressures now and then. I learnt that very recently he has got invitations from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and Bhavnagar in Gujarat to undertake some new initiatives in those lands.

Because of various reasons such as distance to commute from Karnataka and to adjust in these new lands with different climatic conditions, lack of a skilled team to backup his core team members who are getting old, Girish is more than willing to share his knowledge and know-how's to interested people. He told me that all he needed were a dedicated engineer and a bunch of smart working boys and he would accompany and guide them till the completion of two or three bridges in a new region. Thereafter, the new team can carry on this task all by itself.

Girish, a father himself never pressurized his own children to carry on this tradition, and he is scouting for people interested to perfect the craft and utilize this workmanship for the benefit of the people and society. Although Girish, has not been advertised in the print and the online media much, he has found himself admirers from far and wide like Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Cambodia, etc.

Girish's people-based approach towards his work has always attracted considerable local support and it is very practical. When construction is in progress, his entire team, lives in small tents constructed on the river bed. They share the work and the food, concentrating till the project gets over. Girish recently completed a project in the naxalite terror afflicted, Warangal district in a placed called Laknawaram in Andhra Pradesh. He told me that, at night the common villagers used to come and share the tent with his entire team, providing the much needed security more out of thankfulness and appreciation, rather than his personal petition.

Trifle makes perfection but perfection is not a trifle, these words of wisdom apply to this master artisan who has lived his life bringing goodwill to millions of hearts. A rare individual to find in this bribe hungry bureaucratic world, not bothered about the felicitations, and all that drives him in his selfless endeavor is the gratitude and the warm blessings of the people.

Girish Bharadwaj's story is informative for those uninformed of India's social dynamics and wish to bring about a change by engaging in action-less dialogues and debates in television channels. Much of the exclusive economic growth and development is centered around urban areas and most of us in these concrete jungles, do not have enough time and energy for making a change in the bowels of India. But that hasn't stopped few humble folks from exploring ideas and gathering a core of dedicated people around their passion. Isn't that a miracle ?

Longpi Beer Mugs, Anyone?

Deepa Krishnan — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:07:12 EST

From Manipur, a little state in the easternmost part of India, comes a craft that is both interesting and useful - Longpi Ham, the lustrous black pottery of the Longpi Village.

Why do I like this craft enough to write about it?

Well, first, there's the simplicity and timelessness of the design: look how striking these pots, mugs and vases are. They're all black in colour, almost austere, and there is an earthy rusticity that draws me to them.

Then there's the finish. The pots are smooth and lustrous. When you touch them, your fingers glide over the surface, and they leave you wondering if this is stone, ceramic or clay.

Then, there's all the little fascinating trivia that lies behind the creation of these pots. I discovered the trivia by accident, as I was paying for the 6 beer mugs I bought. As we settled the transaction, I asked the seller a casual question about his craft.

"Is this black terracotta?" I asked him. "No", he said, "it is stone." He rapped on it with his knuckles. Yes, it was stone. But stone that looked like clay? That set me googling, and before I knew it, I was trivia hunting.

The first thing I found out was that Longpi pottery is very different from other pottery - the clay is actually made by crushing stone into powder and then mixing it with regular mud.

What's more, Longpi craftsmen don't use just any kind of stone. They use serpentinite, a dark black stone that powers the fascinating hydro-thermals of the Lost City in the Atlantic Ocean.

(As an aside - if you have the time, you should really look up this Lost City stuff. You see, when serpentinite is formed, the process releases large quantities of heat. At the Lost City, this has created an eerie undersea world populated by strange invertebrates).

So anyway - to make Longpi pottery, you first hunt for serpentinite. Then you pound it into powder with a hammer, and mix it with other materials to form a sort of dough. You shape the dough by hand into the things you want to create. There is no potters wheel, there is only the skill of the artist. When you finish, and it hardens a bit, you bake it in a kiln at 900 degrees Centrigrade.

When it's taken out of the kiln, it is then polished with a local leaf called Chiron Na. That's what gives it that lustre.

So - a remote village, a strange hot stone, clay that is rolled like pizza dough, no potters wheel, and a final rub with leaves at the end - what an exotic little craft!

Longpi beer mugs, anyone?