ESSAYS, POETRY & CALLIGRAPHY BY H MASUD TAJ
ESSAYS, POETRY & CALLIGRAPHY BY H MASUD TAJ
NARI GANDHI ISBN: 978-81-908832-0-7 Published by: Foundation FORARCHITECTURE 301, Ramnimi, Mandlik Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400001 MH India www.forarc.com Email: adbp@forarc.com First Edition: 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrival system or transmitted in any form, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Adapted from the original unpublished book titled “Nari Gandhi - Dwellings” (1995), which was conceived by Sadruddin H Daya as a personal tribute to Nari Gandhi Revived & redesigned by: Pranav Upasani & Yashwant Pitkar on behalf of Foundation FORARCHITECTURE © “The Domain of InBetween” Poetry - H Masud Taj © “Buildings as Prophecy and Conversation” Text - H Masud Taj © “The Importance of Being Nari” Text - H Masud Taj © “Nari: My friend” Text - Saddruddin H Daya © Photographs - Bharat Ramamrutham & Uday Bandiwadekar © Sketches - D M Upasani © Design - Pranav Upasani & Yashwant Pitkar © 2009. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Images processed by Reproscan, Mumbai Printed in India by JAK Printers, Mumbai
NARI GANDHI ISBN: 978-81-908832-0-7 Published by: Foundation FORARCHITECTURE 301, Ramnimi, Mandlik Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400001 MH India www.forarc.com Email: adbp@forarc.com First Edition: 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrival system or transmitted in any form, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Adapted from the original unpublished book titled “Nari Gandhi - Dwellings” (1995), which was conceived by Sadruddin H Daya as a personal tribute to Nari Gandhi Revived & redesigned by: Pranav Upasani & Yashwant Pitkar on behalf of Foundation FORARCHITECTURE © “The Domain of InBetween” Poetry - H Masud Taj © “Buildings as Prophecy and Conversation” Text - H Masud Taj © “The Importance of Being Nari” Text - H Masud Taj © “Nari: My friend” Text - Saddruddin H Daya © Photographs - Bharat Ramamrutham & Uday Bandiwadekar © Sketches - D M Upasani © Design - Pranav Upasani & Yashwant Pitkar © 2009. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Images processed by Reproscan, Mumbai Printed in India by JAK Printers, Mumbai
CONTENTS “NARI - MY FRIEND” INTRODUCTION BY S H DAYA - 10 PREFACE & TEXT BY H MASUD TAJ: “LOOKING BACK” - 11 “THE DOMAIN OF IN BETWEEN” - 12 “BUILDINGS AS PROPHECIES & CONVERSATIONS” - 38 “IMPORTANCE OF BEING NARI” - 158
WORKS MOUNTAIN LODGE AT LONAVALA - 40 FARMHOUSE AT REVDANDA - 48 MAUSOLEUM AT KOLGAON - 64 GATEWAY TO MOSQUE AT KOLGAON - 70 WEEKEND HOUSE AT VERSOVA - 76 OFFICE AT CRAWFORD MARKET - 116 APPARTMENT AT COLABA - 126 WEEKEND HOUSE AT MADH ISLAND - 138
CONTENTS “NARI - MY FRIEND” INTRODUCTION BY S H DAYA - 10 PREFACE & TEXT BY H MASUD TAJ: “LOOKING BACK” - 11 “THE DOMAIN OF IN BETWEEN” - 12 “BUILDINGS AS PROPHECIES & CONVERSATIONS” - 38 “IMPORTANCE OF BEING NARI” - 158
WORKS MOUNTAIN LODGE AT LONAVALA - 40 FARMHOUSE AT REVDANDA - 48 MAUSOLEUM AT KOLGAON - 64 GATEWAY TO MOSQUE AT KOLGAON - 70 WEEKEND HOUSE AT VERSOVA - 76 OFFICE AT CRAWFORD MARKET - 116 APPARTMENT AT COLABA - 126 WEEKEND HOUSE AT MADH ISLAND - 138
This book has been in the waiting for almost fifteen years now, though the idea behind it originated in 1994 as a posthumous tribute to one of the genuinely original architects of our times – Nari Gandhi by one of his clients, Sadruddin Daya. This book thus includes those works of Nari, which were owned or supported by Daya. Nari reached far ahead of his contemporaries in pushing the frontiers of organic architecture. His extraordinary craft continues to linger in memory even as the buildings continue to disappear on the ground. As admirers of Nari Gandhi and his work, we hope our efforts in reviving this book will inspire the preservation of his legacy and go a step towards the restoration of what remains. We thank the spirit that inspired us and kept us going. We also thank all the people around us, most notably though: Mr. Pankaj Mehta of Reproscan for somehow and for some reasons retaining the transparencies intact for fifteen long years and also for the excellent work his firm did while reprocessing the images; Mr. Prakash Vishwasrao for all his guidance, so also Mr. Khushroo Patel of JAK printers for those many ideas that have helped this book evolve; Mr. D M Upasani for the sketches of Nari Gandhi and his financial support, which was also extended by Mr. Praveen Desai Thanks are due to Bharat Ramamrutham and Uday Bandivadekar for their photography. Also thanks to Priya Khanna, Ashwin Mehta, Manish Banker, Praveen Bhayani, Sandhya Seth, Kishore Bajaj, Shreya Dalal, Rohit Vakil, Rajan, Suresh Sethi, Vinay Jain and all who worked in some way for the original unpublished book. We would like to thank Prof. H Masud Taj for authoring an additional essay for this revived version; And last but not the least, Mr. Sadruddin Daya for consenting to give us the publication rights of all the material he gathered fifteen years ago & the photography he had then commissioned. Had it not been for his love for such great work, much of the subject of this book would not have existed. Pranav Upasani & Y D Pitkar May 2009, Mumbai
This book has been in the waiting for almost fifteen years now, though the idea behind it originated in 1994 as a posthumous tribute to one of the genuinely original architects of our times – Nari Gandhi by one of his clients, Sadruddin Daya. This book thus includes those works of Nari, which were owned or supported by Daya. Nari reached far ahead of his contemporaries in pushing the frontiers of organic architecture. His extraordinary craft continues to linger in memory even as the buildings continue to disappear on the ground. As admirers of Nari Gandhi and his work, we hope our efforts in reviving this book will inspire the preservation of his legacy and go a step towards the restoration of what remains. We thank the spirit that inspired us and kept us going. We also thank all the people around us, most notably though: Mr. Pankaj Mehta of Reproscan for somehow and for some reasons retaining the transparencies intact for fifteen long years and also for the excellent work his firm did while reprocessing the images; Mr. Prakash Vishwasrao for all his guidance, so also Mr. Khushroo Patel of JAK printers for those many ideas that have helped this book evolve; Mr. D M Upasani for the sketches of Nari Gandhi and his financial support, which was also extended by Mr. Praveen Desai Thanks are due to Bharat Ramamrutham and Uday Bandivadekar for their photography. Also thanks to Priya Khanna, Ashwin Mehta, Manish Banker, Praveen Bhayani, Sandhya Seth, Kishore Bajaj, Shreya Dalal, Rohit Vakil, Rajan, Suresh Sethi, Vinay Jain and all who worked in some way for the original unpublished book. We would like to thank Prof. H Masud Taj for authoring an additional essay for this revived version; And last but not the least, Mr. Sadruddin Daya for consenting to give us the publication rights of all the material he gathered fifteen years ago & the photography he had then commissioned. Had it not been for his love for such great work, much of the subject of this book would not have existed. Pranav Upasani & Y D Pitkar May 2009, Mumbai
Nari, My friend
Looking Back...
This book is a tribute to a man for whom architecture was life. Who refused to compromise on either. A strict vegetarian, he never married, led a frugal life, started each day with a visit to the fire temple and shunned publicity saying, “My work and life should speak.”
Returning to India in 1978, I trekked up the hills and met Nari Gandhi in Sadruddin Daya’s mountain lodge in Lonavla (his first work after returning to India). I was then a second year student of architecture. Daya showed Nari my poem “The Unfolding.” He read it. I waited. And then Nari quoted me quoting Frank Lloyd Wright with a follow-up question:
Freedom to create was his credo. Once in a house he designed for me, I added glass to a door to stop birds from entering. He was disturbed and asked me if I went about changing the colour of the paintings I bought. He did not see me for the next two years.
Coming from the most talented Indian to have apprenticed at Taliesin, the question was loaded. We fell silent. After a while I replied in all honesty,
He refused time or budget constraints and would smilingly add, “A home is never complete. It has to keep evolving with inmates.” Even drawings, he said, hampered spontaneity. Instead he would spend his time at sites, directing and inspiring the craftsmen as his buildings evolved. Landscape was intrinsic to his vision. He had as much empathy for plants as he had for wood, stone, leather, terracotta and hemp. Boulders continued to fascinate him. His design embraced not only the structure and the landscape, but also the furniture, the tapestry and the selection of art. Yet he never charged me for all that he did. Not that I could repay him for the joy he brought into my life. Sadruddin H Daya 1995
“Space flows” Does it?”
“It did.” It took me seventeen years to know what Nari thought of my response and my poem. Daya then traced me to Sir JJ College of Architecture where I was in the visiting faculty. He was planning a pictorial tribute to Nari who had died and wanted me to contribute an essay. Nari, he said, was a difficult man to please and he had liked my writings, which is why he had sought me out. I explained to Daya that my writing was all about waiting. Hence I would have to immerse myself in Nari’s architecture by having sleepovers in the many houses that he had designed. Daya was then the biggest art collector in India and also the biggest collector of Nari’s houses. And so during a memorable monsoon, I spent weekend retreats in those evocative houses in Mumbai, surrounding regions and in the mist-laden hill resort of Lonavla. What emerged was a short essay “Building as Prophecy and Conversation”. Further with this book’s revival, “The importance of Nari Gandhi” was written. Apart from the short essay, there also inadvertently occured a long poem, “The Domain of Inbetween.” The poem was first recited at a private gathering dedicated to Nari’s memory at Daya’s residence in 1995 and only then written down (for an oral poet, who carries his oeuvre in his head, sound is primary and calligraphy secondary). Subsequently it was recited at the National Centre of Performing Arts at the 10th Anniversary of Mumbai’s Poetry Circle. The poem later became the basis of a dance performance by Parahuman Dance Theatre in Toronto, and a site-specific event among ruins by the Crystal Collective, sponsored by the Toronto Arts Council in 2000. It took the architecture of Nari Gandhi to braid the three strands of architecture, poetry and calligraphy into “The Domain of Inbetween” and for that I remain thankful. H Masud Taj 2009
12
13
Nari, My friend
Looking Back...
This book is a tribute to a man for whom architecture was life. Who refused to compromise on either. A strict vegetarian, he never married, led a frugal life, started each day with a visit to the fire temple and shunned publicity saying, “My work and life should speak.”
Returning to India in 1978, I trekked up the hills and met Nari Gandhi in Sadruddin Daya’s mountain lodge in Lonavla (his first work after returning to India). I was then a second year student of architecture. Daya showed Nari my poem “The Unfolding.” He read it. I waited. And then Nari quoted me quoting Frank Lloyd Wright with a follow-up question:
Freedom to create was his credo. Once in a house he designed for me, I added glass to a door to stop birds from entering. He was disturbed and asked me if I went about changing the colour of the paintings I bought. He did not see me for the next two years.
Coming from the most talented Indian to have apprenticed at Taliesin, the question was loaded. We fell silent. After a while I replied in all honesty,
He refused time or budget constraints and would smilingly add, “A home is never complete. It has to keep evolving with inmates.” Even drawings, he said, hampered spontaneity. Instead he would spend his time at sites, directing and inspiring the craftsmen as his buildings evolved. Landscape was intrinsic to his vision. He had as much empathy for plants as he had for wood, stone, leather, terracotta and hemp. Boulders continued to fascinate him. His design embraced not only the structure and the landscape, but also the furniture, the tapestry and the selection of art. Yet he never charged me for all that he did. Not that I could repay him for the joy he brought into my life. Sadruddin H Daya 1995
“Space flows” Does it?”
“It did.” It took me seventeen years to know what Nari thought of my response and my poem. Daya then traced me to Sir JJ College of Architecture where I was in the visiting faculty. He was planning a pictorial tribute to Nari who had died and wanted me to contribute an essay. Nari, he said, was a difficult man to please and he had liked my writings, which is why he had sought me out. I explained to Daya that my writing was all about waiting. Hence I would have to immerse myself in Nari’s architecture by having sleepovers in the many houses that he had designed. Daya was then the biggest art collector in India and also the biggest collector of Nari’s houses. And so during a memorable monsoon, I spent weekend retreats in those evocative houses in Mumbai, surrounding regions and in the mist-laden hill resort of Lonavla. What emerged was a short essay “Building as Prophecy and Conversation”. Further with this book’s revival, “The importance of Nari Gandhi” was written. Apart from the short essay, there also inadvertently occured a long poem, “The Domain of Inbetween.” The poem was first recited at a private gathering dedicated to Nari’s memory at Daya’s residence in 1995 and only then written down (for an oral poet, who carries his oeuvre in his head, sound is primary and calligraphy secondary). Subsequently it was recited at the National Centre of Performing Arts at the 10th Anniversary of Mumbai’s Poetry Circle. The poem later became the basis of a dance performance by Parahuman Dance Theatre in Toronto, and a site-specific event among ruins by the Crystal Collective, sponsored by the Toronto Arts Council in 2000. It took the architecture of Nari Gandhi to braid the three strands of architecture, poetry and calligraphy into “The Domain of Inbetween” and for that I remain thankful. H Masud Taj 2009
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34
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48
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64
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90
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102
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126
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138
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