Enchanted

I have been a lifelong fan of Ayn Rand’s and The Fountainhead has probably been the most influential book I have ever read. Maybe thats why or maybe because my dad’s been building them all his life, I love buildings and before I discovered the fairer sex, a walk down the road was an exercise in structure watching.

Howard Roark might disapprove, but I have always loved historical buildings and the Fort Area of Mumbai and Shahibaug in Ahmedabad as well as the Pols - the narrow bylanes that used to form the dwellings of the bourgeoisie have enchanted me since childhood. Baroda being one of the princely states of the country has a rich architectural tradition and the whole city is dotted with huge palatial buildings built by the Gaekwads.

These days my expanding waistline has forced me to take morning walks in the famous Sayajibaug - aka Kamatibaug. A vast, sprawling plot of lush gardens, kamatibaug is adorned by a huge museum and art gallery right in the middle. The museum is housed in a beautiful Victorian style building with a facade that takes my breath away every morning. The Victorian building complete with arches, intricately carved skylights and window panes of varied hues, shapes and colours. And by god, it is huge, by any standards. Unfortunately visiting hours for the building are from 10:30 to 5:30 and so are my office hours. Hence I am waiting impatiently for the weekend when I can poke around the building at my leisure. But it sure has me bewitched.