With words weighed and considered, I begin. There are few, if any, times in one’s professional journey that the construct of all that is known, evaporates. It is in the unknown and the unknowing that one dwells. It is a space as emptying as it is saturating.
Hira is named after my grandmother. It is on this piece of land that we lived. Just us. Husna and Hira. The years of togetherness were robust, filled with the smell of fresh mint being ground into cumin and tamarind.
I can still hear the rhythmic scraping of the grainy stone being worked, the innumerable calls for hot tea while the fragrance of loose earth rose into the air as she repotted her roses. She passed one evening, it was an evening, unlike all the decades in that home, on that land. It stilled time. But time will not be stilled.
I stood on the empty land, the removal of her favourite mogra plant uprooted me.
How does the future coalesce with memories, how did one begin? By simply shedding the past and the future and standing ready to receive. From the inanimate, from the long shadows of the past that grow with the evening sun, from the stillness amid the orchestra of dreams. I began by refusing every notion of what I knew to be true, familiar and understood.
I stood empty and wanting. Willing to hear, feel.
Denne historien er fra August – September 2024-utgaven av Elle Decor India.
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Denne historien er fra August – September 2024-utgaven av Elle Decor India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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MEMORIES BRICK & MORTAR
Embracing the unknown and as an ode to her grandmother, Husna Rahaman of Fulcrum Studio weaves a colossal sanctuary for new memories in her home in Bengaluru
WE FOUND A GREENER SIDE
Have we outgrown the ornament? In a bucolic enclave in the bustling city, Nivasa designs a monochromatic home in New Delhi that flourishes with nature
FOOTPRINTS OF PAST AND FUTURE
ALVA Architects whispers a new life to an existing bungalow in Mumbai conjured as a single family home with warm interiors framed by a sweeping scale
SHADOW TRANSCRIPTS
What is architecture? In this Ahmedabad home, Khushnu Panthaki and Sonke Hoof of Studio SANGATH draft a dialogue on art, memory and the role of inhabitation
BRAND NEWS
Exciting new releases, store launches and the coolest finds in furniture, lighting and home appliances-our curated selection of what you need to look out for this season
GREEN FORTRESS
R+D Studio designs a defence bunker out of recycled waste in a remote Jammu and Kashmir outpost, shifting the perception of conscious construction
FINE DINING, FINER KITCHENS
Within Kuche7's new experience centre in Delhi lies novel kitchen solutions that can match your culinary experiments with gusto
ELLE DECOR BUZZ
Offering the finest product designs, craft finds and architectural musings that are revolutionising the Indian design scene-tune in for shopping ideas and inspiring creations. Plus, our specially curated edit of new releases
A NEW NOVELTY
Vita Moderna's experience centre designed by Open Atelier at the iconic Raghuvanshi Mills in Mumbai stands at the cusp of time, with a novel approach to luxury
COLOUR US INTRIGUED
A flush of colour, striking furniture and a distinctively contemporary mood define Baxter's La Casa sul Lago in Italy