Riya's Riyaaz

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 saying

Streets of Goa Ini Chatterjee's house in the making Nisha's Play School Kala Academy Our everyday ferry ride  

For many reasons this post has been long delayed. I thought I could easily write about Rajasthan well as I wrote about Tamil Nadu. Lets find out... Diwali has always been the time for family vacations. Earlier it used to be spending time at Grandma's, bursting crackers and other shenanigans related to Diwali. However in past many years, the break has meant going to selected destinations in India for a tour. The first day in Ranthambore was relaxed. On someone's suggestion we decided to make an hour's ride to Chambal River. I fall short of words when I say this, we did not expect to be the only four people on the shore, including two other people with a boat. The place was untouched by any tourist litter. The water was sparkling clean. The silence in the air took on us. We sat there for a long time, dad telling stories of dacoits (bandits) of the chambal and us trying to wonder how time has changed. Later in the evening we took the forest safari

To appreciate the good, you must witness the bad - Riya Parekh You might search on the internet 'must watch coming of age movies' and your feed will be flooded with suitable searches. I will not get into describing the narratives of each of the movies mentioned below. Unlike many websites, blogs, pages, etc, I will not give a detailed review of these movies. For, I believe, one must watch a movie, to really enjoy it.  In obvious ways this is my archive, that I can add to overtime and re-visit in future to freshen my memory. I have been a movie nerd for a long time now. This passion began with attending the film club at SEA every Friday. Unlike most of my friends, I have not grown up watching Bollywood movies and I take pride in saying that I have been successful in filtering the good ones out of the lot. By no means am I cynical towards the Hindi cinema, since I know they have produced some gems, that for many reasons have been behind the clouds. Anyway, that is a topic

In these trying times, I wish we have the strength to be only human.  -Riya Parekh

Last year, in April, we began discussing research ideas and alternatives for our thesis dissertation with Prasad. Individually we listed our interests and as a class through discussions and arguments the ideas were sharpened. The process to be followed over the next 6 months was categorical and simple. Needless to say executing it was a complex and exhaustive task. Over the summer we would work on the What, Why, Where and How of our research topic. Notes of the various ideas discussed in class Architecture of Watching - The inquiry towards my research stemmed from a personal experience. We know that watching is a common act. We probably do not pay heed to this subject. Although it did intrigue me, to find whether architectural built form is connected to the subject. How does watching affect human behavior and architecture promote such watching conditions? Following is an excerpt from my research book - "When a person steps out of their house, their movement is seen b