Out of the many repositories of architecture in Gujarat, I first & foremost choose to write about the stepwells or vaav as locally called . These wells are no ordinary wells. One of the least known and visited architectural wonders built in and around 15th Century. They are five to seven storey layered excavations deep into the bowels of earth. Designed to provide water and shelter from scorching heat, they became a common place for meetings and cultural exchanges for the pilgrims.
These pictures are of Adalaj ni vaav, situated 18km. north of city of Ahmedabad. The well was built in 1499 A.D. by Queen Rudabai. There is an interesting legend behing Adalaj vaav.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalaj
The best one is in Patan. I happen to visit it while shooting for a documentary with the famous patola weavers there. The Rani ni vaav is by far the biggest and most intricate out of the ones I have visited.
Morna Livingston has compiled a book on these wells called "steps to water" which has some beautiful pictures of vaavs and Baolis all over Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
I sat down to watch this film last weekend. The title sequence was so promising that I knew I would enjoy the film. Just when I thought of this, the DVD decided to stop working! Phew!!! Anyways, I got down to search about the person behind the animation. It turned out to be Saul Bass, the guy who designed the well known AT&T logo.
A friend of mine tagged me on FB to write a few things about myself. Here is what I wrote-
1. I have been living with a confused state of mind since the time I left school and
I thought education enlightens you!
2. The only thing I have been sure about is a career in Visual arts & Marriage
3. No one medium in visual arts have interested me long enough. I began with sketching-oils-clay-graphics and currently films.
4. I am super lazy but hate to be called one.
5. I am reluctant to let go of my comfort zones. Hence I gave a lot of shit to my hubby for the 1st year of our marriage for turning me from a student to a 'married' woman, getting me to stay in 'his' city, his 'house', using his 'bathroom' and the list is long...
6. Now after a year and few months more my hubby seldom finds anything to be named as "his" My stuff spills often spills over into his territory.
7. My choice of reading material depends on the number of pages. Lesser the better.
8. My childhood playtime was mostly spent in the huge compound of my house or
in the dug up labyrinths of any construction site near by
9. My favourite playmate was my ‘badaam nu Jhaad’ a tree in my compound. It looked like a grand father with a thick fat trunk and arms enveloping all the cool breeze for my summer afternoon escapades
10. My father decided to chop it off since the tree roots were causing a wall to break.
At 24 I cried like a baby and didn’t talk to my dad for a week!
11. I was born squint and was advised to wear specs from class 1.
In the annual class photograph I can only spot my huge specs frame
12. No wonder my mother never let me buy a copy of those photos.
13. I love traveling and at 18, I arranged an all girls trip to Goa .
Midway into the trip I had a nasty fight with a friend for inviting her boyfriend over.
The result of which, I and a few other girls ( not comfortable with male presence),cut short the trip and returned home while she had all the fun!
14. At times I surprise myself as to how much I impersonate my mother in daily life.
15. Every morning at 6:30am father would call out my name with his big booming voice which served as an alarm for all three of us.
16. My father is the only man amongst all women in the house and needless to say a very strict, disciplinary and conservative in nature. The day father turned 40, my mom delivered me, a dictator who wouldn’t hear of anybody else’s rules!
17. Father and I share our birthday with Adolf Hitler. The day I realized that fact, I imagined my mom in a rescue camp.
18. I once lied to my mom and went to fly kites with my friends and had loads of fun. Upon getting caught, I confessed thinking I would be spared from a beating from father.
I was wrong. Moral of the story- “Lying is fun, telling the truth isn’t”
19. I never found a reason to believe in God. I have enough faith in the people who guide me.
20. I would prefer 100 hungry mouths to be fed during my funeral rites then have 5 Brahmins invited by my family to bless our house.
21. I have always been a 10th ranker. Never dropping down or aspiring to beat the other 9 ahead. (comfort zone)
22. Only once I failed in social studies in my 8th Std. terminal exam. My mother immediately stopped my drawing tuitions. She forgot to wipe out Mills & Boons from my sister’s cupboard!
23. My eldest sis and I are 10years apart. She has done Vishaarad in Music. So I got exposed to heavy Indian classical music at a very young age. I swore never to train my voice. A decision I regret till date.
24. As a child I was left on my own to grow up. I would do my own things. Since I would make a mess of the room floor with my paints my father allotted the 1st floor verandah as my study. I sooooooooo loved it!
25. I hardly got a dose of grand mother’s stories since she lived with my uncle in Mumbai. I never read any story books or comics in my childhood so never developed a skill to narrate stories. However, I am amazed to see myself reach the 25th bullet point.
In pursuit of finding one occupation that keeps my creativity flowing, my dreams blowing (big) and money growing. Like a jack of all trades, I have explored fine arts, film making and now exploring the culinary world. To me, all the 3 seems to be culiminating into one experience, that is the joy of creating something beautiful for all senses.
