Inside a Restored Pol house

When I was posting my pictures of Ahmedabad's Pols- I was doing my usual google search on what to write & guess what I get- pictures of how a renovated Pol house looks! I didn't venture into any of those homes when I went, but the net is a generous place. So we have the pictures taken by John Hentry Claude Wilson (from cuboimages)- they are water marked but I had to feature them here!

Restored traditional Pol house, an all wood structure, with wood carved facade, some 300 to 400 years old, Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, India, Asia
Traditional wood door and 19th century floor tiles Traditional wood doors, and open grill allowing cross ventilation- (arent these guys to die for!) Loved that red chair with the tile
Wood beamed ceiling and kitchen utensils on wall in dining area (Love the chairs here)

Kitchen area with brass cooking utensils and samovar

Bedroom detail, with traditional sweeping brush

Traditional mud floor contrasting with the magnificently painted ceiling

The magnificent and incongruous bedroom ceiling, painted in the European style (!) fusion decor if nothing else is unfailingly interesting :) And thats a lot- in my book.
Inner courtyard ( I loved these images and saved it for the last)
Decorative child's toy parrot in traditional wall niche

Pols of Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad is full of contradictions. Architecturally it straddles the old and the new. The new city is full of malls and boasts of clean lined structures by the likes of world famous Louise Kahn. But the old city is what gives Ahmedabad its texture. And you can't think of old Ahmedababad and not talk about its famous Pols.

The word 'Pol' in short for 'pratoli' in sanskrit and simply means door or 'entrance'. As one steps into the very narrow lanes crammed with homes stacked close and almost piled on each other, its easy at first glance to think- this...? And then you walk in and look around you will see beauty, in every peeling door, in every dusty frame- each differently intricate, each separately carved, with workmanship that speaks of royalty.

Our jaws dropped at this kind of intricacy...


"A Pol is a small residential unit consisting of a single street with a group of houses, which is usually protected by a massive gate at the entrance. When the gate is closed, the entire street becomes one big house often inhabited by people of the same trade or even by relatives. A compact housing cluster with dead-end streets forms a distinctive residential pattern within a Pol. "

"In earlier days, the Pols were self-sustaining for a certain period of time since each house had its own underground storage for water, and food grains were stored in the safest part of the house. At times, two different Pols opened for ventilation at the same point and they also had a common service bay for drainage, water supply and garbage collection. These Pols formed a kind of micro-neighborhood, which developed further as population density increased in the city."
Drying towels and the wiring form an odd and real contrast to all that carving that belongs to another century.
Not all of them are styled similarly though, some distinctly show strains of the art deco style

more art deco....

These kind of maddeningly beautiful details are just thrown around the dusty corners.

And the people were extremely friendly and inclusive. The gossip and the chores were all shared so much so that a new comer would never know who belonged to which home. Walking the narrow lanes was almost like walking around in their house and to get certain closer shots I had to climb onto the balconies. All of which ended up in someone asking if I am from NDTV or National Geographic (!) what made them imagine that someone from these places would land up with a point and shoot camera is a mystery. But the experience sure made for a brilliantly memorable afternoon.

Tagged!

I've been tagged. And to my embarrassment have figured that I can't write about myself with half the ease that I write my regular posts. Confession: for inspiration I have scoured some half a dozen blogs to figure how they've done theirs. I even apologised to fellow blogger Angie of Studio Wellspring who tagged me, for taking my time with this. Angie is a Hugely talented designer who also loves dancing is quite the tango dancer. Do check her happening blog here- one never knows what she's going to post about next.

Ok the rules/nitty gritty (??!!) of the game are : link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog. share seven random and/or weird things about yourself. tag seven people[ideally- if not the sky wont come crashing down :)] at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here's my random list about me -

Im a sunlight junkie- can't get enough of it. I can walk in the sun ALL day- if I had the time. I actually dislike the rains because there is not enough sun then.

I also love walking- so much, that I end up wearing sneakers half the time cause- there's no substitute to being comfortable :)

These are pics I took one evening on my way back from a shoot (film city- goregaon)

This in turn dictates my wardrobe- what goes with sneakers? Jeans and t shirts? well what can I say... I seem to have got my dress sense bottoms up! Not to forget my rucksack into which EVERYTHNG goes, my books, my camera and even a spare top and sandals in case I go out at night ;) I've even created a design called 'sneaker freaker' (yes, those are my legs! :))I have a fantasy- that a day will come when I have LOADS of time- to walk the streets of the city I live in- to take the many beautiful pictures it makes, to walk into a theatre and catch a movie- just because I HAVE time... what a concept! And I swear I'll spend an entire day just taking pictures of railway stations, I find them limitlessly exciting.

Im a contrast girl- fusion child. I love contrasts and drama & extremes. Which means the pictures I take has LOADS of it. (Which also means I love evening light) which means I can like 2 very different things at the same time. Mix and match- works for me. Fonts and typography are a thing with me. There's something about the power of a letter- classically well formed or roughly written or drawn with long strokes. Fonts are like symbols, simple to look at maybe, but laden with meaning. Latent with potential. Put together in the right way they can convey with magic most things on gods earth. I LOVE antique Indian jewellery. Pure eyecandy- with a generous dose of history. That’s an irresistable combination.When I take pictures ( And I take a LOT of them) they are invariably angles and straight lines. Very few people if at all and no flowers whatsoever. (God knows what that says of me! something I'm not sure I want to know...) And talking of photography, guys, Im looking to upgrade- and am debating between an SLR ( never used one before) and maybe the latest in the non-SLR point and shoot options. Can't make up my mind. Please feel free to advice me on this- Infact I'm asking, so do put down your take on it.



I'm happy to tag Calie of Nohea Lookbook, Peggy of CreativeInfluences, Sas of Interior Inspiration, Roma of DesignFlute and Masala Chai all of who are wonderfully warm & inspiringly creative people I've had the fortune to meet post blogging :)

A fusion home in Kerala

I like fusion. It means taking two very different things and making something new. It takes courage, it takes imagination & bit of irreverence. This post brings you exactly that. On my trip to Trivandrum I was hoping to see an exciting home. Something I could show here. I had no clue what it would be- I hadn’t spoken to my brother-in-law. And anyway what does one say- ‘Do you know any interesting house – typical keralite architecture hopefully- which I could showcase on my blog?’ So I didn't say anything. I land up at my sister's new home and am instantly interested in the neighbouring house which follows the Laurie Baker style of architecture which I wrote about here. I request if I can take pictures. And end up meeting Balagopal S whose home it is. He tells us that there's another house he has built which might interest me- And we go to this amazing home called ‘Neelakantham’. This home is a fusion of the Laurie Baker style of architecture which is very bricky and the traditional Keralite architecture which is poetry in dark wood.

The roofs, the gatepost and the wooden windows are typically keralite in style. All of it is held together by neat brickwork.
Note the beautiful windows and the conical roof details which are original antique woodwork rescued from an old keralite home.

The traditional gate or 'Padippura vathil'...
...opens to a pretty little garden

The verandah/balcony/corridor that is held up by traditional wooden pillars
A traditional brass lamp contrasts beautifully with the dark wood panelling

I love the brass rivets that embellish the panelling. Simple, but so elegant.
The house opens to the traditional courtyard which lets in the sun and ventilates the home.
One looks up the central courtyard or 'Nadumittam' to see 2 floors of the home.

I love the traditional wooden windows with its carved bars embedded in the brick wall. This fusion works so well- it doesn't seem like fusion at all.

Lookking down at the 'Nadu mittam'
The home belongs to Professor N Radhakrishnan, chairman Indian Council for Gandhian studies who had some very inspiring stories to tell of fellow Gandhians.
There are books EVERYWHERE which makes the place so real and lived in.
Books also line the high wooden stairs that lead to the library.
The curved and graceful keralite windows let the light in in warm bands.

The interesting thing is Balagopal who designed this and got the rather reluctant contractors to try this experiment is not a trained architect. He just loves building homes & it really shows.