Menavlicha Wada, near Wai

The tortoise at the entrance of the main temple room. Maharashtrian religious carvings are usually austere and not overtly ornate. Perhaps it is the basalt stone that does not lend itself to decorous stonework unlike the marble temples of Rajasthan. Perhaps it is the austere aesthetics of the patron.

The main deity is in a sunken room. I wonder if the room gets filled with water when the river floods in the monsoons.

I don’t have photographs since I was not allowed to take any inside the Wada, but this wada has 7 courtyards. I guess seven was an impressive number. A man’s wealth was judged by how many courtyards his house had in that time. We saw about 2 and also got to go upstairs to see Nana Phadnavis’s bed with the hand operated fan over it. The ceilings of the rooms were elaborately carved with a repetitive jaali cum flower motif, similar to a 'fleur-de-lis' shape. The windows in the bedroom were small, set inside the thick wada walls, they let in just enough sun to light up the room. You wouldn't be able to read a book in that light and you weren't supposed to. Reading, writing, sewing were all supposed to take place in the corridors adjoining the courtyards. The indoor-outdoor spaces where you spent time with the family, received guests - had lots of light and were very well ventilated. It was fascinating to see how the building functioned as both house and a barricadable fort.

Prabhat Road

The gallis (lanes) of Prabhat Road.

A grand old bungalow, supposedly the movie 'Virrudh' was shot here.

This time when I went back home (its weird how I still think of it as home, I think I travel between two homes), I managed to go to Jai Narmada Apartments, where I lived between the ages of 2 and 12 and take some photographs of the buildings. As it happens I was just in time, the building is now being demolished to make room for a bigger apartment complex. I look forward to seeing something new in the place of my former home, but I can’t help feeling a little nostalgic when I think of my childhood spent there. Prabhat Road when it wasn’t so busy, when mothers would not allow their children out in the afternoon as it used to be so lonely, so quiet. Who would believe it now, who saw Prabhat Road as of today? It is still green, still verdant, I still feel like I am home under the green canopy that shelters me the minute I enter any of its lanes. The trees hardly let any harsh sunlight in. What is filtered through is diffused greenish light, lots of shade and coolness. I swear the temperature drops at least 2’ as soon as I enter Prabhat Road. I admit my past visits have dismayed me, the rampant commercialization, the crowds, the hordes of people. Not what I remember, not what I am used to, not what I wanted to go back to. But I think I am making my peace with it. I found a wonderful new trail this time and I admit its super convenient to have the bakery, the medicine store, the laundry so close by. Especially convenient after the drive everywhere suburban lifestyle that I lead in the US. Of course my son will never play in Kamla Nehru Park like I used to in the morning, then there was no fighting for the swings or the slides. The old watchman will not come out to make sure we are not getting into mischief. The bhajiwali no longer recognizes me, my friendly neighborhood cobbler is gone. I don’t see the ricksaw wala who dropped me of to school, then Ferguson, then architecture college and then ‘sasari’. I am not sure if I would have been so sensitive to the changes that I see had I not moved away. I guess I am not sure if this the price that we pay for moving away or for growing up.

The Cool House Tour

Austin is routinely rated among the best places to live in the USA. Most ratings seem to elicit just a good natured yawn from long time residents - sort of like... well we already knew that, didn't we? Tell us something we don't know. I confess I hate Austin summers, but there is little else i don't like about this city I now call home. A booming metropolis on the make, with a small town feel, getting more and more diverse by the day with a young energetic population, Austin offers a lot of opportunities to do well 'Austiny' things. Like spending a Sunday going about town, carpooling of course with good friends S and S, to see and experience 8 environment friendly houses at the start of the Austin summer. The Cool House Tour 2006, organized by the Texas Solar Energy Society and the Austin Green Energy Building Program offered 8 houses that have incorporated different features to go green. Looks like in addition to all the accolades Austin regularly receives, it is now aiming to become one of the greenest cities in the US. Way to go!! As an architect by education, and an environmentalist by vocation, I loved the idea. After visiting each of the houses, (no we did not skip a single one) I was even more impressed. All the houses looked very different, reflecting the personalities of the people who lived in them. All of them were warm and inviting and had none of the cold mechanical look that might be associated with green buildings. Careful and judicious use of green building features like ceiling fans to reduce the load on air conditioning systems, sensitivity to site design, use of appropriate and sometimes recycled building materials, water tanks, bamboo flooring etc. combined into the very distinct design of each building led to a very pleasing effect overall. I and R came back with some resolutions, (The Cool House Tour- our resolutions), which we hope to gradually incorporate into our own house. So if you are in Austin at the start of summer, do try and go for the Cool House Tour!