Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Louis Kahn

And before I lose my wifi connection, a few pics of the the IIM campus designed by Louis Kahn. I haven't seen too many of his buildings. I had mixed feelings about the film My Architect, a documentary made by Kahn's son in which he comes to terms with his father's architecture and personal life (turns out that Kahn had two families and that neither knew of the other until Louis Kahn died...) Leaaving the personal angle aside, the buildings were lovely. It's a modernism that rises from the earth rather than being like a UFO landing from outerspace... It fits its place and purpose without needing any shallow tokens of Indianism or modernism. Must make it a point to see more of Kahn's work...

Don't you want to take one home with you?

Spotted the new Tata Nano in Ahmedabad yesterday. Billed as the 1000-dollar car, it is meant to carry a family of four. I wouldn't mind one of these some day. Last year I drove a grand total of 600 miles or 50 miles a month or 12.5 miles a week. Hey boss, in case you're reading this, it's not that I'm not going to the flugelbindery regularly... It's just that I like public transportation. I wish I had a picture of the way that the Indian family of four gets around now... I'll try to snap a picture and post it soon...

And apologies for the delay in posting. I've been on the road in India. And gotten a year older. And a year wiser. And certainly a year more fabulous...

xoxo

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Time for a facelift?

The old me...



The new me...



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(Art) Miami (Vice)

I'm in Miami! For Art Basel Miami! A strange concept this, Basel Miami, but lots of art to see. Will try to post some pictures soon.

But actually at this minute I'm in a Starbucks -- some last minute flugelbindery came up -- I'm being driven crazy by early Christmas tracks...

Must get out and see some art!

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Much to think about...

The 'Thinker' and Female Figurine From Cernavodă
Fired Clay
Hamangia, Cernavodă, 5000-4600 BC
National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest: 15906, 15907

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P.S. Of course -- what was he thinking about? My interpretation in the comments!

The lost art of letter writing

certainly existed in the past. I've heard so much about these letters, heard bits of them quoted, well here's a chance to read more than a bit. They are fully cross-indexed and also include images when they are referred to in the letters. What a treasure trove!

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Seven of my favorite things

Jane, over at her lovely blog The Nearness of Distance, tagged me to list seven of my favorite things. Oh! so many ways I could with this. Big, broad concepts and categories, or super-micro specifics. I'm enjoying thinking about this list so much, I might do 7 seven lists! But here's a first crack:

1. I love hazelnut ice cream, often accompanied with pistachio. I'm easily swayed by other flavors (had a heady babà-al-rhum over the summer in Italy -- I had to have it every night I was in town...), but I always come back to my true (ice cream) love, hazelnut.
2. I do love Champagne. It's a recent love. Of course, I would always drink it on those special occasions - New Year's, weddings - but in London I discovered as an everyday going-out drink. It's not that I uncork a bottle at home (though I should! and I recently came upon a stash of superbly priced half-bottles...), but if I'm in that situation of having a drink before dinner, rather than a glass of white wine or an American cocktail, I find myself asking for Champagne. I know the French will shudder, but even a Champagne cocktail makes happy.
3. Puris and shrikhand are one of my favorites since I was a child. Puris are a Indian bread, which is deep fried until it puffs up and becomes crispy. And they are incomparable when you get them straight from the frying pan. Well made, they are not too oily. You eat them with whatever is in your plate, but if you happen to have shrikhand, then -- joy! Shrikhand is Maharashtrian and Gujarati dessert made from strained yogurt and flavored with safron. It is the alchemy of simplicity. That's it, but what a combination -- and then if you have the puris you are truly set for bliss.
4. Carnegie Hall is one of my 3 favorite places in New York, and thus by extension the world. This is my way of including classical music -- I was tempted to pick a favorite recording or performer, but next time. Right now I would like to savor the thought of being enveloped in the hall's generous acoustic. It's the kind of place that involves you in the music. There's no sitting back with analytic distance. Even at the back of the hall, the music reaches up to your ear.
   
5. I love Room 56 at the National Gallery in London. When I have only a few hours in London, then I'll stop in here.
6. I love walking in cities. I'm an active person - I used to run, and still do versions of this on the modern torture machines. I drive, a fast car, carefully. But really my favorite method of locomotion is walking. And my favorite place to do it is in a city. Any city will do, but hopefully some place with an interesting street life. It doesn't have to beautiful, but that is fine too.
7. And why not admit..

xo

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