Riya's Riyaaz

Everyday I find myself spending "just a little more" time on Instagram. How that "little more" eats up a major lot of my day, is a mystery. This is true for many users across the globe. We are seduced by images one after another. Our mind is engulfed into Meme culture, Celebrity gossip, Tik-Tok videos, Instagram reels and new trends of the social media universe. We can not stop scrolling. There is always time for just one-more-post, or is there? How many things can you remember at one glance? As I come across more interesting people/pages on Instagram to follow, these days, I find it is hard to catch up with every event. By the time I have finished watching 30 Instagram stories, I can hardly remember whose story I saw first and for the matter, what was the content of it? How am I suppose to remember the content of 300 people that I follow? I am fortunate to have lived in the pre-mobile era because it provides me a strong base for an argument, a comparison between th...

Do you go back & read what you have written before? Is confrontation a sin? Does a person have the same handwriting forever? Do people really SEE your Instagram stories? Will social media be a thing in next 10 years? Do we overestimate ourselves? Is my voice heard? Do all women feel the way I do? Is family important? Shouldn't we question the institution of the family? Is it important for 40 or just 10 people to know and respond? Hum jo karte hain, uska kya matlab hai? (What is the meaning of what we do?) Is being opinionated a problem? Does that make me rude? Is self awareness not important?  - What am I eating, drinking, wearing? Where is it coming from? Does any one not care about what they give back to nature? -  What are my rights? Why did no one ask me to read the Indian constitution in school? Do people think THIS way? Am I a modernist under the false self claim of a contemporary? Am I a commie under the hood of a capitalist wanting to be a socialist? Am I a good pe...

The lockdown came with a surprise, dropping economy and lack of job opportunities and illness. I was in the same pool as fellow newly bud architect friends. Either quitting jobs or tired of them or still looking for one. If that weren't enough, it also brought a huge change.  Now in the 1 BHK house; where it seems Dad only came home for evening news and a good night's sleep; his presence became unavoidable. Suddenly the space in our 1 BHK fell short, accommodating two of dad's P.C. for WFH(work from home) in the living room, and welcoming his assistant everyday. His tiny office space pushed Maa and us siblings in the confines of our kitchen and bedroom. Privacy was always an issue. Indian parents have their own ways of intervening in your life whether you have your own room or not. I have found my ways around it, however how much stays private (let's not think on it).  I suppose the lockdown turned us all into chef's, if that's not an overstatement. There was no...

As I was going through my phone gallery, I noticed I have clicked pictures of admired the sky more, in the four months of lock down, than in the eight years that I have lived here.

Omkareshwar The beautiful house of Ahilya Bai Holkar Maheshwar

Life is like a movie     ~ Rupali Gupte Life at SEA (School of Environment and Architecture) has been extraordinary. February 7th, '20 called for a celebration, as SEA would complete it's first five years, the first batch would graduate. The preparations for the five year event was undertone, we only realized the enormity of the event later. Jury, rather scholars were invited from around the world for the event, followed by a SEA city event on the next day. The event took place in Nehru Science Centre, designed by Achyut Kanvinde, adding metaphorical significance. A week before the event I received a phone call from Shreyank, they would like me to present student work, along with five other students. I was thrilled and nervous at the same time. Us students, with Shreyank and Rohit spent hours preparing for the day. While the last day of school(in April), did not feel as the end, the anticipation of the event was a reminder that we were closer to ...