Vedasri Siddamsetty

As I settle down to write about the lockdown an insistent sparrow comes knocking on my windowpane. Not shy of people, of being in close proximity to the built environment and particularly asking for nothing, it came by to say a quick hello stare at my screen and went its way. As I stay inside the cage this intelligent, social bird came by to say a quick hello and probably cheer me up a bit. Staying indoors is a lot like staying in the cage, in a demarcated space with family in close quarters and friends just a phone call away. This Lockdown has only made me grow terribly fonder of my walks at Lalbagh, pumping music at a brand new hotspot, in-person catching up sessions with my friends, dressing up for meetings, travelling across the globe on yet another adventure, delighting in brownies from Labonel or treating myself to a full-course Indo-Chinese meal at my favorite restaurant that dishes out piping dimsums, going swimming in the cool blue waters of the Bangalore Club, swimming in the salty waters of God-knows where my next destination could have been or simply stepping out for a spa and shopping weekend with my bestie. Better yet, send my little hero to play school for a couple of hours as I catch my breath or dash out a drawing is a thing of the past. As I sit down to entertain him with activities after activities I feel the need to get out, step out, refresh my mind and get a life! No amount of jumping jacks or split jumps seem to help, the endorphins are just don’t do what a walk in the park could effortlessly do, or a swim in the sea could easily achieve! The wise find happiness in what they have, contentment in what they receive, but this is not a question of happiness, it is a question of more happiness.

 

The only silver lining, well turns out that there are silver linings in everything, is that I am ever so grateful for the world outside. The Lock-down hours and staying indoors have made me look inwards constantly. And a journey into the should-haves, could haves, would haves is so unnecessary. I’d rather jump on a plane and make a journey to a place of wonder. Meditation is a new revelation, and the hours on concentrating on the breath there is peace, quiet and a subtle joy that is worth encapsulating into daily existence. Life’s distractions, although a tad plenty, are what keep the restless going I surmise, the journeys to inexplicable destinations, the travels to unknown lands, researching about a place, its architecture, getting there and immersing oneself into new worlds, whole new worlds so different and so alike your own. Never one to complain about noisy crowds or of lousy travel times, I could as well immerse myself on the drawing board or on construction sites, better still in nature or pointless shopping escapades. The unlimited family time has definitely been a bonus! That said, blessed are those who love staying home, the home birds, the home-bodys. For no domestic Goddess, for the explorers, the adventurers and the happening happiness seekers this is a cruel life, a caged life. The to-do list lies full, full of things to do at home and for a while done, the zoom calls, the improvement projects, both home and self. The love for the planet, for the fellow creatures, both mankind and alive-kind alike has grown leaps and bounds. Wildlife may have not exactly entered the Thames as the zillion memes have indicated, but they have entered our hearts. Every single day I stand out on the terrace during the hours of dusk and watch the sky unfold a beautiful ballet of colors. Sometimes powdery blue speckled by slits of pretty pink, sometimes a lilac with touches of golden yellow. It makes one recall of the Aurora Bourealis, just inverted in colors and non-dynamic, but just as beautiful. Life is beautiful in or out, in the mind or out in the world. It has been a lesson worth learning.

Project Data

Type: Featherlite Retail Store

Location: Hyderabad, India

Area: 4500 sft

Year: 2019

Photographs: Vishal Siddamsetty

 

If space is a canvas, one on which life enfolds, then retail spaces are a prima donna kind of canvas. A space where the product on display is the star, where space itself then takes a back-seat, mostly illuminating the goods while other times iterating as a showcase. The design of the Featherlite showroom tries to do just that, mostly illuminating the fine office-furniture and at other times transforming into a showcase that angles the goods. As a brand that deals in top of the line fine office furniture with a scientific bent, as a brand that believes in innovating work-spaces, the firm required a retail space that complements its philosophy.

 

The design concept of the Featherlite retail store in Jubilee Hills imbibes the concept of ‘Hygge’. ‘Hygge’ symbolizes a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being. It refers of mental satiety and a feeling of security. In design, it translates to a pleasing sensibility with clever planning, zoning and a subtle palette of colors that provide clarity with great alacrity.

 

Furniture retail stores tend to be either crowded where the latest merchandise are displayed haphazardly for the hurried customer to choose quickly or are experience zones where every scenario is recreated in enclosed zones, in this case the customer ends up walking in and out of already created spaces leaving little room for a macro-view or even creativity. In the first case crowded furniture can be extremely over-whelming while in the second case there is no room for an individual’s own thought. When we began designing this retail store for the leading office furniture manufacturer from India we drew inspiration from the brand’s philosophy. As a brand that focuses on quality and conviviality, it is one that brings the air of gentle friendliness into a workspace instead of divisions and rigid hierarchy. The quality of a friendly working environment echoes with the notion of ‘Hygge’. ‘Hygge’ is a Danish and Norwegian word; it is a concept that is the defining characteristic of the Danish culture, a concept that makes them so refreshingly happy and progressive. We could do well to embrace the feeling of ‘Hygge’ in our workspaces, our homes, our leisure spaces if not in our lives!

 

Translating the feeling of ‘Hygge’ into a workspace, especially a store that makes the essential components of a workspace meant that we had to deal with having to display the company’s entire range without choking a customer with information or even playing it cool by enclosing too many spaces and displaying ready scenes. We began designing the 4500-odd sq ft of space by first breaking down walls. The floor was used as an office space earlier with cabins, executive rooms, conference rooms and workstations. After dismantling the walls we opened up windows letting in light and ventilation into the entire space. An open-office system brings much creativity to workspaces and the constant buzz is supposed to improve the brain’s plasticity and hence activity. A fact that makes writers write better, artists draw better and therefore choose Starbucks or other coffee shops to let their creative juices flow. The opening up of spaces was then followed by a tedious and meticulous planning zoning phase where we deliberated over the company’s collection and how to zone the furniture into the space. This was the most crucial part as we wanted to have an optimum balance of putting out the furniture available while creating zones that are not too enclosed. We then came up with a couple of full-height partitions to set the tone and some low-height partitions at four-feet height to punctuate spaces adequately.

 

The rapid rise of break-out office furniture in corporate offices has made furniture manufacturers launch innovative furniture ranging from pods to discussion sofas to interesting pouffes that allow for a more relaxed and vibrant work-culture, one that has been proven more productive time and again. Displaying these products in the retail store also add to the ‘Hygge’ quotient of the store. The entrance lobby of the store overlooks a green terrace and makes for an inviting experience to the customer. A brief show-window or shop front highlights a few products and also provides a glimpse of the entire store. The front portion of the store houses a discussion space, an experiential zone where an outline of the products and projects can be provided to the client. The middle zone houses workstations that are flanked by chairs, breakout furniture and automated standing tables. The last zone of the store contains the more formal executive tables, discussion pods, and allied products sold by the store. Making a neat fit the layout is planned to bbe sustainable allowing for a more flexible display.

 

Following through with the ‘Hygge’ concept, the entire store is covered with warm materials like carpet and wood using glass to offer transparency between spaces and subtle colors, pleasing textures to add to the engaging quality of the space. The full-height partitions are swathed with denser textures while the low-height partitions are splashed with a pearl-shine finish paint texture. Wooden art-e-facts subscribing to the wabi-sabi feel of the space remind one of the beauty that is brought by little pieces of life that are allowed to age and change with time. Keeping the company branding more light the product is brought to the forefront making the space both classy and fabulous. Lighting is used to highlight specific products, bringing some to the forefront and allowing others to step back setting a story in the space. The design elements are kept to a minimum allowing the product to shine and take the center-stage. The store design aims to highlight the merchandise and not over-power, it essentially serves as the backdrop to the office furniture it holds.

 

Darker grey-colored walls coupled with a concrete wall create a more formal ambience as they envelop the rear zone of the store. This setting serves as a perfect ambience for more posh and formal executive furniture. A more solid low-height planter is introduced in this zone to bring forward the furniture and showcase the more technical aspects of each unit. The more playful breakout furniture that includes PODS for meetings, collaborations, independent work, phone calls, more ergonomic seating and other innovative work-desks punctuates the gravitas of the executive furniture. The break-out space furniture also add splashes of color and lightness to the space. Some seating with dynamic displays are accounted for to facilitate more engaging discussions. The café furniture is emphasized as a wall element as the light-weight café chairs are enclosed in a metal grid. The placement of this furniture on the wall adds a quality of vertical dynamism to the space.

 

Designed and executed with the tenets of sustainability in perspective, the project seeks to be a perfect backdrop for the functioning of the store adding a sense of euphoria balanced by a salubrious dose of functionality. It pursues the concept of ‘Hygge’ and demonstrates the feel-good vibes that could well make its way into the Indian workspace.

 

 

Am sitting stuck with glue

to the teepee and the marquee

aching literally to end the duree

 

The end known to a few

muttering to be utterly carefree

without a clue, a rhyme or whee

 

There is wonder that grew

out of time spent in sudden soiree

with leisure to spare boredom and thee

 

The scales of creativity grew

making the most of the rotting brie

churning out quick, flitty, witty repartee

 

In the joy of dalgona brew

there is much cleaning up to do

a frantic tussle here and a huff hustle there

 

Pottering about the shoe

making maps of going where

showing each one just how much I care

 

There is a hushed hue

in sunlight that filter through

making the most of a time duty-free

 

There is time for two

a little me and you here

in the aroma of delicious fare

There is fun in the new

a little air in as we breathe

new goals come spiralling decree

A very relaxed air dew

to keep afar the bourgeoisie

and calling for an unusual pedigree

Am as relaxed as can be

in a world so kind and free

there is no doubt nothing to disagree

 

As the son flies from two

he started to slowly say three

learning very fast to climb a tree

So delighted to have a Choo

jimmy shimmy or a guarantee

there is more than a one of many me

 

Its my hair I’m referring to

when I say spirited, wild and free

and the trinkling turn of thirty three!

A place I live and I’d rather be, Covid or not!

Hello my dear readers!! Before I flit off my next blog on mommies of the animal kingdom, here’s -a big thank you to all of you reading my blog. Thank you for subscribing and thank you for sticking around. Just to ensure I don’t disappear away like I always do, I renewed (in time, phew!) my website and have armed myself with a whole bunch of things while constantly reminding myself to relax. The one thing I apparent can’t do but am determined to master this year. So while I’ve been missing in action here, I became a part of two book clubs. Yes two! One on Instagram called the IKIGAI book club where we read eclectic, vibrant books and converse with fellow readers virtually, spam their feeds with quotes from the book, remind them to read, bug them literally to pick up books we are reading and challenge them to an experience. It is also by the way, the worlds first experiential book club which I am personally super excited about. The second book club is one that is so real and hence so endearing. In the company of 6 girls, we read, meet, eat, laugh till tears well up in our eyes, opine and actually have book club questions that we answer. So so fun and so so amazing. So basically I’ve been upping my reading game and have given My Royal Bookness a comma, not yet a full stop. And since then I’ve also began ‘arting’ about and have put up stuff on my art page on Instagram. So you see I’ve been mostly on Instagram and have also been scattering my energies away. As my son is soon going to be a toddler and is halfway through his 1000 golden hours (the first three years of a human life) I’ve been a little more free and mulling on a few many things in my best interest that include an architecture career, investment lessons and yes ofcourse parenting styles.

One of the books I read this year, precisely this month is one that focuses on Tiger mothering. The “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” was part of no book club but a recommendation from one of my favourite people and also a wonderful fellow Mom! While she herself working on attaining a PhD in architecture she inspires me endlessly while I languidly while away my intellectual prowess and be a hands-on Mommy to my lil T-Rex. But mothering is no monkey business. We mothers are shaping the future, (yeah, yeah) battling existing norms, challenging traditions and preparing a generation that is smarter than us for sure. It’s just Darwin’s law of evolution I am making reference to 😜 your children are bound to be smarter than you. So then well, while our hearts beat and pray for their glorious future our parenting styles may just make or break their future. I think of Lady Gaga. And now I’d like to make a reference. When she was at her peak, in an interview she said how her Mom would smack her knuckles and made her play the piano for a minimum of 4 hours in a day. Certainly a product of A Tiger Mom. And then I think of the Mom’s who are wannabe cool Moms who’s kids are just that, cool, chilled and if the Gods are kind, maybe Bill Gates. So antagonistic to the Tiger Moms, the Moms who expect nothing but perfection, who’s kids have immaculate cupboards and starched uniforms are the whole load of Elephant Moms, Jellyfish Moms and my favourite the Dolphin Moms. Dolphins are my favourite animals and hence I am severely biased. But here’s a look at the Mommies of the animal kingdom. As a disclaimer I’d like to say that no one way may be right, no kids future rests solely in the hands of the mother, much as we’d like it, (it ain’t fair then that we carry our children for 9 whole months, all by ourselves and then be singularly subjected to childbirth, but then life is unfair and we must be grateful for that) mothering may well be monkey business and we all need to take a chill pill. So presenting my case for the Mommies of the animal kingdom!There are lots of animals in the wild, but let’s focus on a few, for now at least.

Starting with the TIGER 🐅 mom. Now this one is a no brainer. First of all it should be the TIGRESS mom because Tiger is in actual effect the Dad. But hey, either way the Tigress does all the work in general, hunting-gathering food, protecting the territory, having the young and then raising the young. With such a high- pressure job, the tigress then demands nothing but the best on her children. Straight A’s, prom queen, Ivy leagues whatever, the drill is that if I can do it so can you, rather, so bloody you. Failure is not an option since it never was an option for the tigress. Do unto the young as the elders do unto you seem to be their mantra. Have you ever seen a Tiger in the wild? It’s glistening cost, it’s manicured talons, that’s just how the tigress Mom is. Well turned out, immaculate and perfectly in sync with her day and her universe. If you happen to be from another universe then well, may God help you! The children of the Tiger moms are either those who reach scales of height in their life, whether they wanted it or not, or then those who develop stammers and can never value themselves high enough. It was never taught to them to be more than their achievements and hence they will only slave away their life to achieve. Or if the parenting style backfires the children then just go numb and can turn to rebel in action, word or deed. This style of parenting takes the most effort, draw up action plans, send the kids to the best tutors and make them achieve, for in their achievement lies your achievement! Given all kids are not born equal and some are inherently talented in different spheres but the Tiger Mom does not acknowledge this fact. If you polish it enough, even steel will turn to gold this one thinks! Being a Tiger Mom is a gamble for sure, and the Tiger Moms lives are seldom larger than the lives of the children.

And now for the next Mommy of the Animal Kingdom, the Elephant Mom! The Elephant Moms are touchy feely Moms and make sure to be in close contact with their kiddos for the first 5 years of the childs life. It could mean co-sleeping, tons of hugs, oodles of kisses, being around, having a watchful eye, staying close, even carrying the child around while going about tasks if the need be. Like Elephants these Moms are very strong, ofcourse they’d have to be if they carry the kids around! But still, elephant Moms maintain close contact and stay with the child, without forcing, not once chiding or even stirring the child in any particular direction. It is the parenting style that takes unconditional love. A friend of mine said oh this is so you when I was describing this style to her. No I do not co-sleep with my son nor do I not stir him (gently) in the direction I want him to go, but then yes, I never chide him and I do love him unconditionally. (Although I wish I am a dolphin parent, you’ll soon see why.) The benefits of Elephant parenting are many. For starters here is a kid who is poised to grow into an extremely emotionally secure adult. No insecurities for this one. No matter where life takes them, no matter the people they encounter, they know that they are enough, they are complete. The prodigies of this style of parenting are said to have stellar relationships, with themselves! 😀

The Jellyfish Moms are those who stand or enforce structure, they are extremely free flowing to the extent that they cannot make decisions, schedules for themselves or their offsprings. Picture a jellyfish flowing away disconcertedly all over the deep blue sea, with no goal in mind, very content and happily away. The good side  may be that the child will have to take the initiative for everything, be proactive, but the downside is probably that the child will not be able to exercise will-power or the zeal to take a stand when push comes to shove, floating away relentlessly in the ocean, as in life. Its wonderful to need little from life to be contended and free-flowing, to have no structure and no form, to be like water, that is if you really want to be so. Having great will-power is having a great sense of control, sometimes relinquishing will-power and listening to the flows of the universe may also get one to places you never knew existed, it may all well turn out for the best!

The Dolphin Moms on the other hand do not relinquish total control, they are more like partners or friends and get the kids to listen through logic while also getting the kids to do most of their work, all while lending a hand when necessary. These Moms follow a parenting style that is relaxed, based on negotiation and gently guide the child, flooding them with choices while also letting them know that the choices they make will have consequences they will have to live with. Playful, they do not take on the burden of their kids, knowing fully well where their lives end and the child’s life begins. Perhaps hard to do in the initial years, this style of parenting for one allows the parent, to have a life of their own. In a zest to give the child the best, parents end up sacrificing everything and look back at years of non-activity, something that a dolphin parent would never do. This Mom, is aware that as time goes by, the child grows and she grows too. Its a life of equality where there is no hierarchy and the child does not have to listen to Mom, just because she said so, the child can apply thought, the Dolphin Mom encourages thinking for oneself and makes it clear that help though will be offered, its up to the child to make use of it. No spoon feeding or no forcing. Such Moms are chilled, its more of a personality trait, playful and know when to leave the party!

And for the final type of Mom, the Monkey Mom! This Mom is literally the child. And the child is forced to grow up matronly and as the wiser one. The Monkey Mom wants to live like her child and does not see the child as one who needs help. They are a part of nature and they will grow she says as she dabbles with art, fun puzzles and plays on (literally) the monkey bars! Happy, eccentric and munching on smileys, mac and cheese, this Mom has not let the child in her leave. She’s full of fun and frolic, a trend that children would love in their Mom in the initial years or may even see how enthusiastic and lovely she really is. Such Moms enjoy the birthday parties, making friends with the children’s friends and generally have a very cheery attitude to life. The dishes will be done, things will move but for now lets focus on the fun they say. The kids in this parenting style never forget to laugh at the silliness in life, to never sweat the small stuff and let me add have a penchant for orange. (just kidding) But still Monkey Moms love monkeying around and the children will never know the boundary between childhood and adulthood. On the flipside though these kids may simply be embarrassed and turn into the worrywart since no one seems to be worrying for them!

There are more mommies in the animal kingdom and more ways to parent than written about here, but we can all agree that the very purpose of life is to enjoy it and as I sign off, its definitely a case of each to his own. But I would definitely like to say, in bold, caps, that, LET THEM MOMMIES BE!!!

The mornings are of wonder

A sweet mention they render

With chirpy birds on a branch

And squirrels tied in a ranch

When waketh a malely matron

Unfurling a bleakly spectron

Of chattering and battering teeth

And a rosy cheeky chewy tweed

While pottering and pattering

There is certain hammering

Shrinking every little pride

Into the oblivion far and wide

Nobody can question the sense

Or the uttering fluttering lens

Of how the two chicks vent

And get their way easily lent

The easy glide on pessimism

Can break the sprightly prism

Making a reality ever so grim

That one can go very crimson

There is no shred of kindness

In a mind of mighty snideness

With no love or wa

The hand on the neck choking

Every thought or not forsaken

One cannot absolutely breathe

There are disdainable frets

Of being a swan among rats

 

The bells are chiming aloud

marking the journey abound

 

There are but a few twinkles

those worth many a wrinkle

 

Where laughs bring together

curves tumbler after tumbler

 

A hope is a prayer surrendered

to the mighty heavens rendered

 

Lots to come and lots afore

words are but slight vendors

 

Selling dreams if not relief

sharing tomes of stories brief

 

Breaking the sound of silence

with chatter without violence

 

The chirpiness of my voice

will leave you with no choice

 

But to embrace the peppiness

bespeckled with sheer happiness

 

So go on and hear the leaps

of silent poise and deep belief

 

The buoyancy of the matter

lies in never-ending chatter

 

Tune out the quiet wonder

for a witty whimsical launder

 

Hear now loud and hear again

for life is short to over begin

 

While you wait for warm appeal

toasting stars that you can see

 

and all the joy you can feel

For then, allow me to speak.

Of all the tombs in the world, none is as poetic and grand as the Taj Mahal, the symbol of love, though tainted with a zillion stories in the books of history, never fails to impress. The Humayun’s tomb, another one such architectural spectacle is not so tainted as it is celebrated. Taj’s lesser known cousin, the Humayun’s tomb hosts several Mughal royalties, but as a piece of architecture it sure is unparalleled. An assembly of Turkish and Mughal architecture, the structure includes several delightful elements of Indian architecture, mostly Rajasthani elements of design.
Set on a platform, the structure is flanked by the traditional Mughal gardens with the Char Bagh and rises up to the bright blue sky with all the perfect tenets of scale and proportion. Unlike the traditional Islamic tombs, the mosque is conspicuous by its absence, instead, the complex includes the tomb of Humayun’s favorite barber apart from the family members.

While the jaalis are stunning the most beautiful part is the domed structure of the tomb. Its a poetic wonder, and gazing up to the white plastered dome, one cannot help but marvel at the sheer genius of the ancient craftsmen. The jharokhas and turrets atop the tomb adds many an Indian element while the pointed Islamic arches speak of its origins. Great architecture is classified by it’s ability to photograph beautifully, like they say, its gorgeous from every angle, in any kind of light! The Humayun’s tomb easily passes that criteria and shines as an example of great design in the country.

Woo-man is a superpower

Its a rare kind of a flower

That refuses to grow very far

For what if there is that tar

In close quarters it stays happy

If twisted turns a tad snappy

The moods are for the rich

Who could afford to twitch

Planted once it is seasonal

If antsy it could be treasonal

When planted again it blooms

Otherwise casts a nasty gloom

From mothers, sisters, friends

To beauxes deeply christened

A woman can be a strength

One that takes the length

In good health and happiness

Or simply a growing weakness

Its not so much for the men

But for its very own brethren

There is a exact specific tense

That is seen with a clear lense

Though it makes no sense

Is extremely intolerably intense

There is nothing more hard

More heartening, tough and sad

Than it is to woo a woman

Especially if you are not a man!

#internationalwomensday #sorrynotsorry #livefree #impressnowooman

My quest to experience the hill stations of South India has been taking me on an expedition across the south over the past two years. Thanks to the Roads and Highways department of the Indian Government, all roads that connect to hill stations are simply said, in one word, motorable. And that’s how we a family of three, with another family of three got to the “queen of the Nilgiris”, Kodai, a short for Kodaikanal. Though closer and most often reached from Madurai we went the tour via Coimbatore. Roughly six odd hours later, crossing the temple town of Palani, we reached Kodai sighting welcoming clouds all through the ascent.

With a star-shaped lakee as the star-attraction of Kodai, the hill-station is a lot less noisy and a lot less crowded too, than Ooty, but its  just as beautiful or even more. It did brin back memories of Coorg to me. Probably the mistiness of the two, or the chill vibe the two have as such. However much the physical topography of the land was gorgeous to say the least with conical trees and bellowing clouds touching down, every now and then. With private boarding schools like the Kodaikanal International School right in the centre of the city, we could spot very many students all over the quaint cafes and restaurants. With their Louis Vuitton backpacks and Armani glasses none-the-less. Uber chic and uber cool. Karan Johar may not be off point with his Student of the Year franchises I’d say!

But the best part of Kodai is not so much the visual feast it provides, not even at Tamaraa, the gorgeous property with a stunning location, it is undoubtedly the food. Every cafe serves undoubtedly the best hot chocolate, cheese, ice-creams made fresh, the cows are definitely happy in this locale ;D With the Kodai brand hitting the stores across the country, we all get to take a little bit of Kodai back home. If not for the cheese, it’s the chocolate. Ooty chocolates have always been very popular, but Kodai chocolates are unmissable too. Our short stay at Xanadu in Kodai was homely and luxurious at the same time, with lovely food and great hospitality. Cycling around the lake has got to be the best part of Kodai, mostly engaging with the starry lake is the high-point of the hill-station. One of the most beautiful in Southern India. For Sure.