Tag: Architecture
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No. 13
I have friends in Delhi living on the 23rd floor of a big apartment building. Once, when taking the elevator up to their flat, I noticed that there was no button for no.13. The column of figures jumped from 12 to 14. There was no 13th floor! So actually my friends are living on 22nd…
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Skeleton at sunrise
In last week’s post I showed you this dilapidated house from the other side. A very different picture giving a very different impression. This is the same house – and tree – lit up by the early rays of the sun. And this is the sun as it had just risen above the sea. I…
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AESCON
When I walked into the compound of the ISKCON temple at Chowpatty in Mumbai, I must confess I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. I don’t think much of ISKCON’s aescon but this temple is worth looking at. Beautiful materials, good craftsmanship, no trouble or expense spared. It activated my own aesthetic consciousness which…
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Zen sense
Small space turned big. It is primarily a matter of the mind. Japanese Zen masters are masters of small space. Look at this little enclosed garden: a prominent rock, a stone water basin, a raked gravel surface, a few bushes and small trees, a stone lantern … cut across by an elevated passage. Each object…
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Cow dung art
At the 2016 Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Slovenian artist Aleš Šteger has built a pyramid covered with cow dung cakes. Going through the labyrinthine passageway inside, one hears a cacophony of soft voices reciting verses in the original language of the poets who have written them. They all speak of exile. Šteger has made a ‘Pyramid of…
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Coir in Pepper House
In the courtyard of Pepper House, one of the venues of the 2016 Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Indian artist Praneet Soi had put up a number of sculptures made of coir on wooden supports. Soi had chosen to work with coir especially for the Biennale since this material has been and still is so important for the…
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Ambrosia
According to one creation myth of ancient Mesopotamia, the gods created humankind because they were fed up of having to look after their own food. Yes, gods also need food to survive, and they want man to provide it. As we can see here, man, religious man, still acquits himself faithfully of his task. This…
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The Bent Pyramid of Dashur
“We humbly greet you, oh majestic pyramid of Snofru.” That’s what the tracks in the sand seem to express in honour of the monumental tomb. The pyramids of Giza and Dashur are awe-inspiring indeed. Not only man, but the entire environment comes under the spell of their mighty presence. A drifting cloud grows dark in response to…
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The Pyramids
Going down the pyramids, one doesn’t do it every day. Nor coming face to face with them. When the moment is there, one can’t avoid the impression of absolute grandeur, and of well-nigh disbelief that thousands of years ago people have managed to plan, organize and build monuments like that. With its height of 140…
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At home in Kumaon
A row of old village houses; the ground floor reserved for the animals, the people upstairs. All built, cut and painted true to tradition. But times have changed. In the background we see a glimpse of a new building, constructed with brick and cement. And so the charm and beauty of the old is gradually…
καιρός remembered 