Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
The Story Teller<br />
When the Maihar band played it was truly magical to see hundreds of candles gently<br />
flickering in the evening breeze, their light growing sharper as the sun’s rays set. The<br />
deep and soulful music of the band, played from the compositions of their founder<br />
Ustad Allauddin Khan, evoked the melancholy of the sunset and its promise of<br />
another day. It was a special moment for me and one that captured the aura of <strong>Art</strong><br />
<strong>Ichol</strong>.<br />
There are many ways that you can view <strong>Art</strong> <strong>Ichol</strong>. It is an art centre and has immense<br />
potential for creativity at many levels. To have envisioned and constructed a<br />
world-class facility in the midst of rural and small-town India is an unparalleled<br />
feat. But for me, <strong>Art</strong> <strong>Ichol</strong> is the beautiful gift of an architect father to his daughter<br />
and vice-versa For Ambica there couldn’t have been another architect as she has<br />
been a fan of her father’s work since that day in 1972, when she returned home<br />
from boarding school in Dalhousie to find their home in Delhi completed. This<br />
house was not just unusual but built on different levels in an extraordinarily<br />
creative way. In their teens, Ambica and her friends were truly fascinated, and<br />
for Ambica this enchantment remained. So, when the time came to build her<br />
dream art centre in the village of <strong>Ichol</strong>, she sought the offices of her eighty-four<br />
year old, much retired father. He says that this project of Ambica’s gave him yet<br />
another lease of life. He came to Maihar and virtually lived there for three years,<br />
first translating her vision into a blueprint and then moving brick and mortar to<br />
turn her dream into reality.<br />
Sapna Bhatia is an International journalist and a global media<br />
executive. She has worked in India as an Anchor/Correspondent for<br />
Zee News and in England with CNBC Europe, APTN and Al Jazeera<br />
English. Her company TV News International provides video content<br />
to International Broadcasters. Some of the documentaries made by her<br />
company have received critical acclaim including an Emmy nomination.<br />
She is an MBA and has a Masters in International <strong>Journal</strong>ism from<br />
City University in London. Sapna has recently started a city inspired<br />
storytelling and design portal: www.bringhomestories.com
Change language