Author Archives: ramblinginthecity

About ramblinginthecity

I am an architect and urban planner, a writer and an aspiring artist. I love expressing myself and feel strongly that cities should have spaces for everyone--rich, poor, young, old, healthy and sick, happy or depressed--we all need to work towards making our cities liveable and lovable communities.

Dancing kathak on stage: Why this has been my biggest high in years!

I am slowly beginning to realize just how traumatic urban living is getting to be. Oh, we would not give up this life easily, those of us who have lived in a city for long. We value our ‘freedom’ just … Continue reading →

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Aside | Posted on May 21, 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Castles in the air: Delhi govt, don’t put slumdwellers in highrises without consulting them!

Posted on May 16, 2013

A day after I blogged about the opportunity Delhi would miss by not consulting citizens and involving young design to  inform the redevelopment of large tracts of government land in the city centre, an article coauthored by my colleague Gregory … Continue reading →

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Govt, please don’t squander the last opportunity to redeem our city. Sincerely, A Dilliwali

Posted on May 15, 2013

Dear Minister for Urban Development Mr Kamal Nath, Chief Minister of Delhi Ms Sheila Dikshit and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Mr Tejendra Khanna, and all those who can influence the planning process in Delhi, I write to you first as … Continue reading →

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The little girl with the artist’s eye!

Posted on May 13, 2013

Sometimes I wonder if it’s just the easy access to technology via phone cameras. Or a narcissistic streak. Or a penchant for documentation. What is it that draws my 5-year old daughter Aadyaa to obsessively take photos of her art … Continue reading →

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Mountain: A challenge, an aspiration, an achievement!

Posted on May 12, 2013

This week’s word challenge from A Word in Your Ear is inspiring. Mountain. Just the word evokes so much. A geography lesson. A soaring feeling. A sense of nature, solitude, peace. Memories of family trips. Living in North India close … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Mothers Day

Posted on May 11, 2013

We are not an extremely demonstrative family. Or at least I do not remember occasions being a huge deal in my childhood. Birthdays were celebrated with some gusto, and anniversaries as well. But the rest of the huge number of … Continue reading →

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Posted in personal development | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Things that make me go :)

Posted on May 10, 2013

I was extremely happy yesterday. It wasn’t like a lifelong dream had come true or anything like that. But several small happy events and decisions contributed to my high. I realized that is what makes me happy. Not the Big … Continue reading →

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Their powers of negotiation….kids vs us

Posted on May 7, 2013

His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare As I stared at this teeny weeny little baby…in my head, these lines from ‘Macavity’ in the ‘Old Possum Book of Practical Cats’ by TS Eliot transformed into…. His powers of … Continue reading →

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Let the movies be! Curtailing artistic freedom is not the answer to the world’s ills

Posted on April 24, 2013

‘Does watching violent movies inspire violence in the real world?“ Most of us seem to think that crazy people will find something or the other to inspire them to acts of violence. I chose that option over ‘yes’ and ‘no’ … Continue reading →

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The larger question: What are our strategies for survival as a society- vilification or empathy, us or ‘them’, paranoia or rationality?

Posted on April 23, 2013

I read this morning with mixed feelings about the arrest of an illiterate teenager from Bihar who is the co-accused in the latest shocking—no, deeply saddening—rape of a five year old in East Delhi’s Gandhinagar area. Of course I am … Continue reading →

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments