Friday, March 28, 2008
Going on (and on) about India
India isn't planned or built, but grown from the earth. Its people, buildings, cities, are borne of the land and water. The territory is fertile, oozing life, an overgrown plant (we would have trimmed it long ago). India is... sensual, swollen, pungent. We become so accustomed to our surroundings, our built environment, and we don't realize how scripted, forced and unnatural it is for humans. India is dynamic, organic, and borne of necessity and availability. Their local cultures and environment are genuine because it's coming from them. We must borrow from other cultures to make life interesting.
I can't get India out of my head so I've been listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, hanging out in Jackson Heights, meeting Bangladeshis, cooking dal, curry and parantha, wearing bangles, and reading books on India desert architecture. It brings me back, lets me dream of going back...
Organic Cities- Ahmedabad, Udaipur and Jodhpur
Doorways.
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