Join us on 18th March for an evening with Heta Pandit and Ramya Reddy. They will discuss their experiences of writing Stories From Goan Houses and The Soul Of Nilgiris. The conversation will be moderated by Harihara S S.Â
The event will take place at Champaca Bangalore, from 5 PM onwards. RSVP here.
About Stories from Goan Homes:
Goan homes grow on you. Once you have seen one, spent a few days lazing in one or bought a ruined home and restored it to its original beauty, you simply cannot forget the homes you have seen or lived in. For you, it is not just a home, it is part of your life’s story. It has been several years since Houses of Goa (co-authored with architect Annabel Mascarenhas e Lopez) was published by Architecture Autonomous. There have been several books since then… Walking in Goa, Walking in Old Goa, Hidden Hands-Master builders of Goa, Walking with Angels, Dust & Other Short Stories from Goa, There’s More to Life Than a House in Goa, Grinding Stories-Songs from Goa and Grinding Stories Retold.
This book is an anthology of stories from a few select houses in Goa that hold a special place in the heart of Heta Pandit. These are stories of inherited wealth, ideas shared, artefacts, designs and technology borrowed, and most important of all, the passion for Goa and Goan homes. It is with this same love that each of the houses in this book have been described, showcased and photographed through the eyes of the author who herself bought and restored her own home in the beautiful North Goa village of Saligão, Bardez. For Heta Pandit and many home owners, these are not just houses. They are material evidence of history, a crucible of culture, that unique umbilical cord that binds us all to the idea that is Goa.
About The Soul Of The Nilgiris:
Created over nine years, Soul of the Nilgiris is a labour of love and the story of a place told through a personal tapestry of oral narratives, conversations, and writings with over 300 photographs. The book traverses the cultural, ecological, colonial and the now drastically altered landscape of the Blue Mountains situated in the Western Ghat region of southern India, while attempting to draw attention to the lives of its indigenous people and the synergistic way in which they were attuned to the natural world and the dire need to give voice to the relevance of this knowledge in the times we live in.
The book thoughtfully combines prose, photography, design and community involvement: the spines for every one of the 2000 books were hand-embroidered by the Toda women artisans over two years. Dotted with anecdotes, and short readings, the talk will trace the journey of the book from concept to completion: research, working with the indigenous communities, community involvement, and the creative process.
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