The day of the quandary... The first impression- The city of cities and the Stroke of Luck

Dear readers ,
          Before beginning my textual writing, in the post, I would like to point out that, being a student of architecture, a few phrases and terms creep in, in order to explain specific intents of my project.

Getting to the post,
          My traverses through the streets , and the architecture of Delhi began during my preliminary analysis of the Archi-text , titled "Indigenous Modernities-Negotiating Architecture and Urbanism". The book analyzes the complex systems of sociology, economics, history ,culture , and cross references these facets of the city, through architecture and urban morphologies. The comprehensive understanding of the text, led to the penning down of the research methodologies, which aided in the study of the site. A clear understanding of the historical layering was essential, for a clarity in the process of creation of the urban design ideology, filtering down into the creation of the smallest architectural detail.
            The first day, in Delhi( although my previous encounters with the city were through in depth readings of newspaper articles and novels), for me began on the flight , a two and a half journey;

What made it a pleasant was the company of a senior , almost comforting to be in her presence, she spent her time explaining to me the diverse cultures of the city, although  the descriptions of the city gradually generated a feeling of ambivalence.Somewhere along the dialogue, your mind sets off , on a path tangential to the topic at hand.. And you start sketching , the first images of the city , and ones which you would inevitably use as a template, to compare the images you draw , and the observations you make.        

          Meanwhile, before the trip i almost had a footprint , the map of Delhi , specifically Old Delhi, embedded in my head; taking pride in my clairvoyance, this proved to be of utmost important, a mental picture of navigation painted. The foresight of studying the routes , locations , districts and analysing the city in comparison to these structured images , and diagrams, although I must admit , the city of Old Delhi is one which requires genuine instinct and thorough experience to navigate.

Studying a city first begins with understanding its formation , a walk through the city reveals , almost certainly its facets; which when implanted into a map , then starts making sense; the grids , both organic and structured,and the parameters that led to its formation.

       When you walk out into Delhi , on a cold winter's 'afternoon' , and when the sun hits your face, for a few moments, you ponder , whether to take a stroll , in the boulevards of New Delhi and take the mind to oblivion and squander all the investment and hopes pinned on you, or go the other way; 

To one of the harshest environments in India ;Old Delhi or Shahjahanabad......

Well common sense prevailed , and I went the logical, and as most would argue , the right way.

        Every step , and every second in the city was precious , and the moment I set foot , i was staring, and acknowledging the immense cultural diversity , which causes the disparity among 'areas' within the city, which gets distinguished based on 'language'. 

My initial drive stretched across, from the airport , towards the housing colony in Vikaspuri. The drive towards Dwarka revealed multiple elements of Delhi. The typical , and well known cycle rickshaws, the street culture, markets, flyovers , broader military avenues.
        Although, my friend interfered with a perfect recording of this part of my journey, through constant advice on how to handle different situations in the city, my memory recollects few images of what I've mentioned above.
       As far as my project is concerned , a newspaper article , is what gave it the requisite head-start,an article, published in 'The Times of India', portrayed the picture of Old Delhi, a coincidence ( or a stroke of luck ? !). An accurate depiction with data regarding the pitiable condition of the precinct, the neglect of the NGOs , and much more. That very story led me to further inquiry;
Telephone numbers , interviews ,and a million newspaper articles , all of which pointed to the same city, a city which once boasted of one of the greatest cultures? Living in 2013, with advances in , almost everything we can name , we suffer along many levels ; the foremost being 'negligence', the sole cause of issue.
     Leaving that thought behind, I'd like to summarize the remainder of the evening, spent in some much needed family time , a comforting few hours, where my friend's cousin celebrated his birthday, happiness echoed through the walls, but when you are doing a project , the dedication leads you to focus , a single thought which the mind always channels , or tries to channels itself to. This again presents a dilemma , whether to be in the present or dig into more research , after all , the time before thesis , is quite short. Well , I did leave my mind to digress.A later dinner sealed the events of the day, and..

a sense of ennui,prevailed , until my senior handed me the book, "City of Djinns", which successfully stole my sleep. 

Introduction to a journey , and why do i have a question mark in front of the title 'Architect'?

Dear blog reader,
The first question any of you have , is one i can presume ;Who is this guy?
Well , my name is Roshan. I am a student of architecture, currently doing my internship in Bangalore, and looking to pursue my post graduation studies , in architecture.The blog is primarily intended to share the profound experiences i was lucky to encounter during my site study , for my architectural / urban design thesis; though the next series of posts are my first pieces of writing on a public forum , i will try to remain as professional as i can.

 '21 days in Delhi' , what, on the outset , seemed like something which would just be a professional site study, and one which ended up in a journey , of disguise , countering deception, tackling abominable conditions, ranging from extreme weather conditions , to ill maintained sites, and of various other 'micro' events.

An architect , we were taught , is one who assumes , multiple roles , of a surveyor , a designer , an engineer , a socialist , historian, though the idea seemed quite preposterous, a few months into the profession , or its education, the experiences we carry along , almost inevitably changes our lives.

THE RED FORT, as seen from the street , Chandni Chowk;
Picture taken by : Shankar Roshan Valiathan

The experiences, I've gathered , is one that allowed me to use powers of critical thinking , on many levels , the popular term, 'street smartness', is based solely on the concept of logic, this specific idea, being used extensively throughout the quest.
To summarize, the posts directly correspond to the architecture, urban , social , economic , and cultural systems that form a series of organic layers, sometimes highly fragmented.
Thus , the writing will speak about the streets ,and its interlinkage , and the life of a remarkable city, that lives on the edge.