ASTROLOGY- Not for me

My father was a great believer in Astrology. He had a favourite astrologer-a friend in Mumbai whom he would consult before he took any major decision or was facing any crisis in life. If the prediction was not favourable you can see him sulking for days. If it is good you can see him visibly happy and telling every one that his good times are coming. It is another matter that on many occasions the time would pass without any good happening. After his retirement he was keen to know when he would depart from this world as per his horoscope. He had got possible dates from his astrologer. You could see him get tense as the date approached . Every time `Yama` forgot to get him, he would again consult the astrologer and get revised dates. When he passed away at the age of 80, rummaging through his papers we found several notes from his astrologer on this subject, which revealed that he passed away two years before the last predicted date.

I know of many others who swear by horoscopes and astrology. They are so obsessed with astrology that nothing ever happened in their lives without the advice from their favourite astrologer. A Srilankan friend, a veteran adman, had his favourite Malayali `Josier` located in Chennai whom he would visit a couple of times ,every year. He would fly down from Colombo in the morning and return by the evening flight.

I also know of astrologers who specialize in matching horoscopes. Some very popular marriage specialists are so busy that you will have to wait for weeks before you can get an appointment from them. It is another matter that in spite of having 80% of he two horoscopes matching arranged marriages do fail these days.

And there are magazines, both English & vernacular, which feature monthly predictions based on the zodiac signs by popular astrologers. I remember both Illustrated Weekly and Sunday Standard (Sunday edition of the Indian Express) had very popular `Forecast` columns.

When Kushwant Singh the celebrity editor of Illustrated Weekly was asked, `What happened if the astrologer concerned fell ill or went on a long tour and is not in a position to give his contributions for a few weeks`. His reply was classic, `Very simple, I would study the predictions made by the astrologer for the previous few months. Most of them are standardized predictions. I would carefully choose the matter from the published issues and rotate them against the zodiacs until the astrologer returns with his column`. So much for the credibility of astrology features in magazines!

Personally, I have never allowed horoscopes to dictate my actions in life. Though the family did look at the horoscopes of spouses for my three children because the insistence of my wife, left to myself I would not have cared much about it. I believe, whatever has to happen will happen irrespective of what your horoscope predicts at any point of time. I am willing to face any situation and take the proverbial `bull by the horns` and carry on with my life instead of wasting my time dancing to the tunes of astrological predictions. Instead I go by my instincts. I know I am going through bad times when many things go wrong during certain periods of time in my life- I would avoid taking risky decisions during that period. In other times, with `courage as my companion`, I would march ahead taking bold decisions.

I am my own favourite astrologer!

Ponnadais - Silk shawls

In any public function held in South India , especially in Tamil Nadu you can see the organizers of the event presenting Ponnadais ( silk Shawls) to every guest of honour on the stage, as a part of felicitating the guest. The shawls, though called Ponnadais, need not always be made of silk; of late the practice of presenting  angavastrams as an alternative is growing.

In addition to the shawls, they also present the guests with mementos. Such mementos are usually metal plaques  with a `Thank you ` message engraved or printed on it.  Many educational institutions believe in presenting big mementos, which are difficult to carry.

I remember once  when I went to give a talk at an educational institution in Coimbatore I was presented with a big bouquet, a big memento and some other  gift, all of which was impossible for me to carry in person in the train. In recent years I find that the sizes of the plaques have become  smaller and organizers provide you a carry bag in which all the presented items fit in, making it easy for the guest of honour to  take the bag with him/her.

The gifts that are presented along with metal plaques vary depending on the taste of the organisers. While some  present you with useful items which can be displayed in your office or home, many also think of utility items which can be used for day to day activities. But then how many such items can you accommodate in your home or office? Many popular speakers  receive hundreds of `thank you` plaques, gifts and shawls. What do they do with all of them?  I know of a friend who sold all the thank you plaques to a kabadi wala  and distributed the shawls to  friends or relatives who came visiting him.

Another new trend is to present saplings of flowering  trees to the guests; without thinking how many of the guests have  the place, inclination  or facilities to grow such plants in their homes. While the thought is commendable, I believe it is a wasted expenditure.

On another occasion I was attending a big function in Pudukottai at which achievers in different fields were being recognized  and  given special titles for their contribution to their areas of speciality. In addition to the mandatory bouquet, ponnadai, and a framed citation, the chief guest also placed a decorative crown  on every achiever`s head. There were 26 achievers being recognized that day. Needless to say that the group photograph showing all the awardees with crowns  was  a sight to behold. Besides  a clear demonstration of wasteful expenditure.

Recently I had the honour of participating in a book club meeting in which a book of mine was being reviewed. At the end of the meeting I had a pleasant surprise when I received an enlarged photograph  of me, beautifully framed. On another occasion I was presented a gift voucher  of a leading book shop.  I thought both were good ideas.

Instead of wasting money on items which would never be used, it would be a good idea if the organisers think of other methods of expressing their appreciation. I was delighted to hear about  one such  good idea when the  organizer of an event  recently announced  that they had decided to do away with the presentation of gifts &  mementos to guests  and instead were donating the value of the same  to  a charity in the name of the chief guest.. A brilliant idea worth pursuing.

Sumitha Sundaram-A life dedicated to Art

I always admire people who have made their passion into a successful career. 47 years old Sumitha Sundaram, a self made artist/painter is one such person. A spinster, she  has dedicated her life to promoting art among school children with a passion which is rare to find. Sumitha studied in Sishya School in Chennai. Her mother remembers that right from the age of six she was more interested in playing with coloring books and crayons than  participating in outdoor activities. Her parents did the right thing by enrolling her in a local drawing class when she was 7, where she moved from crayons to oil paintings.

Right from her school days she always  dreamt of a career in Art/Paintings. It was but natural that she graduated in History of Fine Arts & Paintings from Stella Mary`s College in 1993 with distinction. After brief stints with two advertising agencies she decided to turn entrepreneur by starting her own agency ZED advertising. She was only 22. Her clients included India Cements, Parrys, TI cycles, LIC, to name a few. But since Painting had been her first love she decided to do something about it. Seeing a huge potential among school children, she started Aavishkaar India along with her mentor Vijay kulkarni to promote art/painting among children.

`The first effort of Aavishkaar India  was a summer camp for a month held  at Sathya Studio premises in Chennai. It was a huge success. ‘Since then we have  been   conducting regular painting and essay competitions for school  children all over Chennai.` says Sumitha. 

 `At the end of the month long camp many parents came and told me that instead of a month long programme where they had to spend a lot of time escorting the children to the venue and back why can`t we think of short duration residential camps. This triggered the idea of outstation camps later.`

The next big project was the big painting  Mela she organized on 7^th January,2000 at the Marina Beach in which over 500 children, aged 5-15 participated. It was again a huge success.

 In the same year, in April, she took a group of school children on wild life camps to forests in South  India to promote awareness and conservation of India’s rich natural heritage, resources and environment. These camps cover nature appreciation, soft adventure sports and experiential learning. The first two camps were conducted in a joint effort with WWF, World Wide Fund for Nature. 200 children joined in the 4 first ever nature camps in April /May 2000.

`Managing a group of children in the age group 9 to 15 is a big responsibility. There were  several instances of children falling ill or late arrival of children to catch trains forcing us to pull the chains etc. Inspite of all the logistics problems I am glad to say that Aavishkar India has been successfully running this project every year for the last 19years in which over 10,000 children have participated. These camps play a very important role in developing the all round personality of a child and helps him/her  face  challenges in their adult lives`

Next milestone was in 2005 when she launched  CHILDREN NEWS BANK (CNB), an idea mooted by Vijay Kulkarni, her mentor and her partner in business. It was a specially curated monthly newspaper for school children. This project held between 2005 -12 covered not only schools  in chennai  but also many other cities totaling 120 schools  in Tamil Nadu . At its peak, CNB had  a circulation of 22,000 copies per month. However,  because of a similar initiative undertaken by a leading Newspaper in Tamilnadu, CNB was discontinued.

Since 2014  Team Aavishkaar is organizing `Art detours`, Painting Holidays to promote painting and sketching outdoors amongst adults aged 20 to 75 years. encouraging novices, hobbyists, amateur artists to experience and enjoy the process of going outdoors into rural India to paint/sketch. Five such annual painting holidays have been organised till date, and more are in the offing.

AAVISHKAAR WORK SPACE, a rented premises hired by Sumitha in 2017 opened its doors to provide indoor space to young professionals to explore their entrepreneurial skills. They earn by sharing their technical /vocational knowledge with other people by  conducting  their workshops and training programs in the Work Space. Curated art workshops also happen regularly in this space.

Sumitha`s latest business initiative is the MINI Travel Easel for Artists she has designed and produced.

 ` I felt the acute need for such portable Easels during my many trips out doors with adults. MINI  is a custom designed and fabricated easel kit, that helps artists paint outdoors effortlessly, while enjoying  the process.. The MINI Easel is made in Chennai and shipped  worldwide. Launched last year, I have already sold about 150 kits  till Nov.2019 to artists in far flung cities like Rio de Janerio, Sao Paulo, Vietnam, countries like Turkey, Austria, Spain, Emirates, Netherlands. I am also in the process of designing few more useful art tools` says Sumitha.

 With all the activities she is involved in does she get time to pursue her own talent for painting?

 ` In organising the camps I do get the help of a few volunteers.  Vijay Kulkarni,who works out of Hyderabad is a great help in supporting me with the logistics of organizing camps. I do paint  as often as time permits amidst camps and workshops. Realizing that teaching art would play a direct role in improving my  talents, I have also started to  teach art to worthy students. Portrait Painting/sketching, particularly of children  has been my  favorite subject from early childhood. I continue to do that delighting my friends and others who come to me with such requests`.

Sumitha has dreams of taking the AAvishkaar idea to other cities. For a person who lives and breathes ART it should not be difficult to realise her dreams!

Contact details: Sumitha  Mob; 99400 56618  or email id: sundaramsumitha@gmail.com

The Tamil translation of this article has appeared in the March,2020 issue of Ladies Special, a Tamil monthly devoted to women.

Sheila Sriprakash.-A woman achiever in the world of architecture

On this International Women`s day I am happy to share my article in the latest issue of Madras Musings on Sheila Sri Prakash considered one of the most influential architects in the world.  I am proud of the fact that such an internationally reputed architect designed my small independent home in Chennai, 38 years ago.

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Sheila Sri Prakash of Shilpa Arechitects Planners Designers is one of India's leading architects who is counted among the most influential female architects in the world today. She has designed and completed several architectural projects many of which are known for use of local arts, culture and heritage as inspiration for her designs. She is also reputed for energy efficient buildings.
Interestingly Sheila almost did not make it to the world of architecture when she was denied admission in the Anna University School of architecture in 1972. Armed with excellent marks in the pre university degree from Stella Maris College, she went to the School of Architure for admission. A professor , obviously a male chauvinist, who was in the interview panel told her ` You have all the qualifications for this course but why do you want to deprive a boy from getting a career`. Though shocked beyond words at the gender bias of the gentleman, her father, an ex-army man who had been a great source of support to his only child, used his good offices to get her admission in the prestigious college.
Again Architecture was not her first choice as a career. Her first love was classical dancing in which she was trained from the age of 3 and had her Arangetram at the age of 6 years in Bombay. The chief guest at the Arangetram declared her `A child prodigy`. It was then that her father decided to shift base to Chennai where Sheila could get the best training in dancing. Her mother was a big force behind her foray into dancing and other creative pursuits and ensured that she got training from the best masters in the Art. She learnt Kuchipidi, Mohini Attam, Odissi apart from Veena and painting. After getting trained by the famous dance maestro Dhandayudha Pani Pillai she even had her second Arangetram when she was nine and started giving public performances. She was well on her way to a career in dancing . An offer for a role in a movie as a heroin followed, which she refused because by that time the architecture bug had caught her. Why architecture?
` I was good in science subjects in Rosary Matriculation School & during college days. I found out that Architecture provided an opportunity to combine my creative abilities with my interest in science and maths` she says.
So she plunged into the course with all the commitment she is famous for. Again Cupid intervened when she was in her third year in the college , she met Sri Prakash, three years her senior who was doing a course in Chemical Engineering at ACTECH in the same campus. As soon as Sri Prakash completed his degree and joined L & T as a Management trainee he decided to tie the proverbial knot with full blessings from both sets of parents and their marriage was held in 1974. Prakash was 22 and Sheila was only 18. 
`When I was willing to give up my love for architecture for my soulmate, it was Sri who insisted that I must finish the course. He was a pillar of support to me all my life so much so that he gave up a very promising career at L& T to be with me, lending me his shoulders in all my initiatives. I would not have achieved whatever I have achieved in life but for Sri and his unflinching faith in me`, Sheila became emotional when saying this because she lost her life partner of over 40 years last year to cancer.
`By the time I had to face the final exams I was pregnant . Bhargav my first born came into the world just two days before the final exams. I however appeared for the exam and just managed to pass the exams to get my B.Arch degree in 1977. I was now ready to start my life as an architect` said Sheila.
After spending two years with Karpur associates where she felt constrained, Sheila decided to become an entrepreneur. Shilpa architects was started in 1979 with the office located in her own home at Gandhi Nagar. When she wanted to build her office in the spacious compound of the house, her father gave her the permission subject to her ensuring that none of the trees in the compound were felled.
Sheila says, `I accepted the challenge. I built four modules around the trees with total office space of 400 square feet. The cost was only Rs 20,000. That effort taught me the importance of working in nature and space. The modules had sky lit roofs. I decided not to emphasise on loud materials in construction yet achieve aesthetics working with tight budgets. The seeds of my passion for green buildings were probably sown at that time.`
As early as the 1980s she even experimented with rain water harvesting in her compound by embedding stones on a sand bed so that the rain water could percolate down instead of running away. A pioneering effort indeed. Interestingly the idea behind the system was made compulsory by the state of Tamil Nadu in 2003.
In 1987 she had the distinction of designing homes for economically weaker sections on an invitation from the World bank . She created incremental houses which provided sheltered living spaces from day one that could be value added in terms of other facilities and become permanent homes in later years.
As a talented creative artist Sheila believes in using Indo Centric Arts & crafts in her designs. Emphasising the importance of space in all her designs. Sheila says, ` I try to carve out spaces instead of enclosing everything within the four walls of a room. A client was so impressed with the effective use of space that I had used in his project that he commented-`Your spaces dance`. 
Sheila tries to integrate the landscape design into the design process as a working layer and not a mere cosmetic layer.
Her work in spaciology particularly as it applies to healthcare and the leisure, wellness, and hospitality industry examines the impact of the built environment upon human behaviour,
This obsession with spaces also led her to researching temples and how they use the design to depict different moods. Thanks to her background in classical dance she explored the Bhava, Raga and Thala in many of the temples. According to her the big temple in Tanjore evokes humility, Konarak temple depicts Sringar and the Ananda Padmanabha Swamy temple in Trivandrum represented peace & shanthi 
When I sought clarifications about Green buildings she said that it involves using natural lighting and renewable energy in designs. Such buildings must have provisions for water conservation, natural light sources, exploiting the natural wind flows, sewage treatment etc. She is proud of the fact that her new office located in `Muse` in Tiruvanmiyur, was one of the two buildings in Chennai given the Platinum rating by Leadership in Energy & Environment designs (LEEDS) in 2012. The other building to get the same rating that year was ITC Grand Chola in Chennai. She is a founding member of the Indian Green Building Council , Chennai Chapter.
Several of her architectural designs can be seen at Mahindra World City, New Chennai, the Madras Art House at the Cholamandal Artists' Village, Kuchipudi Art Academy in Chennai, the Paranur railway station, Other recent projects of Shilpa architects include the HITEX exhibition center in Hyderabad and the South City Township by Larsen & Toubro that is an approximately 4000 apartment residential township. Another large scale housing project is within Mahindra World City, the upcoming Taj 5-star beach resort near Pondicherry, as well as the regional headquarters for the State Bank of India.
In 2011, she became the first Indian architect to serve on the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Design Innovation, a 16-member team of international experts in design and innovation. She served on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the role of arts in society, in recognition of her signature works of architecture that feature art, culture and heritage. As part of her role at the Forum, she developed the `Reciprocal Design Index` that detailed parameters and metrics surrounding sustainable design.
She is the founder of the Reciprocity Foundation that tries to create awareness at the grass roots level about the challenges faced by our planet and humanity. It seeks to build collaborative and inclusive eco system that would lead to sustainability.. 
Among the several awards she has won over the years she considers the Lifetime Achievement in the field of Architecture Award 2019 by Builders, Architects and Building Materials (BAM), in association with CII Real Estate & Building Technology Exhibition, very prestigious.
When I posed the question about the future of Shilpa architects she proudly stated, `The future is secure in the safe hands of my daughter Pavithra.` With a Bachelor Degree in Architecture from School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University and a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University Pavithra is surely a chip of the old block. She is as much a multi dimensional creative artist/architect as her mother is. Sheila`s son Bhargav has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from CEG, Anna University and a Masters in Engineering, from University of Michigan. He runs a self-funded and mission driven startup that has designed and developed `fooya!` – a mobile health gaming App. Sheila is also blessed with three lovely grand daughters.

For all her achievements , Sheila continues to be a humble & lovable human being very popular among family , friends and in her profession. 

This article has appeared in the 1-15, March,2020, issue of Madras Musings.•