The Home Office.

Oxymora are my thing. I’ve always been amused by the clear contradictions that govern our lives. So, when Sai sat us down and explained the implicitly explicit house rules, I couldn’t help but spend some time thinking about the stark contrast between the offices I’ve seen and heard of and the one I’m in right now.

Yes, most of it probably stems from the attitude with which Sai and Leena deal with everyone around them; but it also has to do with the biggest oxymoron of them all- ‘the home office’.

The home office takes one look at the cliché that asks you never to take your work home, and chucks it right out the window. Irrespective of whether or not you have worked in another office, this idea of doubling your house as a home and an office can either make you slip right into the thick of things or completely unnerve you; not just because of the difference in the way things work but also because you’re slammed with a realization that you are accountable for what happens within someone else’ home, let alone the fact that it is your boss’ home.

But then again, maintaining a ‘professional’ demeanour when you’re literally at home is difficult.  You do end up being more ‘yourself’ and that is where quirks start to show. And quirks are important; they not only help you understand the people you work with faster but also teach you to adapt and learn how to align yourself with the varied personalities that are now entangled in your web of day-to-day life.

The point I’m trying to make is that this home office of ours seems to be well on its way to prove that work doesn’t always have to be a dreadful affair. It can sometimes, maybe even occasionally, be a cackling mess of productivity. How? That is something I hope to figure out over the course of my time here.

So long,
Namitha.   

Every Six Months

Its that time of the year for us .... the time when Harshita refuses to go to the studio because it is too empty and not buzzing with voices and activity as always. All our interns from the last batch have left and only 3 of the new ones have started thus far. With most of us busy at sites and the workshop the whole day and the studio feels super empty.

But it is a new beginning for the new interns and we are hoping they keep up the seasons cheer. A new beginning for our blog as well. Mannat hands over the Project 365 to Namita.

Namita has taken over very enthusiastically from day 1! And I am not just talking about the blog! She fits in quite well with the rest of the team and that realisation I think is helping her unleash all her prowess with words.

If the blogs she has started with are anything to go by, this season promises to be a really good one! So follow us and stay tuned folks!

All the best Namita!

Square One

Real life first days don’t start with melodious background scores in a magical land surrounded by luscious greenery and friends you’ve known for ages. Instead, they often begin with bedheads, infuriating alarm clocks, ridiculously long car rides and a numbing pain in your head telling you that picking up a call from your best friend in the middle of the night might not have been the best idea when you already haven’t slept the previous couple of days.

But that’s okay. I’ve learnt today that even the most initially unsettling first days can often take a sharp turn for the better; especially when greeted by two beautiful dogs and a little girl who kindly informed me that she  prefers to be called strong over cute and says that she’d rather eat chocolates than ‘actual breakfast’. They get even better when you are told, to your face, that you’re not expected to know a whole lot. In fact, you’re expected to know nothing so that you can skip the part when you try to play it cool and impress the people around you and instead, get to put all that energy into working and learning things the right way rather than going through the whole tedious process of unlearning. And the icing on the cake is, sometimes, the fact that people around you don’t always comply with the socially accepted laws of normalcy, hierarchy or even, for that matter, personal boundaries.

The sarcasm, the eye rolls and even the nit-picking and the leg-pulling that I’ve seen around me today seems to be the basis of a camaraderie that forms the fabric of this office- a place that could be well on its way to creating a new word that combines casual and professionalism ( like athleisure, but unrelated to clothing).

I had an inkling on the day I got my first mail that I would like this place, today confirmed those feelings and hopefully, the next few months here will only add to it.

Signing off for the first time,
Namitha

End of an Era

Time as it stands today is warped in my view. The day I joined Sandarbh feels like a lifetime ago and yet it also feels like it was just yesterday. Time has moved both too slow and too fast. The roller coaster ride that was my internship has come to an end and like all good roller coaster rides, I wish it didn't have to. If you ask me personally, I can define my adult life in 2 phases - Pre Sandarbh and Post Sandarbh. For someone who doesn't know me, it may seem like a gross exaggeration. I mean how much can a 6 month internship change, right? But this experience has been life-changing. The work, the opportunities, the challenges, the responsibility have helped me mature so much. I could never have imagined that I could have done all this, after all I was just an 'intern'. The people, the conversations, the experiences have helped me become my own person - to find my truth in a manner of speaking.
For days I've been wondering what my farewell blog would be like, not knowing how to compress these past 6 months into a singular blog - I could if I tried but compressing all of my emotions into these words is the harder part. All I can say is at this point I'm a bag of mixed emotions with lots to say but not enough words to say it. I'm melancholic to be heading back, excited for the opportunities that await me, relieved to be done with certain aspects of the job, content to be heading back home, but most of all I'm glad and grateful that Sandarbh happened to me. I'm leaving a part of myself behind but I'm also taking a part of Sandarbh with me. And as I've said before, goodbyes are not forever - you never know, I might just be back sooner than you know it. Until then...

-Mannat 

Happy Birthday Sai

Today is a day of major consequence for all of us. It's the last day of internship for most of us. It also happens to be  Sai's birthday. In the past couple of months he has played several roles in all our lives - boss, mentor, friend...just to name a few. He has been a constant source of encouragement, a voice of rebuke when required and a sounding board for all the times in between. So, today as we all head out (some literally, others metaphorically) we have many things to say about him, but only two things to say to him - Thanks for everything Sai and we wish you a very very Happy Birthday!

-Mannat 

House in the Hills : The Concept

With all of the constraints and challenges, with everything that we wanted the design to be, the following is a small prose that puts together how we envision this House in the Hills...

' We think of the home like a gazebo placed within the garden that surrounds it. Conversely, the garden also becomes part of the built space. The ground floor acts like an open space public space - an entrance foyer for your home, a space where you could spend time with friends and family or just a space where you could enjoy the rains with a cup of coffee in your hand.

 It could have some hard paved areas where one could have seats, some areas covered with grass and fragrant flowers - adjoining this a staircase which leads you to the rest of your house. Occasionally, when you are entertaining a lot of guests, the staircase would also act as a small seating area.

As you come up these stairs, it leads up you up to your kitchen and dining area. With this being the only space that occupies this floor, you can have an open kitchen with a breakfast counter which would be attached to a cozy dining space for you and your family. Large windows could open up the space, making it seem more spacious.

As you move higher in the house, the spaces transition from public to private. The floor above the kitchen and dining would have your bedroom and above that, your studio space. - The bedroom could be oriented such that every morning would begin with the picture of the scenic beauty around.

Your studio space with large windows and an attached terrace would be a space where you could witness your surroundings as well as be a part of them. It would be a space, cut off from the activities of the rest of the house, while still being a part of it. The terrace this studio opens into would the perfect space for you to meditate or practice yoga. '

House in the Hills : The Consequence

While we were super intrigued by the challenge presented to us by the site, we had also realised that we couldn't just design a single built form along the length of the site. The next logical step was to break up the built form and extend it vertically instead of horizontally. The blocks were split on the basis of interaction - the public and the private. These were connected with the help of verandahs on the ground floor and bridges on higher levels. The ground floor itself would be raised above the gardens. The two blocks too were angled towards each other in a manner that would give rise to a cozy space in the rear of the house - one where one could have a fire place and enjoy cozy evenings, taking in the views of the hills. The whole idea with orienting the building in this manner was to maximize the interaction with the serenity of the surroundings - the idea is for the surroundings themselves to become a part of the built form. How would be possibly do this. Come back tomorrow to see how we envision this...

-Mannat