A Brief Visit

Sri Lanka boasts the works of famous Architect Geoffrey Bawa. I had heard of him in college, but barely knew anything about his work or styles. I definitely did not know that he had a brother who was a landscape architect who designed his own home on a 5 acre estate near Bentota that he's named 'Brief'.

Two brothers, the offspring of Sri Lanka's elite society, initially educated for non-design careers but both of them have created masterpieces; each an obvious imprint of their personalities.

I am glad I visited this before Geoffrey Bawa's estate 'Lunuganga'. Although in overview, I preferred the grandeur of Lunuganga, Bevis Bawa's approach to create an intimate design is far more relatable. As soon as I entered the iron gate with those Narnian stone gate posts and through the archway to ring that bell to announce our arrival, I was instantly a wide-eyed nine year old again.

We began our walk through the gardens first. I am not exaggerating when I say that I felt like Mary Lennox when she first discovered the secret garden. Little paths winding almost unnoticed through the trees and shrubbery, making acute turns, up and down staircases, opening up unexpectedly into little clearings of refuge as if to say 'No, you are not lost. You were meant to find this'.  

I am so glad this wasn't a guided tour. It would have totally cut out the fun of discovery. The walk through the gardens was not meant to be hurried through. We had to slowly meander through this maze otherwise we may have missed spotting the stone frog and other little sculptures perfectly camouflaged in the foliage, the turtle shaped fountain spout, the earthen pots collecting rainwater from the trees above them, the little circular ponds and stone slabs for seating, stone mandalas, and of course those huge stone ball newel caps at the ends of the stairs; but those were not hard to miss!

The seemingly unruly garden design is obviously intentional. It seems as if it is an attempt to bring a human scale and understanding into the expanse of a dense forest of rubber and cannon ball trees. I especially loved how natural patterns were used in the man-made constructions. The stepping stones, table tops, walls and tiles all imprinted with leaves and other things from the garden.

And then, suddenly through the maze of staircases and terraced lawns we reached the bottom of a long stretch of tiered waterway leading up the house so perfectly framed by the bamboo thicket.

Days in Delhi

Continuation from Part 1 - Dimapur

I have visited Delhi on several trips in the past. Having seen most of the usual tourist sights, I was definitely keen to see more of the city. I was lucky enough to have two friends who lived in the city and in close proximity to my office and with whom I got to see more of the city.

We reached Delhi late. We spent the 3 hour transit time in the airport (and even parts of the flight) working on the final presentation. We were blessed to be part of a service at a church the next morning. The music worship session was so uplifting as was the rest of the service. It was such a warm and inviting congregation. We presented an overview of the project to the team and the church members who wanted to listen. We followed it with a more detailed discussion later. Thankfully it was received positively.



I got to visit Hauz Khas village on the first two evenings. To me it seemed like Delhi's version of the Galle Fort in Sri Lanka - historical architecture plus the quaint alleyways of fashion boutiques, tea cafes and vintage art galleries and all that hipster vibe!

The Hauz Khas monuments consist of many different 13th century structures- mosques, tombs and pavilions all built around a lake. We didn't get to spend much time exploring and we had to weave in and out of dozens of canoodling couples to get a few pictures.

Walking through the narrow streets (definitely no setback rules at all here!) it's so tempting to peek into every store. If I lived here, I would spend many evenings wandering in and out of them. This kind of window shopping is actually fun. So much variety of art in so many forms from hand painted clothes to leather suitcases, wooden chests to psychedelic coasters, retro movie posters and bonsai plants. Loved the random strange graffiti all over the place and was pleased that I found a funky stationary store to buy a bright orange notebook. 

We stopped at the famous Elma's bakery for cake. The cafe was spread over three levels with a narrow atrium connecting them. I love cafe's like this one - quirky decor, soft jazz music, extensive menus and good cake with lots of cream!

We had the team debriefing session and the had our final dinner at a Hyderabadi restaurant. I won't forget the facial expressions of everyone as they tried my jal jeera drink for the first time. It was like those videos that people make of giving lime to babies!

It was quite sad when our team started becoming smaller, but we had new fun people at the office to bond with. I really enjoyed the work setting - starting the day with music and prayer, continuing to work on the project by putting together what we had already worked on and drawing up the designs, a fun lunch break when the little kids dropped by and board games over dinner. It really felt like a big office family. 

I've been looking forward to food in Delhi so much. Having been in Sri Lanka the past year, I had to satisfy all the cravings for north Indian food in these two trips. I relished all the yummy meals from the tiffins at work to the chaat, fried momos, kulfi and jelebi, aam panna, the paneer in various forms, the dhal makhani and kadhi pakoda, the channa bhatura and everything else too. 



We went to Old Delhi one morning. The Jama Masjid was beautiful despite having to hop around barefoot on the burning hot ground. We walked down the bustling Chandni Chowk with so many "tour guides" stalking us (was bound to happen with the non-Indians in the group) towards the Spice Market at Khari Baoli. Countless wholesale stores with piles of dried fruit, nuts,  and sacks full of dried chilli, pepper, corriander seeds. We were all in tears, coughing and sneezing. Struggled to see and breathe, but it was quite an experience with the smells and colours and all our sinus' were completely cleared out by the end of it. 

Days in Dimapur

The highlight of this year was undoubtedly the week I spent working with an awesome team on a project in Dimapur, Nagaland and the two weeks of work that followed in Delhi.

In my research of architecture NGOs I came across one that definitely interested me. I decided that I would definitely plan to work with them sometime in my future. I found myself on their website many times while at work in Sri Lanka, but was never really sure how and when it would work out. One day, after much thought and prayer, I wrote to them asking to be part of a project, despite being a project for which I would have to cut short my stay in Sri Lanka by two weeks. 

It all worked out perfectly. In a few weeks, plans were all sorted and all tickets booked. I packed up, left Sri Lanka, reached home, unpacked, packed again and was off to Nagaland. I met the team in the departure lounge in Kolkata. Such a diverse group of people. We had traveled from a variety of countries- Canada, America, Germany, South Africa and Sri Lanka. We had different qualifications and different levels of experience, but were all there for one goal- to volunteer our time and abilities to design the Acts campus.

Nagaland was the furtherest East I have ever been. Despite being mostly a hilly state, our project site was in Dimapur which was a flat area at the foothills. I knew little about the Naga people and had mostly heard that they ate everything that moved- from dogs to frogs to beetles. I was a bit unsure how I would find vegetarian food. 

We were hosted by a lovely couple who took care of us for the week in their beautiful house. It was quite the opposite of the simple accommodation I expected. We were treated to multiple course meals (which included tasting the Raja mirchi- the world's hottest chilli!), a large air conditioned office for our work space and a swimming pool for afternoon chill time! 

We visited the site of the project early that week. 70 acres of agriculture land banking the Chathe River with the ranges of hills in the distant. We had to drive through the river to access the site. We planned out the site, dividing the land up into the various zones for the institute.

Working on this project was such an enriching experience. I have never been part of an architectural project that was Christ-centred. We shared personal testimonies and we spent a lot of time in worship and prayer for the project. We discussed design strategies over mealtimes and in the pool and spent late hours rendering site plans over mint green tea.

One of the mornings, we visited the village close to our site. It was really nice spending time with the local families. It was a small community and we joined them for a worship in the strangest, most interesting church building designs I have ever seen. A strangely proportioned aluminium and paper mache dove. Nagaland is a predominantly Christian state (90%) and it was nice to see the area dotted with churches.

Southern Escapades (Part 1)

This trip falls into the category of random, unplanned trips that I've done. We only finally decided to go on Friday evening by which time it was too late to call and inquire about accommodation.

We made a long list of accommodation options spanning three of the little towns on the southern coast for the following morning and another list of things we could do and we were packed and on the road early Saturday. A fully charged iPod, sunglasses, beachwear, Google maps and the trusty Lonely Planet book and we were pretty much set.

Although the Colombo-Galle highway took us away from the scenic coastal drive, the long stretches of smooth, empty highway brought us to Galle in perfect time for a good breakfast in the fort.

I visited Galle last year on my holiday to the country. Galle Fort is a 17th century Dutch fort a bit off the coast, surrounded on three sides by water. The fortified walls contain a little network of cobbled stone streets with cafe's, hotels, little stores, a lighthouse and as we discovered that morning, some interesting graffiti too. I will finish an exclusive Galle Fort post soon.

After walking into a few cafe's to read their amusing signs and menus and their not-so-amusing prices, we finally decided to eat at the tiny Cafe Punto. Our table at the front overlooking the narrow cobbled stone streets was quite a lovely breakfast setting.

Once back on the road with content stomachs, we drove further down to Jungle Beach. As the name suggests, the only way to get to the beach was by walking through a jungle patch which I managed to get through in a skirt. Despite not being that easily accessible, there were still quite a few people there. 

From there we walked up to the Japanese Peace Pagoda. Peace Pagodas are Buddhist stupas built as shrines for peace in places hit by some sort of calamity. It was started by the Japanese monk, Nichidatsu Fujii who put them up all over the world. This one was built as a memorial for the victims of the Tsunami in 2004. 

The blinding white of the shrine against the blue of the ocean was so serene. The view from each tier was beautiful; the jungles, the beaches and Galle Fort in the distance.

We were lucky to find available accommodation with much less hassle than anticipated. But locating the place wasn't as easy. The narrow town roads often disappeared off the map and sometimes Google would place us in the ocean. 

TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet became our helpful companions not just for accommodation, but for all the places we ate at. We ate in Mirissa's highest rated restaurant- No.1 Dewmini Roti Shop. We sat at one of 4 tables in the front garden of a family home. The kitchen opened out onto their front patio. We were waited on by the wife and the grandfather. It was obvious where all the publicity came from with the genuine hospitality and the tasty home cooked savoury and sweet rotis. 

What we did next was what I was least excited about. From the many times I've seen snakes in my grandparent's garden to the one year we lived in snake infested Kerala, I've not been very fond of snakes. 

Here in Mirissa, an Ayurvedic doctor carries on what his grandfather and father did and has a collection of local snakes in his home to harvest venom for the various medicines he uses.

Although a bit excited that I would get a picture with a snake around my neck, the fear quickly overrode that. The hissing of the cobras brought goosebumps which became shivers when he placed the muscular 2m python on my shoulders. I could feel the muscles tighten and in my head I could imagine that mouth opening to swallow me up. 

I was slightly better with the other snakes that weren't around my neck. The green vine snake in particular was quite striking. We wore the common trinket as a bracelet and also held the Sri Lankan flying snake and the Forsten's cat snake.

I stayed far away from the venomous ones- the cobras (even the hissing 2 week old one), the vipers, kraits and the scary looking scorpions and tarantulas.

All said and done, it was an interesting experience. Learnt a lot and can proudly say that I've come a long way from the panic-stricken seven year old in Kerala. Would I carry a snake around my neck again? Probably not. 

Day 1 ended with a short wade on the dark Weligama beach admiring the brightly starry sky.

(Click to read Part 2)

New Family in Leratong

Here it is- an account of the highlight of my trip. I tried to make it as brief as I could without leaving out anything. 

Initial Road Bump

When I signed up for a week of community service, the attitude I had was very different to what it was when I actually started working there. I signed up for a project with some slightly selfish motives. I chose a construction project- one that would allow me to get some hands on experience on site. Besides actually wanting to use my knowledge of architecture in an act of service, I also figured that this opportunity would look great in my portfolio and would be a nice step for future career plans. 

When I arrived in South Africa, the news of my chosen project being cancelled completely annoyed me. My first thoughts were probably on the lines of, 'This trip is a complete waste now!' and I put myself in fault-finding mode. I frantically inquired about other similar construction projects and while I waited to be transferred, I joined a group of five from the island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific and moved out of the city to the little town of Soshanguve for a project at the Leratong Early Learning Centre. 

It was only on the way there that I forced myself to alter my mindset. Waiting to be transferred would probably mean losing another day of work (I had already missed out on one day because I arrived late) and the very definition of community service meant doing whatever was needed without any self demands.

New Home and New Family

Day 1 at work took away all my initial irritation. We stayed at the home of the school principal- the most hospitable woman in South Africa, who we called 'Mama' for the rest of the week. It is rare to find someone who'd give up her own bed for two of us while she slept on the floor. 

I had come prepared to somehow 'manage' in terms of food because South Africa is a predominantly meat eating nation. You cannot possibly understand my relief when Mama said that she was a vegetarian and I got to thoroughly enjoy the vegetarian version of traditional South African food for that week.

The kindergarten school is situated in a lower middle class residential area with a small staff of 8 teachers, 2 cooks and 2 caretakers for 100+ kids. I got an exciting tour of all the little details in the classrooms, kitchen and playground by the very enthusiastic teachers. We got things ready for the little bunch of toddlers who arrived shortly after (school holidays meant that we'd only meet about 20 of them).

I guess all things work out perfectly in the end. Mama had some ideas for an extension to the building and wanted me to draw it out for her. With no AutoCAD or even a laptop, no draughting board, set squares or a t-scale, it was back to architectural stone age. A table was set up for me outside and once in a while a little head would peep over the table.

A Bunch of Fabulous Kids!

The following days at Leratong were nothing short of amazing. The kids were the cutest, brightest bunch I've met. We told them stories and taught them many songs, some that had them on their feet with plenty of actions. It was especially rewarding that they learnt so fast. 

Cottages, Mud Slides and Cinnamon Tea

Within just a week of being in Sri Lanka and after only four days of work, I already had a trip planned. 

The cousins and I set off early Friday morning by bus to Nuwara Eliya, a quaint little town up in hills. After having to wait two hours for the bus and after six long hours on the bus, we were about 1800m above MSL and 10 degrees cooler.

We got off the bus as close as we could to our accommodation, but still ended up walking about 2km uphill to the Green Forest Hotel. We really couldn't have asked for a better location. We were right at the top of the road, on the edge where the tea plantations met the Piduruthalagala forest reserve. 

Our hotel design, like most of Nuwara Eliya, is representative of British colonial architecture. I especially loved the wooden floorboards and staircases. On the landing just outside our room was a little 18th century chippendale table and chairs by the large French windows overlooking the tea plantations. Perfect breakfast setting.

We walked into town soon after, mostly driven by pangs of hunger and had quite a grand lunch of iddiyapams and jack-fruit curry at Sri Ambals. The curry, sambhar and chutneys came in steel pails. Definitely enough to satisfy. 

The afternoon and evening came with a lot more walking. Gregory lake is a beautifully serene lake nestled in the middle of the hills, forests and tea estates. The well kept gardens and walkways, the picnic benches by the food stalls and the bridges and docks (and a gate) provided plenty of crazy photo settings. 

We had read about this place that makes all things strawberry- Adma Agro. We walked over two kilometers around the lake while the sun was setting and the clouds around us brought the visibility to a minimum to get there. But the strawberry pancakes we had with chocolate sauce and fresh whipped cream was totally worth it.