Reflections

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ReflectionsChance, coincidence and turning pointsIn 1944, Bhai went to Benares Hindu University to become an engineer. He joined thearmy. So it was my turn to become an engineer!Math was not my strong subject, so I applied to IIT Kharagpur for architecture andnaval architecture. After a few tests and an interview, I got a call for architecture. Thatwas 1954. It was a new phase in my life and also a new way of life. Bhai used to sendme 120 rupees every month. After paying for my fees, mess charges and otheressentials, I was left with a few rupees for, which, these days is called discretionaryspending. This, I used to spend to subscribe to a daily newspaper and on a monthlytreat. The treat meant putting on my best clothes, cycling down a few miles to the161
Kharagpur railway station. There, in the cafeteria, I would order a plate of vegetablecutlets – I was a vegetarian then, and a cup of coffee. Cutlets cost 12 annas, coffee 2annas and 2 annas I left as tip, for which I got a big salute from the smartly dressedwaiter.I was falling into a routine, classes in the morning, sleep in the afternoon, library in theevening and working on the drawing board at night. I thought I worked hard but it wasnot enough to get more than B/B minus grades. That year, in the two months ofsummer vacation, I joined the PWD office in Lucknow as a trainee. For my efforts, Igot 120 rupees per month plus some drafting practice and a lot of time to think of howto break the barrier of B/B minus grades, for if I didn’t do it soon, I would becondemned to it forever.In the second year, the first project was to design a swimming pool. And that was achallenge, for how much could one do with a swimming pool. A pool is just a big holein the ground, one could make it kidney shaped or oval, or just a plain rectangle. Whatmore, what else. I was struggling. One evening, sitting in the library, browsingthrough the sections of the swimming pool, an image of a ship flashed through mymind. I went to the drawing board, drew a section of the pool and a thick line at thebottom for the ground. And voila, I had my design! A swimming pool over theground, not under. I added stairs to reach the deck and diving boards. It started to looklike an aircraft carrier.162
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ReflectionsA collection of writings
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Those of us who have worked with hi
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21. The eternal cycle 9322. Things
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When we returned to India after liv
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Whom Are We Building Homes For?An i
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especially, we should be working ha
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population is only about 5 per cent
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absurd - what's wrong with people s
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But the fact is that today, there a
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Don’t nibble at our parksLondon,
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are available in the eastern and we
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I spent formative years of my life
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The saddest part is that we archite
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This historical bias has conditione
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with the built environment are lost
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they are the only examples of mass
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on to sub-terrain architecture, per
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It is not a mere accident of histor
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The vitality remainsA city to survi
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are taking root and more and more t
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Our Decaying CitiesAn Interview for
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People were moving into cities beca
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Chandigarh did have the advantage o
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and cheaper structures of brick. Tr
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Wanted : a Beetle buildingThe Volks
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fair to a society which desperately
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In the beginning, the response of d
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judge efficiency by the number of p
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the present system. Therefore, the
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accepted by the housing planners. T
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In the last decade, the trend chang
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Recently, I read a book titled ‘T
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The Responsive HouseThe Responsive
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gains are made due to shortened pro
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City should be seen as a verb, not
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What kind of plans, on a macro leve
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a tenure and they know that their s
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Knowledge about architecture should
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down. All these measures do not req
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A Mahatma true to his nameA tribute
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But you agree that on the day of th
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alarming, is the reported news that
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Declining quality of our elected re
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I would also prohibit candidates st
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Bureaucratic Republic of IndiaA few
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On reaching the US, he wrote a stif
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After working for some time, he wan
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Frankly, it stinks!One of the hassl
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And in many cases, lawyers and doct
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Combining the laws of social cycles
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Things seem pretty messy!India Toda
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The corporation also has French Dau
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its balanced and well-researched re
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the narrow main road. During the re
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I am often asked why New Bombay has
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have been doing. Maybe, just twiddl
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another, followed by professors and
Page 117 and 118: told a lie in the parliament was en
Page 119 and 120: Kick out sports' bodies!Well, we ha
Page 121 and 122: In addition, we have Margaret Alva
Page 123 and 124: 'Kursi', the only concernVP Singh b
Page 125 and 126: I cannot believe that experienced p
Page 127 and 128: The primitive knife was designed, p
Page 129 and 130: produce, manufacturers to produce w
Page 131 and 132: using the indicator signals and fla
Page 133 and 134: Avoidable tragediesWe all know that
Page 135 and 136: a young boy playing in the forecour
Page 137 and 138: In Japan now, whenever a superfast
Page 139 and 140: Black is not so beautifulSome time
Page 141 and 142: And talking about colour on the roa
Page 143 and 144: The same Sunday as the above cuttin
Page 145 and 146: emergency telephone numbers big and
Page 147 and 148: numbers. If I had to pay, I would b
Page 149 and 150: Another point, when prices of the b
Page 151 and 152: Perks should be bannedOur national
Page 153 and 154: the quarrel is. When airbuses were
Page 155 and 156: nature. It gave human enterprise th
Page 157 and 158: Glimpses of GoaSun, sand, sea and m
Page 159 and 160: A bricklayer from Finland has moved
Page 161 and 162: Spaced out?Make your limited area f
Page 163 and 164: and physically, it will always rema
Page 165 and 166: Floor is the most versatile element
Page 167: Banish fluorescent tubes!7. Use lig
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Page 173 and 174: F.R.S. Yorke’s practice was old a
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Page 177: People who worked with us decades a
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