Re-reading Cities and Communities

Day 5: The next day I was lucky to meet Hamid Raj, who is currently faculty at Cept University. Hamid was born and raised in the old city, and loves it deeply. He is an explorer, who knows the city inside out. “I’ve been roaming these streets for years, but there is still so much that I discover everyday. That’s how rich the city is”, he tells me. Hamid frequently takes students to explore the hidden gems and unknown corners of the city, as part of a course on urban history.

March had been a busy month. Let me share some field notes from one of our authors: Sriram Natrajan While doing research on a city, figuring out where to start can be a daunting task – especially in a large and physically diverse city like Ahmedabad. But there are interesting stories to be found, even in the most unexpected corners. Here I’ve outlined my experiences with the city while researching for the book ‘People called Ahmedabad’ over the last week. Day 1: I arrived at

The post production saw an infinite gush of interesting activities. The book launch on 14th January, 2015 was held at THE HIVE and was attended by a solid strength of 230. The HIVE being written about in the book was highly upheld. The ‘people’ of Mumbai, then travelled to Istanbul at INTCESS - the social sciences forum. Commencing the presentation with PIXELS, the elite crowd of Turkey was in awe for the impact the people had on the faces of the city. The month of February w

LITMUS, Banglore was our first stint at a literature festival. The workshop helped re-live the experience of the making of People called Mumbai. A narrative workshop was organised. The enthusiastic participants communicated with each other and then with the localities to create a miniature version of People Called Bangalore. They ventured upon a brand new path of knowing their city. A path where they would keenly observe their daily helpers, their work colleagues and themselv

People Called Mumbai – was a compilation of the chosen moments that gently swayed in the Mumbai’s air but had the strength to freeze the gazer in its time and place. The publication was a compilation of 55 narratives that mapped the city breaking the barriers of occupations, geography and income. It was about striking the right chord. It was about bringing out a quality of a cosmopolitan that would render the place humane. It was about discovering the identity of the unsung h

Nisha was the backbone, the guide, the friend and the boss. Sahil was the only guy amongst a strong team of 6 girls. He was the buddy who always helps and is as friendly as possible. Soumya was the silently cool one who designed the graphics. An office that had transformed itself into a research cell had been nothing short of awesome. Vanessa came with her brilliant stories, Zankar with his sensational style, Mariel with her calm and adorable personality and Krupa came with h

Mumbai derives its signature characteristic through its people. With a diverse population influx each minute, every person here is a story in its own. However, their story is not theirs alone. Many a times, it belongs to a collective narrative, falling into the compartments of the city's history. It is in this context, the publication project- People Called Mumbai, by the architecture studio - Design [Variable] draws a parallel between writing and designing and views the city