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- Page maintained by Noah H. Taj. H. Masud Taj was most recently affiliated with Carleton University’s School of Archit... morePage maintained by Noah H. Taj.
H. Masud Taj was most recently affiliated with Carleton University’s School of Architecture and Center for the Study of Islam. He has delivered lectures around the world on topics pertaining to his expertise in Architecture, Poetry, and Calligraphy. His books include "The Embassy of Liminal Spaces" (2014), "Alphabestiary" (2011), and "Nari Gandhi": Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright (2009).edit
Inducted into Library of Parliament, Canada 2016. The book is a convergence of calligraphy, poetry, and architecture. It has been reviewed in 2020 by Haiku Canada (see review by Sandra Stephenson in Book Reviews). YouTube carries it's... more
Inducted into Library of Parliament, Canada 2016.
The book is a convergence of calligraphy, poetry, and architecture. It has been reviewed in 2020 by Haiku Canada (see review by Sandra Stephenson in Book Reviews). YouTube carries it's rendition in Hindi "Dehriyon ka Dootavas" by Professor Rajiv Trivedi
Produced by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada in conjunction with poet H. Masud Taj. The original poem was created for display at the Canadian Consulate in Bangalore. Reproduced with the permission of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Publié par le Ministère des Affaires étrangères, du Commerce et du Développement
conjointement avec le poète H. Masud Taj. Le poème original fut créé pour être exposé au Consulat canadien à Bangalore. Reproduit avec la permission de Sa Majesté la Reine du chef du Canada représentée par le Ministre des Affaires étrangères.
Cross Reference. See also:
"Ver Poets 50th Anniversary: Embassy of Liminal Spaces" in Poetry Section
"Embassy of Liminal Spaces" in Poetry Section
"Embassy of Liminal Spaces reviewed by Sandra Stephenson" in Book Reviews Section
"ELS Installation" in Calligraphy Section
The book is a convergence of calligraphy, poetry, and architecture. It has been reviewed in 2020 by Haiku Canada (see review by Sandra Stephenson in Book Reviews). YouTube carries it's rendition in Hindi "Dehriyon ka Dootavas" by Professor Rajiv Trivedi
Produced by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada in conjunction with poet H. Masud Taj. The original poem was created for display at the Canadian Consulate in Bangalore. Reproduced with the permission of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Publié par le Ministère des Affaires étrangères, du Commerce et du Développement
conjointement avec le poète H. Masud Taj. Le poème original fut créé pour être exposé au Consulat canadien à Bangalore. Reproduit avec la permission de Sa Majesté la Reine du chef du Canada représentée par le Ministre des Affaires étrangères.
Cross Reference. See also:
"Ver Poets 50th Anniversary: Embassy of Liminal Spaces" in Poetry Section
"Embassy of Liminal Spaces" in Poetry Section
"Embassy of Liminal Spaces reviewed by Sandra Stephenson" in Book Reviews Section
"ELS Installation" in Calligraphy Section
Research Interests:
Exegesis by Bruce Meyer (co-author). The book is the first literary text in Canada to embed QR codes restoring the voice of oral poetry. Combining East and West, this volume of poetry and prose ruminations presents a celebration of the... more
Exegesis by Bruce Meyer (co-author).
The book is the first literary text in Canada to embed QR codes restoring the voice of oral poetry.
Combining East and West, this volume of poetry and prose ruminations presents a celebration of the international language of fauna—the animals that reside at the core of the imagination. Each letter of the alphabet is linked to a different living thing, allowing these creatures to exist in the fabric of language and providing a categorical list of the beings that travel within thoughts and dreams.
Cross Reference. See also:
"Alphabestiary (Introduction)" in Articles Section
"AlphaVocab" in Calligraphy Section
"Alphabestiary: Animals Anima Animate" in Syllabi Section
The book is the first literary text in Canada to embed QR codes restoring the voice of oral poetry.
Combining East and West, this volume of poetry and prose ruminations presents a celebration of the international language of fauna—the animals that reside at the core of the imagination. Each letter of the alphabet is linked to a different living thing, allowing these creatures to exist in the fabric of language and providing a categorical list of the beings that travel within thoughts and dreams.
Cross Reference. See also:
"Alphabestiary (Introduction)" in Articles Section
"AlphaVocab" in Calligraphy Section
"Alphabestiary: Animals Anima Animate" in Syllabi Section
Research Interests:
The author met Nari Gandhi in a mountain lodge that Nari designed on returning to India after apprenticing for Frank Lloyd Wright. The author went on to stay in all the houses featured in the book. The book is archived in MacOdrum... more
The author met Nari Gandhi in a mountain lodge that Nari designed on returning to India after apprenticing for Frank Lloyd Wright. The author went on to stay in all the houses featured in the book.
The book is archived in MacOdrum Library Special Collections.
The book is archived in MacOdrum Library Special Collections.
Research Interests: Architecture, Photography, Poetry, Phenomenology, Frank Lloyd Wright, and 15 moreSense of Place, Craft Knowledge, Architecture and Phenomenology, Calligraphy, Organic Architecture, India, Pottery, Green Architecture and Environmental Design, Materiality, Masonry, Trees, Modern Indian Architecture, Organic Architecture Frank Lloyd Wright, Design and Build, and Nari Gandhi
In India two factors override others by their sheer magnitude: • a building is the outcome of a handmade craft tradition and not industrial production & • the majority of the population lives in small towns and villages and builds... more
In India two factors override others by their sheer magnitude:
• a building is the outcome of a handmade craft tradition and not industrial production &
• the majority of the population lives in small towns and villages and builds without architects.
The architecture of Asha & Prabhakar Baste is relevant because it addresses itself to both these issues. Their process of construction forges links with the craftsmen; and their buildings are designed to be prototypes. Their style has a simplicity, rigor, and deductive logic that paves the way for a new vernacular.
(This essay argued for Design/Build at a time when it's acceptance was frowned upon by the Indian Institute of Architects)
• a building is the outcome of a handmade craft tradition and not industrial production &
• the majority of the population lives in small towns and villages and builds without architects.
The architecture of Asha & Prabhakar Baste is relevant because it addresses itself to both these issues. Their process of construction forges links with the craftsmen; and their buildings are designed to be prototypes. Their style has a simplicity, rigor, and deductive logic that paves the way for a new vernacular.
(This essay argued for Design/Build at a time when it's acceptance was frowned upon by the Indian Institute of Architects)
Research Interests:
The workshop was organized by Max Mueller Bhavan and the Urban Design Research Institute along with the Habitat Forum Berlin (December 15-16, 1995). The essays on Public Places had appeared five years earlier in the Independent (1990),... more
The workshop was organized by Max Mueller Bhavan and the Urban Design Research Institute along with the Habitat Forum Berlin (December 15-16, 1995).
The essays on Public Places had appeared five years earlier in the Independent (1990), while the ‘Restaurant’ was published in the Times of India (1991) celebrating Samovar’s silver-jubilee at the Jehangir Art Gallery.
The photography was undertaken in November 1995 for the Public Places Bombay Workshop. It was decided to leave the writings mostly intact as, like photographs, they were slices of time.
The final essay “Circle” (with its translation of Urdu verses) was subsequently chosen by Editor Alan Ross as representative of writings from India and reprinted in London Magazine in their India’s Golden Anniversary issue.
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Photography: 140 Photographs B&W Film Olympus SLR
Essays in the monograph appeared in the following publications:
Independent’s Vantage, Bombay under the following titles
FLORA FOUNTAIN (or how to sit on an 18 inch pipe) July 27, 1990
A WALK IN THE PARK (with Rainer Marie Rilke) November 4, 1990
MARINE DRIVE AS A METAPHOR November 18, 1990
155 STEPS TO THE GATEWAY December 9, 1990
RHYTHMS OF SPACE January 6, 1991
The Times of India, Bombay, December 1991
SAMOVAR & THE NON-DOOR PARADOX
London Magazine, UK
CIRCLE No.3&4 Vol.37 Aug/September 1997
The essays on Public Places had appeared five years earlier in the Independent (1990), while the ‘Restaurant’ was published in the Times of India (1991) celebrating Samovar’s silver-jubilee at the Jehangir Art Gallery.
The photography was undertaken in November 1995 for the Public Places Bombay Workshop. It was decided to leave the writings mostly intact as, like photographs, they were slices of time.
The final essay “Circle” (with its translation of Urdu verses) was subsequently chosen by Editor Alan Ross as representative of writings from India and reprinted in London Magazine in their India’s Golden Anniversary issue.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photography: 140 Photographs B&W Film Olympus SLR
Essays in the monograph appeared in the following publications:
Independent’s Vantage, Bombay under the following titles
FLORA FOUNTAIN (or how to sit on an 18 inch pipe) July 27, 1990
A WALK IN THE PARK (with Rainer Marie Rilke) November 4, 1990
MARINE DRIVE AS A METAPHOR November 18, 1990
155 STEPS TO THE GATEWAY December 9, 1990
RHYTHMS OF SPACE January 6, 1991
The Times of India, Bombay, December 1991
SAMOVAR & THE NON-DOOR PARADOX
London Magazine, UK
CIRCLE No.3&4 Vol.37 Aug/September 1997
Research Interests: Heritage Conservation, Architectural Conservation, Pedestrian Walkability (Architecture and public spaces), Garden History, Restaurant, and 15 moreIndia, Urban Design, Urdu Poetry, Animals, Rainer Maria Rilke, Mumbai, Art Deco, Art in public space, Depression in Caged Animals, Gateway, Bombay, Architecture and Public Spaces, Public places, Promenade Architecture, and Architecture of City
“Another interesting piece of writing is by H. Masud Taj whose life oddly paralleled that of Altaf’s, about which he writes from a deeply personal perspective. He draws inferences with telling examples about their individual beliefs,... more
“Another interesting piece of writing is by H. Masud Taj whose life oddly paralleled that of Altaf’s, about which he writes from a deeply personal perspective. He draws inferences with telling examples about their individual beliefs, their words as poets, and instances where architecture and art collude and cross over into each other’s zones.”
- Foreward, ALTAF Early Drawings, DAG
- Foreward, ALTAF Early Drawings, DAG
Research Interests:
If we know the context, how does it influence our understanding of a text? This paper examines the context of Miguel de Cervantes writing his novel Don Quixote of La Mancha. If we know the text, what questions does it raise about the... more
If we know the context, how does it influence our understanding of a text? This paper examines the context of Miguel de Cervantes writing his novel Don Quixote of La Mancha.
If we know the text, what questions does it raise about the context? This paper examines the text inscribed on the walls of three medieval buildings in Toledo, Spain.
If we know the text, what questions does it raise about the context? This paper examines the text inscribed on the walls of three medieval buildings in Toledo, Spain.
Research Interests: Christianity, Architecture, Interdisciplinarity, Arabic, Subversion, and 15 moreIslamic Studies, Moriscos, Islam, Judaism, Andalusia/Al-Andalus, Church, Mosque Architecture, Gothic architecture, Synagogues, Epigraphy, Don Quixote, Toledo, Expulsion Moriscos, Pseudo-Arabic, and Great Mosque of Cordoba
While researching my grandmother’s grandfather, the venerable poet Amir Minai, I came across the writings of the Harvard professor Annemarie Schimmel mentioning this last of the Urdu formalists as “the high-sounding Amir Minai (1828-1900)... more
While researching my grandmother’s grandfather, the venerable poet Amir Minai, I came across the writings of the Harvard professor Annemarie Schimmel mentioning this last of the Urdu formalists as “the high-sounding Amir Minai (1828-1900) who continued the Lucknow tradition.” I got curious and soon was reading more Annemarie than Amir. She had co authored a monograph on Islamic Calligraphy that I encountered at the same time as another scholar had included me among the contemporary artists that she was planning to present at this conference. As indeed it is a rare experience to both present and be presented, I decided to propose a paper at the same conference. An unidentified image in Annemarie's monograph on Islamic Calligraphy was conveniently at hand and thus:
The paper examines an unnamed image on an unnumbered page in a 56 page article by Annemarie Schimmel and Barbar Rivolta titled “Islamic Calligraphy”copiously illustrated with 67 images in The MOMA Bulletin, 50: 1, (Summer, 1992). More accurately the article has “1+3-56” pages and equally 1+3-67 images, as it is bookended with two pairs of unnumbered leaves, each consisting of a large image that remains unnamed, un-cited and un-referred to in the main text; the paradoxical logic of the parergon: neither work nor outside the work. The paper proposes to read one of the four images: a word inscribed four times in rotation, drawing our attention to its wordless centre.
The paper examines an unnamed image on an unnumbered page in a 56 page article by Annemarie Schimmel and Barbar Rivolta titled “Islamic Calligraphy”copiously illustrated with 67 images in The MOMA Bulletin, 50: 1, (Summer, 1992). More accurately the article has “1+3-56” pages and equally 1+3-67 images, as it is bookended with two pairs of unnumbered leaves, each consisting of a large image that remains unnamed, un-cited and un-referred to in the main text; the paradoxical logic of the parergon: neither work nor outside the work. The paper proposes to read one of the four images: a word inscribed four times in rotation, drawing our attention to its wordless centre.
Research Interests: Poetry, Islamic Art, Aniconism, Islam, Quran, and 8 moreCalligraphy, Muhammad, Isfahan, Kaaba, Adirondack, Annemarie Schimmel, Arabesque, and Aleph
This dissertation was executed, from proposal to defence, during a single semester (hope it doesn't show). 2004 Abstract: Abstracts are space-time hybrids: spatially first, temporally last. Anorexic monsters with a hybrid vocabulary of... more
This dissertation was executed, from proposal to defence, during a single semester (hope it doesn't show). 2004
Abstract:
Abstracts are space-time hybrids: spatially first, temporally last. Anorexic monsters with a hybrid vocabulary of 1050 characters / spaces / punctuations, they come from abstractus: "to draw from, separate." The bricoleur's bricolage makes the estranged segments feel at home in their homelessness. Bricks, held in place (thesis: "placing") with mort defying mortar, fill in gaps of memory in reconstituted walls that are prone to leakages. Such walls are inadvertent memorials. The labyrinth they make up is roofless. Monsters that fled its confine to infect scholarship and pedagogy, dreams and chess, films and architecture, return to haunt. They attempt to make their way back to the impossible centre, recalling architecture to its role of recalling. Uncoiled scrolls of De architectura and unravelled films of Stanley Kubrick spliced to make the Daedalus cut are held against the light: the thread of Ariadne read in reverse. This time: to find the way in.
Abstract:
Abstracts are space-time hybrids: spatially first, temporally last. Anorexic monsters with a hybrid vocabulary of 1050 characters / spaces / punctuations, they come from abstractus: "to draw from, separate." The bricoleur's bricolage makes the estranged segments feel at home in their homelessness. Bricks, held in place (thesis: "placing") with mort defying mortar, fill in gaps of memory in reconstituted walls that are prone to leakages. Such walls are inadvertent memorials. The labyrinth they make up is roofless. Monsters that fled its confine to infect scholarship and pedagogy, dreams and chess, films and architecture, return to haunt. They attempt to make their way back to the impossible centre, recalling architecture to its role of recalling. Uncoiled scrolls of De architectura and unravelled films of Stanley Kubrick spliced to make the Daedalus cut are held against the light: the thread of Ariadne read in reverse. This time: to find the way in.
Research Interests:
Abstract: Every mosque in the world is a segment of a circle whose center is the Kaaba. The most significant characteristic of the mosque is the direction that it faces. Hence it is the building's abstract orientation and not its most... more
Abstract:
Every mosque in the world is a segment of a circle whose center is the Kaaba. The most significant characteristic of the mosque is the direction that it faces. Hence it is the building's abstract orientation and not its most visible elements (Dome, Minaret, Mihrab etc.) that determines its identity.
But it is that very Qibla orientation that, in many parts of the world, is more often than not at odd with the street-line; itself the outcome of the city's existing grid. Hence the prayer-row ('saf') is not parallel to any of the plot sides and the resultant building sits uncomfortably askew on its site, respecting Qibla but disrespecting the street-line. This is true of many new community mosques that are being constructed in different parts of the world.
The paper argues that it is this very incompatibility of the secular and sacred grids that provides the precious opportunity to re-orient the worshipper. The angular displacement also provides an opportunity to evolve the Qibla's Influence on Mosque Architecture, which the paper elucidates. The paper is followed by footprints of 18 mosques of Mumbai as a first step to document two centuries of mosque building in the city.
The submitted paper is also included, along with the photography of the mosques. Plans were surveyed and drawn by Aziz Fakih & Suhail Fakih.
Every mosque in the world is a segment of a circle whose center is the Kaaba. The most significant characteristic of the mosque is the direction that it faces. Hence it is the building's abstract orientation and not its most visible elements (Dome, Minaret, Mihrab etc.) that determines its identity.
But it is that very Qibla orientation that, in many parts of the world, is more often than not at odd with the street-line; itself the outcome of the city's existing grid. Hence the prayer-row ('saf') is not parallel to any of the plot sides and the resultant building sits uncomfortably askew on its site, respecting Qibla but disrespecting the street-line. This is true of many new community mosques that are being constructed in different parts of the world.
The paper argues that it is this very incompatibility of the secular and sacred grids that provides the precious opportunity to re-orient the worshipper. The angular displacement also provides an opportunity to evolve the Qibla's Influence on Mosque Architecture, which the paper elucidates. The paper is followed by footprints of 18 mosques of Mumbai as a first step to document two centuries of mosque building in the city.
The submitted paper is also included, along with the photography of the mosques. Plans were surveyed and drawn by Aziz Fakih & Suhail Fakih.
Research Interests:
Calligraphic interpretation of the Bosselmann paper. The Toronto model was introduced in a slide presentation by H. Masud Taj at a pioneering symposium on building bye-laws & energy conservation held at Indian Institute of Technology,... more
Calligraphic interpretation of the Bosselmann paper.
The Toronto model was introduced in a slide presentation by H. Masud Taj at a pioneering symposium on building bye-laws & energy conservation held at Indian Institute of Technology, in Mumbai. August 23, 1997.
The Toronto model was introduced in a slide presentation by H. Masud Taj at a pioneering symposium on building bye-laws & energy conservation held at Indian Institute of Technology, in Mumbai. August 23, 1997.
Research Interests:
Film Resources, Harvard University Lit.107, Catalogue No: 4249 Spring 2002 Schelling said that architecture Is frozen music How did the director Orson Welles play it? This paper seeks to investigate architecture as a tool for the film... more
Film Resources, Harvard University Lit.107, Catalogue No: 4249 Spring 2002
Schelling said that architecture Is frozen music How did the director Orson Welles play it? This paper seeks to investigate architecture as a tool for the film director to achieve his cinematic goals. It begins with a brief snapshot of the forties (including film-technology); introduces Hearst on whose life Citizen Kane is an approximate character study; and discusses the various architectural elements under separate headings (viz. palace, window, door, ceiling, stairway, space and fireplace) as they are strategically employed in the film.
Schelling said that architecture Is frozen music How did the director Orson Welles play it? This paper seeks to investigate architecture as a tool for the film director to achieve his cinematic goals. It begins with a brief snapshot of the forties (including film-technology); introduces Hearst on whose life Citizen Kane is an approximate character study; and discusses the various architectural elements under separate headings (viz. palace, window, door, ceiling, stairway, space and fireplace) as they are strategically employed in the film.
Research Interests:
If you aced the American Civilization Course (ACC-X), The American Studies Research centre rewarded you with an all-expenses paid 6 week resident fellowship at the centre in the woods of Osmania University campus in Hyderabad, India, to... more
If you aced the American Civilization Course (ACC-X), The American Studies Research centre rewarded you with an all-expenses paid 6 week resident fellowship at the centre in the woods of Osmania University campus in Hyderabad, India, to research a topic of your choice. So I decided to delve into the interface of Architecture, Poetry & Philosophy via the works of Louis Kahn, Rainer Marie Rilke and Martin Heidegger.
I also used the opportunity to teach myself roller skating by hijacking the Centre’s unutilized basketball court. At the Seminar while interfacing architecture, poetry and philosophy, I was skating on thin ice.
The typewritten paper was in the ASRC archives all these decades, while all along an unseen cyclostyled draft lay in my files. It is now seeing the light of the day in response to my recent session (Dec. 29, 2021) with graduate students of Cairo University.
I also used the opportunity to teach myself roller skating by hijacking the Centre’s unutilized basketball court. At the Seminar while interfacing architecture, poetry and philosophy, I was skating on thin ice.
The typewritten paper was in the ASRC archives all these decades, while all along an unseen cyclostyled draft lay in my files. It is now seeing the light of the day in response to my recent session (Dec. 29, 2021) with graduate students of Cairo University.
Research Interests: Philosophy, Architecture, Etymology, Poetry, Martin Heidegger, and 15 moreSubversion, Identities, Intention, English and American Studies, Intersectionality, Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino Elegies, Rainer Maria Rilke, Interface, Hyphenated-identity, Soren Kirkegaard, Louis Kahn, Inline, Hyphenated Technique, Roller Skate, and New Technologies in Basketball
Interfacing architecture with food via geometry. 5th in a series on Alimentative Architecture.
Research Interests: Metaphysics, Architecture, Poetry, Mandalas, Buckminster Fuller, and 15 moreIslamic' Architecture, Calligraphy, History of architecture, Ramadan, Indian food, Triangles, Traditional Indian Food, Minarets, Triangle, Margaret Fuller, Louis Kahn, IVM, Buckminster Fuller, Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science, Indira Gandhi, and Equilateral triangle
Interfacing architecture with food via geometry.
In a series on Alimentative Architecture.
In a series on Alimentative Architecture.
Research Interests: Installation Art, Poetry, Black Holes, Albert Einstein, Supermassive Black Holes, and 15 moreBlack Hole Physics, Theoretical Studies in Black Hole Astrophysics, Street Food Vendors, Indian food, Black Hole Theory, Arthur Eddington, Black Hole, Traditional Indian Food, Street food, Hawking Radiations, Black Holes, Quantum Tunneliing, Eddington, Torus, Street Foods, Torus Energy, and black-white holes
ArchitectureLive! continues with Alimentative Architecture. The third in a series of articles by Architect-Poet-Calligrapher H Masud Taj interfacing architecture with food via geometry. Architecture, Gastronomy, Indian studies,... more
ArchitectureLive! continues with Alimentative Architecture. The third in a series of articles by Architect-Poet-Calligrapher H Masud Taj interfacing architecture with food via geometry.
Architecture, Gastronomy, Indian studies, Poetry, Food and Nutrition, Calligraphy, Bread, Food and Gastronomy Tourism, Food and Beverage, Street food,
Architecture, Gastronomy, Indian studies, Poetry, Food and Nutrition, Calligraphy, Bread, Food and Gastronomy Tourism, Food and Beverage, Street food,
Research Interests: Architecture, Gastronomy, Colombia, Indian studies, Food and Nutrition, and 15 moreFood Culture and Literature, Contemporary Poetry, Spacetime Studies, Homi Bhabha (Cultural Theory), Calligraphy, Homi K. Bhabha, Bread, Philosophy of Spacetime, Shape, Medellín, Medellin, Spacetime, Chapatti, Historia de Medellín, and Expanding Universe
ArchitectureLive! celebrates UN World Food Day with Alimentative Architecture. The second in a series of articles by Architect-Poet-Calligrapher H Masud Taj interfacing architecture with food via geometry.
Research Interests: Architecture, Gastronomy, Indian studies, Poetry, Food and Nutrition, and 15 moreVitruvius, Calligraphy, Leonardo da Vinci, Ikhwan Al Safa, Geometry, Bread, Food and Gastronomy Tourism, Rasa'Il Ikhwan Al-Safa, Ikhwan al-Safa, Food and Beverage, Burger King, Leonardo, Street food, Vitruvius Theory, and Vitruvian Man
Alimentative Architecture: A series interfacing architecture with food via geometry.
Research Interests: Architecture, Indian studies, Pilgrimage, Islamic Studies, Sacred (Religion), and 15 moreCalligraphy, Sacred Art, India, History of architecture, Religious rituals, Sacred Geometry, Sacred Architecture, Rituals, Sacred Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Sacred Space, Rituals and Symbols (Medieval), Icons and Rituals: Sacred Biography, Pilgrimage and Sacred Spaces, Architecture and Public Spaces, Islamic Rituals, and Rite of Circumambulation
Essay with one graph, two poems and three calligraphic quotes on World Childrens Day (20th Nov)
Research Interests: Children and Families, Poetry, Children and War, Contemporary Poetry, 'Decolonization' and the politics of settler state/Indigenous relations, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Religious Zionism, History of Palestine and Israel, Settler Colonialism & Its Legacies, Children, Settler/Indigenous relations, Nakba, Found poetry, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine-Israel Conflict, War-affected Children, Children In War, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, and Ceasefire
Can a Flop Show ever flop?
Research Interests: Creativity studies, Creativity--Knowledge Invention & Discovery, Models of Creativity & of Creative Processes, Creativity, Design Creativity, and 15 moreCreativity and Consciousness, Critical Thinking and Creativity, Calligraphy, Failure Analysis, Creativity Research, Student Success, Success, Architecture Education, Critical Success Factors, Individual Crativity, Consciousness and Creativity, Play and Creativity in the Curriculum, Not Failing, Failing Grades, and Failing with Efficacy
Celebrating World Wada Paav Day (August 23rd) with poetry and calligraphy by ruminating on the architecture of the Vada pav and the most famous diagram in the world drawn by the vegetarian Leonardo da Vinci. The essay's ending... more
Celebrating World Wada Paav Day (August 23rd) with poetry and calligraphy by ruminating on the architecture of the Vada pav and the most famous diagram in the world drawn by the vegetarian Leonardo da Vinci.
The essay's ending coincides with the Chandrayaan Moon Landing today (August 24th):
“With your first bite, your gustatory and olfactory ascension heavenwards begins.”
This is the second essay in the series on Alimentative Architecture (the first one was Jalebi & The Knot of Sacred Architecture).
The essay's ending coincides with the Chandrayaan Moon Landing today (August 24th):
“With your first bite, your gustatory and olfactory ascension heavenwards begins.”
This is the second essay in the series on Alimentative Architecture (the first one was Jalebi & The Knot of Sacred Architecture).
Research Interests: Indian studies, Poetry, Calligraphy, Leonardo da Vinci, Indian Writing in English, and 15 moreIndia, Da Vinci Code, Leonardo da Vinci, italian history, Traditional Indian Food, Leonardo da Vinci, Treatise on Painting, Leonardo, Chandrayaan 1, Da Vinci, Leonardo Da Vinci Atanomist, Leonard Da Vinci, Da Vinci and Religion, Leonardo Da Vinci Biography, Leonardo Da Vinci Architectural Drawings, Leonardo Da Vinci Anatomical Writings, and Leonardo da Vinci and Modern Art
Contemplating the wave as a form and phenomenon in our lives via a woodblock print of the Japanese Master: Hokusai
Research Interests: Buddhism, Art History, Buddhist Studies, Wave Energy, Quranic Studies, and 15 moreDoctrine of God, Visual Arts, Phenomenology of Temporality, Calligraphy, Japanese Architecture, Claude Monet, Islamic Calligraphy, Arabic Calligraphy, Vincent Van Gogh, Hokusai, Katsushika Hokusai, Katushika Hokusai, Japanese Kintsugi Ceramic, KANAGAWA-OKI NAMI URA, and The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
"The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum reports, “In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed as many as 8,000 Bosniak men and boys from the town of Srebrenica. It was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.”... more
"The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum reports, “In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed as many as 8,000 Bosniak men and boys from the town of Srebrenica. It was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.” Calligrapher-Poet H Masud Taj recalls verses from Song for the Besieged that he composed while killings were in progress in 1992-1993 simultaneously in Mumbai and Sarajevo, along with a found poem, The Butcher of Bosnia, based on the subsequent ruling of UN: The International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague.
Read more..."
Between the Lines: The Beacon
July 21, 2023
Read more..."
Between the Lines: The Beacon
July 21, 2023
Research Interests: Poetry, Genocide Studies, Bosnia, War in Bosnia, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Genocide, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Serbia, Butchery, Ethnic Cleansing, Srebrenica, Bosna i Hercegovina, Dayton, Sarajevo, Bosnian war, Sarajevo, Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide during the 20th century, Radovan Karadzic, Siege of Sarajevo, and Srebrenica genocide
"As Chandrayaan-3 heads for the moon, H. Masud Taj recalls as a 13-year-old wannabe poet twirling radio knobs tuning in to the moon landing in a medley ranging from moonrock to alternative rock and featuring Neil Armstrong, Ibn-e-Safi,... more
"As Chandrayaan-3 heads for the moon, H. Masud Taj recalls as a 13-year-old wannabe poet twirling radio knobs tuning in to the moon landing in a medley ranging from moonrock to alternative rock and featuring Neil Armstrong, Ibn-e-Safi, R.E.M. and Andy Kaufman (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah).…[Read More]…"
The Beacon
July 21, 2023
The Beacon
July 21, 2023
Research Interests: Poetry, Urdu Literature, Calligraphy, Apollo, Nasa, and 15 moreUrdu Poetry, Moon, Urdu Poetry and Literature, Aeronautics and Astronautics, ASTRONAUTS, Moon conspiracy theories, Andy Kaufman, Moonlighting, Moon Rocks, Neil Armstrong, Earth Moon System, R.e.m., Alternative Rock Music, VOA, and Moon Landing 1969 Review
Why a letter from the seventh century continues to offer solace in moments of grief and personal loss…
Research Interests: Biographical Literature of the Prophet Muhammad (Sirah Rasul Allah), Loss and Trauma, Grief (Psychology), Calligraphy, Charles Dickens, and 15 moreProphet Muhammad, Death, Grief, and Mourning, Grief and Loss, Grief, Biography of the Prophet Muhammad, Muhammadiyah Studies, Grief Counseling, Grief Therapy, Children and Grief, Arts and Letters, Grief and bereavement, Grief, Loss, Bereavement, Cross Cultural Study of Grief, Muhammad (Pbuh), and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
"One full-moon night, I awoke with a plaintive song drifting through the open windows. Moonlight was streaming, animated by linen curtains blowing in the breeze..." A contemplation on love and poetry via a calligraphic tribute to Kaifi... more
"One full-moon night, I awoke with a plaintive song drifting through the open windows. Moonlight was streaming, animated by linen curtains blowing in the breeze..."
A contemplation on love and poetry via a calligraphic tribute to Kaifi Azmi, who passed away on 10th May 2002.
A contemplation on love and poetry via a calligraphic tribute to Kaifi Azmi, who passed away on 10th May 2002.
Research Interests: Poetry, Modernist poetry, Translation of Poetry, Modern Poetry, Urdu Literature, and 14 moreHindi/Urdu, Philosophy of Love, Calligraphy, Marriage, Urdu Poetry, Bollywood cinema, Romantic love, Songs, Nietsche, Urdu Language and Literature, Love and Relationships, Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier, Calligrammes, and kaifi Azmi
Are Liar’s tragicomic architects?
A reflection as a prelude to a calligraphic rendition of Habib Jalib's stanza from Dastoor.
A reflection as a prelude to a calligraphic rendition of Habib Jalib's stanza from Dastoor.
Research Interests: Architecture, Truth, Deception / Lying (Deception Lying), Urdu Literature, Forgery, Fakery, Fraud, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Urdu Poetry, Lying, Deception, Truthfulness, Parallel universes, Lie Lying Deception Deceit Liar Truth Truthful Kant, Predicament, Joseph Goebbels, Worldmaking, Lying, Lying and Deception, Definition of Lying, Falsehood, Urdu Language and Literature, Parallel Architectures, and Fake News
“While celebrating the birth of their daughter Zahra with jalebis, Architect-Poet-Calligrapher H Masud Taj had an epiphany…” - The Beacon 2023 Revised and expanded essay. Cross Ref. See also: “Life & Death of the Essay” in the... more
“While celebrating the birth of their daughter Zahra with jalebis, Architect-Poet-Calligrapher H Masud Taj had an epiphany…”
- The Beacon 2023
Revised and expanded essay.
Cross Ref. See also:
“Life & Death of the Essay” in the Articles section.
“Contours of the Sacred” in the Articles section
“Contours of the Sacred” Jalebi & The Sacred Knot of Architecture in Review section
"The Kaaba: Guarding The Centre, Generating The Circumference" in Articles
"Three Shores Of The Cube" in Articles
"Medina Highway" in Poetry Section
- The Beacon 2023
Revised and expanded essay.
Cross Ref. See also:
“Life & Death of the Essay” in the Articles section.
“Contours of the Sacred” in the Articles section
“Contours of the Sacred” Jalebi & The Sacred Knot of Architecture in Review section
"The Kaaba: Guarding The Centre, Generating The Circumference" in Articles
"Three Shores Of The Cube" in Articles
"Medina Highway" in Poetry Section
Research Interests:
On Michel de Montaigne’s birthday (February 28), celebrated as National Essay Day, a reflection on the essay’s tenacious tentativeness.
Research Interests: Architecture, Etymology, Jane Austen, Michel de Montaigne, Calligraphy, and 15 moreEssay (Genre Theory), Michel de Montaigne (Philosophy), The Critical Reflective Essay, Sacred Architecture, Essays, Essay, Essay Writing, Essay Argumentative, Assay, Zahra, Essayist, English Essays, DR JOHNSON, Architect and essayist, and Essay Writters
When we pay homage to someone, is the real recipient someone else?
Research Interests: French Revolution, Intentionality, Confirmation Theory, Cognitive Bias, Intention, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Charles Dickens, Cognitive Biases, A Tale of Two Cities, Biases, Confirmation bias, New Sincerity, Self-serving biases, Quotes, Tributes, Psychological Biases, B.V. Doshi, David Copperfield, homage art, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
"Architecture should express diversity and the immeasurable. There are so many different ways of looking at things, infinite ways to enjoy and infinite ways to create. Celebration means that you create your own reality. My reality is... more
"Architecture should express diversity and the immeasurable. There are so many different ways of looking at things, infinite ways to enjoy and infinite ways to create. Celebration means that you create your own reality. My reality is about diversity and heterogeneous homogeneity. I realise that life is intangible.”
- B. V. Doshi
"I realise that life is intangible, says eminent architect B. V. Doshi" by Durganand Balsavar, The Hindu. July 22, 2017
Cross Ref. See also:
"Take Away by BV Doshi" in the Calligraphy section
- B. V. Doshi
"I realise that life is intangible, says eminent architect B. V. Doshi" by Durganand Balsavar, The Hindu. July 22, 2017
Cross Ref. See also:
"Take Away by BV Doshi" in the Calligraphy section
Research Interests:
“When I returned to Bombay (it became Mumbai later), Richard Lannoy, author of The Speaking Tree and later Benares Seen from Within asked me, while making me a cup of tea one morning “Have you been to Benares?” “No” “It is too late.”... more
“When I returned to Bombay (it became Mumbai later), Richard Lannoy, author of The Speaking Tree and later Benares Seen from Within asked me, while making me a cup of tea one morning “Have you been to Benares?”
“No”
“It is too late.”
This was in 1983 when Richard Lannoy was a British Council Lecturer. I thought that was a Royal-British-Yacht-Club-dwelling-Indophile’s angst at the vanishing of a mythical India. After a pause he added, “But go there, anyway.”
Read more…
Cross Ref.
"The Sufi & The Architect" in the Memoirs section
“A Weaver Named Kabir” in the Book Reviews section
“Awadh/Ayodhya” in Calligraphy section
“Second Coming” in Calligraphy section
“No”
“It is too late.”
This was in 1983 when Richard Lannoy was a British Council Lecturer. I thought that was a Royal-British-Yacht-Club-dwelling-Indophile’s angst at the vanishing of a mythical India. After a pause he added, “But go there, anyway.”
Read more…
Cross Ref.
"The Sufi & The Architect" in the Memoirs section
“A Weaver Named Kabir” in the Book Reviews section
“Awadh/Ayodhya” in Calligraphy section
“Second Coming” in Calligraphy section
Research Interests: Hinduism, Hindi Literature, Cultural Heritage, Poetry, Heritage Conservation, and 15 moreSufism, Indian ancient history, Hindi/Urdu, Indian Politics, Calligraphy, India, Indian Muslims, Varanasi, Islam and Sufism in South Asia, Babri Masjid, Ayodhya dispute, Adi Sankaracarya, Neo-Hinduism, Slouching Towards Ayodhya, and Holy city Ayodhya, Heritage studies
Towards a New Vernacular: Introducing the work of Asha & Prabhakar Baste. In India two factors override others by their sheer magnitude: • a building is the outcome of a handmade craft tradition and not industrial production & • the... more
Towards a New Vernacular: Introducing the work of Asha & Prabhakar Baste.
In India two factors override others by their sheer magnitude:
• a building is the outcome of a handmade craft tradition and not industrial production &
• the majority of the population lives in small towns and villages and builds without architects.
The architecture of Asha & Prabhakar Baste is relevant because it addresses itself to both these issues. Their process of construction forges links with the craftsmen; and their buildings are designed to be prototypes. Their style has a simplicity, rigor, and deductive logic that paves the way for a new vernacular.
(This essay was commissioned for the architects' 1997 monograph Sheltering Angle. It argued for Design/Build at a time when its acceptance was frowned upon by the Indian Institute of Architects. The essay has been republished to coincide with the publication of The Sheltering Angle 2022)
Manifestos, Building Design, Village, Ratnagiri, Minimal Housing, Small Towns, Module, Skidmore Owens and Merril
In India two factors override others by their sheer magnitude:
• a building is the outcome of a handmade craft tradition and not industrial production &
• the majority of the population lives in small towns and villages and builds without architects.
The architecture of Asha & Prabhakar Baste is relevant because it addresses itself to both these issues. Their process of construction forges links with the craftsmen; and their buildings are designed to be prototypes. Their style has a simplicity, rigor, and deductive logic that paves the way for a new vernacular.
(This essay was commissioned for the architects' 1997 monograph Sheltering Angle. It argued for Design/Build at a time when its acceptance was frowned upon by the Indian Institute of Architects. The essay has been republished to coincide with the publication of The Sheltering Angle 2022)
Manifestos, Building Design, Village, Ratnagiri, Minimal Housing, Small Towns, Module, Skidmore Owens and Merril
Research Interests: Architecture, Sustainable Building Design, Vernacular Architecture, Energy Efficiency Buildings, Green architecture, and 15 moreSustainable Architecture, Ekistics, Architecutre, Early Women Architects, Architecture/ Planning/ Ekistics / Social Sciences / Architecture Pedagogy, Women Architects, Ratnagiri, Minimal Housing, Small Towns, Architects, Module, Architects and Interior Design, Architects and Architectural Practice, Material Architecture, and Skidmore Owens and Merril
"This article looks at mundane architectural elements from a fresh perspective. In the form of a group of essays, this is a New Year’s wish from the author to our readers. As we enter 2023, ArchitectureLive! wishes our readers a very... more
"This article looks at mundane architectural elements from a fresh perspective. In the form of a group of essays, this is a New Year’s wish from the author to our readers.
As we enter 2023, ArchitectureLive! wishes our readers a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!"
- ArchitectureLive!
January 1, 2023
Cross Ref. See also:
"Elelments of Architecture" in the Talks section
As we enter 2023, ArchitectureLive! wishes our readers a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!"
- ArchitectureLive!
January 1, 2023
Cross Ref. See also:
"Elelments of Architecture" in the Talks section
Research Interests:
“As Qatar, hosting the FIFA World Cup, is inviting the world to Islam, H Masud Taj reciprocates by inviting Qatar too.”
- The Beacon
December 17, 2022
Cross Ref. See also:
"The Dubai Dream" in the Articles section.
- The Beacon
December 17, 2022
Cross Ref. See also:
"The Dubai Dream" in the Articles section.
Research Interests: Migration, Quranic Studies, Islamic Studies, Islam, Migrant labour, and 15 moreSharia, Migrant integration, Qatar, Hosting, Migrant workers, World cup, Shariah, Letters, Hadith, Rights of migrant children & refugees, Migrants, Muhammad (Pbuh), Contemporary Muslim society, Muhajirs, and Hijri Calendar
Morocco's Football Team exceeded all expectations at the World Cup in Qatar. A celebration in Calligraphy and Found Poem based on the words of their coach.
Research Interests:
"As the host of the FIFA World Cup, Qatar continues to grab the globe’s attention; the country has heavily invested in its infrastructure to accommodate what is arguably the most followed tournament globally. In a show of massive... more
"As the host of the FIFA World Cup, Qatar continues to grab the globe’s attention; the country has heavily invested in its infrastructure to accommodate what is arguably the most followed tournament globally. In a show of massive infrastructure, Qatar is trying to outdo its neighbour, Dubai, that in turn, tries to outdo the biggest and the best in the world in a massive display of urban eye candy. But there is a dark side. The Dubai Dream, by H Masud Taj, introduces us to this dark side.
"As a student of architecture, I took a break from my studies in India to work in a furniture factory in Sharjah/Dubai. A decade later I returned to Dubai as an architect in 1988 and again in 2008 to write on Dubai for an edition on Future Cities (arguably the earliest published essay that was sceptical of Dubai’s boom).""
- ArchitectureLive (Dec 14, 2022)
The essay was previously published in Civil Society’s 5th Anniversary Issue on Future Cities Sept-Oct 2008, p.31-32: "The Dubai Dream has its Underbelly." in Articles section.
Note: The essay was written in July 2008 and submitted for publication early August. Only in 2009 did the international press catch on, after Dubai’s boom was over. Burj Dubai opened in 2010, renamed Burj Khalifa after its lender who had bailed out Dubai.
Cross Ref. See also:
"Dear Emir of Qatar" in Articles section
"As a student of architecture, I took a break from my studies in India to work in a furniture factory in Sharjah/Dubai. A decade later I returned to Dubai as an architect in 1988 and again in 2008 to write on Dubai for an edition on Future Cities (arguably the earliest published essay that was sceptical of Dubai’s boom).""
- ArchitectureLive (Dec 14, 2022)
The essay was previously published in Civil Society’s 5th Anniversary Issue on Future Cities Sept-Oct 2008, p.31-32: "The Dubai Dream has its Underbelly." in Articles section.
Note: The essay was written in July 2008 and submitted for publication early August. Only in 2009 did the international press catch on, after Dubai’s boom was over. Burj Dubai opened in 2010, renamed Burj Khalifa after its lender who had bailed out Dubai.
Cross Ref. See also:
"Dear Emir of Qatar" in Articles section
Research Interests: Architecture, Work and Labour, Branding, City Branding, Destination Branding, and 12 moreDubai, United Arab Emirates, Design of Tall Buildings, Developers, Maritime Container Shipping Industry, Advertising and Branding, Brad Pitt, Burj Khalifa, hypnosis dubai, Irrational Exuberance, trade dubai, and rem koolhas
Take a leaf out of The Matrix and swallow the red pill to delve into the unsettling truth about the Partition of India. Essay written on Education Day that is celebrated on the occasion of Maulana Azad’s birthday on November 11 each... more
Take a leaf out of The Matrix and swallow the red pill to delve into the unsettling truth about the Partition of India.
Essay written on Education Day that is celebrated on the occasion of Maulana Azad’s birthday on November 11 each year.
Essay written on Education Day that is celebrated on the occasion of Maulana Azad’s birthday on November 11 each year.
Research Interests: Education, Pakistan, Partition literature, Madrasa education, India, and 15 moreIndian Muslims, Oliver Cromwell, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Partition of India, Gandhian Studies, Partition, Matrix, British Raj, Viceroy of India, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi and Indian nationalism, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Sardar Vallabh Patel, and The Red Pill
Nationalism was a European concept introduced when empires were coming asunder in the aftermath of World War I. Rabindranath Tagore, who bequeath India its national anthem, warned against nationalism, calling it “a great menace” and "at... more
Nationalism was a European concept introduced when empires were coming asunder in the aftermath of World War I. Rabindranath Tagore, who bequeath India its national anthem, warned against nationalism, calling it “a great menace” and "at the bottom of India’s troubles” (1917). The philosopher Karl Popper (1962) rejected nationalism saying it lacked scientific objectivity, and national self-determination could degenerate into ethnic terrorism and totalitarianism. Furthermore, nationalism carried seeds of further disintegration of the nation, as there would always be a sub-group that would, on the same principle of 'national self-determination' logically seek a separate nation, ad-infinitum.
Thus the six diacritic dots (nuqtas) in the calligraphic composition:
One nuqta = Undivided India
Two nuqtas = India & Pakistan
Three nuqtas = India, Pakistan & Bangladesh.
--H. Masud Taj
Thus the six diacritic dots (nuqtas) in the calligraphic composition:
One nuqta = Undivided India
Two nuqtas = India & Pakistan
Three nuqtas = India, Pakistan & Bangladesh.
--H. Masud Taj
Research Interests: Self-Determination Theory, Nationalism, Totalitarianism, Pakistan, Hindi/Urdu, and 15 moreBangladesh, Karl Popper, Calligraphy, Ethnicity and Nationalism, India, International Human Rights and the Rights of Peoples (Nationalism, Self Determination, Secession), Nationality, Rabindranath Tagore, Diacritics, Hindu Nationalism in Modern India, Ethnicity and National Identity, Right to Self Determination, Karl Popper theories, Self-determination Sovereignity, and Islamic Nationalism In Pakistan
Pondering the verse “Kya pata hum mein hai kahani/Ya hain kahani mein hum?” Are we the authors of the story of our lives, or are we characters playing our role in the story that is our destiny? The word “kahani” (story) appears twice:... more
Pondering the verse “Kya pata hum mein hai kahani/Ya hain kahani mein hum?” Are we the authors of the story of our lives, or are we characters playing our role in the story that is our destiny? The word “kahani” (story) appears twice: which of the versions is true? Language is linear, one meaning follows another. Calligraphy like architecture, turns word-meanings spatial and simultaneous…
Research Interests: Hindi/Urdu, Free Will, Predestination, Bollywood cinema, Free will and determinism debate, and 15 moreHuman destiny, Free Will and Determinism, Destiny, Free will vs predestination, Divine Predestination, Free Will Defense, Free Will and Determinsim, Doctrine of Predestination, Amir Khan, Hindi Urdu Language and Literature, FORREST GUMP, Islam Destiny, Predestination and Free Will, The Perception of Predestination,, and Belief in Free Will
This article was part of the published book- Icons, a tribute to Independent India's sixty years and 20 greatest living personalities who set exemplary examples for the nation. The book's editor Anil Dharker found H. Masud Taj's essay on... more
This article was part of the published book- Icons, a tribute to Independent India's sixty years and 20 greatest living personalities who set exemplary examples for the nation. The book's editor Anil Dharker found H. Masud Taj's essay on Charles Correa and the journey of post-independence architecture "erudite, readable, provocative and comprehensive."
- ArchitectureLive! (in a series on India’s 75th Anniversary)
Cross Ref. See also:
“Charles Correa: An Infinity of Traces” (Icons) in Articles section
Architecture, Nationalism, Mandalas, Housing, Modern Architecture, Urbanization, Third World, India, Indian architecture, Decolonization, Mumbai, High Rise Buildings, Gandhi, Nation-building, Memorials, Bombay, Chandigarh, Indian Mandalas, Charles Correa, Architectural Curriculum
- ArchitectureLive! (in a series on India’s 75th Anniversary)
Cross Ref. See also:
“Charles Correa: An Infinity of Traces” (Icons) in Articles section
Architecture, Nationalism, Mandalas, Housing, Modern Architecture, Urbanization, Third World, India, Indian architecture, Decolonization, Mumbai, High Rise Buildings, Gandhi, Nation-building, Memorials, Bombay, Chandigarh, Indian Mandalas, Charles Correa, Architectural Curriculum
Research Interests: Architecture, Urbanization in Developing Areas, Nationalism, Architectural History, Housing, and 15 moreModern Architecture, Third World, Decolonization, Famous Architects and Their Works, Gandhian Studies, Mumbai, High Rise Buildings, Memorials, Bombay, Architecture and Public Spaces, Modern Indian Architecture, Architects and Architectural Practice, Charles Correa Housing, Chandigarh, and Charles Correa Housing Projects Pdf
There are always two sides to a door. It has two faces without being two-faced. It is derived by merging two Old English forms: the singular "dor" and the plural “duru." To be a door is to embrace multiplicities. To be a door is to... more
There are always two sides to a door. It has two faces without being two-faced. It is derived by merging two Old English forms: the singular "dor" and the plural “duru."
To be a door is to embrace multiplicities.
To be a door is to make choices all your life. More accurately to be a door is to perpetually unmake the choice that you last made; to choose between being opened, or being closed.
To be a door is to choose without taking sides.
Read more...
"Paprika! is a window into emerging discourse from Yale School of Architecture and Yale School of Art." For the full edition edited by Jane van Velden, Paul DeFazio & Jerry Chow, visit https://yalepaprika.com/folds/reading-the-room
Cross Reference. See also other elements of architecture in the Articles section:
Door Window Tap Switch
Windows
Balcony
To be a door is to embrace multiplicities.
To be a door is to make choices all your life. More accurately to be a door is to perpetually unmake the choice that you last made; to choose between being opened, or being closed.
To be a door is to choose without taking sides.
Read more...
"Paprika! is a window into emerging discourse from Yale School of Architecture and Yale School of Art." For the full edition edited by Jane van Velden, Paul DeFazio & Jerry Chow, visit https://yalepaprika.com/folds/reading-the-room
Cross Reference. See also other elements of architecture in the Articles section:
Door Window Tap Switch
Windows
Balcony
Research Interests: Architecture, Etymology, Pilgrimage, Closure, Nomadism, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Old English Language, Epistemic Closure Principle, Prose poems, Language and Etymology, Old English, Openings, Nomadology, Nomads, Redemption, Readings in Art and Architecture, Openess, Multiplicities, Doors, and Elements of architecture
The short essay was in response to Building 22 Edition 10 editor Chris Bretecher’s thoughtful request: “The architect currently finds her or himself existing within a blurred zone far beyond the previously defined boundaries of... more
The short essay was in response to Building 22 Edition 10 editor Chris Bretecher’s thoughtful request:
“The architect currently finds her or himself existing within a blurred zone far beyond the previously defined boundaries of Architecture. This has led the student and professional alike to begin discovering new realms and exploring alternate fields.
We are looking for an inventive response from each member of the faculty in one of the following ways:
1 a diagram/ideogram charting this expanded field (300 dpi/jpeg)
or
2 a short fragment of text (250 words) suggesting why architecture as you see it should or should not be expanded
and/or
3 list out ten expanded non-architecture references/works of art/objects/ideograms you think could or should be part of a student's learning.”
My submission was a text fragment accompanied by a calligraphic diagram of the Vitruvian curriculum: “A R C H I T E C T” as a 9-squae mandala with each square encompassing a Vitruvian sub-discipline.
Cross Reference:
A longer version (11 pgs with footnotes) is found in the chapter ““Reproducing Architects (or: Recovering Architecture) ”in “Doctoring Strange Loves, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying Stanley and Love Monsters in Scholarship, Chess, Films & Architecture.” p.19-30 (see Papers Section).
“The architect currently finds her or himself existing within a blurred zone far beyond the previously defined boundaries of Architecture. This has led the student and professional alike to begin discovering new realms and exploring alternate fields.
We are looking for an inventive response from each member of the faculty in one of the following ways:
1 a diagram/ideogram charting this expanded field (300 dpi/jpeg)
or
2 a short fragment of text (250 words) suggesting why architecture as you see it should or should not be expanded
and/or
3 list out ten expanded non-architecture references/works of art/objects/ideograms you think could or should be part of a student's learning.”
My submission was a text fragment accompanied by a calligraphic diagram of the Vitruvian curriculum: “A R C H I T E C T” as a 9-squae mandala with each square encompassing a Vitruvian sub-discipline.
Cross Reference:
A longer version (11 pgs with footnotes) is found in the chapter ““Reproducing Architects (or: Recovering Architecture) ”in “Doctoring Strange Loves, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying Stanley and Love Monsters in Scholarship, Chess, Films & Architecture.” p.19-30 (see Papers Section).
Research Interests: Architecture, Interdisciplinarity, Roman Religion, Bastards, Vitruvius, and 15 moreInterdisciplinary Studies, Calligraphy, Curriculum, Borders and Frontiers, Medusa, Muses, Monsters, Definition, Monsters and the Monstrous, Illegitimate children, Artistic disciplines, Zeus (Zarah) Connection, Mnemosine, Interdiciplinary Studies, and Vitruvius Definition of Architecture
Recollections of an Unconventional Pedagogy appeared in Stories of Teaching at Carleton University in which award-winning teachers were invited to contribute. The book, to celebrate Carleton at 75 yrs, was launched at the TLS event:... more
Recollections of an Unconventional Pedagogy appeared in Stories of Teaching at Carleton University in which award-winning teachers were invited to contribute. The book, to celebrate Carleton at 75 yrs, was launched at the TLS event: Celebrating Teaching Excellence at Carleton.
Cross reference. See also:
"Father Taught Me To Teach" in the Memoir Section
"Thus Spake the Toad" in the Articles Section
"Emergence" in the Articles Section
"Where Dwellings Dwell: House of Incompleteness" in the Articles Section
Cross reference. See also:
"Father Taught Me To Teach" in the Memoir Section
"Thus Spake the Toad" in the Articles Section
"Emergence" in the Articles Section
"Where Dwellings Dwell: House of Incompleteness" in the Articles Section
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Education, Critical Pedagogy, Learning and Teaching, Architectural Education, and 15 morePedagogy, Experiential Learning (Active Learning), Experiential Education, Philosophy of Experiential Education, Parametric Design (Architecture), Studio (Architecture), Arts Education and Pedagogy, Unconventional Computation, Experiential Design, History of Nonconformism, Preppers, Archiecture, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Curriculum and Pedagogy, and John Dewey Educational Thought
Both English and Urdu are symmetrical; two conditions of the same bipolar disorder. Both tongues are immigrants in alien gram- mars (Latin and Sanskrit respectively); both have a similar strategy for overcoming their weakness: a voracious... more
Both English and Urdu are symmetrical; two conditions of the same bipolar disorder. Both tongues are immigrants in alien gram- mars (Latin and Sanskrit respectively); both have a similar strategy for overcoming their weakness: a voracious appetite for foreign words. Like the monster software AutoCAD and indeed life itself (both versions at 2006), they make up as they go along, disguising their formal inelegance with awesome number crunching, memory and vocabulary respectively. Both English and Urdu are tongue col-onisers with their dictionaries metamorphosing into thesauruses. (Webster and Roget face off as John Travolta and Nick Cage once did in an exciting Woo classic.) Both languages also colonise lands, English the world and Urdu the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Diasporas spread out in the world (about 90,000 in Canada). They have an evangelical fervour that turns speakers into born-agains, again and again.
Research Interests: English Literature, Poetry, English, Urdu Literature, Translation, and 6 moreAlbert Einstein, Canada, Grammar, LUCKNOW, Ottawa, and Rampur
Essay is a development of the author’s talk, “Mosque as Metaphor” delivered at The Hall of Philosophy, Chautauqua Institution, New York, on July 27, 2000. “Ka’ba, in Arabic, means the “cube” and also “a shape that emerges”— both the form... more
Essay is a development of the author’s talk, “Mosque as Metaphor” delivered at The Hall of Philosophy, Chautauqua Institution, New York, on July 27, 2000.
“Ka’ba, in Arabic, means the “cube” and also “a shape that emerges”— both the form and the emergence of form. If the form is the cube, then what form remains to emerge? As an ordering device, the Ka’ba is not the modest cube in Mecca but a monumental project that has, for over a millennium now, been redefining the world in its own image. It has been constructing its circumferences (without which the center is a point without identity). Each time a group of Muslims gathers in prayer or builds a mosque, each time Muslims follow Muhammad’s (pbuh) practice of sleeping on the right side with their faces towards the Ka’ba, each time a Muslim dies and is buried in a grave that is always oriented towards the Ka’ba, in each instance a fragment of a circumference is being put into place. Prayer halls, beds, and graves are all rectangles with their longer side facing the Ka’ba; all chords of its circumnavigating circles. With the global consolidation of a sacred center, the faithful barely perceive that with their bricks and their bodies, they construct and constitute an ongoing international installation.”
See also “The Kaaba: Guarding the Centre, Generating the Circumference ( Folia, Literary Supplment, Hindu, India: Sept 23, 2001)
“Ka’ba, in Arabic, means the “cube” and also “a shape that emerges”— both the form and the emergence of form. If the form is the cube, then what form remains to emerge? As an ordering device, the Ka’ba is not the modest cube in Mecca but a monumental project that has, for over a millennium now, been redefining the world in its own image. It has been constructing its circumferences (without which the center is a point without identity). Each time a group of Muslims gathers in prayer or builds a mosque, each time Muslims follow Muhammad’s (pbuh) practice of sleeping on the right side with their faces towards the Ka’ba, each time a Muslim dies and is buried in a grave that is always oriented towards the Ka’ba, in each instance a fragment of a circumference is being put into place. Prayer halls, beds, and graves are all rectangles with their longer side facing the Ka’ba; all chords of its circumnavigating circles. With the global consolidation of a sacred center, the faithful barely perceive that with their bricks and their bodies, they construct and constitute an ongoing international installation.”
See also “The Kaaba: Guarding the Centre, Generating the Circumference ( Folia, Literary Supplment, Hindu, India: Sept 23, 2001)
Research Interests:
Revised extract with illustration added in Building 22, of "Introduction" previously titled "Standing on the Shore, Contemplating the Cube" in Three Cubes of Perception by Jason Freedman (Toronto: Dans le Vide) 2015. Note: The byline is... more
Revised extract with illustration added in Building 22, of "Introduction" previously titled "Standing on the Shore, Contemplating the Cube" in Three Cubes of Perception by Jason Freedman (Toronto: Dans le Vide) 2015.
Note: The byline is incorrect, it should read as follows, "Adjunct Professor | M.Arch [Distinction] Dip. Arch. [Bombay]."
Note: The byline is incorrect, it should read as follows, "Adjunct Professor | M.Arch [Distinction] Dip. Arch. [Bombay]."
Research Interests:
Toronto is not a place; Toronto is that which takes place.
Research Interests:
The original returns to origins. Emergence is from Latin emergere "rise out or up, bring forth, bring to light," from ex- "out" and mergere "to dip, sink". And merge is from Sanskrit majjati "dives under." “Education” is from Latin... more
The original returns to origins. Emergence is from Latin emergere "rise out or up, bring forth, bring to light," from ex- "out" and mergere "to dip, sink". And merge is from Sanskrit majjati "dives under." “Education” is from Latin “educere”: bring out. We are scuba divers that dive under everyday life and everywhere materials, right under everyone’s nose, even under everyone’s skin. Architects dumpster dive to emerge buoyant: eureka!
The world around us is merely someone’s spent imagination.
The world around us is merely someone’s spent imagination.
Research Interests:
On the stage of the National Gallery of Canada, in front of a packed auditorium, my conversation with Arthur Erickson takes an unexpected turn. Erickson recalls growing up in Vancouver and embarking every weekend on nature trails: “We had... more
On the stage of the National Gallery of Canada, in front of a packed auditorium, my conversation with Arthur Erickson takes an unexpected turn. Erickson recalls growing up in Vancouver and embarking every weekend on nature trails: “We had a grandmother... she had this wonderful zest for life and she went so far as to say if I am reborn I would like to be reborn as a native because I think they are the only ones that understood the landscape.” I can’t help but ask this doyen of Canadian architecture: “What would you like to be reborn as?” He falls silent and then says, “Oh, I don’t want to say an elephant — but they do get their own way.” When the laughter dies down, I recite to him my “Elephant”...
Cross Reference. See also:
"Alphabesitary" in Books Section
"AlphaVocab" in Calligraphy Section
"Alphabestiary: Animals Anima Animate" in Syllabi Section
Cross Reference. See also:
"Alphabesitary" in Books Section
"AlphaVocab" in Calligraphy Section
"Alphabestiary: Animals Anima Animate" in Syllabi Section
Research Interests:
"His simple clothes were the hallmark of the way he worked: without an office, without drawings, without formal associates, without a timetable, unencumbered by legal and financial constraints, retaining the trust of clients without... more
"His simple clothes were the hallmark of the way he worked: without an office, without drawings, without formal associates, without a timetable, unencumbered by legal and financial constraints, retaining the trust of clients without entertaining their requests. Such were the unparalleled prerequisites of his practice. It allowed him to intensely focus on his own interpretation of the client’s needs, while responding to the only limits that he accepted – that of the site, material and craftsmen. It is this singular undiluted model of architectural practice that remains as much an achievement as the houses themselves. The model stands not as an alternative to mainstream practice but establishes an irreducible datum against which other models are measured. As his houses continue to disappear due to neglect or land speculation, it is his model of practice, intrinsically woven with who he was, that may well remain his lasting contribution."
Read more…
Taj, H Masud “Nari Gandhi” Mumbai: Foundation ForArchitecture 2009 pg.158-159
Cross-References. See also:
“Nari Gandhi (Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright)” in the Books Section
“Buildings as Prophecies & Conversations” in the Articles Section
“ Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)” in the Poetry Section
Read more…
Taj, H Masud “Nari Gandhi” Mumbai: Foundation ForArchitecture 2009 pg.158-159
Cross-References. See also:
“Nari Gandhi (Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright)” in the Books Section
“Buildings as Prophecies & Conversations” in the Articles Section
“ Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)” in the Poetry Section
Research Interests: Contracts, Architecture, Phenomenology, Frank Lloyd Wright, Sense of Place, and 15 moreGreen architecture, Craft Knowledge, Architecture and Phenomenology, Organic Architecture, India, Pottery, Materiality, Paradox, Masonry, J. Krishnamurti, Professional practice in Architecture, Modern Indian Architecture, Organic Architecture Frank Lloyd Wright, Design and Build, and Nari Gandhi
As predictions, buildings yearn for the future and tend to be universal prototypes, as conversations they celebrate the present unabashedly and tend to be irreproducible. Predictions being delinked from the one who predicts, require an... more
As predictions, buildings yearn for the future and
tend to be universal prototypes, as conversations
they celebrate the present unabashedly and tend
to be irreproducible.
Predictions being delinked from the one who
predicts, require an external agency to actualize.
Conversations, on the other hand can only occur
via the conversationalist.
tend to be universal prototypes, as conversations
they celebrate the present unabashedly and tend
to be irreproducible.
Predictions being delinked from the one who
predicts, require an external agency to actualize.
Conversations, on the other hand can only occur
via the conversationalist.
Research Interests:
“The sacred in architecture reveals itself beside a roadside stall, while you watch your batch of hot jalebis being made. The jalebi is a fabrication of the ubiquitous spiral, hence when you sink your teeth into one, with the juice... more
“The sacred in architecture reveals itself beside a roadside stall, while you watch your batch of hot jalebis being made. The jalebi is a fabrication of the ubiquitous spiral, hence when you sink your teeth into one, with the juice exploding in your mouth; you know what spirals taste like…”
A month before my daughter Zahra was born, I was commissioned to write on the sacred in the architecture of all religions. I had turned down the commission arguing my expertise did not extend beyond Muslim Civilizations.
When Zahra was born, my father suggested we have jalebis to celebrate! (Jalebi is a dessert made by deep frying circular shapes of maida flour batter in a cauldron of boiling oil, and then soaked in sugar syrup). While biting into a hot jalebi, with its juice bursting in my mouth, in a flash my mind connected the movement of the chef’s hand while making jalebis with rituals of movement in the practice of several religions.
“Jalebi & The Knot of Sacred Architecture” was born at that instant; one of my quickest essays, it was written in a single draft (apologies for any unintended lapses and inadvertent faux pas).
In retrospect, growing up in multicultural India, the crossroad of world religions had sufficiently exposed me to multiple religious practices..
Published as "Contorurs of the Sacred" International Gallerie Vol.11 No.1 2008 pg.44-46
Final iteration forthcoming that restores its original title "Jalebi & The Knot of Sacred Architecture."
Cross Reference. See also:
"The Kaaba: Guarding The Centre, Generating The Circumference" in Articles Section
"Three Shores Of The Cube" in Articles Section
"Medina Highway" in Poetry Section
A month before my daughter Zahra was born, I was commissioned to write on the sacred in the architecture of all religions. I had turned down the commission arguing my expertise did not extend beyond Muslim Civilizations.
When Zahra was born, my father suggested we have jalebis to celebrate! (Jalebi is a dessert made by deep frying circular shapes of maida flour batter in a cauldron of boiling oil, and then soaked in sugar syrup). While biting into a hot jalebi, with its juice bursting in my mouth, in a flash my mind connected the movement of the chef’s hand while making jalebis with rituals of movement in the practice of several religions.
“Jalebi & The Knot of Sacred Architecture” was born at that instant; one of my quickest essays, it was written in a single draft (apologies for any unintended lapses and inadvertent faux pas).
In retrospect, growing up in multicultural India, the crossroad of world religions had sufficiently exposed me to multiple religious practices..
Published as "Contorurs of the Sacred" International Gallerie Vol.11 No.1 2008 pg.44-46
Final iteration forthcoming that restores its original title "Jalebi & The Knot of Sacred Architecture."
Cross Reference. See also:
"The Kaaba: Guarding The Centre, Generating The Circumference" in Articles Section
"Three Shores Of The Cube" in Articles Section
"Medina Highway" in Poetry Section
Research Interests: Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Labyrinths, Quranic Studies, and 15 moreIslamic Studies, Judaism, Torah/Pentateuch, Leonardo da Vinci, Sacred Geometry, Sacred Architecture, Sacred Space, The Shining film, Knots, Kaaba, Hajj and Umrah, Ganesh, Indian Cuisine, Spiral, and Muslim philosophy and thought
It was fun growing up as a kid when grown ups were naïve and the nation was itself a child. My co-travellers were Bharat Jobanputra, Jyotindra K Ashani, his younger cousin Jayesh Shah and Shankar. Our school was The Blue Mountains School... more
It was fun growing up as a kid when grown ups were naïve and the nation was itself a child.
My co-travellers were Bharat Jobanputra, Jyotindra K Ashani, his younger cousin Jayesh Shah and Shankar. Our school was The Blue Mountains School in Ooty, above Elk Hill, surrounded by a thick grove (since, much denuded) of Eucalyptus trees that hid the school building from the race-course below and lent its colour to the name of the school.
In keeping with the school's core philosophy grounded on J. Krishnamurti, (translated into pedagogical principles by Gordon Pearce and his team of teachers that included Sardar Mohemmed, David Horsburgh and J.P. Gunawardhane.) the teacher to student ratio was then 1:8.
Excellent reflections on the school:
1. Editorial by its present Director B. J. Krishnan, titled:
J. Krishnamurti, F.G. Pearce and the Blue Mountain School
(Reflections on the 125th Birth Anniversary of the Founder)
Learn Prajana, Live Karuna -Buddha
2. "Blueprint for a life:"
Mukund Padmanabhan looks back fondly at his days in the small and unusual Blue Mountain School, Ooty.
(The Hindu Jan 26, 2013
https://www.bluemountainsschool.com/notice-board/
Note: the photographs were taken in 2007 and are not part of the publication.
My co-travellers were Bharat Jobanputra, Jyotindra K Ashani, his younger cousin Jayesh Shah and Shankar. Our school was The Blue Mountains School in Ooty, above Elk Hill, surrounded by a thick grove (since, much denuded) of Eucalyptus trees that hid the school building from the race-course below and lent its colour to the name of the school.
In keeping with the school's core philosophy grounded on J. Krishnamurti, (translated into pedagogical principles by Gordon Pearce and his team of teachers that included Sardar Mohemmed, David Horsburgh and J.P. Gunawardhane.) the teacher to student ratio was then 1:8.
Excellent reflections on the school:
1. Editorial by its present Director B. J. Krishnan, titled:
J. Krishnamurti, F.G. Pearce and the Blue Mountain School
(Reflections on the 125th Birth Anniversary of the Founder)
Learn Prajana, Live Karuna -Buddha
2. "Blueprint for a life:"
Mukund Padmanabhan looks back fondly at his days in the small and unusual Blue Mountain School, Ooty.
(The Hindu Jan 26, 2013
https://www.bluemountainsschool.com/notice-board/
Note: the photographs were taken in 2007 and are not part of the publication.
Research Interests:
"It's a critique that manages to mention Pamela Anderson, Brad Pitt and Rem Koolhaas. Estimated reading time: seven minutes." - SimCity Dubai - Designing Ottawa Blog (Ottawa Citizen) Dubai tries to outdo the biggest and the best in the... more
"It's a critique that manages to mention Pamela Anderson, Brad Pitt and Rem Koolhaas. Estimated reading time: seven minutes."
- SimCity Dubai - Designing Ottawa Blog (Ottawa Citizen)
Dubai tries to outdo the biggest and the best in the world. It is an amazing display of urban eye candy. But there is a dark side as well.
As a student of architecture, I took a break from my studies in India to work in a furniture factory in Sharjah 1976-1978. I returned to Dubai as an architect in 1988 and again in 2008 , being commissioned to write on Dubai for this edition on Future Cities.
(The essay was written in July 2008 and submitted for publication early Augus. Only in 2009 did the international press catch on, after Dubai’s boom was over. Burj Dubai opened in 2010, renamed Burj Khalifa after its lender who had bailed out Dubai).
- SimCity Dubai - Designing Ottawa Blog (Ottawa Citizen)
Dubai tries to outdo the biggest and the best in the world. It is an amazing display of urban eye candy. But there is a dark side as well.
As a student of architecture, I took a break from my studies in India to work in a furniture factory in Sharjah 1976-1978. I returned to Dubai as an architect in 1988 and again in 2008 , being commissioned to write on Dubai for this edition on Future Cities.
(The essay was written in July 2008 and submitted for publication early Augus. Only in 2009 did the international press catch on, after Dubai’s boom was over. Burj Dubai opened in 2010, renamed Burj Khalifa after its lender who had bailed out Dubai).
Research Interests:
See also above in Articles section: Charles Correa: An Infinity of Traces (Illustrated) ArchitectureLive! , 2022 The chapter, commissioned during India's Golden Jubilee, reviews the contribution of Architect Charles Correa to... more
See also above in Articles section: Charles Correa: An Infinity of Traces (Illustrated) ArchitectureLive! , 2022
The chapter, commissioned during India's Golden Jubilee, reviews the contribution of Architect Charles Correa to nation-building, against the backdrop of 50 years of modern architecture in post-Independent India (1947-1997). Footnotes that went missing in the published piece have been reinstated as endnotes in this upload.
Some projects can be seen in the illustrated seed-essay "Style Maestro" below.
(Adjunct Professor H Masud Taj has conducted Asian Architecture seminars but is not "Professor, Asian Studies" p.65).
The chapter, commissioned during India's Golden Jubilee, reviews the contribution of Architect Charles Correa to nation-building, against the backdrop of 50 years of modern architecture in post-Independent India (1947-1997). Footnotes that went missing in the published piece have been reinstated as endnotes in this upload.
Some projects can be seen in the illustrated seed-essay "Style Maestro" below.
(Adjunct Professor H Masud Taj has conducted Asian Architecture seminars but is not "Professor, Asian Studies" p.65).
Research Interests:
The subject of architecture is the subject that experiences architecture. Architecture is experienced in the way it is occupied. Hence the manner in which the body is choreographed through a building allows boundaries to be blurred,... more
The subject of architecture is the subject that experiences architecture. Architecture is experienced in the way it is occupied. Hence the manner in which the body is choreographed through a building allows boundaries to be blurred, crossovers to occur and the architecture to unfold. The Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver by Arthur Erickson is a homage to otherness as it succeeds in crossing over to a space that as totemic as it is (ab)original.
Tenth Anniversary Issue. Vol.10 No.1 2007
(Author conversed with Arthur Erickson on the stage of the National Gallery of Canada March 5, 2007)
Tenth Anniversary Issue. Vol.10 No.1 2007
(Author conversed with Arthur Erickson on the stage of the National Gallery of Canada March 5, 2007)
Research Interests: Anthropology, Indigenous or Aboriginal Studies, Architecture, Museum Studies, Space and Place, and 15 moreTranshumanism, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Museums, Transition, Museum and Heritage Studies, Understanding Architectural Space, Axis Mundi, Totems, Portal, Museum of Anthropology & Archaeology, Architecture and Public Spaces, Transhumanizm, Promenade Architecture, Walkthroughs, and Arthur Erickson
“The magazine team has had a general fascination for old books. Some days back, we found a bunch of Shilpasagars, while treasure hunting through the old rooms of JJ. A curious peep ended up with a compilation of what touched us, inspired... more
“The magazine team has had a general fascination for old books. Some days back, we found a bunch of Shilpasagars, while treasure hunting through the old rooms of JJ. A curious peep ended up with a compilation of what touched us, inspired us, engaged us, thrilled us and made us laugh.”
- Pooja Ugrani, Editor 2006
Their compilation began with the first editorial in 1931; “What is a Balcony?” was chosen from the 1994 issue (when I was in the visiting faculty of Sir JJ College of Architecture) and later published in 1996 architectural column in Business Standard “Powerful Wings: Cantilever & Balcony.” Coincidentally, in 2006, it was also a part of my reading at the office of Caruso St John Architects in London UK. (poster in Talks section).
- Pooja Ugrani, Editor 2006
Their compilation began with the first editorial in 1931; “What is a Balcony?” was chosen from the 1994 issue (when I was in the visiting faculty of Sir JJ College of Architecture) and later published in 1996 architectural column in Business Standard “Powerful Wings: Cantilever & Balcony.” Coincidentally, in 2006, it was also a part of my reading at the office of Caruso St John Architects in London UK. (poster in Talks section).
Research Interests:
Both English and Urdu are tongue colonisers with their dictionaries metamorphosing into thesauruses. (Webster and Roget face off as John Travolta and Nick Cage once did in an exciting Woo classic.) Both languages also colonise lands,... more
Both English and Urdu are tongue colonisers with their dictionaries metamorphosing into thesauruses. (Webster and Roget face off as John Travolta and Nick Cage once did in an exciting Woo classic.) Both languages also colonise lands, English the world and Urdu the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Diasporas spread out in the world...
Research Interests: English Literature, Translation Studies, Translation theory, English, English as a Lingua Franca, and 15 moreUrdu Literature, Translation, Essay (Genre Theory), Albert Einstein, The Critical Reflective Essay, Urdu Poetry, Urdu, English Grammer, Essay Writing, Hindi/Urdu/Hindustani linguistics (synchronic and diachronic, language contact, sociolinguistics);, Urdu literature (classical and contemporary);, Essay Argumentative, English Translation, Urdu Language and Literature, and English Essays
If our means of transportation has made cities pathological, then the obvious question is: what makes for sustainable transportation? For that we have to return to the efficiency equation by once again minimizing travel and maximizing... more
If our means of transportation has made cities pathological, then the obvious question is: what makes for sustainable transportation? For that we have to return to the efficiency equation by once again minimizing travel and maximizing exchange, put aside the past half-century aberration of auto-centric thinking and review transportation and urban planning. The shift in thinking is from motorized to non-motorized modes of travel. In the ideal sustainable order we find that walking is the most attractive option, closely followed by cycling, skating and skate-boarding and then public transit: the bus and train. However, the least desirable option, the automobile, is today’s most prevalent choice.
Research Interests:
Let us visit the historical cube in Mecca to conduct a thought-experiment: Imagine you are suspended in space in a satellite directly above the cube in Mecca. Presume also that it is night and all the lights in the world have been... more
Let us visit the historical cube in Mecca to conduct a thought-experiment: Imagine you are suspended in space in a satellite directly above the cube in Mecca. Presume also that it is night and all the lights in the world have been switched off. Now switch on the lights that shine on the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Mecca in which the cube is located and also switch on the lights of all the mosques of the world.
The essay is based on the author's talk, "Mosque as Metophor," delivered at the Hall of Philosophy, Chautauquan Institution, New York July 27, 2000 (on his parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary)
The essay is based on the author's talk, "Mosque as Metophor," delivered at the Hall of Philosophy, Chautauquan Institution, New York July 27, 2000 (on his parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary)
Research Interests:
That is the way of hyphens. They gain their identity by those they connect simultaneously. An architect and a poet connected by a space-time device and I the hyphen in-between. (The author's memoir-in-progress is tentatively titled:... more
That is the way of hyphens. They gain their identity by those they connect simultaneously. An architect and a poet connected by a space-time device and I the hyphen in-between.
(The author's memoir-in-progress is tentatively titled:
Hyphen: Recollections of an Architect-Poet-Calligrapher-Teacher)
(The author's memoir-in-progress is tentatively titled:
Hyphen: Recollections of an Architect-Poet-Calligrapher-Teacher)
Research Interests:
Thus Spake the Toad (warts and all) in a thematic issue on architectural education; A+D: A Journal of Indian Architecture; Jan/Feb 1998: Vol.XV No.1 p.32 To all frogs. In all wells, learning how to jump. Jumping is easy. If anyone... more
Thus Spake the Toad (warts and all) in a thematic issue on architectural education; A+D: A Journal of Indian Architecture; Jan/Feb 1998: Vol.XV No.1 p.32
To all frogs. In all wells, learning how to jump.
Jumping is easy. If anyone tells you it isn’t, it is either because he does not know how, or he once did, but that was, oh, so long ago. It is the very nature of your frogginess to jump, (if frogs don’t, they end up as delicious frog-legs).
To all frogs. In all wells, learning how to jump.
Jumping is easy. If anyone tells you it isn’t, it is either because he does not know how, or he once did, but that was, oh, so long ago. It is the very nature of your frogginess to jump, (if frogs don’t, they end up as delicious frog-legs).
Research Interests:
Hundreds of thousands of protesters worldwide marched on the streets demanding an immediate ceasefire while their leaders stumbled into found poems as they struggled to pronounce the verboten "ceasefire." The Found Poem displays the... more
Hundreds of thousands of protesters worldwide marched on the streets demanding an immediate ceasefire while their leaders stumbled into found poems as they struggled to pronounce the verboten "ceasefire."
The Found Poem displays the symmetry in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's spontaneous words as he struggles not to say ceasefire (taken verbatim from a Global News video clip dated November 8, 2023)
See "World Children Day essay: Graveyard for Children" in the Articles Section.
The Found Poem displays the symmetry in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's spontaneous words as he struggles not to say ceasefire (taken verbatim from a Global News video clip dated November 8, 2023)
See "World Children Day essay: Graveyard for Children" in the Articles Section.
Research Interests: Poetry, Mirror Symmetry, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Contemporary Poetry, and 15 moreIsrael-Palestine, Arab-Israeli conflict, Settler Colonialism & Its Legacies, Prose poems, Politicians, Settler/Indigenous relations, Symmetry, Found poetry, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Justin Trudeau, Quotes of the Day, Ceasefire, and Palestine – Israel – refugees – refugee camps – unrwa – Nakba (Palestinian catastrophe) – photography archives
Poem embedded in essay “Once upon a Time in Ayodhya” The Beacon: Literary Trails, January 29, 2023 Cross Ref. See also: “Once upon a Time in Ayodhya” in the Articles section “Awadh/Ayodhya” in the Calligraphy section “A Weaver... more
Poem embedded in essay “Once upon a Time in Ayodhya” The Beacon: Literary Trails, January 29, 2023
Cross Ref. See also:
“Once upon a Time in Ayodhya” in the Articles section
“Awadh/Ayodhya” in the Calligraphy section
“A Weaver Named Kabir” in the Book Reviews section
Cross Ref. See also:
“Once upon a Time in Ayodhya” in the Articles section
“Awadh/Ayodhya” in the Calligraphy section
“A Weaver Named Kabir” in the Book Reviews section
Research Interests: Hinduism, Hindi Literature, Cultural Heritage, Poetry, Heritage Conservation, and 15 moreHindi/Urdu, Contemporary Poetry, Hindi, India, Bilingualism, Varanasi, Babri Masjid, Ayodhya dispute, Ecosystem, Sustainable Developement, Lament, Modernism In Hindi Poetry, Hindi Urdu Language and Literature, Hindi/हिंदी, and Kashi
You breathe in, breathe out and the tree breathes in. In the reciprocal breathing of lungs and leaves In the withering of the skin and the falling of leaves In your blushing in spring and reddening leaves in fall In rain’s rusting of iron... more
You breathe in, breathe out and the tree breathes in.
In the reciprocal breathing of lungs and leaves
In the withering of the skin and the falling of leaves
In your blushing in spring and reddening leaves in fall
In rain’s rusting of iron and pulsation of oxidation
If colors be ever-changing,
If seasons are ever in rotation, then you arrive here
Only to depart so that you may return some day.
Photography: Jake Morrison
Book: We Stand With The Trees by Jake Morrison and Jane Keeler
Ottawa: With Flare Press, p.19. 2022
Cross Ref. See also:
"Embassy of Liminal Spaces" in Books
In the reciprocal breathing of lungs and leaves
In the withering of the skin and the falling of leaves
In your blushing in spring and reddening leaves in fall
In rain’s rusting of iron and pulsation of oxidation
If colors be ever-changing,
If seasons are ever in rotation, then you arrive here
Only to depart so that you may return some day.
Photography: Jake Morrison
Book: We Stand With The Trees by Jake Morrison and Jane Keeler
Ottawa: With Flare Press, p.19. 2022
Cross Ref. See also:
"Embassy of Liminal Spaces" in Books
Research Interests: English, Symbiosis, Ecology, Contemporary Poetry, Incompleteness, and 15 moreThreatened species and ecosystems, Deforestation, Extinction, Trees, Urban Trees, Respiration, Reciprocity, Oxidation, Maple, Green and Sustainability Practices, Symbiosis, Zoology, Ecology, Trees In Urban Spaces, Threatened Plants, Reciprocal Frames, and Breathing pattern
Where bricks leap from point to point and freeze in their flight. Where bricks are the lips of mouth open forever. Bricks being bricks know the reason why The essence of the arch is the crescent in the sky. - IIM-A 1981 - Indian Express... more
Where bricks leap from point to point and freeze in their flight.
Where bricks are the lips of mouth open forever.
Bricks being bricks know the reason why
The essence of the arch is the crescent in the sky.
- IIM-A 1981
- Indian Express 2015 (ref Interview: “Buildings are books someone forgot to burn”)
- AA 2020 Calligraphic Poem on IIM Ahmedabad
Where bricks are the lips of mouth open forever.
Bricks being bricks know the reason why
The essence of the arch is the crescent in the sky.
- IIM-A 1981
- Indian Express 2015 (ref Interview: “Buildings are books someone forgot to burn”)
- AA 2020 Calligraphic Poem on IIM Ahmedabad
Research Interests:
Words & Worlds / Worte & Welten
An Austrian Bilingual Magazine
Libelle: Dragonfly
Anflug Auf Manhattan: Approaching Manhattan
Leibesszenarien: Body Scenarios
(Note: Balcony: Balkon not published in W&W )
An Austrian Bilingual Magazine
Libelle: Dragonfly
Anflug Auf Manhattan: Approaching Manhattan
Leibesszenarien: Body Scenarios
(Note: Balcony: Balkon not published in W&W )
Research Interests: Poetry, Migration, Modernist poetry, German Language, Translation of Poetry, and 15 moreTwentieth-Century and Contemporary Poetry, Body Image, Modern Poetry, Migration Studies, Austrian Literature, Contemporary Poetry, Canadian poetry, Language Poetry, Indian Writing in English, Austria, Dragonfly, Indian English Poetry, Modern Indian English Poetry, Contemporary Canadian Poetry, and Manhattan
"We loved the unexpected and compact energy of this poem, how each line counts and takes the reader to a new, unexpected complication. The poem not only “takes us there” but leaves us there looking for the malady it is treating. Who... more
"We loved the unexpected and compact energy of this poem, how each line counts and takes the reader to a new, unexpected complication. The poem not only “takes us there” but leaves us there looking for the malady it is treating. Who doesn’t need a tulip therapist?"
- Judges
Carleton University Literary Competition
- Judges
Carleton University Literary Competition
Research Interests:
Where do polar bears and tigers belong? Who longs for intact glaciers and unkempt forests? Who yearns for altitude of mountains and latitude of poles? Who pines for distant circumferences and the spinning centre? Wheel of the Stars: An... more
Where do polar bears and tigers belong?
Who longs for intact glaciers and unkempt forests?
Who yearns for altitude of mountains and latitude of poles?
Who pines for distant circumferences and the spinning centre?
Wheel of the Stars: An anthology celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ver Poets, Eds. Anna Avebury, Gillian Knibbs & Greg Smith (St.Albans: Ver Poets 2016)
Who longs for intact glaciers and unkempt forests?
Who yearns for altitude of mountains and latitude of poles?
Who pines for distant circumferences and the spinning centre?
Wheel of the Stars: An anthology celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ver Poets, Eds. Anna Avebury, Gillian Knibbs & Greg Smith (St.Albans: Ver Poets 2016)
Research Interests:
Spanish translation of Dragonfly poem by POETAS SIGLO XXI - ANTOLOGIA MUNDIAL + 20.000 POETAS_ Editor_ Fernando Sabido Sánchez #Poesía Courtesy: Arundhathi Subramaniam Includes "Alphabestiary" review by Rajiv Trivedi Aparece en el atlas... more
Spanish translation of Dragonfly poem by POETAS SIGLO XXI - ANTOLOGIA MUNDIAL + 20.000 POETAS_ Editor_ Fernando Sabido Sánchez #Poesía
Courtesy: Arundhathi Subramaniam
Includes "Alphabestiary" review by Rajiv Trivedi
Aparece en el atlas de nueva literatura canadiense y en la antología Penguin de poetas indios contemporáneos.
POETAS SIGLO XXI -ANTOLOGIA MUNDIAL + 20.000 POETAS: Editor: Fernando Sabido Sánchez #Poesía POETAS: Editor: Fernando Sabido Sánchez #Poesía
Cross Ref. See also:
"Dragonfly" in the Calligraphy section.
Courtesy: Arundhathi Subramaniam
Includes "Alphabestiary" review by Rajiv Trivedi
Aparece en el atlas de nueva literatura canadiense y en la antología Penguin de poetas indios contemporáneos.
POETAS SIGLO XXI -ANTOLOGIA MUNDIAL + 20.000 POETAS: Editor: Fernando Sabido Sánchez #Poesía POETAS: Editor: Fernando Sabido Sánchez #Poesía
Cross Ref. See also:
"Dragonfly" in the Calligraphy section.
Research Interests: Spanish Literature, English Literature, Spanish Studies, Spanish, Poetry, and 15 moreModernist poetry, English, Translation of Poetry, Modern Poetry, Spanish in contact with other languages, Contemporary Poetry, Translation anthology, Insects, Anthology, Dragonfly, Compound Eye, Insect, The Dragonfly Effect, Antología, and Arundhathi Subramaniam
Wayfarer, tarry a while between your coming and going. We are all in transit; even we who here appear to be Forever, wearing smiles or truly smiling; however We are also on our way just as night follows day And day night; we too will be... more
Wayfarer, tarry a while between your coming and going.
We are all in transit; even we who here appear to be
Forever, wearing smiles or truly smiling; however
We are also on our way just as night follows day
And day night; we too will be out of sight and away.
We are all in transit; even we who here appear to be
Forever, wearing smiles or truly smiling; however
We are also on our way just as night follows day
And day night; we too will be out of sight and away.
Research Interests:
The first sixteen of 111 quatrains of a pseudo-ghazal about missing something.
Research Interests:
"H. Masud Taj, a performance poet based in Ottawa, Canada, constantly works around philosophical and social circumferences of poetry and architecture. An architect by trade, his verses are appealing visually, as in 'Flamingo.'" - Divya... more
"H. Masud Taj, a performance poet based in Ottawa, Canada, constantly works around philosophical and social circumferences of poetry and architecture. An architect by trade, his verses are appealing visually, as in 'Flamingo.'"
- Divya Rajan
Jaggery: A DesiLit Arts and Literature Journal
- Divya Rajan
Jaggery: A DesiLit Arts and Literature Journal
Research Interests:
"He recites poems by heart, in sequence, the recitation a return to an early Urdu tradition. No such tradition is evident in the poems, which belong at a sideways angle to reality, as if spoken by a newly arrived visitor to the planet." -... more
"He recites poems by heart, in sequence, the recitation a return to an early Urdu tradition. No such tradition is evident in the poems, which belong at a sideways angle to reality, as if spoken by a newly arrived visitor to the planet." - Editor Jeet Thayil, 60 Indian Poets
Research Interests:
Poems from the Animal Alphabet. A dialogue between Bruce Meyer and H. Masud Taj with Q R Codes
Exile Quarterly Vol.35 No.4
Exile Quarterly Vol.35 No.4
Research Interests: Breath - Body - Voice, Poetry, Orality-Literacy Studies, Canadian Literature, English, and 15 moreContemporary Poetry, Emblems (Renaissance), Quran, Parrots (Ornithology), Whales, Essays, Animals, QR Codes, Hadith, Jellyfish, CIVILAZATION AND CULTURAL DAILOGUE, Grasshopper, Dragon, Literary Bestiary, and Muhammad (Pbuh)
“Elephant” published in Alphabestiary, pg. 25, 46 Toronto: Exile Editions 2011
Research Interests: Memory (Cognitive Psychology), Human Memory, Poetry, History and Memory, Canadian Literature, and 15 moreMemory Studies, Cultural Memory, Modern Poetry, Animals and non-humans, Memory, Elephant, Elephants, Animals, Scales, Politics of Memory, Aesthetics of excess, Modern Indian English Poetry, Understanding Human Elephant Interaction, Literary Bestiary, and Theory of Excess
Courtyard is silence
To talk about the courtyard
Is to break the spell.
To talk about the courtyard
Is to break the spell.
Research Interests:
A close reading of two paintings: 1. One poem draws on Escher’s Self Portrait lithograph by showing that the only way the drawing avoids succumbing to infinite regress is by remaining incomplete. 2. The other poem responds to... more
A close reading of two paintings:
1. One poem draws on Escher’s Self Portrait lithograph by showing that the only way the drawing avoids succumbing to infinite regress is by remaining incomplete.
2. The other poem responds to Magritte’s Key of Dreams: a surreal collection of object with mismatching nouns by teasing out relationships in a maneuver akin to dream interpretation.
International Gallerie Vol.13 No.2 2010 pg.52-55
1. One poem draws on Escher’s Self Portrait lithograph by showing that the only way the drawing avoids succumbing to infinite regress is by remaining incomplete.
2. The other poem responds to Magritte’s Key of Dreams: a surreal collection of object with mismatching nouns by teasing out relationships in a maneuver akin to dream interpretation.
International Gallerie Vol.13 No.2 2010 pg.52-55
Research Interests: Art History, Poetry, Modern Art, Surrealism, Painting, and 15 moreSigmund Freud, Modern Poetry, Interpretation, Self Portraiture, Dreams, Prints and Drawings, M.C. Escher, Perspective, Incompleteness, Nouns, Lithography, Spherical geometry, Rene Magritte, Problem of Infinite Regress Solved, and Artist Self Portraits
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament for the second time on December 30, 2009—possibly to curtail tough questions about the Canadian Afghan detainee issue—I listed some soft questions from my Rose poem for Rogue... more
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament for the second time on December 30, 2009—possibly to curtail tough questions about the Canadian Afghan detainee issue—I listed some soft questions from my Rose poem for Rogue Stimulus: The Stephen Harper Holiday Anthology for a Prorogued Parliament.
On February 27, 2010 we read on Parliament Hill: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pearlpirie/albums/72157623406871951/
On February 27, 2010 we read on Parliament Hill: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pearlpirie/albums/72157623406871951/
Research Interests:
Published Quarterly since 1957 by Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ
Research Interests:
“Domain of Inbetween” occurred during the author’s retreat in several houses designed by Nari Gandhi in Bombay and surrounding regions and in the mist-laden hill resort of Lonavla. Those houses were the setting, and monsoon the season, to... more
“Domain of Inbetween” occurred during the author’s retreat in several houses designed by Nari Gandhi in Bombay and surrounding regions and in the mist-laden hill resort of Lonavla. Those houses were the setting, and monsoon the season, to contemplate on what it meant to dwell. The long poem was first recited at a private gathering dedicated to Nari’s memory at Sadruddin Daya’s residence in 1995 and only then written down (for an oral poet, who carries his oeuvre in his head, sound is primary and calligraphy secondary). Subsequently it was recited at the National Centre of Performing Arts at the 10th Anniversary of Poetry Circle, Bombay. The poem later crossed the Atlantic and became the basis of a dance performance by Parahuman Dance Theatre in Toronto, and was a site specific event among ruins of St. George the Martyr by the Crystal Collective, sponsored by the Toronto Arts Council in 2000.
Research Interests:
Poems amidst Papier-mâché: Tiger, Cheetah, Lion, Panther, Bull, Buffalo, Goat, Bear, Sheep, & Rose (Papier-mâché by Chinthala Jagdish).
Research Interests:
My head
Is a conference of eyes;
I hold too many points of view…
Atlas 02: New Writing, Art, Ed. Sudeep Sen, Aark Arts 2007
Is a conference of eyes;
I hold too many points of view…
Atlas 02: New Writing, Art, Ed. Sudeep Sen, Aark Arts 2007
Research Interests:
Translated from English by Ute Esinger: Der Nicht-Vegetarier auf Reisen, Küchenschabe, Anflug auf Manhattan (The Travelling Non-Vegetarian, Cockroach, Approaching Manhattan).
Research Interests:
We've ended up choosing poems for different reasons: because they offer a variety of tones, moods, textures, approaches. Because we like them, because they surprised us and continue to do so, because emotion has not overwhelmed craft. And... more
We've ended up choosing poems for different reasons: because they offer a variety of tones, moods, textures, approaches. Because we like them, because they surprised us and continue to do so, because emotion has not overwhelmed craft. And most importantly, because craft has not driven feeling out.
Jerry Pinto & Arundhathi Subramanian Editors, “Confronting Love” Penguin Books 2005 p.xii
Jerry Pinto & Arundhathi Subramanian Editors, “Confronting Love” Penguin Books 2005 p.xii
Research Interests:
Hutton report looked into the death of Dr David Kelly, a Welsh scientist and authority on biological warfare and an honourable government civil servant. “For me, his death, lying in an English field with his wrists slashed, became the... more
Hutton report looked into the death of Dr David Kelly, a Welsh scientist and authority on biological warfare and an honourable government civil servant.
“For me, his death, lying in an English field with his wrists slashed, became the most symbolic moment of the whole of the Iraq War.’ - Simon Armitage
“It is no exaggeration to say that between 1990 and his death in 2003, Dr Kelly probably did more to make the world a more secure place than anyone on the planet. Even among the elite group of international weapons inspectors, he was regarded with some awe, as the inspectors' inspector.”
- Norman Baker, The Strange Death of David Kelly. London: Methuen 2007 p. 358
Poems for Lord Hutton, Ed Todd Swift Nthposition 2003 p.8
“For me, his death, lying in an English field with his wrists slashed, became the most symbolic moment of the whole of the Iraq War.’ - Simon Armitage
“It is no exaggeration to say that between 1990 and his death in 2003, Dr Kelly probably did more to make the world a more secure place than anyone on the planet. Even among the elite group of international weapons inspectors, he was regarded with some awe, as the inspectors' inspector.”
- Norman Baker, The Strange Death of David Kelly. London: Methuen 2007 p. 358
Poems for Lord Hutton, Ed Todd Swift Nthposition 2003 p.8
Research Interests: Poetry, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Biological Weapons, Truth, Protest, and 15 moreTwentieth-Century and Contemporary Poetry, War Crimes, United Kingdom, Iraq War, WMD proliferation, Protest and resistance, 2003 Iraq War, Tony Blair, War Propaganda, History of the BBC, Liberal Party History, WMD, WMD Kelly Gilligan bbc Hutton, British Liberal Party, and UNSCOM
“Based in India, Canada and the United States, the poets in this collection articulate no creed other than the ancient law of the poet – that we must love one another or die, that incantation may one day change every bomb into butter,... more
“Based in India, Canada and the United States, the poets in this collection articulate no creed other than the ancient law of the poet – that we must love one another or die, that incantation may one day change every bomb into butter, that the word works even when the world does not.”
- Jeet Thayil, Editor
- Rattaplax: 10, NY, 2003, p.40, “Through Me The Way Into The Grieving City” – from the Divine Comedy
Note this poem inspired Krishnamachari Bose’s” Order/Disorder” AmUseuM Multi Media Exhibit (see “Haga Sophia & Edge of the World” below)
- Jeet Thayil, Editor
- Rattaplax: 10, NY, 2003, p.40, “Through Me The Way Into The Grieving City” – from the Divine Comedy
Note this poem inspired Krishnamachari Bose’s” Order/Disorder” AmUseuM Multi Media Exhibit (see “Haga Sophia & Edge of the World” below)
Research Interests:
Dragon Fly . Yellow . The Clock Tower, the Skyscraper and the Moon. The Portuguese government established the Institute Vasco da Gama in 1871. After India took over Goa in 1961, it was renamed Institute Menezes Braganza. These poems... more
Dragon Fly . Yellow . The Clock Tower, the Skyscraper and the Moon.
The Portuguese government established the Institute Vasco da Gama in 1871. After India took over Goa in 1961, it was renamed Institute Menezes Braganza.
These poems appeared in their periodical “Govapuri” when they had first appeared in a Penguin Books anthology (possibly at the behest of their erstwhile editor, the poet Manohar Shetty). On request, they promptly sent a scanned copy of the poems, published 20 years ago!
The Portuguese government established the Institute Vasco da Gama in 1871. After India took over Goa in 1961, it was renamed Institute Menezes Braganza.
These poems appeared in their periodical “Govapuri” when they had first appeared in a Penguin Books anthology (possibly at the behest of their erstwhile editor, the poet Manohar Shetty). On request, they promptly sent a scanned copy of the poems, published 20 years ago!
Research Interests: Modernist poetry, Color (Philosophy), Dreams, Indian Writing in English, Colour and Light, and 15 moreColours, Clock, Color, Tall Buildings, Clock synchronization, Color Psychology and Use of Colour, Colour, Mumbai, Blackholes, Clock tower, Vasco Di Gama, Indian English Poetry, Architecture and Public Spaces, Cyclops, and Clock towers
“…the I is invisible, as when H. Masud Taj reflects on insight, blindness and the chance symmetries between nature and architecture, in ‘The Clock Tower, the Skyscraper and the Moon’: The clock tower is a cyclops The skyscraper is blind,... more
“…the I is invisible, as when H. Masud Taj reflects on insight, blindness and the chance symmetries between nature and architecture, in ‘The Clock Tower, the Skyscraper and the Moon’:
The clock tower is a cyclops
The skyscraper is blind,
The moon is a wandering hole in the sky
Searching for skyscrapers.
The spare lines compress entire mythologies”
- Ranjit Hoskote, Editor
Reasons for Belonging: Fourteen contemporary Indian poets (p.xxii)
The clock tower is a cyclops
The skyscraper is blind,
The moon is a wandering hole in the sky
Searching for skyscrapers.
The spare lines compress entire mythologies”
- Ranjit Hoskote, Editor
Reasons for Belonging: Fourteen contemporary Indian poets (p.xxii)
Research Interests: Poetry, Pilgrimage, Black Holes, Photosynthesis, Contemporary Poetry, and 15 moreDreams, Indian Writing in English, India, Tall Buildings, Color Psychology and Use of Colour, Colour, Mumbai, Moon, Architecture and Public Spaces, Cyclops, HIGHWAY ROADS AND BRIDGES, Rene Magritte, Vanishing point, Clock towers, and Travellers to Mecca and Medina
When three roads meet / In the middle of the night…
Research Interests: Poetry, Performance, Modern Poetry, Poems, Shadows, and 3 moreConstellations, Streets, and Crossroads
Bat was exhibited in "Downloading Animals Exhibit" at Galerie Jean Cocteau. Bombay, April 6-10, 1999, as well as published in "Impressions" No. 15, The Journal of Alliance Française De Bombay, April 1999.
Research Interests:
“Cat” published in Alphabestiary, pg. 42 Toronto: Exile Editions 2011 Featured at International Festival of Authors, Toronto 2011 Exhibited at Gallerie Jean cocteau Alliance de Francaise de Bombay solo-exhibit 1999 Cross Reference. See... more
“Cat” published in Alphabestiary, pg. 42 Toronto: Exile Editions 2011
Featured at International Festival of Authors, Toronto 2011
Exhibited at Gallerie Jean cocteau Alliance de Francaise de Bombay solo-exhibit 1999
Cross Reference. See also:
"Bat" in Poetry Section
"Alphabestiary (Introduction)"in Articles Section
"Alphabestiary" in Books Section
Featured at International Festival of Authors, Toronto 2011
Exhibited at Gallerie Jean cocteau Alliance de Francaise de Bombay solo-exhibit 1999
Cross Reference. See also:
"Bat" in Poetry Section
"Alphabestiary (Introduction)"in Articles Section
"Alphabestiary" in Books Section
Research Interests: Poetry, Animals and Animality, Animals in Myth (Anthrozoology), Animals in Philosophy, Calligraphy, and 15 moreCats, Vision and the Gaze, Gaze, Animals, Feline, Pets and Animals, Millions of Cats, Felines, Feline Evolution, Literary Bestiary, Wild cats, Feline myths, Gaze Theory, Feline Behaviour, and Zoomorphic Art
July 11, 1995: Over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims killed in Srebrenica. The Bosnian genocide is the worst atrocity to occur in Europe since WW2. When to dust we decentralize, Or burst into flames, will the speck And the soot add up to more?... more
July 11, 1995: Over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims killed in Srebrenica.
The Bosnian genocide is the worst atrocity to occur in Europe since WW2.
When to dust we decentralize,
Or burst into flames, will the speck
And the soot add up to more? Will the air
Forgive? Will the earth ignore?
Will the final act rescue the play?
The audience stares but does not see
That which occupies centre stage.
Ensnared in a tessellation of mirrors
Are multiple eyes that now cannot tell
The spectator from the spectacle.
Read more: Song of the Besieged
International Gallerie Vol1 No2 1998 pg. 84-85
The Bosnian genocide is the worst atrocity to occur in Europe since WW2.
When to dust we decentralize,
Or burst into flames, will the speck
And the soot add up to more? Will the air
Forgive? Will the earth ignore?
Will the final act rescue the play?
The audience stares but does not see
That which occupies centre stage.
Ensnared in a tessellation of mirrors
Are multiple eyes that now cannot tell
The spectator from the spectacle.
Read more: Song of the Besieged
International Gallerie Vol1 No2 1998 pg. 84-85
Research Interests: Poetry, Audience and Reception Studies, Bosnia, Spectacle, Audience, and 15 moreBosnian/Croatian/Serbian literature, War in Bosnia, Calligraphy, Stained Glass, Kashmir, Simulation & Simulacra, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Kashmir Conflict, One-eyed demons, Pandemics, Siege of Sarajevo, Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Pandemic Coronavirus COVID19, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Having recited Daedalus at various venues in the world, the most memorable remains at the English Studio in the Roman Abbey of St Albans in Hertfordshire to an audience of Ver poets on a magical night of April 27, 1998. St Albans... more
Having recited Daedalus at various venues in the world, the most memorable remains at the English Studio in the Roman Abbey of St Albans in Hertfordshire to an audience of Ver poets on a magical night of April 27, 1998. St Albans Cathedral next door was the venue of Adrian Fisher’s Rose Labyrinth proposal. Fisher’s company was Minotaur Designs and Kubrick’s extant company was Minotaur Productions. Stanley Kubrick was then living the last year of his life nearby on his reputedly impenetrable Hertfordshire estate that I visited on the afternoon of August 29, 2006 and recited this poem among other poems.
The poem was published in Like Lemmings a year before I landed in Canada. An unpublished calligraphic version (2001) is also included.
The poem was published in Like Lemmings a year before I landed in Canada. An unpublished calligraphic version (2001) is also included.
Research Interests:
“Some of the works have been inspired by the poems of Ranjit Hoskote and H Masud Taj” - Krishnamachari Bose Catalogue of the AmUseuM Multi Media Exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay (September 7-13th, 1992) and Sakshi Art Gallery,... more
“Some of the works have been inspired by the poems of Ranjit Hoskote and H Masud Taj” - Krishnamachari Bose
Catalogue of the AmUseuM Multi Media Exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay (September 7-13th, 1992) and Sakshi Art Gallery, Bangalore (October 17th – 31st, 1992)
Catalogue of the AmUseuM Multi Media Exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay (September 7-13th, 1992) and Sakshi Art Gallery, Bangalore (October 17th – 31st, 1992)
Research Interests:
Body Scenarios What if the skull separates at fissures Embryonic rewind on a Richter scale Seismic plates slide and stutter Break the sphere’s hold, zigzag and splinter… (Read more)... more
Body Scenarios
What if the skull separates at fissures
Embryonic rewind on a Richter scale
Seismic plates slide and stutter
Break the sphere’s hold, zigzag and splinter…
(Read more)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fade-Out
The leaf that defied the season
Was the leaf that decided to stay
Who sab guzar gaye…
(Read more)
Cross Reference:
See also "Interviewed by Howl" in Videos Section to listen to Fade-Out where it is recited as poem for pandemics (and the inherent untranslatability of bilingual poems are alluded to). The calligraphic rendition is unpublished; it was done for a friend in 1993 who sent the copy to me in 2021.
What if the skull separates at fissures
Embryonic rewind on a Richter scale
Seismic plates slide and stutter
Break the sphere’s hold, zigzag and splinter…
(Read more)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fade-Out
The leaf that defied the season
Was the leaf that decided to stay
Who sab guzar gaye…
(Read more)
Cross Reference:
See also "Interviewed by Howl" in Videos Section to listen to Fade-Out where it is recited as poem for pandemics (and the inherent untranslatability of bilingual poems are alluded to). The calligraphic rendition is unpublished; it was done for a friend in 1993 who sent the copy to me in 2021.
Research Interests: Translation Studies, Death, Resilience, Poetry, The Body, and 13 moreBiology, Translation of Poetry, Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Poetry, Modern Poetry, Urdu Literature, Contemporary Poetry, Bilingualism, Pandemics, Mutants, Pandemic, “leaky” Mutant, Pandemic Coronavirus COVID19, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The featured Debonair magazine double spread has been misplaced. Thus the material has been assembled from Debonair printing proofs of three poems and the Zipper mechanism performance instruction that was published, along with the... more
The featured Debonair magazine double spread has been misplaced. Thus the material has been assembled from Debonair printing proofs of three poems and the Zipper mechanism performance instruction that was published, along with the typewritten copy of the missing fourth poem: The Zipper Poem.
The poems ranged from a villanelle ("Killing & the Art of Calligraphy" arguably among the earliest villanelle in contemporary poetry in India) to the experimental: The Zipper Poem that was first recited during Poetry Circle’s Deep Focus on June 27,1992 PEN Centre, Theosophy Hall (among the audience, Jerry Pinto was the first to decode the poem’s mechanism as the recitation went into a maddening recursive loop).
“Killing & The Art of Calligraphy” occurred after viewing The Silence of the Lambs (mid-1991). My computer had got stuck in a loop mode (I was playing with some fractal program) so I pulled the plug, went out for a walk and came across one of Bandra’s regular mentally-disturbed homeless person going through his repetitive motions of doing squats, punching his fist in the air while shouting and then repeating. I realized all such repetitive behaviours (including the compulsion to do calligraphy or poetry) result from being trapped in a loop mode wherein the last action in a sequence is the also the initiator of the next sequence. A villanelle with its looping verses was the right receptacle to receive such a realization that afternoon (while recalling listening to an LP recording of Dylan Thomas reciting his astonishing villanelle "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" during one of my schooling at Blue Mountains School in Ooty).
"Rocket" had occurred soon after viewing on TV the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of January 28, 1986 in Muscat, Oman.
"Man" had occurred after visiting Dachau, along with fellow back-packer Zvi, in the Spring of 1978.
"Rocket." "Man" and the Zipper poem, all have latent nursery rhymes.
The poems ranged from a villanelle ("Killing & the Art of Calligraphy" arguably among the earliest villanelle in contemporary poetry in India) to the experimental: The Zipper Poem that was first recited during Poetry Circle’s Deep Focus on June 27,1992 PEN Centre, Theosophy Hall (among the audience, Jerry Pinto was the first to decode the poem’s mechanism as the recitation went into a maddening recursive loop).
“Killing & The Art of Calligraphy” occurred after viewing The Silence of the Lambs (mid-1991). My computer had got stuck in a loop mode (I was playing with some fractal program) so I pulled the plug, went out for a walk and came across one of Bandra’s regular mentally-disturbed homeless person going through his repetitive motions of doing squats, punching his fist in the air while shouting and then repeating. I realized all such repetitive behaviours (including the compulsion to do calligraphy or poetry) result from being trapped in a loop mode wherein the last action in a sequence is the also the initiator of the next sequence. A villanelle with its looping verses was the right receptacle to receive such a realization that afternoon (while recalling listening to an LP recording of Dylan Thomas reciting his astonishing villanelle "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" during one of my schooling at Blue Mountains School in Ooty).
"Rocket" had occurred soon after viewing on TV the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of January 28, 1986 in Muscat, Oman.
"Man" had occurred after visiting Dachau, along with fellow back-packer Zvi, in the Spring of 1978.
"Rocket." "Man" and the Zipper poem, all have latent nursery rhymes.
Research Interests: Poetry, Performance Art, Performance, Holocaust Studies, Serial killers (Anthropology), and 15 moreContemporary Literature, Calligraphy, Experimental Psycholinguistics, Apollo, Rocket Science, Nursery Rhymes, Traditional Poetry, Villanelle, Signature, Dachau, Experimental Forms of Poetry, Closed Loop Systems, Experimental Forms In Poetry, Challenger Disaster, and Zippers
“This volume comprises of 90 shortlisted poems of the second All-India Poetry Competition – 1989 jointly organized by the Poetry Society (India), the British Council Division, British High Commission and the British Airways. The poems... more
“This volume comprises of 90 shortlisted poems of the second All-India Poetry Competition – 1989 jointly organized by the Poetry Society (India), the British Council Division, British High Commission and the British Airways. The poems were shortlisted from more than 5700 entries contributed by about 2,100 Indian poets living in India and abroad.”
Research Interests:
Flirting with the lips of a Black Hole
Teasing the prince of darkness
Safely a Schwarschild radius away…
(1987 poem published in the Shilpasagar in early 1990s)
Teasing the prince of darkness
Safely a Schwarschild radius away…
(1987 poem published in the Shilpasagar in early 1990s)
Research Interests: Poetry, Black Holes, Modernist poetry, History of Space Travel, Galaxy Formation and Evolution, and 15 morePlanetary Nebulae, Contemporary Poetry, Space and Time (Philosophy), Astronomy, Conceptions of Time and Space in Literature, Space and time, Space Travel, Andromeda, Time-Space Travel, Human Evolution, Space Travel with Speed of Light, Outer Space, Schroedinger Equation, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Intergalactic Travel, and Long term Space Travel
"While visiting a classmate's hometown in Western India in 1980, H. Masud Taj brings to light his particular Muslim experience within a Hindu context. His parting gift: the extraordinary fruit of what might have otherwise become an... more
"While visiting a classmate's hometown in Western India in 1980, H. Masud Taj brings to light his particular Muslim experience within a Hindu context. His parting gift: the extraordinary fruit of what might have otherwise become an ordinary journey."
- Marguerite Richards, Ed: The Ordinary Chaos of Being Human:
True Stories. Soul-baring Moments. No Apologies. pg.253-265
First Edition Penguin Random House 2019
Second Edition Leave It Better Books 2024
- Marguerite Richards, Ed: The Ordinary Chaos of Being Human:
True Stories. Soul-baring Moments. No Apologies. pg.253-265
First Edition Penguin Random House 2019
Second Edition Leave It Better Books 2024
Research Interests: Hinduism, Self and Identity, Poetry, Identity (Culture), Modern Poetry, and 15 moreContemporary Poetry, Memoir and Autobiography, Birds (Ecology), Memoir Writing, Flamingos, India, 1980s New Complexity, Indian Muslims, Birdwatching, Memoir, Birds, Muslims, Bird Migration, Indian English Poetry, and Bhuj Formation
The 50s generation had brands like Bata, Binaca, Dalda, Lifebuoy, Sunlight and Vicks. In the early 60s, I was intimately involved in promoting two: Lifebuoy began my child-model career and Dalda ended it. Modelling as a child gave me two... more
The 50s generation had brands like Bata, Binaca, Dalda, Lifebuoy, Sunlight and Vicks. In the early 60s, I was intimately involved in promoting two: Lifebuoy began my child-model career and Dalda ended it.
Modelling as a child gave me two insights that served me well as an architect:
1. Process is as important as the Product (The Lifebuoy advert).
2. Form and Function ought to have a healthy relationship. (The Dalda advert).
Read more...
Modelling as a child gave me two insights that served me well as an architect:
1. Process is as important as the Product (The Lifebuoy advert).
2. Form and Function ought to have a healthy relationship. (The Dalda advert).
Read more...
Research Interests: Architecture, Advertising, Child Development, Advertising and Media, Functionalism, and 15 moreMemoir and Autobiography, Advertising History, Marketing & Advertising, India, Children, Advertisement, Indian History, Memoir, Propoganda, Advertising and Marketing Communications, Advertising and Branding, Form Follows Function, Indian Advertsising, Functional Form, and Marketing Startergy of Lifebuoy Soap and Hand Wash
Journeying to Medina to discover the journey of a lullaby heard in childhood.
Research Interests: Biographical Literature of the Prophet Muhammad (Sirah Rasul Allah), Early Childhood, Calligraphy, Early Childhood Care and Education, Prophet Muhammad, and 15 moreOvercoat, Islamic Calligraphy, Muhammad, Arabic Calligraphy, Biography of the Prophet Muhammad, Praise poetry, Muhammadiyah Studies, Medina, Muhammadiyah, Lullabies, Muhammad (Pbuh), Life of Muhammad (Pbuh), Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Travellers to Mecca and Medina, and Sweet lullaby
"'The Queen and I' is the author, H Masud Taj's, recollection of his (in Canada) and his family's (in Moradabad) encounters with two Queens of British Monarchy. The architect's essay journeys from his childhood home in Moradabad, the... more
"'The Queen and I' is the author, H Masud Taj's, recollection of his (in Canada) and his family's (in Moradabad) encounters with two Queens of British Monarchy. The architect's essay journeys from his childhood home in Moradabad, the design he did for Eagle Vacuum Flask in Mumbai, the calligraphic long-poem permanent installation he designed for the Consulate General of Canada in Bengaluru and the induction of his book in the Library of Parliament in Ottawa, Canada."
ArchitectureLive October 11, 2022
Cross Ref. See also:
"A Walk with Sardar Mohammed Malik" in Memoirs section
"Embassy of Liminal Spaces" in Books section
ArchitectureLive October 11, 2022
Cross Ref. See also:
"A Walk with Sardar Mohammed Malik" in Memoirs section
"Embassy of Liminal Spaces" in Books section
Research Interests: Post-Colonialism, Urdu Literature, Memoir and Autobiography, Monarchy, United Kingdom, and 15 moreIndia, British Monarchy, Queen Victoria, Canada, Childhood studies, Memories, Memoir, Surface Design, Queenship, Surface, Textiles, Product Design, Divide and Rule in British India, Nabobs, Repressed Memories, Nawab, and Martyrs of India's First War of Independence 1857
Lifelong repercussions of a split-second decision.
Cross Ref. See also:
Äwards & Illusion” in Review Section.
"Good word" in the Calligraphy section
Cross Ref. See also:
Äwards & Illusion” in Review Section.
"Good word" in the Calligraphy section
Research Interests: Architecture, Quranic Studies, Architecture and politics, Architecture Design, Green architecture, and 15 moreMemoir and Autobiography, Indian Culture, Architectural Competitions, Memorials and the Memorial Art-Work in the Public Arena, Memoir, Trees, Memorialisation, Tree of Life, Memorials, War Memorials, Monuments & Memorials, Architecture and Public Spaces, Politics In Maharashtra, Memorials and Architecture, and Good Word
An essay published on the occasion of BMS@60 Event, illustrated with the design of the Eagle Flask designed by the author when he was a student at the Blue Mountains School..
Research Interests: Dress Studies, Product Design, Walking (Art), Dress and the Body, Dress and Personal Adornment (Archaeology), and 15 moreDress and identity, London, Walking, Surface Design, Walkability, Surface, Textiles, Product Design, Dress, Dressmaking, Surface Designer, Academic Dress, Fashion, Blue Mountains history, Dressing, معماری Flask, and Flask
Recollecting my encounter with Edward Said. “Edward Said & the Dragonfly: H. Masud Taj Remembers An Encounter” The Beacon Webzine, Ashoak Upadhyay, Tidewater Learning Foundation,June 21, 2022... more
Recollecting my encounter with Edward Said.
“Edward Said & the Dragonfly: H. Masud Taj Remembers An Encounter” The Beacon Webzine, Ashoak Upadhyay, Tidewater Learning Foundation,June 21, 2022 https://www.thebeacon.in/2022/06/21/edward-said-the-dragonfly-h-masud-taj-remembers-an-encounter/
Note: The reader is encouraged to visit the original publication in the citation above; it features The Beacon’s Mission Statement along with book adverts in the second column (left blank in the upload).
“Edward Said & the Dragonfly: H. Masud Taj Remembers An Encounter” The Beacon Webzine, Ashoak Upadhyay, Tidewater Learning Foundation,June 21, 2022 https://www.thebeacon.in/2022/06/21/edward-said-the-dragonfly-h-masud-taj-remembers-an-encounter/
Note: The reader is encouraged to visit the original publication in the citation above; it features The Beacon’s Mission Statement along with book adverts in the second column (left blank in the upload).
Research Interests: Modernist poetry, Leukemia, Oral Tradition, Contemporary Poetry, Memoir and Autobiography, and 15 moreDragonflies, Memoir Writing, Calligraphy, Edward Said, Oral History and Memory, Public Intellectuals, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Memoirs, Memoir, Metaphysical poetry, Dragonfly, Edward Said; orientalism; Anti-Westernism, Edward W. Said, Edward Said's Orientalism, and Public Intellectual Engagement
Anniversary issue of The Blueprint featuring: 1. 1971ers by Mukund Padmanabhan (Mac), erstwhile Editor of The Hindu, on his classmates at the Blue Mountains School in Ooty (including my recollection of him). 2. Masud the Musafir by B J... more
Anniversary issue of The Blueprint featuring:
1. 1971ers by Mukund Padmanabhan (Mac), erstwhile Editor of The Hindu, on his classmates at the Blue Mountains School in Ooty (including my recollection of him).
2. Masud the Musafir by B J Krishnan, Environmentalist & Director, Blue Mountains School, Ooty.
1. 1971ers by Mukund Padmanabhan (Mac), erstwhile Editor of The Hindu, on his classmates at the Blue Mountains School in Ooty (including my recollection of him).
2. Masud the Musafir by B J Krishnan, Environmentalist & Director, Blue Mountains School, Ooty.
Research Interests: Education, Alternative Education, Creativity, Poetry, Ecology, and 15 moreAlternative Pedagogy, 1970s Culture, Environmental Sustainability, Progressive Education, Calligraphy, School, Boarding Schools, Alumni, J. Krishnamurti, Indian Residential Schools, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Social History Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury, Residential School Education, The 1970s, and Residential School India
Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in —Leonard Cohen (Anthem) India has the largest deer species in the world. There was one rufous-fawn white-spotted doe that I still remember.... more
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in
—Leonard Cohen (Anthem)
India has the largest deer species in the world. There was one rufous-fawn white-spotted doe that I still remember. The deer was a companion of a green-robed Sufi.
The Sufi held a cigarette between his index and middle finger, between the first and second knuckle, palm facing his handsome hooded face and fingers pointing upward. He extended another cigarette, unlit, to his deer who munched it with relish, lips curling outwards showing small teeth in the lower jaw and none above.
I sat entranced by the deer’s seductive eyes, wondering how you could chew without upper teeth, while I waited for the Sufi to speak.
‘So you are an architect?’...
H Masud Taj “The Sufi & The Architect” Ordinary Chaos of Being Human Ed. Marguerite Richards (Singapore: Penguin Random House SEA) 2019 p.41
Excerpt published with permission from Penguin Random House SEA
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in
—Leonard Cohen (Anthem)
India has the largest deer species in the world. There was one rufous-fawn white-spotted doe that I still remember. The deer was a companion of a green-robed Sufi.
The Sufi held a cigarette between his index and middle finger, between the first and second knuckle, palm facing his handsome hooded face and fingers pointing upward. He extended another cigarette, unlit, to his deer who munched it with relish, lips curling outwards showing small teeth in the lower jaw and none above.
I sat entranced by the deer’s seductive eyes, wondering how you could chew without upper teeth, while I waited for the Sufi to speak.
‘So you are an architect?’...
H Masud Taj “The Sufi & The Architect” Ordinary Chaos of Being Human Ed. Marguerite Richards (Singapore: Penguin Random House SEA) 2019 p.41
Excerpt published with permission from Penguin Random House SEA
Research Interests:
Born on the longest day of a summer solstice, my father passed away on the shortest day of winter solstice in 2018. He was 94. The day before, on my round-the-world lecture tour, I had reached New Zealand. During a video chat he suggested... more
Born on the longest day of a summer solstice, my father passed away on the shortest day of winter solstice in 2018. He was 94. The day before, on my round-the-world lecture tour, I had reached New Zealand. During a video chat he suggested I return to Ottawa. A few hours later I was on a flight home leaving the longest day in the Southern Hemisphere, crossing the International Date Line and entering the longest night of the Northern Hemisphere. That flight over the Pacific Ocean ominously connected both his solstices...
from memoir-in-progress:
Hyphen: Recollections of an Architect-Poet-Calligrapher-Teacher
Cross reference. See also
"Recollections of an Unconventional Pedagogy" in Articles Section
"Thus Spake The Toad" in Articles Section.
from memoir-in-progress:
Hyphen: Recollections of an Architect-Poet-Calligrapher-Teacher
Cross reference. See also
"Recollections of an Unconventional Pedagogy" in Articles Section
"Thus Spake The Toad" in Articles Section.
Research Interests:
Frank Lloyd Wright said, “Space flows.” Nari asked me, “Does it?” I replied, “It did.” Cross Reference. See also: "The Importance of Being Nari" in Articles section "Prophecies & Conversations" in Articles section "Nari Gandhi" in... more
Frank Lloyd Wright said, “Space flows.”
Nari asked me, “Does it?”
I replied, “It did.”
Cross Reference. See also:
"The Importance of Being Nari" in Articles section
"Prophecies & Conversations" in Articles section
"Nari Gandhi" in Books section
"Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)" in Poetry section
Nari asked me, “Does it?”
I replied, “It did.”
Cross Reference. See also:
"The Importance of Being Nari" in Articles section
"Prophecies & Conversations" in Articles section
"Nari Gandhi" in Books section
"Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)" in Poetry section
Research Interests: Architecture, Dance Studies, Space and Place, Dialogue, Frank Lloyd Wright, and 15 moreContemporary Poetry, Memoir and Autobiography, Materiality of Art, Phenomenology of Space and Place, Organic Architecture, Poetry and Poetics, Memoir, Understanding Architectural Space, Arhitecture, Quotes, Organic Architecture Frank Lloyd Wright, Hill Climbing, Lodge, Frank Llyod Wright, and Steven Holl
Hebrew translation by Ofer... more
Hebrew translation by Ofer Shor
House Calls: Contemporary Indian Stories
Edited by Dan Daor
See note in To Uncover the Moon.
House Calls: Contemporary Indian Stories
Edited by Dan Daor
See note in To Uncover the Moon.
Research Interests:
Shortlisted story in the Literary Gentleman annual competition. "The story is a never ending conversation between a bus conductor and a passenger and like the story itself, the conversation carries on in circles until the reader... more
Shortlisted story in the Literary Gentleman annual competition.
"The story is a never ending conversation between a bus conductor and a passenger and like the story itself, the conversation carries on in circles until the reader himself does not know whether he is coming or going. A clever tale told with malice and cunning."
- Gentleman, pg.7
"The story is a never ending conversation between a bus conductor and a passenger and like the story itself, the conversation carries on in circles until the reader himself does not know whether he is coming or going. A clever tale told with malice and cunning."
- Gentleman, pg.7
Research Interests:
One of the three stories I wrote in 1979/80 as a student of architecture; the other two being To Uncover The Moon and Einstein Intersection. The previous year I had returned home after 2 ½ years travelling backpacking in thirteen... more
One of the three stories I wrote in 1979/80 as a student of architecture; the other two being To Uncover The Moon and Einstein Intersection. The previous year I had returned home after 2 ½ years travelling backpacking in thirteen countries. This story was based in Athens and is named after a pen-friend of my school days with whom I lost contact (Vasiliki Kontaki). The other two stories were based in Cairo and Ulm.
The postcards at the end were not part of the published story but they serve to date it (the story beginning with seeing a play at the amphitheatre in Athens on August 26, 1978) .
About the Illustration:
More than 25 years after the publication, I asked the artist about the illustration
His response:
That was an incredible illustration opportunity for a young Turk. I really believe it was one that helped me mould my thinking and my growth.
Thank you for bringing forth such wonderful memories.
Yayati Godbole, 2021
The postcards at the end were not part of the published story but they serve to date it (the story beginning with seeing a play at the amphitheatre in Athens on August 26, 1978) .
About the Illustration:
More than 25 years after the publication, I asked the artist about the illustration
His response:
That was an incredible illustration opportunity for a young Turk. I really believe it was one that helped me mould my thinking and my growth.
Thank you for bringing forth such wonderful memories.
Yayati Godbole, 2021
Research Interests:
About the Illustration: Almost three decades after the publication, I asked the artist: do you recall the process by which you arrived at that composition? Her response: "I don't think anyone ever asked me this question before. Well,... more
About the Illustration:
Almost three decades after the publication, I asked the artist: do you recall the process by which you arrived at that composition?
Her response:
"I don't think anyone ever asked me this question before.
Well, I may not be able to explain the exact creative process .
But I can give a few general rules I followed while doing an illustration.
I used images to capture the reader's attention and not to explain the article.
So I would play upon key motifs in the article and come up with interesting visuals.
In this article of yours... the key motif that I found was Climbing and Einstein.
The key image in this illustration is- the action of the climber, creates the drama... intriguing the reader to find more. "
- Vidya Kamat 2021
Almost three decades after the publication, I asked the artist: do you recall the process by which you arrived at that composition?
Her response:
"I don't think anyone ever asked me this question before.
Well, I may not be able to explain the exact creative process .
But I can give a few general rules I followed while doing an illustration.
I used images to capture the reader's attention and not to explain the article.
So I would play upon key motifs in the article and come up with interesting visuals.
In this article of yours... the key motif that I found was Climbing and Einstein.
The key image in this illustration is- the action of the climber, creates the drama... intriguing the reader to find more. "
- Vidya Kamat 2021
Research Interests:
BBC Worldservice broadcast: 12, 13 & 14 January 1980 The story occurred after I had returned from Egypt, to resume my architectural studies.... more
BBC Worldservice broadcast: 12, 13 & 14 January 1980
The story occurred after I had returned from Egypt, to resume my architectural studies. One day I took a shortcut through some dense housing settlement in Bombay and almost lost my way. That evening I wrote the story (the layout of the lanes montaging on to some alleyways in Cairo). The story was broadcast on BBC when I was a 3rd year architecture student. It earned me more than all my annual scholarships put together.
Fiction of the Month
About the Illustration:
Almost three decades after the publication, I contacted the artist. His response:
"Title of the painting is 'We the dots on the planet'. This work talks about miniscule possession of our being on this mighty planet earth. A man waving at the moon shows his connection to the universe and utter optimism about the power and energy that he experiences within. He beckons to the unknown hoping to get the meaning of his existence."
- Prashant Hirlekar 2020
The story occurred after I had returned from Egypt, to resume my architectural studies. One day I took a shortcut through some dense housing settlement in Bombay and almost lost my way. That evening I wrote the story (the layout of the lanes montaging on to some alleyways in Cairo). The story was broadcast on BBC when I was a 3rd year architecture student. It earned me more than all my annual scholarships put together.
Fiction of the Month
About the Illustration:
Almost three decades after the publication, I contacted the artist. His response:
"Title of the painting is 'We the dots on the planet'. This work talks about miniscule possession of our being on this mighty planet earth. A man waving at the moon shows his connection to the universe and utter optimism about the power and energy that he experiences within. He beckons to the unknown hoping to get the meaning of his existence."
- Prashant Hirlekar 2020
Research Interests:
THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR ON PALESTINE: A History Of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017, by Rashid Khalidi (NY: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt, 2020). Rashid Khalidi’s seminal work on a century of war on Palestine by Zionists... more
THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR ON PALESTINE: A History Of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017, by Rashid Khalidi (NY: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt, 2020).
Rashid Khalidi’s seminal work on a century of war on Palestine by Zionists provides a much-needed context to the armed resistance of the besieged and the Israeli establishment’s backlash.
Rashid Khalidi’s seminal work on a century of war on Palestine by Zionists provides a much-needed context to the armed resistance of the besieged and the Israeli establishment’s backlash.
Research Interests: Israel/Palestine, Colonialism, Palestine, Resistance (Social), Memoir and Autobiography, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Israel-Palestine, Book Reviews, History of Palestine and Israel, Resistance, Protest and resistance, Palestine/Israel, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Rashid Khalidi, Popular resistance in Palestine, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Israel and Palestine, and Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Muslim immigrants first pray in each other homes, and later in the basement of churches and rented premises. They progress to buying an existing building and repurpose it to serve as a mosque. Finally, the fledgling community raises the... more
Muslim immigrants first pray in each other homes, and later in the basement of churches and rented premises. They progress to buying an existing building and repurpose it to serve as a mosque. Finally, the fledgling community raises the funds to buy land and build a mosque that reflects both their native nostalgia and aspirations as new Canadians. A century of mosque-building by Muslim immigrants to Canada is such an expatriate phenomenon. However, the “Divide” in the title refers not to crossing the oceans but to another telling subtitle from the author’s earlier paper with the same title: “Women’s Spaces in Canadian Mosques.” The two subtitles, one documentary (book) and the other didactic (paper), vie for the reader’s attention, crossing the genre divide.
Research Interests: Canadian Studies, Architecture, Islamic Studies, Women and Gender Issues in Islam, Modern Architecture, and 15 moreGendered Public Space, Book Reviews, Mosque Architecture, Book Review, Gendered Spaces, Muslims, Contemporary Mosque Architecture, Architecture and Public Spaces, Vernacular Mosque Architecture, The Architecture of the Mosque and the Meaning, Mosques Architecture Design, Religion In Canada, Contemporary Muslim society, Architecture Book Review, and Contemporary and Traditional mosque architecture
“In the middle of the book—amidst intense aerial bombardment of Beirut—the reader encounters an unforgettable image: the author’s four-month pregnant wife, Mona, running a breathless mile before finding a cab to collect their daughters... more
“In the middle of the book—amidst intense aerial bombardment of Beirut—the reader encounters an unforgettable image: the author’s four-month pregnant wife, Mona, running a breathless mile before finding a cab to collect their daughters from kindergarten and nursery school. Their son was born a few months later, and grew up to convince Khalidi to write his ninth academic book as a memoir. The reviewer remains pessoptimistic (p. 109) that the author’s muse, along with the Palestinians and Israelis of his generation, may very well find a way to bring the conflict to an early close.”
Note: To aid reading, review-fragments that occur in the journal, before and after the featured review, are not shown.
Cross Reference: See other reviews on Palestine in Book Reviews:
- Covering The Intifada: How The Media Reported The Palestinian Uprising by Joshua Muravchik
- Reporting From Ramallah: An Israeli Journalist In An Occupied Land by Amira Hass
See also: Song for the Besieged (Poem & Calligraphy) in the Poetry Section
See: Lich-shof et Ha-ya-rea'ach (Hebrew: To Uncover the Moon) in the Short Story Section.
Note: To aid reading, review-fragments that occur in the journal, before and after the featured review, are not shown.
Cross Reference: See other reviews on Palestine in Book Reviews:
- Covering The Intifada: How The Media Reported The Palestinian Uprising by Joshua Muravchik
- Reporting From Ramallah: An Israeli Journalist In An Occupied Land by Amira Hass
See also: Song for the Besieged (Poem & Calligraphy) in the Poetry Section
See: Lich-shof et Ha-ya-rea'ach (Hebrew: To Uncover the Moon) in the Short Story Section.
Research Interests: Israel/Palestine, Palestine, 'Decolonization' and the politics of settler state/Indigenous relations, Israel, Settler Colonial Studies, and 15 moreReligious Zionism, Israel and Zionism, Arab-Israeli conflict, History of Palestine and Israel, Settler Colonialism & Its Legacies, Resistance, Settler/Indigenous relations, Nakba, Balfour Declaration, Rashid Khalidi, Maxime Rodinson, 1967 War, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, US/Israel, and binationalism
Lebbeus Woods. The Storm and The Fall. NY: Princeton ArchitecturalPress, 2004. and Guy Lafranchi. Urbanomad. Vienna: Springer-Verlag, 2004. Labyrinth residents are sceptical of invented labyrinths; to invent one is to deny that you are a... more
Lebbeus Woods. The Storm and The Fall. NY: Princeton ArchitecturalPress, 2004. and Guy Lafranchi. Urbanomad. Vienna: Springer-Verlag, 2004.
Labyrinth residents are sceptical of invented labyrinths; to invent one is to deny that you are a denizen of one that already exists. For Woods to draw post-apocalyptic spaces as prophecies, to give them form, to seek out zones of tragic occurrences, to inhabit them, is to deny that the greater urban apocalypse has long occurred. If tensegrity were islands of compression in a sea of tension, then look around you: the superstore box implodes in a sea of parking lots; mini-black-holes of decay and blight dot the urbanscape; in downtown cores graffiti is high art. Apocalypse overtook us because of its sheer banality; it needs to be drawn out rather than drawn.
Labyrinth residents are sceptical of invented labyrinths; to invent one is to deny that you are a denizen of one that already exists. For Woods to draw post-apocalyptic spaces as prophecies, to give them form, to seek out zones of tragic occurrences, to inhabit them, is to deny that the greater urban apocalypse has long occurred. If tensegrity were islands of compression in a sea of tension, then look around you: the superstore box implodes in a sea of parking lots; mini-black-holes of decay and blight dot the urbanscape; in downtown cores graffiti is high art. Apocalypse overtook us because of its sheer banality; it needs to be drawn out rather than drawn.
Research Interests:
Francesco Proto. Mass Identity Architecture: Architectural Writings of Jean Baudrillard. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2003. "Masud Taj's review...offers an important challenge to Baudrillard. ...These are some of the thoughts provoked... more
Francesco Proto. Mass Identity Architecture: Architectural Writings of Jean Baudrillard. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2003.
"Masud Taj's review...offers an important challenge to Baudrillard.
...These are some of the thoughts provoked by Taj's salient review which has served to remind me (as do, to some extent, each article and review in this issue) that the real is always a challenge to theory, and that theory is best used as a challenge to the real."
- Gerry Coulter
Founder Editor
International Journal Of Baurillard Studies (Vol.2 No.1 Jan 1995)
"Masud Taj's review...offers an important challenge to Baudrillard.
...These are some of the thoughts provoked by Taj's salient review which has served to remind me (as do, to some extent, each article and review in this issue) that the real is always a challenge to theory, and that theory is best used as a challenge to the real."
- Gerry Coulter
Founder Editor
International Journal Of Baurillard Studies (Vol.2 No.1 Jan 1995)
Research Interests:
The cover features some stunning Andalusian calligraphy that reinforces the subtitle and serves as a potent counter-balance to the book’s contents; while the oral word suffices in the days of the speedy conquest, it is the delightful... more
The cover features some stunning Andalusian calligraphy that reinforces the subtitle and serves as a potent counter-balance to the book’s contents; while the oral word suffices in the days of the speedy conquest, it is the delightful arabesque with its patient quest for beauty that a nourishing civilization engenders. If there be a lesson for Muslims today it is less in triumphant expansion and more in creating conditions that nurture a civilization.
Cross reference: The consequence of Muslim civilization in Spain is examined in a research paper, by reading the inscriptions on a medieval Mosque, Church and Synagogue in "Toledean Testimony: Reconquista, Architectural Convivencia and the Man from La Mancha" See: Papers section.
Cross reference: The consequence of Muslim civilization in Spain is examined in a research paper, by reading the inscriptions on a medieval Mosque, Church and Synagogue in "Toledean Testimony: Reconquista, Architectural Convivencia and the Man from La Mancha" See: Papers section.
Research Interests:
Whether it is the indefatigable Ibn ʿArabī or the erudite Ṭabāṭabāʾī, one problem of translation remains. And it has nothing to do with languages but more to do with the limitations of translating geometries. Just as qiyās is not merely a... more
Whether it is the indefatigable Ibn ʿArabī or the erudite Ṭabāṭabāʾī, one problem of translation remains. And it has nothing to do with languages but more to do with the limitations of translating geometries. Just as qiyās is not merely a logically consistent argument with a conclusions deduced from two propositions but rather a hybrid form of thinking that combines logic and imagination to take a leap in analogical thinking, so also does a spiritual journey for a reader unconverted to or inexperienced in wayfaring requires cross-domain mapping. Poetry is more adept at such a manoeuver. Little wonder that Ibn ʿArabī is famous for his mystical poetry and Sayyid Ṭabāṭabāʾī ends his book with an extended mathnawī by Ḥāfiẓ.
Research Interests:
On some mornings, mist hangs like a white blanket over the Occupied Land. Muravchik’s Covering the Intifada examines the territory hovering above the white cloud while Hass’s Reporting From Ramallah is a journal of life unfolding... more
On some mornings, mist hangs like a white blanket over the Occupied Land. Muravchik’s Covering the Intifada examines the territory hovering above the white cloud while Hass’s Reporting From Ramallah is a journal of life unfolding underneath the fog. Muravchik is concerned with the perception of the conflict in America while Hass, as a frontline reporter, breaks through the Israel Defence Force policies that control “the Israeli perception of reality” (p. 148). Both are Jews, but Muravchik is American and Hass is an Israeli. It is not the religious noun but the qualifying adjectives that reveal a paradox: in this instance, the Israeli is freer than the American to discuss the conflict objectively.
Research Interests:
What comes through is the contextual basis of any tafsīr. The hermeneutical enterprise does not take place in a vacuum; on the contrary the method adopted by the exegete is in response to the historical situation in which he finds... more
What comes through is the contextual basis of any tafsīr. The hermeneutical enterprise does not take place in a vacuum; on the contrary the method adopted by the exegete is in response to the historical situation in which he finds himself. Both al-Thaʿlabī and Ibn Taymiyyah were strategic thinkers whose scholarship is best understood under the umbrella of their overarching concerns about the fate of the ummah in their times. Thus in the volatile milieu of al-Thaʿlabī (that strikingly resembles our postmodern times) the exegete’s brilliance was focused upon neutralizing his opponents by a process of assimilation. It was Sunnism at its culturally most open. Three centuries later, Ibn Taymiyyah was counteracting the same opponents, Shīʾis and the Sufis by a process of exclusion. And in this reverse engineering Ibn Taymiyyah reserved his choicest attack for al-Thaʿlabī who was deemed methodologically unreliable and polemically ‘a liability in the Sunni camp’ (p. 211) because both the Shīʾis and the Sufis were using al-Thaʿlabī‘s tafsīr, albeit out of context, to buttress their respective stances. The worth of al-Thaʿlabī succumbed to the wrath of Ibn Taymiyyah.
The book under review is available online: https://www.academia.edu/11655200/The_Formation_of_the_Classical_Tafsir_Tradition_The_Quran_Commentary_of_al_Thalabi_d_427_1035_
The book under review is available online: https://www.academia.edu/11655200/The_Formation_of_the_Classical_Tafsir_Tradition_The_Quran_Commentary_of_al_Thalabi_d_427_1035_
Research Interests:
A House for My Mother: Architects Build for their Families
By Beth Dunlop
(Princeton Architectural Press)
By Beth Dunlop
(Princeton Architectural Press)
Research Interests:
The book under review is a record of the imaginative responses of a people to their unrelenting countryside. The documentation, extending over 20 years, was undertaken by the husband-wife architect team. Both are educationists linked to... more
The book under review is a record of the imaginative responses of a people to their unrelenting countryside. The documentation, extending over 20 years, was undertaken by the husband-wife architect team. Both are educationists linked to CEPT, Ahmedabad. Kulbhushan Jain is also a recipient of the IIA Gold Medal for Architectural Education.
Research Interests:
Kabir, we may think, needs no introduction. After all we believe he was born a Hindu (miraculously of a Brahmin virgin widow according to Kabir-panthis), found in a lake and reared by Muslim foster parents; used a stratagem to become guru... more
Kabir, we may think, needs no introduction. After all we believe he was born a Hindu (miraculously of a Brahmin virgin widow according to Kabir-panthis), found in a lake and reared by Muslim foster parents; used a stratagem to become guru Ramanand’s disciple by lying down on the ghat at dawn, tripping up the guru and receiving his spontaneous exclamation Ram Ram! as a namadiksa; was denounced by the Kashi Brahmins and brought in chains before Sultan Sikander Lodi who passed the death sentence (as Kabir refused to bow to him) and after three unsuccessful attemps (the Ganges did not drown him, fire did not burn him and the elephant did not crush him) the Sultan bowed before the Kabir.
But alas none of the above is true. Kabir was born a Muslim, did not have a guru, was not even a contemporary of Lodi according to the author’s research.
But alas none of the above is true. Kabir was born a Muslim, did not have a guru, was not even a contemporary of Lodi according to the author’s research.
Research Interests: History, Mythology, Atheism, Poetry, Biography, and 15 moreVaishnavism, Indian Sufism, Transcendence, Bhakti Poetry of North India, Kabir, India, Immanence, Polytheism, Caste, Muslims, Monotheism, Bhakti Movement, Bhakti Traditions, Philosophy of Sant Kabir and Saints of India. Bioethics and Environmental ethics, and Hinduisation
A Reporter’s Diary by Tabish Khair (Delhi: Rupa.1993) In the forty-plus poems, I was arrested by four. An Indian Peels Onions in Europe (p 21) where he develops deceptively simple statements into deeper thought; the beautifully spun... more
A Reporter’s Diary by Tabish Khair (Delhi: Rupa.1993)
In the forty-plus poems, I was arrested by four. An Indian Peels Onions in Europe (p 21) where he develops deceptively simple statements into deeper thought; the beautifully spun octasyllabic-octet Let Me Tell You (p 46); the quatrains that deal with death like none of the others could Shraddhanjali (p 61); and the song of Ayodhya. What Did I Do (p 31) once the ending hooks on to you, it doesn’t let go.
In the forty-plus poems, I was arrested by four. An Indian Peels Onions in Europe (p 21) where he develops deceptively simple statements into deeper thought; the beautifully spun octasyllabic-octet Let Me Tell You (p 46); the quatrains that deal with death like none of the others could Shraddhanjali (p 61); and the song of Ayodhya. What Did I Do (p 31) once the ending hooks on to you, it doesn’t let go.
Research Interests: Literary Journalism, Journalism, Death, Poetry, Modernist poetry, and 15 moreDeath & Dying (Thanatology), Modern Poetry, Diary Studies, Indian Writing in English, Book Reviews, Book Review, Diary, Journalist, Journalism And Mass communication, Indian Writings in English, Indian English Poetry, Reporter, Reporters, Tabish Khair, and Writing of the Indian Diaspora
Buch, M. N. “Environmental Consciousness & Urban Planning” New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1993.
Research Interests:
‘Place’ is one of those words in the English Language that dictionaries need atleast twenty entries to encompass. The author, an American, has devoted a book to one of them: i.e. place as a physical location. “I believe that in the United... more
‘Place’ is one of those words in the English Language that dictionaries need atleast twenty entries to encompass. The author, an American, has devoted a book to one of them: i.e. place as a physical location. “I believe that in the United States we tend to grow up with relatively confused and conflicting notions about place experiences.” Hence the book divided into six parts, to clear-up the confusion for us…
Typed original ms of the book review was retrieved and uploaded 3 decades later on the occasion of architecureRED winning the COA Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru competition and mentioning place-making in their entry. (Architects Kishore Pannikar and Biju Kuriakose are Rizvi College of Architecture alumnus)
Cross Reference. See also:
“Place by architectureRED” in Calligraphy section.
Typed original ms of the book review was retrieved and uploaded 3 decades later on the occasion of architecureRED winning the COA Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru competition and mentioning place-making in their entry. (Architects Kishore Pannikar and Biju Kuriakose are Rizvi College of Architecture alumnus)
Cross Reference. See also:
“Place by architectureRED” in Calligraphy section.
Research Interests: Place and Identity, Space and Place, Place-Identity (Architecture), Place Identity, Sense of Place, and 15 morePlace-based Learning Theory, Phenomenology of Space and Place, William Carlos Williams, Worldview., Kevin Lynch, Placemaking, Communities, Mysterious Places, Topography, Preconceptions, Urban Place, William Wallace, Livable Neighbourhoods, Elements of a City Kevin Lynch, and Henry Lefebvre
Illustrated Review of talk and calligraphy exhibition held at The Ontario Science Centre in Toronto on December 9, 2023 (the second in a series on Water in the Muslim Civilization).
Research Interests: Water, Water resources, Ottoman Studies, Ottoman Empire, Water History, and 15 moreSustainable Water Resources Management, Calligraphy in Islamic Architecture, Calligraphy, Review, Exhibitions, Exhibition, Water governance, Mimar Sinan, Architect Sinan, Water In the City, Mimar Sinan University Faculty Architecture, Sinan, BÜyÜkÇekmece, Selimiye Camii, and Ottoman aqueducts
Review of talk and calligraphy exhibition held in Ottawa.
Research Interests: Architecture, Ethics & Social Sustainability, Ecology, Islam, Environmental Sustainability, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Environmentalism, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Review, Aqueducts, Famous Architects and Their Works, Anthropocene, Mimar Sinan, Green and Sustainability Practices, Architect Sinan, Islamic Environmentalism, Sustainability, Sustainalibity, Yunus Emre Institute, and Ottoman aqueducts
"This is a rare opportunity to see so many works by the artist of high quality in the same space. Post a retrospective exhibition held by DAG in Mumbai in 2017 and New Delhi in 2018, the blue-chip gallery announces a unique exhibition on... more
"This is a rare opportunity to see so many works by the artist of high quality in the same space. Post a retrospective exhibition held by DAG in Mumbai in 2017 and New Delhi in 2018, the blue-chip gallery announces a unique exhibition on Altaf's early drawings from the 1960s and '70s with an aim to place the artist's formative years and art within his milieu including the books he read, the music he listened to, the films he watched, the actors and writers he admired, recreated in one of its Mumbai galleries. Curated by his daughter Sasha Altaf, these early drawings from academic studies to doodles and abstract watercolours exhibit the range of his engagement with art in London and Bombay in this exciting period. Opening on 22 July 2023 for a month, it includes portraits, anatomical studies..."
Research Interests: Architecture, Modern Art, Painting, Artists' Books, Artistic Research, and 15 moreMemoir and Autobiography, Artists' Writings, Indian Art, Indian Modernism (Art), Review, Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, Modern Indian and Japanese Painting, Artists, Daughters, Indian Painting, Daughters of Men, Artists’ Books, Daughters and Fathers, Artist Monograph, and The Indian Express
DB January 7, 2023. "Among the first folks I encountered, when I ventured out to poetry circles in Ottawa, was an elegant wisp of a man, with eyes so clear they seemed touched by stars, and a voice to match. His name was H. Masud Taj.... more
DB January 7, 2023.
"Among the first folks I encountered, when I ventured out to poetry circles in Ottawa, was an elegant wisp of a man, with eyes so clear they seemed touched by stars, and a voice to match. His name was H. Masud Taj. Everyone called him Taj. He was an oral poet, I learned. His family had recited poems, in Urdu tradition, over dinnertime meals at his home in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. The Urdu influence came from his mother, and his father, who was prominent in Indian advertising circles, instilled in his children a love of books and a curiosity about the world. Only in recent years has Taj begun to commit some of his poems to writing...."
- David Blaikie
Poetry,
Silence,
Modern Poetry,
Contemporary Poetry,
Doctrines of Grace,
Calligraphy,
Gratitude,
Church,
Mercy,
Common Grace,
Catholic Church,
Grief,
Serenity,
Ottawa, Ontario,
Ottawa,
Grace,
Divine Mercy,
Calligrammes
"Among the first folks I encountered, when I ventured out to poetry circles in Ottawa, was an elegant wisp of a man, with eyes so clear they seemed touched by stars, and a voice to match. His name was H. Masud Taj. Everyone called him Taj. He was an oral poet, I learned. His family had recited poems, in Urdu tradition, over dinnertime meals at his home in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. The Urdu influence came from his mother, and his father, who was prominent in Indian advertising circles, instilled in his children a love of books and a curiosity about the world. Only in recent years has Taj begun to commit some of his poems to writing...."
- David Blaikie
Poetry,
Silence,
Modern Poetry,
Contemporary Poetry,
Doctrines of Grace,
Calligraphy,
Gratitude,
Church,
Mercy,
Common Grace,
Catholic Church,
Grief,
Serenity,
Ottawa, Ontario,
Ottawa,
Grace,
Divine Mercy,
Calligrammes
Research Interests:
“Ameer Chand (the author’s pseudonym) was a first-year architecture student when his college mates’ entry to the Maharashtra Memorial Competition was declared the winner. The ‘view from below’ is the author’s first-hand account of... more
“Ameer Chand (the author’s pseudonym) was a first-year architecture student when his college mates’ entry to the Maharashtra Memorial Competition was declared the winner. The ‘view from below’ is the author’s first-hand account of witnessing the events in college that followed the result declaration.”
- ArchitectureLive! Sep 22, 2022
Cross Reference
“ Tale of a Tree” in Memoirs section
“Awards & Illusions” in the Reviews section
- ArchitectureLive! Sep 22, 2022
Cross Reference
“ Tale of a Tree” in Memoirs section
“Awards & Illusions” in the Reviews section
Research Interests: Architecture, First Year Experience, Architecture and politics, Architecture Design, Competition, and 15 moreGreen architecture, Sustainable Architecture, Architectural Competitions, Memorials and the Memorial Art-Work in the Public Arena, Memorial, First Year Experience in colleges & universities, Memorialisation, Memorials, Beginning Design, War Memorials, Architecture and Public Spaces, Competition Analysis, Stararchitecture, beginning design education, and Beginning Design Student
“This is the story of a misplaced award, and the sad loss of a brilliant design philosophy, appropriate for rural India.” - Dean D'Cruz (Review of an architectural competition that took place over 40 years ago; it had earlier... more
“This is the story of a misplaced award, and the sad loss of a brilliant design philosophy, appropriate for rural India.”
- Dean D'Cruz
(Review of an architectural competition that took place over 40 years ago; it had earlier appeared in Design Today - see below).
Cross Ref. See also:
"A Tale of a Tree" in the Memoir section
- Dean D'Cruz
(Review of an architectural competition that took place over 40 years ago; it had earlier appeared in Design Today - see below).
Cross Ref. See also:
"A Tale of a Tree" in the Memoir section
Research Interests: Architecture, Sustainable Development, Rural Development, Vernacular Architecture, Architecture and politics, and 15 moreArchitecture Design, Competition, Green architecture, Indian Culture, Architectural Competitions, Vernacular, Memorials and the Memorial Art-Work in the Public Arena, Políticas De La Memoria, Memorialisation, Design Competitions, War Memorials, Architecture Competitions, Architecture and Public Spaces, Politics In Maharashtra, and Competitions
“An architecture of script” A visual poet’s delight: Though it’s impertinent of me, who reads no Arabic, Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, or Pali, to comment on these works, I’m certain, with no palpable reason, that the beautiful arabesques... more
“An architecture of script”
A visual poet’s delight:
Though it’s impertinent of me, who reads no Arabic, Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, or Pali, to comment on these works, I’m certain, with no palpable reason, that the beautiful arabesques of Masud Taj’s visual poems take place on liminal, subliminal and supraliminal levels within a single page of text…
A visual poet’s delight:
Though it’s impertinent of me, who reads no Arabic, Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, or Pali, to comment on these works, I’m certain, with no palpable reason, that the beautiful arabesques of Masud Taj’s visual poems take place on liminal, subliminal and supraliminal levels within a single page of text…
Research Interests:
“Using the cave, the space of contemplation, and the pen, which gave shape to the words of God, H. Masud Taj drew an analogy to the genesis of Muslim architecture and calligraphy. Jnanapravaha hosted Taj, an award-winning architect,... more
“Using the cave, the space of contemplation, and the pen, which gave shape to the words of God, H. Masud Taj drew an analogy to the genesis of Muslim architecture and calligraphy. Jnanapravaha hosted Taj, an award-winning architect, professor and calligrapher, for the widely attended series of seminars titled ‘Seven Wonders of the Muslim Civilization’ under the segment of ‘Islamic Aesthetics’. With lectures spread over five evenings, he strung together a vast knowledge of Islamic culture into an incredible narrative spanning religion, commerce, language, the written word and the built environment.”
- S.M. ( JPM Quarterly Jan-March 2019 p.11-14)
- S.M. ( JPM Quarterly Jan-March 2019 p.11-14)
Research Interests: Aesthetics, Architecture, Quranic Studies, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Commerce, and 15 moreEpigraphy, Caves, Unity, Fractal, Wonders of the East, Kaaba, Hassan Fathy, Great Mosque of Cordoba, The Dome of the Rock, Taj Mahal Architecture, Muslim philosophy and thought, Islamic art. Epigraphy. Mosque of Cordoba, Tawheed, Süleymaniye Camii, and Taj Mahal
“rainy day on the floor a puzzle piece of blue sky Today a puzzle piece takes over. It’s the perfect poem for today as the sun has relented a little and we are not sweltering, but upon my opening Taj’s ... rendering of Grant’s poem, the... more
“rainy day
on the floor a puzzle piece
of blue sky
Today a puzzle piece takes over. It’s the perfect poem for today as the sun has relented a little and we are not sweltering, but upon my opening Taj’s ... rendering of Grant’s poem, the sky has become blue again."
Read more by Claudia Radmore, Writer & Publisher
https://claudiaradmore.com/2015/08/25/grant-savagemasud-taj/
on the floor a puzzle piece
of blue sky
Today a puzzle piece takes over. It’s the perfect poem for today as the sun has relented a little and we are not sweltering, but upon my opening Taj’s ... rendering of Grant’s poem, the sky has become blue again."
Read more by Claudia Radmore, Writer & Publisher
https://claudiaradmore.com/2015/08/25/grant-savagemasud-taj/
Research Interests:
“Istanbul, or Constantinople, has captured the interest of many, from emperors seeking glory to artists, writers, poets and, most certainly, architects. On a July evening, when the city had a suitable ‘huzun’ (air of melancholia),... more
“Istanbul, or Constantinople, has captured the interest of many, from emperors seeking glory to artists, writers, poets and, most certainly, architects. On a July evening, when the city had a suitable ‘huzun’ (air of melancholia), Jananpravaha was packed, eager to hear about one of the most prolific architects in the world: Sinan. Poet-architect-calligrapher H. Masud Taj brought what he called the “Sinan Tour of 2015” to Mumbai.”
- Aparna Andhare
Sinan: Architect at the Centre of the World (July 24, 2015) by H. Masud Taj
- Aparna Andhare
Sinan: Architect at the Centre of the World (July 24, 2015) by H. Masud Taj
Research Interests: Ottoman History, Architecture, Turkey, Ottoman Empire, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, and 15 moreHistory of architecture, History of Istanbul, Istanbul, Mimar Sinan, Suleyman the magnificent, Edirne, Architecture and Public Spaces, Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi, Ottoman Edirne (Adrianoupolis), Ottoman İstanbul, Architect Sinan, Urban Studies: Constantinople/Istanbul, Mimar Sinan University Faculty Architecture, Architectural History of Istanbul, and Süleymaniye Camii
Sinan Talk review by Brick School of Architecture The illustrated talk included poetry, calligraphy and architecture and ended on a detective trail following the footsteps of Sinan. Sinan Tour 2015 25 May: Ottawa / 27 May: Istanbul /... more
Sinan Talk review by Brick School of Architecture
The illustrated talk included poetry, calligraphy and architecture and ended on a detective trail following the footsteps of Sinan.
Sinan Tour 2015
25 May: Ottawa / 27 May: Istanbul / 07 June: Nashik
10 June: Pune
10 July: Delhi / 20 July: Goa / 22 July: Ahmedabad / 24 July: Mumbai
Cross Ref. See also:
Review by Jnanapravaha”” in Review Section
“Sinan: Architect at the Centre of the World” in Talks section
Ottoman History, Architecture, Turkey, Ottoman Empire, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, History of architecture, History of Istanbul, Istanbul, Mimar Sinan, Suleyman the magnificent, Edirne, Architecture and Public Spaces, Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi, Ottoman Edirne (Adrianoupolis), Ottoman İstanbul, Architect Sinan, Urban Studies: Constantinople/Istanbul, Mimar Sinan University Faculty Architecture, Architectural History of Istanbul, Süleymaniye Camii sacred architecture bridge islam
The illustrated talk included poetry, calligraphy and architecture and ended on a detective trail following the footsteps of Sinan.
Sinan Tour 2015
25 May: Ottawa / 27 May: Istanbul / 07 June: Nashik
10 June: Pune
10 July: Delhi / 20 July: Goa / 22 July: Ahmedabad / 24 July: Mumbai
Cross Ref. See also:
Review by Jnanapravaha”” in Review Section
“Sinan: Architect at the Centre of the World” in Talks section
Ottoman History, Architecture, Turkey, Ottoman Empire, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, History of architecture, History of Istanbul, Istanbul, Mimar Sinan, Suleyman the magnificent, Edirne, Architecture and Public Spaces, Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi, Ottoman Edirne (Adrianoupolis), Ottoman İstanbul, Architect Sinan, Urban Studies: Constantinople/Istanbul, Mimar Sinan University Faculty Architecture, Architectural History of Istanbul, Süleymaniye Camii sacred architecture bridge islam
Research Interests: Ottoman History, Architecture, Ottoman Empire, Constantinople, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, and 15 moreHistory of architecture, History of Istanbul, Sacred Architecture, Sacred Spaces, Sacred Space, Istanbul, Mimar Sinan, Suleyman the magnificent, Brick, Architecture and Public Spaces, Ottoman Edirne (Adrianoupolis), Ottoman İstanbul, Architect Sinan, Urban Studies: Constantinople/Istanbul, and Süleymaniye Camii
“Integrity, continuity, flow etc. have classically been the requisites for ideal appreciation of art. It was logic-oriented Poe who could not help transporting his methodology for designing tales of mystery and imagination, to domain of... more
“Integrity, continuity, flow etc. have classically been the requisites for ideal appreciation of art. It was logic-oriented Poe who could not help transporting his methodology for designing tales of mystery and imagination, to domain of poetry. As expected, it leads to a narrow morbid area. Even as I was enchanted by the perfect logic of his thesis, I never expected to find practitioners to come up with more poems like The Raven. The integrity of a poem lies beyond connected images or narration. Poetry of Taj is more about discovering buried synapses that connect sensate and the inanimate.”
"Indian aesthetics speaks of Nav-Rasa — the nine humours or emotional states. The poems in Alphabestiary showcase almost all. Yet, they do so in modern metaphor. The serpent in his Viper has the ability to use heat as sight: “Betrayal at 98. 6 degrees Fahrenheit” He eyes all life around as ‘micro-morsel’ or ‘meat- monumental’ relishing the ‘orgy of choices’:
I believe in consumer society.
For I am the consumer
You, the consumed."
- Rajiv Trivedi
"Indian aesthetics speaks of Nav-Rasa — the nine humours or emotional states. The poems in Alphabestiary showcase almost all. Yet, they do so in modern metaphor. The serpent in his Viper has the ability to use heat as sight: “Betrayal at 98. 6 degrees Fahrenheit” He eyes all life around as ‘micro-morsel’ or ‘meat- monumental’ relishing the ‘orgy of choices’:
I believe in consumer society.
For I am the consumer
You, the consumed."
- Rajiv Trivedi
Research Interests:
“Taj particularly read poems from his recently published book ‘Alphabestiary’ (with exegesis by Bruce Mayer). Each letter of the alphabet has a poem, and the menagerie as a whole has creatures known and lesser known, from dragons to... more
“Taj particularly read poems from his recently published book ‘Alphabestiary’ (with exegesis by Bruce Mayer). Each letter of the alphabet has a poem, and the menagerie as a whole has creatures known and lesser known, from dragons to fireflies, from ants to xolos, but in his word-craft, Taj allows us to see each animal anew thorough poems that, in his own words ‘relentlessly fabricate mind’. In performance, however Taj transforms an audience space into an ecology of images. In the college auditorium too, he held his audience spell bound for more than an hour, reciting old and new poems, that sprang out of his head like ‘ a conference of eyes / I hold too many points of view.”
-Prof. Mustansir Dalvi
Extract from review of reading on JJ website
(Complete review, with images, uploaded with poster).
-Prof. Mustansir Dalvi
Extract from review of reading on JJ website
(Complete review, with images, uploaded with poster).
Research Interests:
“Objectivity strengthens the craft, subjectivity enriches it. Some consider poetry an exercise in vocabulary, diction; some an outflow of emotion; still others treat it as a vehicle for conceptual perfection. In his case, poetry and Taj... more
“Objectivity strengthens the craft, subjectivity enriches it. Some consider poetry an exercise in vocabulary, diction; some an outflow of emotion; still others treat it as a vehicle for conceptual perfection. In his case, poetry and Taj are no longer separable. His poetry carries the spontaneity of Indian music tradition.”
Cross Ref. See also:
“Poetry Reading @ Tree” in the Video section
Cross Ref. See also:
“Poetry Reading @ Tree” in the Video section
Research Interests: Indian Music, Poetry, Modernist poetry, Oral history, Oral Traditions, and 15 moreTwentieth-Century and Contemporary Poetry, Modern Poetry, Contemporary Poetry, Language Poetry, Indian Writing in English, Oral History and Memory, Review, Indian Classical Music, Mathmatics, indian Poetry in English, Planck constant, Indian English Poetry, Modern Indian English Poetry, Literary Bestiary, and Post Independence / Modern Indian Poetry In English
"This book is an intelligent, somewhat ironic, alphabet for children of all ages, the poems written by the poet, calligrapher and architect H. Masud Taj and complementary prose commentary by the poet and Professor BruceMeyer, who rains... more
"This book is an intelligent, somewhat ironic, alphabet for children of all ages, the poems written by the poet, calligrapher and architect H. Masud Taj and complementary prose commentary by the poet and Professor BruceMeyer, who rains esoteric details on its absorbant pages.
This bemused bestiary is a book perfumed with the essence of animal and man, side by side in the hold of a rocking boat, their spirits colliding in every wave. Just as calligraphy meets common sense on the page, so do the voices of man and animal find their own harmonies, something we might have learned from our First Nations had we listened."
Linda Rogers,
PRRB Vol. 8 No.2 Issue 17 pg 15
This bemused bestiary is a book perfumed with the essence of animal and man, side by side in the hold of a rocking boat, their spirits colliding in every wave. Just as calligraphy meets common sense on the page, so do the voices of man and animal find their own harmonies, something we might have learned from our First Nations had we listened."
Linda Rogers,
PRRB Vol. 8 No.2 Issue 17 pg 15
Research Interests:
“In July, the Forum for Exchange and Excellence in Design (FEED) in Pune featured Carleton Professor H. Masud Taj, architect, poet and calligrapher, who addressed a large gathering of students from all [5] Indian colleges of architecture,... more
“In July, the Forum for Exchange and Excellence in Design (FEED) in Pune featured Carleton Professor H. Masud Taj, architect, poet and calligrapher, who addressed a large gathering of students from all [5] Indian colleges of architecture, along with professors and professionals, delivering a public lecture entitled guftgu – A Conversation about Architecture”
Roseann O’Reilly Runte
President & Vice-Chancellor, Carleton University
Canada-India Centre Newsletter
Photographs: courtesy FEED
Cross Reference. See also:
"Interview by India Abroad" in Interview Section
"Mosque: Cube and Circle" in Articles Section
Jellyfish" in Poetry Section
Roseann O’Reilly Runte
President & Vice-Chancellor, Carleton University
Canada-India Centre Newsletter
Photographs: courtesy FEED
Cross Reference. See also:
"Interview by India Abroad" in Interview Section
"Mosque: Cube and Circle" in Articles Section
Jellyfish" in Poetry Section
Research Interests:
“Teaching is a futuristic activity that never loses sight of past. It is considered to be and often appears, a profession but teaching is a call. As the saying goes some instruct, others inform but the best inspire. It is in the dreams of... more
“Teaching is a futuristic activity that never loses sight of past. It is considered to be and often appears, a profession but teaching is a call. As the saying goes some instruct, others inform but the best inspire. It is in the dreams of their students that teachers live. One of the awardees, Taj represented the spirit of eternal teacher in his acceptance speech.”
- Thought Alive
- Thought Alive
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Teacher Education, Learning and Teaching, Poetry, Hadith Studies, and 15 moreLearning And Teaching In Higher Education, Teacher, Educación, Students, Hadith, Teachers, Teacher Talk, Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of the Ideal Teacher, Muhammadiyah Studies, Parents, Grasshopper, Parents’ Expectation, Awards, Muhammad (Pbuh), and Gratitude in Education
Wide-ranging gaze: An eclectic collection of poems, essays, photographs and interviews on subjects that strike a chord… Review by Zerin Anklesaria, The Hindu Cross Ref. See also: “Jalebi & The Knot of Sacred Architecture” in the Articles... more
Wide-ranging gaze: An eclectic collection of poems, essays, photographs and interviews on subjects that strike a chord…
Review by Zerin Anklesaria, The Hindu
Cross Ref. See also:
“Jalebi & The Knot of Sacred Architecture” in the Articles section
"The Kaaba: Guarding The Centre, Generating The Circumference" in Articles
"Three Shores Of The Cube" in Articles
"Medina Highway" in Poetry Section
Review by Zerin Anklesaria, The Hindu
Cross Ref. See also:
“Jalebi & The Knot of Sacred Architecture” in the Articles section
"The Kaaba: Guarding The Centre, Generating The Circumference" in Articles
"Three Shores Of The Cube" in Articles
"Medina Highway" in Poetry Section
Research Interests: Indian studies, Ritual, Sacred (Religion), Literature and Esotericism, Sacred Art, and 15 moreReview, Esotericism, Sacred Geometry, Mercy, Sacred Architecture, Essays, Essay, Sacred Spaces, Cuisine, Sacred Space, Literature and the Sacred, Implicit, New Paradigms, Indian Cuisine, and Visibility/invisibility
"Launch of a poetry anthology inspired by the Prime Minister's prorogation of Parliament. 'Speakers, poetry readings, artists and performers came together in a lighthearted protest against the prorogation of Parliament.' Edited by... more
"Launch of a poetry anthology inspired by the Prime Minister's prorogation of Parliament.
'Speakers, poetry readings, artists and performers came together in a lighthearted protest against the prorogation of Parliament.'
Edited by Stephen Brockwell and Stuart Ross
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament (for the second time in a year!) on December 30, 2009, he punted many vital bills into oblivion. But he also inspired hundreds of poems after Mansfield Press announced this government-toppling anthology.
This book gathers a range of responses—from outrage to slapstick—by acclaimed poets (including Canada’s first Parliamentary Poet Laureate and several winners of the Governor General’s Award for Poetry), previously unpublished poets and, to paraphrase Stephen Harper, ordinary working Canadians."
- John W. MacDonald
2010
Cross Reference. See also:
"18 Questions for Stephen Harper" in the Poetry section.
'Speakers, poetry readings, artists and performers came together in a lighthearted protest against the prorogation of Parliament.'
Edited by Stephen Brockwell and Stuart Ross
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament (for the second time in a year!) on December 30, 2009, he punted many vital bills into oblivion. But he also inspired hundreds of poems after Mansfield Press announced this government-toppling anthology.
This book gathers a range of responses—from outrage to slapstick—by acclaimed poets (including Canada’s first Parliamentary Poet Laureate and several winners of the Governor General’s Award for Poetry), previously unpublished poets and, to paraphrase Stephen Harper, ordinary working Canadians."
- John W. MacDonald
2010
Cross Reference. See also:
"18 Questions for Stephen Harper" in the Poetry section.
Research Interests: Photography, Poetry, Politics, History of Canada, Protest, and 15 moreParliamentary Studies, Modern Poetry, Documentary Photography, Contemporary Poetry, Parliamentary History, History of Social Movements in Canada and the World, Canada, Protest Movements, Stephen Harper, Parliament, Social protests, Protest and resistance, Parliamentary Politics, Prorogation, and Prorogative Remedies
“Nari Gandhi (1934-1993) was an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright. This collection focuses on eight of his built works and includes analytical essays on his life by Taj, an adjunt professor in the Azrieli School of Architecture and... more
“Nari Gandhi (1934-1993) was an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright. This collection focuses on eight of his built works and includes analytical essays on his life by Taj, an adjunt professor in the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism, who stayed in many of the Nari houses featured in the book.”
- Carleton University Magazine
Cross-References. See also:
“Nari Gandhi (Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright)” in the Books Section
“The Importance of Being Nari” in the Articles Section
“Buildings as Prophecies & Conversations” in the Articles Section
“ Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)” in the Poetry Section
- Carleton University Magazine
Cross-References. See also:
“Nari Gandhi (Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright)” in the Books Section
“The Importance of Being Nari” in the Articles Section
“Buildings as Prophecies & Conversations” in the Articles Section
“ Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)” in the Poetry Section
Research Interests:
Venue: Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai Cross-References. See also: “Nari Gandhi (Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright)” in the Books section “The Importance of Being Nari” in the Articles section “Buildings as Prophecies &... more
Venue: Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai
Cross-References. See also:
“Nari Gandhi (Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright)” in the Books section
“The Importance of Being Nari” in the Articles section
“Buildings as Prophecies & Conversations” in the Articles section
“ Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)” in the Poetry section
“Fleeting Meeting with Nari Gandhi” in the Memoirs section
"“Nari Gandhi” review by Carleton University Magazine" in Reviews section
Cross-References. See also:
“Nari Gandhi (Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright)” in the Books section
“The Importance of Being Nari” in the Articles section
“Buildings as Prophecies & Conversations” in the Articles section
“ Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)” in the Poetry section
“Fleeting Meeting with Nari Gandhi” in the Memoirs section
"“Nari Gandhi” review by Carleton University Magazine" in Reviews section
Research Interests: Architecture, Poetry, Frank Lloyd Wright, Modern Poetry, Architecture And Photography, and 15 moreGreen architecture, Craft Knowledge, Contemporary Poetry, Calligraphy, Indian Writing in English, India, Books, Remembrance, Famous Architects and Their Works, Architectute, Architects, Cover, Architects and Interior Design, Organic Architecture Frank Lloyd Wright, and Culture of Remembrance
“Gandhi--one of the four Indians to have apprenticed under the legendary American Frank Lloyd Wright-was an iconic architect.” - Times of India (advertisements in the original are replaced by images of the book). Cross-References. See... more
“Gandhi--one of the four Indians to have apprenticed under the legendary American Frank Lloyd Wright-was an iconic architect.”
- Times of India (advertisements in the original are replaced by images of the book).
Cross-References. See also:
“Nari Gandhi (Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright)” in the Books section
“The Importance of Being Nari” in the Articles section
“Buildings as Prophecies & Conversations” in the Articles section
“ Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)” in the Poetry section
“Fleeting Meeting with Nari Gandhi” in the Memoirs section
"“Nari Gandhi” review by Carleton University Magazine" in Reviews section
“ Nari Gandhi, An Icon Remembered” book launch reviewed in Reviews section
- Times of India (advertisements in the original are replaced by images of the book).
Cross-References. See also:
“Nari Gandhi (Apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright)” in the Books section
“The Importance of Being Nari” in the Articles section
“Buildings as Prophecies & Conversations” in the Articles section
“ Domain of Inbetween (Calligraphy)” in the Poetry section
“Fleeting Meeting with Nari Gandhi” in the Memoirs section
"“Nari Gandhi” review by Carleton University Magazine" in Reviews section
“ Nari Gandhi, An Icon Remembered” book launch reviewed in Reviews section
Research Interests: Architecture, Poetry, Frank Lloyd Wright, Parsis, Modern Poetry, and 15 moreGreen architecture, Ayn Rand, Contemporary Poetry, Indian Writing in English, India, Books, Famous Architects and Their Works, Sustainble House Design in Hot Climate, English Books, Passive House Design, The Fountainhead, Inbetween, House Design, Howard, and Inbetweenness
“For 45 minutes, the poems unfolded, interwoven with Taj’s insightful anecdotes about their moments of genesis and the verbal, conceptual, and pictorial threads that interconnect them. Taj’s peripatetic and energized delivery incarnated... more
“For 45 minutes, the poems unfolded, interwoven with Taj’s insightful anecdotes about their moments of genesis and the verbal, conceptual, and pictorial threads that interconnect them. Taj’s peripatetic and energized delivery incarnated the rapid movements and tremendous range of the poems themselves. If, as Charles Olson insisted half a century ago, a poem is in fact of means of transferring energy from where the poet found it to the reader (oops! audience), then Taj’s unwavering declarations and striking expressions are a conductive medium indeed.”
- Sean Moreland (https://essinem.livejournal.com/182384.html)
- Sean Moreland (https://essinem.livejournal.com/182384.html)
Research Interests: Poetry, Orality-Literacy Studies, Modernist poetry, Performance Art, Oral Traditions, and 15 moreGilles Deleuze, Sonnets, Performance, Deleuze, Modern Poetry, Contemporary Poetry, Orality, Spoken Word Poetry, Language Poetry, Oral History and Memory, Charles Olson, Review, Oral literature, Free recall, and Villanelle
“This is the story of a misplaced award, and the sad loss of a brilliant desgn philosophy, appropriate for rural India.”
- Dean D'Cruz
- Dean D'Cruz
Research Interests: Architecture, Rural Development, Vernacular Architecture, Green architecture, Indian Culture, and 15 moreArchitectural Competitions, Memorial, Políticas De La Memoria, Injustice, Sustainale Building Design, Maharashtra, Design Competitions, Vernacular Architrecture, Memorials, Architectute, Monuments & Memorials, Architecture Competitions, Architecture and Public Spaces, Politics In Maharashtra, and Competitions
“The audience showed up in droves this evening for the final event for this year's Carleton University School of Architecture Forum Lecture Series. Strictly standing room only for those unfortunate to arrive late.” - John W. MacDonald... more
“The audience showed up in droves this evening for the final event for this year's Carleton University School of Architecture Forum Lecture Series. Strictly standing room only for those unfortunate to arrive late.”
- John W. MacDonald
Cross Ref. See also:
“Arthur Erickson: In Conversation with H. Masud Taj” in the Talks section
“Standing Room Only” in the Reviews section
“Quote: Erickson” in the Calligraphy section
- John W. MacDonald
Cross Ref. See also:
“Arthur Erickson: In Conversation with H. Masud Taj” in the Talks section
“Standing Room Only” in the Reviews section
“Quote: Erickson” in the Calligraphy section
Research Interests: Architecture, Photography, Canadian art, In-depth Interviews, Conversation, and 15 moreCanadian Culture & Identity, Interviewing, Canada, Interviews, Famous Architects and Their Works, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Recent Work of Famous Architects and Their Design Concepts, Architects, Canadian Architecture, Architecture and Public Spaces, Architects and Architectural Practice, Stararchitecture, Need for Architects, and Canadian Modern Architecture
“And it worked beautifully! Many members of the audience commented on how much they enjoyed the more unconventional and intimate conversation over the podium lecture. Comfortable chairs and a carpet contributed to that intimacy and... more
“And it worked beautifully! Many members of the audience commented on how much they enjoyed the more unconventional and intimate conversation over the podium lecture. Comfortable chairs and a carpet contributed to that intimacy and Taj's own poetic sensibility and pacing of the conversation encouraged a sense of inclusion. Audience members also appreciated that moments of quiet and reflection were allowed to be part of the experience so that one had time to see the images and reflect on what was being said.”
- Arthur Erickson Conservancy
Cross Ref. See also:
“Arthur Erickson: In Conversation with H. Masud Taj” in the Talks section
“Taj & Erickson in Conversation” in the Reviews section
“Quote: Erickson” in the Calligraphy section
- Arthur Erickson Conservancy
Cross Ref. See also:
“Arthur Erickson: In Conversation with H. Masud Taj” in the Talks section
“Taj & Erickson in Conversation” in the Reviews section
“Quote: Erickson” in the Calligraphy section
Research Interests: Architecture, Canadian art, In-depth Interviews, Conversational Discourse, Conversation, and 15 moreCanadian Culture & Identity, Interviewing, Canada, Interviews, Famous Architects and Their Works, National Gallery of Canada, Conservancy, Recent Work of Famous Architects and Their Design Concepts, Architects, Canadian Architecture, Architecture and Public Spaces, Architects and Architectural Practice, Heritage conservancy, Need for Architects, and Canadian Modern Architecture
“There are two central themes around which the course was designed. One was to fuse technical knowledge of acoustics with the intuitive insights of an aural poet to bring about a more holistic understanding of sound. It presumes that to... more
“There are two central themes around which the course was
designed. One was to fuse technical knowledge of acoustics with
the intuitive insights of an aural poet to bring about a more
holistic understanding of sound. It presumes that to have acquired
knowledge is to have gained in self-awareness. Two, to change the
method of teaching by fostering team-learning and delegating
more power to the students. The teacher becomes a facilitator
and the students participants.”
Cross Ref. See also:
“Sound & Self” in Syllabi
designed. One was to fuse technical knowledge of acoustics with
the intuitive insights of an aural poet to bring about a more
holistic understanding of sound. It presumes that to have acquired
knowledge is to have gained in self-awareness. Two, to change the
method of teaching by fostering team-learning and delegating
more power to the students. The teacher becomes a facilitator
and the students participants.”
Cross Ref. See also:
“Sound & Self” in Syllabi
Research Interests: Acoustics, Aural Skills, Self and Identity, Architecture, Sonic Art, and 15 moreCritical Pedagogy, Pedagogy, Acoustic Ecology, Orality, Sonic Studies, Aural Architecture, Architectural Acoustics, Aural Perception, Aural Training, Soundscapes, Soundscapes Aural Architecture Urban Acoustic Environments Sensory Geography Public Art and Policy Concepts of Place Sense of place + place experience Place-making, Pedagogy of Teaching and Learning of Ict in Education Curriculum, Urban Soundscapes, Aural/sound Studies, and Orality and Science
“Our reaction to a poem to be a physiological one; and it is the very orality and musicality of the art form, the beauty of sound mixed perfectly with silence, that directs and produces the cinemascope of our mind’s eyes.” - Bruce Meyer,... more
“Our reaction to a poem to be a physiological one; and it is the very orality and musicality of the art form, the beauty of sound mixed perfectly with silence, that directs and produces the cinemascope of our mind’s eyes.”
- Bruce Meyer, The Independent Weekly
Cross Reference. See also:
"Hart House Reading" in Talks section
- Bruce Meyer, The Independent Weekly
Cross Reference. See also:
"Hart House Reading" in Talks section
Research Interests: Poetry, Rhythm, Orality-Literacy Studies, Silence, Sound, and 15 moreWilliam Wordsworth, Modern Poetry, Lyric poetry, Contemporary Poetry, Conversation, Orality, Orality (Literature), Homeric poetry, Poetics of Silence, Orality and Literacy, Rhyme, Musicality, The Odyssey, Orality/Literacy, and Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey Poem by William Wordsworth
How does an unpublished poet in India with no book to his name get invited by the Head of the British Council worldwide to recite his poems in London? It begins with Anil Dharker who passed away yesterday (26 March 2021). He suggested I... more
How does an unpublished poet in India with no book to his name get invited by the Head of the British Council worldwide to recite his poems in London?
It begins with Anil Dharker who passed away yesterday (26 March 2021). He suggested I write for the Independent. I told him I was a poet, not a journalist. As I had just ranted about Flora Fountain, he said don't be a journalist; just write what you told me. I did and he published it: “Flora Fountain: or how to sit on an 18 inch pipe” (1990).
He then commissioned me to write a series on the Public Places of Bombay for their weekend Vantage. I did that every fortnight until it became a bit much to handle alongside my architectural practice, consultancy and teaching. All the essays were later compiled and issued as a monograph on Bombay by Max Mueller Bhavan during their conference on Public Places. The monograph was titled “Walking Looking Thinking: A Pedestrian views Public Places in Bombay (1995).”
The last in that series of essays was in my mother’s style of letter writing, sprinkled with Urdu shayari (among the verses, one by my father). That essay was chosen by Alan Ross as representative of writings from India and reprinted in London Magazine in their special India Golden Anniversary issue. The essay was titled “Circle” (1997).
Publication in London Magazine led to an invitation by British Council to a reading in Mumbai commemorating India’s anniversary (1998). Jeet Thayil read his poems and ended with the moving "In Kabul Zoo, The Lion." On impulse, I put aside my essay and instead recited several animal poems from memory. Alastair Niven, Head of the British Council, was facilitating the event. He invited me to London and arranged for my reading hosted by the Poetry Society at the Poetry Place. The reading was titled “Inventory: Colour Punctuations Numbers Animals" (1998).
Anil Dharker next commissioned a chapter on Charles Correa for his book “Icons” (2008) stipulating that the essay also surveys post-Independence architecture in India. Charles Correa saw the essay when the book appeared. He called me in Ottawa inviting me over to his place the next time I was in Mumbai. We met during each of my annual trips culminating in my speaking at his memorial service in 2015.
Thank you Anil Dharker. I am among the many who owe you much. Your assignments had the knack of setting off a cascade of events that enrich life.
----------------------------------------
Inventory Poster and a Review of the Reading by Sian Hughes, Education Officer, Poetry Society, London.
It begins with Anil Dharker who passed away yesterday (26 March 2021). He suggested I write for the Independent. I told him I was a poet, not a journalist. As I had just ranted about Flora Fountain, he said don't be a journalist; just write what you told me. I did and he published it: “Flora Fountain: or how to sit on an 18 inch pipe” (1990).
He then commissioned me to write a series on the Public Places of Bombay for their weekend Vantage. I did that every fortnight until it became a bit much to handle alongside my architectural practice, consultancy and teaching. All the essays were later compiled and issued as a monograph on Bombay by Max Mueller Bhavan during their conference on Public Places. The monograph was titled “Walking Looking Thinking: A Pedestrian views Public Places in Bombay (1995).”
The last in that series of essays was in my mother’s style of letter writing, sprinkled with Urdu shayari (among the verses, one by my father). That essay was chosen by Alan Ross as representative of writings from India and reprinted in London Magazine in their special India Golden Anniversary issue. The essay was titled “Circle” (1997).
Publication in London Magazine led to an invitation by British Council to a reading in Mumbai commemorating India’s anniversary (1998). Jeet Thayil read his poems and ended with the moving "In Kabul Zoo, The Lion." On impulse, I put aside my essay and instead recited several animal poems from memory. Alastair Niven, Head of the British Council, was facilitating the event. He invited me to London and arranged for my reading hosted by the Poetry Society at the Poetry Place. The reading was titled “Inventory: Colour Punctuations Numbers Animals" (1998).
Anil Dharker next commissioned a chapter on Charles Correa for his book “Icons” (2008) stipulating that the essay also surveys post-Independence architecture in India. Charles Correa saw the essay when the book appeared. He called me in Ottawa inviting me over to his place the next time I was in Mumbai. We met during each of my annual trips culminating in my speaking at his memorial service in 2015.
Thank you Anil Dharker. I am among the many who owe you much. Your assignments had the knack of setting off a cascade of events that enrich life.
----------------------------------------
Inventory Poster and a Review of the Reading by Sian Hughes, Education Officer, Poetry Society, London.
Research Interests:
“About 200 people…gathered to hear Jeet Thayil, H. Masud Taj, Dipankar Khwiwani and Cyrus Mistry – all contributors to the latest issue of the British literary journal London Magazine, which has Indian writing in English as its theme.” -... more
“About 200 people…gathered to hear Jeet Thayil, H. Masud Taj, Dipankar Khwiwani and Cyrus Mistry – all contributors to the latest issue of the British literary journal London Magazine, which has Indian writing in English as its theme.”
- The Asian Age
- Feb 15, 1998 p.9
Cross Reference:
“Circle” in Articles Section
“Bibilio & Tribune” in Review section
“Cockroach” in Poetry section
“Bat” in Calligraphy section
“Edward Said & The Dragonfly” in Memoir section
- The Asian Age
- Feb 15, 1998 p.9
Cross Reference:
“Circle” in Articles Section
“Bibilio & Tribune” in Review section
“Cockroach” in Poetry section
“Bat” in Calligraphy section
“Edward Said & The Dragonfly” in Memoir section
Research Interests: Oral Traditions, Bats (Mammalogy), Oral Tradition, Contemporary Poetry, Oral Traditions (Culture), and 15 more20th Century British Literature, Nissim Ezekiel, Poetry and Poetics, Indian Writing in English, Indian Muslims, Urdu Poetry, Cockroaches, Oral Poetry, Dragonfly, Recitation, Indian English Poetry, Bombay, Alligators, Eagles, and Jeet Thayil
"H. Masud Taj ("Circle") describes the architectural splendour of the great Town Hall of Bombay and the surrounding garden which the Tatas restored. Patterned as a mosaic are the light and shade of the garden, the architectural grandeur... more
"H. Masud Taj ("Circle") describes the architectural splendour of the great Town Hall of Bombay and the surrounding garden which the Tatas restored. Patterned as a mosaic are the light and shade of the garden, the architectural grandeur of the building and the surrounding squalor brought together in a glorious harmony by the use of Urdu couplets. Nowhere so far have any of the 'Jubilee' writings taken such pains to bring out the hidden dimensions of the complex relationship we Indians have with our colonial past—one half awe, the other half an assertion of our own greatness."
- Ira Pande, Biblio: A Review of Books Vol.II No.11 Nov 1997, p. 22
"Two contributions deserve special mention: H. Masud Taj's "Circle", and Christopher Pinney's "Camera Indica". Taj, an architect by profession, contributes what may best be called a heady mix of factual detail and imagination, architecture and poetry, linguistic ingenuity and sensitivity."
- Manju Jaidka, The Tribune, Oct. 19, 1997
- Ira Pande, Biblio: A Review of Books Vol.II No.11 Nov 1997, p. 22
"Two contributions deserve special mention: H. Masud Taj's "Circle", and Christopher Pinney's "Camera Indica". Taj, an architect by profession, contributes what may best be called a heady mix of factual detail and imagination, architecture and poetry, linguistic ingenuity and sensitivity."
- Manju Jaidka, The Tribune, Oct. 19, 1997
Research Interests: Colonialism, Essay (Genre Theory), Indian Writing in English, Review, The Critical Reflective Essay, and 15 moreRepresentativeness, Close relationships, Architecture and urbanism, Essays, Essay, Urbansim, Essay Writing, Mumbai, Circle, Relationship Between Urbanism and Sociology (Interaction Between Architecture & Society), English Essays, Literary Criticism (Reviewing) and Essay Writing, Town Hall, Essay Writters, and English essays and prose
“Technology is fast outpacing our understanding. Our creations sometimes tend to behave in a manner we had not surmised. In the euphoria of VR, the story strikes a note of caution. The unknown owner of the beautiful box well might turn... more
“Technology is fast outpacing our understanding. Our creations sometimes tend to behave in a manner we had not surmised. In the euphoria of VR, the story strikes a note of caution. The unknown owner of the beautiful box well might turn out to be Pandora.”
- Rajiv Trivedi
- All India Radio. Rewa
- May 14, 1994 8.00pm broadcast
Cross Reference:
"The Future Is Here" in the Articles Section
- Rajiv Trivedi
- All India Radio. Rewa
- May 14, 1994 8.00pm broadcast
Cross Reference:
"The Future Is Here" in the Articles Section
Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Storytelling, Short story (Literature), Short story, and 15 moreIllusions, Illusion, Story, Presence: Place Illusion and Plausibility, The Short Story, Pandora, Storytelling and Narrative, Illusionism, Art and Illusionism, Perceptual Illusions, VR for Learning, Story Board, The Palace of Illusions, Pandoras Box, and illusion and Reality
...tomo el pan
pronuncio la bendicion
lo partio y se lo dio
... he took bread
broke it
and began to give it to them.
Gospel of Luke (24 part)
pronuncio la bendicion
lo partio y se lo dio
... he took bread
broke it
and began to give it to them.
Gospel of Luke (24 part)
Research Interests: Translation Studies, Spanish, Bible Translation, Gospels, Bible Translations, and 14 moreTranslation between English and Spanish, Translation, Calligraphy, Gospel of Luke, Trnaslation, Bread, Eating, English Translation, Translation (Spanish into English), Bénédiction, Spanish Translation, Bénédictions, Breaking of the Bread, and Benediction
En la mitad del libro, en medio de un intenso bombardeo aéreo de Beirut, el lector se encuentra con una imagen inolvidable: la esposa del autor, Mona, embarazada de cuatro meses, corriendo sin aliento una milla antes de encontrar un taxi... more
En la mitad del libro, en medio de un intenso bombardeo aéreo de Beirut, el lector se encuentra con una imagen inolvidable: la esposa del autor, Mona, embarazada de cuatro meses, corriendo sin aliento una milla antes de encontrar un taxi para recoger a sus hijas del jardín de niños y la guardería. Su hijo nació unos meses después y llegó a crecer hasta convencer a Khalidi de escribir su noveno libro académico a modo de memorias. El crítico sigue siendo pesoptimista (p. 109) en cuanto a que la musa del autor, junto con los palestinos e israelíes de su generación, muy bien puedan encontrar una manera de poner un final cercano al conflicto.
Research Interests: Spanish, Israel/Palestine, 'Decolonization' and the politics of settler state/Indigenous relations, Israel, Settler Colonial Studies, and 15 moreIsrael and Zionism, Arab-Israeli conflict, Decolonization, Settler/Indigenous relations, Settler colonialism, Postcoloniality and decolonization, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Balfour Declaration, Rashid Khalidi, US - Israeli Relations, Indigenization and Decolonization, and (Settler) Colonialism and Decolonization
In Mexico your host greets you with "Mi casa es tu casa" meaning literally, "my house is your house" or shortened to "es tu casa" i.e. "this is your house."
The words outlines the Mexican parabolic arch of the doorway.
The words outlines the Mexican parabolic arch of the doorway.
Research Interests: Spanish Studies, Spanish, Architecture, Hospitality Studies, Mexico (Anthropology), and 15 moreHospitality, Mexico studies, Calligraphy, Greeting rituals, Mexico, México, Hosting, Guest Relations, Mexico City, Hospitality and Tourism, Etiquette, Etiquette and Morality, Protocol and etiquette, Greetings, and Parabola
I am in a courtyard a Thousand and One Arabian Nights in its details. I call out the name of Hassan Fathy no one answers. There is an earthern pot in the centre and a low arch opposite. Through it I emerge into another courtyard, cooler... more
I am in a courtyard a Thousand and One Arabian Nights in its details. I call out the name of Hassan Fathy no one answers. There is an earthern pot in the centre and a low arch opposite. Through it I emerge into another courtyard, cooler and less dark. By a stairway sways a slim white cord. I pull. Somewhere above a tinkling sound.
Bells. I heard them all through my travels. In the remote islands of Yugoslavia at the stroke of every hour; the electrically-controlled bells in Ronchamp, France; low octave ones around the neck of Swiss cows, and the usually out-of-tune Big Ben. I pull again, and again the delicious sound...
Read more in the 2024 reprint of The Visonary (with illustrations by the Green Prophet editor).
Bells. I heard them all through my travels. In the remote islands of Yugoslavia at the stroke of every hour; the electrically-controlled bells in Ronchamp, France; low octave ones around the neck of Swiss cows, and the usually out-of-tune Big Ben. I pull again, and again the delicious sound...
Read more in the 2024 reprint of The Visonary (with illustrations by the Green Prophet editor).
Research Interests: Architecture, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Building Design, Green architecture, Sustainable Architecture, and 15 moreSustainable Design, Green Building, Sustainable Urban Planning, mud brick architecture in Egypt, Qurnawi history, Famous Architects and Their Works, Adobe, Architects, Hassan Fathy, Green and Sustainability Practices, Mud brick Architecture, Mud Brick, Mud Bricks, Mud brick construction, Mud Brick Egypt, and Hassan Fathy (1900-1989)
Asian Heritage Month Special. Featured poems by Taj include: 1. "Elephant" recited in conversation with architect Arthur Erickson at the National Gallery of Canada and published in his collection of animal poems Alphabestiary 2.... more
Asian Heritage Month Special. Featured poems by Taj include:
1. "Elephant" recited in conversation with architect Arthur Erickson at the National Gallery of Canada and published in his collection of animal poems Alphabestiary
2. "Killing & The Art of Calligraphy" a villanelle published in Debonair that probes the serial creator/killer
3. "Cockroach" published in Penguin Books which was a finalist at Scream in the Park, Toronto.
4. "Fade-Out" a bilingual poem dedicated to people dying during the pandemic first published in Poeisis: A Journal Of Poetry Society
5. "Paperclip" which was among the 100 poems on objects during lockdown last year.
The interview also includes a poem by Gavin Barrett “This way to the sangam” from his latest book “Understan” ( Mawenzi House 2020).
Barrett, Gavin. “The Cockroach of Memory: H.Masud TAJ Converses with Gavin Barrett.” The Beacon Webzine, Ashoak Upadhyay, Tidewater Learning Foundation, 12 July 2021, www.thebeacon.in/2021/07/10/the-cockroach-of-memory-h-masud-taj-converses-with-gavin-barrett/.
Note: The reader is encouraged to visit the original publication in the citation above; it features adverts in the second column, left blank in the upload.
Cross reference. See also:
“Interview by Howl” in Videos Section
"Elephant" in "Alphabestiary (Introduction)" in the Articles Section.
“The Travelling Nonvegetarian . Cockroach . Approaching Manhattan” in the Poetry Section
“The Zipper Poem . Killing & The Art of Calligraphy . Rocket . Man” in the Poetry Section
“Doctoring Strange Loves, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying Stanley and Love Monsters in Scholarship, Chess, Films & Architecture.” pg 111 in the Papers Section
“Body Scenarios . Fade-Out” in the Poetry Section
1. "Elephant" recited in conversation with architect Arthur Erickson at the National Gallery of Canada and published in his collection of animal poems Alphabestiary
2. "Killing & The Art of Calligraphy" a villanelle published in Debonair that probes the serial creator/killer
3. "Cockroach" published in Penguin Books which was a finalist at Scream in the Park, Toronto.
4. "Fade-Out" a bilingual poem dedicated to people dying during the pandemic first published in Poeisis: A Journal Of Poetry Society
5. "Paperclip" which was among the 100 poems on objects during lockdown last year.
The interview also includes a poem by Gavin Barrett “This way to the sangam” from his latest book “Understan” ( Mawenzi House 2020).
Barrett, Gavin. “The Cockroach of Memory: H.Masud TAJ Converses with Gavin Barrett.” The Beacon Webzine, Ashoak Upadhyay, Tidewater Learning Foundation, 12 July 2021, www.thebeacon.in/2021/07/10/the-cockroach-of-memory-h-masud-taj-converses-with-gavin-barrett/.
Note: The reader is encouraged to visit the original publication in the citation above; it features adverts in the second column, left blank in the upload.
Cross reference. See also:
“Interview by Howl” in Videos Section
"Elephant" in "Alphabestiary (Introduction)" in the Articles Section.
“The Travelling Nonvegetarian . Cockroach . Approaching Manhattan” in the Poetry Section
“The Zipper Poem . Killing & The Art of Calligraphy . Rocket . Man” in the Poetry Section
“Doctoring Strange Loves, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying Stanley and Love Monsters in Scholarship, Chess, Films & Architecture.” pg 111 in the Papers Section
“Body Scenarios . Fade-Out” in the Poetry Section
Research Interests: Arabic Language and Linguistics, Poetry, Oral history, Labyrinths, Franz Kafka, and 15 moreTamil, In-depth Interviews, Hindi/Urdu, Calligraphy, Bilingualism, Oral literature, Serial killers, Elephants, Urdu Poetry, Cockroaches, Labyrinth, Villanelle, Hindi Urdu Language and Literature, Silence of the Lambs, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Sentinel Poetry: The International Journal of Poetry & Graphics #51 Feb 2007 "Of Architectonics and Poetics" - interview with H. Masud Taj, by Editor-in-Chief: Amatoritsero Ede.
Research Interests: Architecture, Poetry, Poetics, Urdu Literature, Calligraphy, and 6 moreGravity, Mirrors, Architectonics, Oral Poetry, Clocks, and Sestina
Excerpt from the interview: You were inspired by Louis Kahn’s Indian Institute of Management building in Ahmedabad. You even wrote a poem in calligraphy about it. As a student, I was at CEPT in Ahmedabad for a month, participating in a... more
Excerpt from the interview:
You were inspired by Louis Kahn’s Indian Institute of Management building in Ahmedabad. You even wrote a poem in calligraphy about it.
As a student, I was at CEPT in Ahmedabad for a month, participating in a workshop designing shells upside down. In the evenings, I’d sprawl on the IIM lawns. Once at dusk, above several storeys of brick arches, right on axis, was the upturned crescent. That’s when the Brick Poem occurred. Decades later when I began to study Sinan in Turkey, I understood what that poem really meant; poets can lag behind the curve of their poems. I’ll be giving a talk at CEPT and that’s when after more than three decades the Brick Poem will return to its site.
You were inspired by Louis Kahn’s Indian Institute of Management building in Ahmedabad. You even wrote a poem in calligraphy about it.
As a student, I was at CEPT in Ahmedabad for a month, participating in a workshop designing shells upside down. In the evenings, I’d sprawl on the IIM lawns. Once at dusk, above several storeys of brick arches, right on axis, was the upturned crescent. That’s when the Brick Poem occurred. Decades later when I began to study Sinan in Turkey, I understood what that poem really meant; poets can lag behind the curve of their poems. I’ll be giving a talk at CEPT and that’s when after more than three decades the Brick Poem will return to its site.
Research Interests: Architecture, Poetry, Heritage Conservation, Modern Architecture, Contemporary Poetry, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Building, J. Krishnamurti, Mimar Sinan, Bricks, Iim, Panchatantra, Louis Kahn, CEPT University, Architectural Heritage Conservation, Seven Wonders, Hasan Fathy, Masonary, and Calligrammes
“Ordinary everyday objects, such as the traditional rahla, are gateways to the past. We enter that gateway and embark on a journey from wihich hopefully we will return with new-found respect for the ordinary that often unfolds the... more
“Ordinary everyday objects, such as the traditional rahla, are gateways to the past. We enter that gateway and embark on a journey from wihich hopefully we will return with new-found respect for the ordinary that often unfolds the extraordinary.”
Note: See "The Book & The Bookstand" poster in the Talk section.
Note: See "The Book & The Bookstand" poster in the Talk section.
Research Interests:
“I think India is a delightful palimpsest of several worlds – all it needs is catalysts that can make cross-connections. The almost anarchic conditions there portend an emergence that none can now foretell, but about which I am hopeful…”... more
“I think India is a delightful palimpsest of several worlds – all it needs is catalysts that can make cross-connections. The almost anarchic conditions there portend an emergence that none can now foretell, but about which I am hopeful…”
Read more.
Interviewed by Ajit Jain (who referred to me as Dr. in good faith, however I do not have a doctorate) November 30, 2012
Read more.
Interviewed by Ajit Jain (who referred to me as Dr. in good faith, however I do not have a doctorate) November 30, 2012
Research Interests:
"Ottawa-based H. Masud Taj is certainly an experience if you can catch him reciting his poems, one couplet tailing the other, like dominoes falling to high winds. The words spoken have the power to drape you in implicit joy and you are... more
"Ottawa-based H. Masud Taj is certainly an experience if you can catch him reciting his poems, one couplet tailing the other, like dominoes falling to high winds. The words spoken have the power to drape you in implicit joy and you are easily immersed in his mood, wide-eyed. You hate to impede him, knit in a query only to ensure that he continues. As he recites the lines, his soft, silken voice rides a knoll at times, reacting to the string of words mouthed. And the effect is simply marvellous...."
- Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty
Note: The attribution of the photograph in the original was incorrectly attributed to "Noah" and has been corrected. The photograph is cropped from the one taken by Shabbir Unwala of Jackie Shroff and I in conversation.
- Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty
Note: The attribution of the photograph in the original was incorrectly attributed to "Noah" and has been corrected. The photograph is cropped from the one taken by Shabbir Unwala of Jackie Shroff and I in conversation.
Research Interests: Memory (Cognitive Psychology), Human Memory, Oral history, Oral Traditions, Working Memory, and 11 moreMemory Studies, Dylan Thomas, Conversational Discourse, Human-Animal Studies, T. S. Eliot, Oral History and Memory, Urdu Poetry, Oral Poetry, T S Eliot, T. S. Eliot, English poetry, and Literary Bestiary
1) Why did you choose to come to Canada? Tell about the conditions before coming and what attracted you here. "Because Canada is an experiment - think about this, English and French couldn’t defeat each other and so made a nation... more
1) Why did you choose to come to Canada? Tell about the conditions before coming and what attracted you here.
"Because Canada is an experiment - think about this, English and French couldn’t defeat each other and so made a nation together. Hence the “other” becomes an essential part of who you are. I thought that would be a fertile ground to strike roots - to do here what I was doing back home in Bombay (oops! Mumbai) – architecture, poetry and calligraphy (though I miss the Arabian Sea as I grew up in a house on its coast)."
Read more…
2) How was the move itself?
3) How easy/hard was it for you to get involved in architecture in Canada? What helped you find success?
4) What would you suggest to new immigrants who wish to get into the field
Interviewed by Rotem Yaniv;
Canadian Immigrant (online magazine)
November 2009
Cross Reference. See also:
"Between Two Tongues: Falling at The Speed of Light" in the Articles Section
"Impossible Toronto" in the Articles Section
"Meditation on Clockfaces" in the Articles Section
"Flying Into Watercity" in the Articles Section
"The Travelling Nonvegetarian" in the Poetry Section
"Because Canada is an experiment - think about this, English and French couldn’t defeat each other and so made a nation together. Hence the “other” becomes an essential part of who you are. I thought that would be a fertile ground to strike roots - to do here what I was doing back home in Bombay (oops! Mumbai) – architecture, poetry and calligraphy (though I miss the Arabian Sea as I grew up in a house on its coast)."
Read more…
2) How was the move itself?
3) How easy/hard was it for you to get involved in architecture in Canada? What helped you find success?
4) What would you suggest to new immigrants who wish to get into the field
Interviewed by Rotem Yaniv;
Canadian Immigrant (online magazine)
November 2009
Cross Reference. See also:
"Between Two Tongues: Falling at The Speed of Light" in the Articles Section
"Impossible Toronto" in the Articles Section
"Meditation on Clockfaces" in the Articles Section
"Flying Into Watercity" in the Articles Section
"The Travelling Nonvegetarian" in the Poetry Section
Research Interests: Immigration, Immigration Studies, History of Canada, Mumbai, India, immigration, migration, identity, and 15 moreImmigration and identity (Anthropology), India, International Migration and Immigration Policy, London, Canada, Interviews, Interview, Toronto, Mumbai, John Ralston Saul, Riyadh, Arabian Sea, Bombay, Immigration Status & Nationality, and Unfinished
Commenting on "Architecture in the Muslim World" viz. the significance of the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.
Research Interests: Islamic Contemporary Studies, Bangladesh, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Aga Khan, Audacity, and 10 moreLouis I. Kahn, Grameen Bank, Aga Khan Foundation, Louis Kahn, Muslim Society, Capitol Complex Design, Aga Khan Development Network, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and Aga Khan Awards
Curtain raiser interview preceding the talk: “Mosque as Metaphor: Five Orientations of Person & Place” at the Hall of Philosophy, Chautauquan Institute, New York July 27, 2000 Cross Ref. See also: “Mosque as Metaphor” in the Talks... more
Curtain raiser interview preceding the talk: “Mosque as Metaphor: Five Orientations of Person & Place” at the Hall of Philosophy, Chautauquan Institute, New York July 27, 2000
Cross Ref. See also:
“Mosque as Metaphor” in the Talks section
“Mosque: Cube & Circle” in the Articles sections
“Meditation on Clockfaces” in the Articles section
“Cube & Chiasm” in the Talks section
Cross Ref. See also:
“Mosque as Metaphor” in the Talks section
“Mosque: Cube & Circle” in the Articles sections
“Meditation on Clockfaces” in the Articles section
“Cube & Chiasm” in the Talks section
Research Interests: Architecture, Space and Place, Poetry, Orality-Literacy Studies, Arcitecture as the Making of Metaphors, and 15 moreMetaphor, Islam, Quran, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Mosque Architecture, Metaphors, Oral literature, Metaphor in Architectural Design, Mosques, Chautauqua+, Mosque, Architecture and Public Spaces, Chautauqua Presentations, Muslim philosophy and thought, and Chautauqua
“… the modern day audience vacillates between two ends; anxiety and nostalgia. We fear for what will be and long for what was. Oral poetry lives in the very centre of this spectrum…”
- David Mangan, The Independent Weekly
- David Mangan, The Independent Weekly
Research Interests: Homer, Orality-Literacy Studies, Nostalgia (Psychology), Metaphysics of Time, Audience and Reception Studies, and 15 moreEnglish, Oral Traditions, Time Perception, Orality, Quran, Anxiety, Nostalgia, Oral History and Memory, Organic Synthesis, Hearing, Oral literature, Urdu Poetry, Receptor Modelling, Gutenberg, and Daily English Conversations
From his first poetry recitation at Prithvi Theatre in 1983, Masud Taj, who comes from a family of Urdu poets, has regularly been wowing audiences with his felicity of reciting all his poems by memory… Recently, at the Alliance Francaise,... more
From his first poetry recitation at Prithvi Theatre in 1983, Masud Taj, who comes from a family of Urdu poets, has regularly been wowing audiences with his felicity of reciting all his poems by memory… Recently, at the Alliance Francaise, Taj recited all the 33 animal poems that he had worked on the past year. He says he has no real explanation for this deluge of inspiration, but admitted the birth of his son Noah (and the choice of his name) could have been a catalyst.
- Bombay Times, Sunday Times of India, April 12, 1999 pg.1
- Bombay Times, Sunday Times of India, April 12, 1999 pg.1
Research Interests: Memory (Cognitive Psychology), Human Memory, Mega Events As Catalysts For Regeneration, Oral Traditions, Working Memory, and 13 moreMemory Studies, Memory (Psychology), Oral Tradition, Oral Traditions (Culture), Autobiographical Memory, Art of memory, Oral History and Memory, Catalyst, Oral Poetry, Oral Communication Skills, Literary Bestiary, Fathers and Sons, and Noah's Flood
“The good architect is like Houdini, not an escapee but an escape artist, a logical trickster who thinks his way out of locks that hold him down.” The Sunday Times of India, July 5, 1998 p.5 “If every building only reflects the building... more
“The good architect is like Houdini, not an escapee but an escape artist, a logical trickster who thinks his way out of locks that hold him down.”
The Sunday Times of India, July 5, 1998 p.5
“If every building only reflects the building around it, finally the city disappears, and finally there will only mirrors looking at mirrors.”
The Times of India, Sep 16, 1994
The Sunday Times of India, July 5, 1998 p.5
“If every building only reflects the building around it, finally the city disappears, and finally there will only mirrors looking at mirrors.”
The Times of India, Sep 16, 1994
Research Interests: Professionalism, Urban Studies, Green architecture, Urban Design (Urban Studies), Tropical Architecture, and 15 moreDesign of Tall Buildings, Urban Parks, Practice, Architecture and urbanism, William Morris, Mumbai, Pollution, Facade Design, Facade, Bombay, Harry Houdini, Cottage Industry, Escape, Cyber City, and Architecture of City
Q. Why has Mumbai become an uncivil society?
A. “It is from the Greek root ‘civitas’ that you get civilian, civility and civilisation. They all presume the existence of citizens in cities…”
Read more…
A. “It is from the Greek root ‘civitas’ that you get civilian, civility and civilisation. They all presume the existence of citizens in cities…”
Read more…
Research Interests: Global cities, Police, Education for Citizenship, Civility and the Civilising Process, Cities, and 15 morePolice and Policing, Mumbai, Metropolis, Civilian Power, Civilisation, Metropolitan Areas, Civitas, Metropolitan, Civility, Civilisation and Culture, Precinct Conservation, Metropolisation, Public Policy, History of civility & incivility, and Eunice de Souza
Short curtain-raiser followed by Interview: ‘The challenge is how to make the harbour a part of Bombay.’
Research Interests:
Nold Egenter is an Ethnologist and Architectural Anthropologist. He is the author of 'Architectural Anthropology: The Present Relevance of the Primitive in Architecture' (Structura Mundi Editions, Lausanne 1992). In conversation with... more
Nold Egenter is an Ethnologist and Architectural Anthropologist. He is the author of 'Architectural Anthropology: The Present Relevance of the Primitive in Architecture' (Structura Mundi Editions, Lausanne 1992).
In conversation with Architect H. Masud Taj: Egenter explains the 'evolution' of mankind and architecture.
The interview took place at the International Airport in Bombay on December 6, 1992.
In conversation with Architect H. Masud Taj: Egenter explains the 'evolution' of mankind and architecture.
The interview took place at the International Airport in Bombay on December 6, 1992.
Research Interests:
“There has always been a dialogue between the potential of place and architecture,” Per Olaf Fjeld has said. “The same is true between material and construction. Over time, the interactions of these dialogues are translated into a... more
“There has always been a dialogue between the potential of place and architecture,” Per Olaf Fjeld has said. “The same is true between material and construction. Over time, the interactions of these dialogues are translated into a vocabulary we call tradition.” In this interview, Mr Schreibmayer spoke about putting together again traditional settlements that have evolved without architects, among other issues.
Note: Photo (unpublished) on page 3 courtesy Ajjay Ssharma
Note: Photo (unpublished) on page 3 courtesy Ajjay Ssharma
Research Interests: Architecture, Settlement Patterns, Vernacular Architecture, Experience Design, Earthquake resistant design, and 10 moreEarthquake, India, Italy, Village, Design Guidelines, Seismic analysis and design, Graz, Material Architecture, Eco Construction, and The Student Experience and Satisfaction In Higher Education
“I was amazed to see even on a holiday so much work was going on : recycling of paper, plastic, paint, making soap, shoes and despite the effort that goes in blighting these people’s lives. And so the chemistry is important, it is... more
“I was amazed to see even on a holiday so much work was going on : recycling of paper, plastic, paint, making soap, shoes and despite the effort that goes in blighting these people’s lives. And so the chemistry is important, it is everything a city must be.”
Research Interests:
Architect to architect – H Masud Taj conversed with Uttam C Jain as they walked around Jain’s exhibition of photographs ‘Through an Architect’s Eye’.
Research Interests:
You keep ducking into language, come out of it. It plays tricks, you can’t really control it, you wait. The project is to either estrange it totally from normal use, so that what you are saying is clearly seen to be separate from the... more
You keep ducking into language, come out of it. It plays tricks, you can’t really control it, you wait. The project is to either estrange it totally from normal use, so that what you are saying is clearly seen to be separate from the ordinary fabric of reality, and yet relates to it. Or else to bring about the violence from within to revitalise familiar form.
Research Interests:
“I think that the problems of translating the monumental tradition of Indian architecture into the types of buildings we need today are very difficult. First of all the indigenous tradition is a highly scriptural one and it’s a tradition... more
“I think that the problems of translating the monumental tradition of Indian architecture into the types of buildings we need today are very difficult. First of all the indigenous tradition is a highly scriptural one and it’s a tradition that is primarily one of mass rather than space. Of course the excavated Buddhist temples have been spatial and there have been some Hindu temples, specially of the Krishna-bhakti cult, which have developed spaces; but they aren’t typical of indigenous tradition." - Christopher Tadgell
Research Interests:
Hassan Fathy visited Bombay (now Mumbai) in October 1981 after receiving the Aga Khan Chairman Award for Architecture. He stayed at the heritage Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, where the interview took place. He also delivered a lecture at Sir JJ... more
Hassan Fathy visited Bombay (now Mumbai) in October 1981 after receiving the Aga Khan Chairman Award for Architecture. He stayed at the heritage Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, where the interview took place. He also delivered a lecture at Sir JJ College of Architecture (where he was thanked for "making concrete suggestions in mud"!) Among the people he met during his stay were Charles Correa, Sean and Pervin Mahoney, Prabhakar and Asha Baste and the author.
The article was scanned from a poor photocopy in the files (without date and page no.) of the one-page interview that had appeared in INSIDE/OUTSIDE in 1982. It also had a faded portrait replaced in the uploaded article with the one taken by the late Martin Lyons (with thanks to Linda Northrup). The editorial under the picture preceding the interview was retyped to accommodate the photograph. The editorial was written by Sean Mahoney, founding editor of the magazine, who had previously met Fathy in Cairo.
This is the only existing record of his visit to India. (If any reader has that issue, possibly No.11 or No.12, kindly message the author: Issue No./Date/Page No.)
Cross Ref. See also:
"The Visionary: A Personal View by H Masud Taj" in the Articles section
"Towards a New Vernacular" in the Articles section
"Quote by Hasan Fathy" in the Calligraphy section
The article was scanned from a poor photocopy in the files (without date and page no.) of the one-page interview that had appeared in INSIDE/OUTSIDE in 1982. It also had a faded portrait replaced in the uploaded article with the one taken by the late Martin Lyons (with thanks to Linda Northrup). The editorial under the picture preceding the interview was retyped to accommodate the photograph. The editorial was written by Sean Mahoney, founding editor of the magazine, who had previously met Fathy in Cairo.
This is the only existing record of his visit to India. (If any reader has that issue, possibly No.11 or No.12, kindly message the author: Issue No./Date/Page No.)
Cross Ref. See also:
"The Visionary: A Personal View by H Masud Taj" in the Articles section
"Towards a New Vernacular" in the Articles section
"Quote by Hasan Fathy" in the Calligraphy section
Research Interests: Music, Aesthetics, Indigenous Studies, Architecture, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and 15 moreIn-depth Interviews, India, Elephants, Cactus, Hindu temples, Famous Architects and Their Works, Mumbai, John Lennon, Mosques, Laurie Baker - His Architecture - Its effects on the social fabric, Essence, Architects, Hassan Fathy, Egyptian Temples, and Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
I am in a courtyard a Thousand and One Arabian Nights in its details. I call out the name of Hassan Fathy no one answers. There is an earthern pot in the centre and a low arch opposite. Through it I emerge into another courtyard, cooler... more
I am in a courtyard a Thousand and One Arabian Nights in its details. I call out the name of Hassan Fathy no one answers. There is an earthern pot in the centre and a low arch opposite. Through it I emerge into another courtyard, cooler and less dark. By a stairway sways a slim white cord. I pull. Somewhere above a tinkling sound.
Bells. I heard them all through my travels. In the remote islands of Yugoslavia at the stroke of every hour; the electrically-controlled bells in Ronchamp, France; low octave ones round the neck of Swiss cows, and the usually out-of-tune Big Ben. I pull again, and again the delicious sound.
Bells. I heard them all through my travels. In the remote islands of Yugoslavia at the stroke of every hour; the electrically-controlled bells in Ronchamp, France; low octave ones round the neck of Swiss cows, and the usually out-of-tune Big Ben. I pull again, and again the delicious sound.
Research Interests: Music, Architecture, Vernacular Architecture, Appropriate Technology, Decolonization, and 14 moreIslamic architecture, Mudbrick architecture, Adobe, Cairo, Alexandria, Valley of the Kings, Minarets, Appropriate and Traditional Architecture, Mud brick Architecture, Miniature Painting, Architecture for the Poor, New Gourna, Nubian Vault, and Desert Architecture
The upcoming Public Talk & Calligraphy Exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, on December 9th at 1:30 PM. In a series on the Muslim Civilization's relationship to water. (The previous event, "Water in Islam," is in the Review... more
The upcoming Public Talk & Calligraphy Exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, on December 9th at 1:30 PM. In a series on the Muslim Civilization's relationship to water. (The previous event, "Water in Islam," is in the Review Section.)
Research Interests: Architecture, Water, Poetry, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Ottoman Empire, and 15 moreSustainable Water Resources Management, Environmental Sustainability, History of Ottoman Art and Architecture, Calligraphy, Environmentalism, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Mosque Architecture, Ecological Urbanism, Famous Architects and Their Works, Anthropocene, Monotheism, Mosques, Architects, Green and Sustainability Practices, and Islamic Environmentalism
Poster & description of the Talk and Calligraphy exhibition held on the occasion of Islamic History Month in Canada 2023.
Research Interests: Women's Studies, Architecture, Women's History, Ecology, Islamic Studies, and 15 moreBridge Engineering, Islamic History, Calligraphy, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Aqueducts, Mimar Sinan, Sustainibility, Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi, Architect Sinan, Stararchitecture, Ancient Aqueducts and Waterworks, Sinan, Canals and Aqueducts, ANCIENT AQUEDUCTS, and Ottoman aqueducts
Three Mosques by Sinan: Architect at the Center of the World Talk and photography exhibition at the Cultural University Centre, Mexico City. October 2023.
Research Interests: Ottoman History, Architecture, Photography, Ottoman Studies, Islam, and 15 moreArchitecture And Photography, Photography (Visual Studies), Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, History of architecture, Mosque Architecture, Mexico City, Muslims, Mimar Sinan, Mosques, Mosque, Architecture and Public Spaces, Architect Sinan, Ottoman Mosques, Sinan, and university cultural activities
Islamic History Month Canada Talk 2022 Between 1819 and 1926, four women ruled over the princely state of Bhopal, India. The Nawab Begums were capable administrators, their piety and nobility undiminished by public life as they... more
Islamic History Month Canada Talk 2022
Between 1819 and 1926, four women ruled over the princely state of
Bhopal, India. The Nawab Begums were capable administrators, their
piety and nobility undiminished by public life as they checkmated
opponents, authored books, and patronized monuments.
Poster & Resource Sheets.
Between 1819 and 1926, four women ruled over the princely state of
Bhopal, India. The Nawab Begums were capable administrators, their
piety and nobility undiminished by public life as they checkmated
opponents, authored books, and patronized monuments.
Poster & Resource Sheets.
Research Interests: Persian Literature, Architecture, Women and Gender Issues in Islam, Urdu Literature, Islam, and 15 moreIslamic Political Thought, Gender and religion (Women s Studies), Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, History of architecture, Books, Women and gender in Muslim societies, Indian Muslims, Hijab, Bhopal, Female Patronage of Arts, Indian Society & Culture, Muslim Society, Purdah, Patronage of Nawabs, and Urdu Literature in Bhopal
Islamic History Month of Canada Talk 2021 The 14th-century plague swept across Europe and the Middle East, ravaging both civilizations. How did different civilizations respond to the same phenomenon? Was architecture even possible... more
Islamic History Month of Canada Talk 2021
The 14th-century plague swept across Europe and the Middle East, ravaging both civilizations. How did different civilizations respond to the same phenomenon? Was architecture even possible following the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history?
H. Masud Taj was mentored in Cairo by the visionary architect Hassan Fathy, who lived near the monumental Sultan Hasan Mosque and Madrasa.
Islamic History Month Talk 2021
The 14th-century plague swept across Europe and the Middle East, ravaging both civilizations. How did different civilizations respond to the same phenomenon? Was architecture even possible following the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history?
H. Masud Taj was mentored in Cairo by the visionary architect Hassan Fathy, who lived near the monumental Sultan Hasan Mosque and Madrasa.
Islamic History Month Talk 2021
Research Interests: Islamic' Architecture, Mamluk History, Early and Medieval Islamic Art and Architecture, Middle East, Black Death, and 15 moreJewish-Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle Ages, Islamic architecture, Black Death Hadith, Pandemic preparedness, The Black Death, Pandemics, BLACK DEATH, MEDIEVAL HISTORY, Historiography of Black Death, Epidemics (The Black Death), Pandemic, Historiography of the Black Death, Sultan Hasan Mosque, Black Plague, Pandemic Coronavirus COVID19, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Islamic History Month of Canada Talk 2020
Research Interests: Architecture, Medieval Church History, Al-Andalus, Al Andalus (Islamic History), Calligraphy, and 15 moreAndalusia/Al-Andalus, Medieval Epigraphy, Al-Andalus History, Mosque Architecture, Synagogues, Andalusia, Epigraphy, Andalusian Studies, Toledo, Architecture and Public Spaces, Post-Orientalism. Al-Andalus., Al Andalus Architecture, Intellectual History of Al andalus, Islam, Creative Writing, Arabic Language and Linguistics, Philology,Literary translation, teaching Arabic as a foreign language,Classical Islam, and Classical and Modern Arabic Literature and, Andalusia-Moorish Governance System and Cultures, and Andalusian Culture
The grand finale of Carleton University's year long Cinquecento celebration of Leonardo da Vinci was also the inaugural Canadian edition of the SmarTalk launched by Gruppo Jobel, (originally produced with the contribution of Italian and... more
The grand finale of Carleton University's year long Cinquecento celebration of Leonardo da Vinci was also the inaugural Canadian edition of the SmarTalk launched by Gruppo Jobel, (originally produced with the contribution of Italian and Swiss Embassies).
Cinquecento: Carleton Celebrates Leonardo da Vinci A year-long celebration that looks at da Vinci's work with fresh eyes.
Final talk in the series of Three Cinquecento Lectures delivered at Carleton University on the occasion of Leonardo Da Vinci's 500th Anniversary in 2019
1. "Leonardo Da Vinci: From Baghdad to Bayezid" (Oct 1)
2. “Vitruvian Man” as Renaissance Selfie (Dec 7)
3. "Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mirror Writing" (Dec 12)
Cinquecento: Carleton Celebrates Leonardo da Vinci A year-long celebration that looks at da Vinci's work with fresh eyes.
Final talk in the series of Three Cinquecento Lectures delivered at Carleton University on the occasion of Leonardo Da Vinci's 500th Anniversary in 2019
1. "Leonardo Da Vinci: From Baghdad to Bayezid" (Oct 1)
2. “Vitruvian Man” as Renaissance Selfie (Dec 7)
3. "Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mirror Writing" (Dec 12)
Research Interests: Performance Studies, Arabic Language and Linguistics, Multimedia, Multimedia Learning, Calligraphy, and 9 moreLeonardo da Vinci, Multimedia Communication, Contemporary Theatre, Mirror writing, LINK BETWEEN LEONARDO DA VINCI AND SPAIN, Rennaisance art, Leonardo, Pseudo Script, and Rennaisance culture
A cross-cultural reading hosted by Carleton University and covered by CBC In Town and Out interview The diagram interfaces geometry and anatomy, humanity and nature, architecture and cosmos, microcosm and macrocosm. It transcends the... more
A cross-cultural reading hosted by Carleton University and covered by CBC In Town and Out interview
The diagram interfaces geometry and anatomy, humanity and nature, architecture and cosmos, microcosm and macrocosm. It transcends the ancient architect Vitruvius’ text and intersects with ideas prevalent among Leonardo’s contemporaries, at the threshold of modernity. Interweaving many strands of history and encapsulating the diverse interests of Leonardo, his Vitruvian Man was Renaissance’s archetypal selfie.
Second in a series of Three Cinquecento Lectures delivered at Carleton University on the occasion of Leonardo Da Vinci's 500th Anniversary in 2019
1. "Leonardo Da Vinci: From Baghdad to Bayezid" (Oct 1)
2. “Vitruvian Man” as Renaissance Selfie (Dec 7)
3. "Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mirror Writing" (Dec 12)
The diagram interfaces geometry and anatomy, humanity and nature, architecture and cosmos, microcosm and macrocosm. It transcends the ancient architect Vitruvius’ text and intersects with ideas prevalent among Leonardo’s contemporaries, at the threshold of modernity. Interweaving many strands of history and encapsulating the diverse interests of Leonardo, his Vitruvian Man was Renaissance’s archetypal selfie.
Second in a series of Three Cinquecento Lectures delivered at Carleton University on the occasion of Leonardo Da Vinci's 500th Anniversary in 2019
1. "Leonardo Da Vinci: From Baghdad to Bayezid" (Oct 1)
2. “Vitruvian Man” as Renaissance Selfie (Dec 7)
3. "Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mirror Writing" (Dec 12)
Research Interests: Islamic Studies, Leonardo da Vinci, Averroes, Cosmology, Geometry, and 15 moreAnatomy, Diagrams, Cosmos, Human Anatomy, Diagram, Rennaisance art, Rennaisance Humanism, Vitruvius Renaissance, Selfie, Squaring the Circle, Selfies, Vitruvian Man, Human Body and Cosmos, Microcosm, and Human as microcosm
Islamic History Month of Canada Talk 2019. A Faculty of Public Affairs Research Series event. It was also part of the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam’s contribution to the Islamic History Month and it commemorated Leonardo da... more
Islamic History Month of Canada Talk 2019. A Faculty of Public Affairs Research Series event. It was also part of the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam’s contribution to the Islamic History Month and it commemorated Leonardo da Vinci's 500th anniversary. Additionally, the event had the support of the Centre in Modern Turkish Studies.
On the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci, we look back to an earlier renaissance that occurred in 9th century Baghdad and its impact on the Italian renaissance some 500 years later. This was the context in which Leonardo made a proposal to build a bridge for the Ottoman ruler Bayezid II. We end by examining Leonardo's references to Islam in his journey to the East, whether feigned or not.
First in a series of Three Cinquecento Lectures delivered at Carleton University on the occasion of Leonardo Da Vinci's 500th Anniversary in 2019
1. "Leonardo Da Vinci: From Baghdad to Bayezid" (Oct 1)
2. “Vitruvian Man” as Renaissance Selfie (Dec 7)
3. "Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mirror Writing" (Dec 12)
On the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci, we look back to an earlier renaissance that occurred in 9th century Baghdad and its impact on the Italian renaissance some 500 years later. This was the context in which Leonardo made a proposal to build a bridge for the Ottoman ruler Bayezid II. We end by examining Leonardo's references to Islam in his journey to the East, whether feigned or not.
First in a series of Three Cinquecento Lectures delivered at Carleton University on the occasion of Leonardo Da Vinci's 500th Anniversary in 2019
1. "Leonardo Da Vinci: From Baghdad to Bayezid" (Oct 1)
2. “Vitruvian Man” as Renaissance Selfie (Dec 7)
3. "Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mirror Writing" (Dec 12)
Research Interests: Architecture, Islamic Studies, Ottoman Empire, Bridge Engineering, Turkey And Europe, and 15 moreIslam, Ottoman-Turkish Westernization, Leonardo da Vinci, Averroes, History of Baghdad, LINK BETWEEN LEONARDO DA VINCI AND SPAIN, Bridge Aerodynamic, Bridges, Rennaisance art, Inter-civilization contact and conflict, Sultan Bayazid II, Rennaisance Humanism, Architecture and Arts, Bosporus, and Rennaisance Philosophy
From rags to being the richest woman in the world in 8th century Baghdad; the first woman to occupy the throne of Egypt after Cleopatra in 13th Century Cairo and her contemporary in Delhi who continues to be the subject of popular culture... more
From rags to being the richest woman in the world in 8th century Baghdad; the first woman to occupy the throne of Egypt after Cleopatra in 13th Century Cairo and her contemporary in Delhi who continues to be the subject of popular culture eight centuries later with Bollywood films and TV mini-series; the emigrant who becomes a queen in 16th century Morocco, and her contemporary: the girl from Ukraine that defied royal traditions in Istanbul.
In recent years countries such as Bangladesh, In recent years countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mauritius, Northern Cyprus, Pakistan, Senegal, Singapore and Turkey have continued the tradition with Muslim women as head of state or government.
In recent years countries such as Bangladesh, In recent years countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mauritius, Northern Cyprus, Pakistan, Senegal, Singapore and Turkey have continued the tradition with Muslim women as head of state or government.
Research Interests: Women's Studies, Women and Gender Issues in Islam, Mamluks (Islamic History), Abbasids (Islamic History), Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, and 15 moreUkraine, Indian Muslims, Ottomans, Sultanate India, Istanbul, Morroco, Abbasids, Queenship, Delhi Sultanate, Mamluks, Histiry of Morroco, Razia sultana, Hurrem Sultan, Relationships Between Ottomans and Europe, and Roxolana
Oct 27 Istanbul Architecture Heals Nov 12 New Delhi Plenary Address: Int Conf. Islamic Art & Architecture Nov 13 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Memorial Nov 14 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Mosque & Fort Nov 15... more
Oct 27 Istanbul Architecture Heals
Nov 12 New Delhi Plenary Address: Int Conf. Islamic Art & Architecture
Nov 13 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Memorial
Nov 14 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Mosque & Fort
Nov 15 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: College
Nov 16 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Bazaar
Nov 17 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Tomb
Nov 18 Mumbai Poetry: Drawing on a Drawing Room (site-specific event)
Nov 18 Nashik Building on Words; Words on Buildings
Nov 28 Goa Building on Words; Words on Buildings
Nov 30 Mumbai Building on Words; Words on Buildings
Dec 3 Mumbai Guftagu : an interactive improv on creativity
Dec 7 Lonavala Guftagu : an interactive improv on creativity
Dec 11 Mumbai Architecture Masterclass I & II
Dec 13 Kuala Lumpur Bookstand & The Book
Dec 17 Sydney Animal Rights: Calligraphy exhibition & Poetry
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 19 Auckland Reading from Memoir
Dec 22 Vancouver Poetry Event postponed
(see Father Taught Me To Teach in Memoir Section)
YOW IST AUH DEL BOM GOI KUL SYD AKL YVR YOW
Nov 12 New Delhi Plenary Address: Int Conf. Islamic Art & Architecture
Nov 13 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Memorial
Nov 14 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Mosque & Fort
Nov 15 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: College
Nov 16 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Bazaar
Nov 17 Mumbai 7 Wonders of Muslim Civilization: Tomb
Nov 18 Mumbai Poetry: Drawing on a Drawing Room (site-specific event)
Nov 18 Nashik Building on Words; Words on Buildings
Nov 28 Goa Building on Words; Words on Buildings
Nov 30 Mumbai Building on Words; Words on Buildings
Dec 3 Mumbai Guftagu : an interactive improv on creativity
Dec 7 Lonavala Guftagu : an interactive improv on creativity
Dec 11 Mumbai Architecture Masterclass I & II
Dec 13 Kuala Lumpur Bookstand & The Book
Dec 17 Sydney Animal Rights: Calligraphy exhibition & Poetry
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 19 Auckland Reading from Memoir
Dec 22 Vancouver Poetry Event postponed
(see Father Taught Me To Teach in Memoir Section)
YOW IST AUH DEL BOM GOI KUL SYD AKL YVR YOW
Research Interests: Improvisation, Architecture, Poetry, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Islamic Studies, and 15 moreConversation, Calligraphy, Animal Rights, PTG, Epigraphy, Lecturer, Delhi, Istanbul, Mumbai, Healing, Nashik, Kuala Lumpur, Literary Bestiary, Islamic Culture and Civilization, and Circumnavigation
Islamic History Month of Canada Talk 2018 On the occasion of Islamic History Month in Canada and Turkey’s OIC Summit Presidency, IRCICA (Research Center For Islamic History, Art and Culture) and the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in... more
Islamic History Month of Canada Talk 2018
On the occasion of Islamic History Month in Canada and Turkey’s OIC Summit Presidency, IRCICA (Research Center For Islamic History, Art and Culture) and the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Ottawa hosted IRCICA Calligraphy Exhibition and the talk at Centrepointe Theatres Chamber Room 101, Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa
On the occasion of Islamic History Month in Canada and Turkey’s OIC Summit Presidency, IRCICA (Research Center For Islamic History, Art and Culture) and the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Ottawa hosted IRCICA Calligraphy Exhibition and the talk at Centrepointe Theatres Chamber Room 101, Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa
Research Interests: Architecture, Turkey, Travelling artists, Calligraphy, Famous Architects and Their Works, and 15 moreIslamic Calligraphy, Istanbul, Mumbai, Mimar Sinan, Isfahan, Travelling, New York, Isfahan University of Art, Wandering, Toledo, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Architect Sinan, Epitaphs, Sinan, and BÜyÜkÇekmece
Reading the Reciprocal Relationship: Bookstand & Book, Cube & City, Journey & Joinery. All over the Muslim world, across centuries, the traditional wooden bookstand that is used to support the Quran, the rahel, continues to be made in... more
Reading the Reciprocal Relationship:
Bookstand & Book, Cube & City, Journey & Joinery.
All over the Muslim world, across centuries, the traditional wooden bookstand that is used to support the Quran, the rahel, continues to be made in the same manner.
Why is it made that way?
What does it mean?
Such constructions construe knowledge (the meaning is in the making): a persistence of pattern across centuries of craftsmanship that intersect material and memory, geography and geometry, cosmogenesis and cultures. The lecture will bridge the bookstand and the book as it journeys (rihlata) the global, the urban and the architectural to the reciprocal joinery (rahel) held in the hand while braiding the triple pursuits of the speaker: architecture, poetry and calligraphy. Along the journey we probe the movies of Stanley Kubrick and the poems of Wallace Stevens as we end with the Quran, while recalling origins and reminding of returns.
“H. Masud Taj delivered the lecture "The Bookstand and the Book" to an enraptured audience at the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam. This is an original topic based on his first hand research. He brings various skills and bodies of knowledge to this very erudite and entertaining presentation.”
- Professor Karim H. Karim, Director
Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam
"Professor H Masud Taj’s talk was a fascinating insight into how much a simple object like a bookstand can tell us about the people and culture that produced it. The arts of the book are integral parts of Islamic cultures, and so too is the bookstand that supports the book."
- David Taylor, Director
Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
London, England
Poster Courtesy: FAAA Talks, CEPT
Note: See “Rahla: Quran Stand as Islamic Architecture” (2014) in Interview section
Event held at:
• International Islamic University Malaysia 2018
• 6th International Conference of Islamic Art and Architecture Plenary session, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India 2018
• FAAA, CEPT University, Mumbai, India 2014 (poster)
• Courtyard, Environ Planners, Nashik, India 2014
• The Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, London, UK 2014
• Centre for the Study of Islam, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada 2014
• 26th Annual National Conference On Liberal Arts And The Education Of Artists, School of Visual Arts, NY, USA 2012
• 3rd International Conference of Islamic Art and Architecture Plenary session, National College of Art, Lahore, Pakistan 2008
Bookstand & Book, Cube & City, Journey & Joinery.
All over the Muslim world, across centuries, the traditional wooden bookstand that is used to support the Quran, the rahel, continues to be made in the same manner.
Why is it made that way?
What does it mean?
Such constructions construe knowledge (the meaning is in the making): a persistence of pattern across centuries of craftsmanship that intersect material and memory, geography and geometry, cosmogenesis and cultures. The lecture will bridge the bookstand and the book as it journeys (rihlata) the global, the urban and the architectural to the reciprocal joinery (rahel) held in the hand while braiding the triple pursuits of the speaker: architecture, poetry and calligraphy. Along the journey we probe the movies of Stanley Kubrick and the poems of Wallace Stevens as we end with the Quran, while recalling origins and reminding of returns.
“H. Masud Taj delivered the lecture "The Bookstand and the Book" to an enraptured audience at the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam. This is an original topic based on his first hand research. He brings various skills and bodies of knowledge to this very erudite and entertaining presentation.”
- Professor Karim H. Karim, Director
Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam
"Professor H Masud Taj’s talk was a fascinating insight into how much a simple object like a bookstand can tell us about the people and culture that produced it. The arts of the book are integral parts of Islamic cultures, and so too is the bookstand that supports the book."
- David Taylor, Director
Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
London, England
Poster Courtesy: FAAA Talks, CEPT
Note: See “Rahla: Quran Stand as Islamic Architecture” (2014) in Interview section
Event held at:
• International Islamic University Malaysia 2018
• 6th International Conference of Islamic Art and Architecture Plenary session, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India 2018
• FAAA, CEPT University, Mumbai, India 2014 (poster)
• Courtyard, Environ Planners, Nashik, India 2014
• The Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, London, UK 2014
• Centre for the Study of Islam, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada 2014
• 26th Annual National Conference On Liberal Arts And The Education Of Artists, School of Visual Arts, NY, USA 2012
• 3rd International Conference of Islamic Art and Architecture Plenary session, National College of Art, Lahore, Pakistan 2008
Research Interests: Architecture, Quranic Studies, Modern and contemporary crafts (Art), Traditional Crafts, Craft Knowledge, and 15 moreQuran, Crafts and Technology, Books, Design and Craft Studies, Wallace Stevens, IIUM, Woodworking, Ancient Woodworking, CEPT University, National College of Arts Lahore, User Journey Design, Craftmanship, Aga Khan University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Traditonal Construction Materials
Talk based on examples from Shaykh Mohammad Akram Nadwi's "al-Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars of Islam." An introduction to his "Al-Wafa Bi-Asma In-Nisa" 43 Volume Biographical work on Female Scholars and Transmitters of Hadith. Sheikh... more
Talk based on examples from Shaykh Mohammad Akram Nadwi's "al-Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars of Islam." An introduction to his "Al-Wafa Bi-Asma In-Nisa" 43 Volume Biographical work on Female Scholars and Transmitters of Hadith. Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi is the subject of the book: "If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Qur'an" (2015).
One of three talks delivered by the speaker on a single day of Ramadan (May 31, 2018).
One of three talks delivered by the speaker on a single day of Ramadan (May 31, 2018).
Research Interests: Islamic Law, Women's Studies, Islamic Education, Women, Parliamentary Studies, and 15 moreIslamic Studies, Hadith Studies, Islamic History, Islam, Women's Empowerment, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Canada, Women and gender in Muslim societies, The Hadith (Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies), Hadith, Muslim Society, The Hadith, Religion In Canada, Ulumul Hadith, and Hadith Sciences
In the 12th century CE, the daughter of an Andalusian merchant in China travels to Isfahan/Baghdad to study, then to Damascus/Cairo to teach; when she dies, her students continue her travels and her work as educators. In the 14th century,... more
In the 12th century CE, the daughter of an Andalusian merchant in China travels to Isfahan/Baghdad to study, then to Damascus/Cairo to teach; when she dies, her students continue her travels and her work as educators. In the 14th century, a scholar returns home with tales from his thirty years wandering between Morocco and China covering more distance than anyone ever had until then. In the 15th century, a Chinese admiral sails west on a mission of imperial power and peace, completing seven voyages on a fleet of the largest ships the world had ever seen. The journey quests of three Muslims ripple across centuries to reach our time.
Talk at Interact Club, Ottawa
Research Interests:
Islamic History Month Canada 2017. Join us in celebrating Islamic History Month at the Main library! This event, sponsored by the Ottawa Muslim Women Organization, will feature a talk, an exhibit of posters, and the screening of a short... more
Islamic History Month Canada 2017.
Join us in celebrating Islamic History Month at the Main library! This event, sponsored by the Ottawa Muslim Women Organization, will feature a talk, an exhibit of posters, and the screening of a short film produced by 1001 Inventions, a British-based, award-winning science and heritage organization. 1001 Inventions brings to light the scientific and cultural achievements of Muslim Civilization since the 7th century, and how they have contributed to the foundations of our modern world.
Join us in celebrating Islamic History Month at the Main library! This event, sponsored by the Ottawa Muslim Women Organization, will feature a talk, an exhibit of posters, and the screening of a short film produced by 1001 Inventions, a British-based, award-winning science and heritage organization. 1001 Inventions brings to light the scientific and cultural achievements of Muslim Civilization since the 7th century, and how they have contributed to the foundations of our modern world.
Research Interests: History, Islamic Law, Islamic Economics, Medieval History, Science Education, and 15 moreHistory of Science, Islamic Philosophy, Islamic Education, Islamic Studies, Islamic Psychology, Muslims in Europe, Islamic History, Islam, Islamic Banking, History of Islamic Civilization, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Spanish Golden Age, Inventions, Famous People, and Islamic inventions
In the company of Meena Alexander, Neal Hall and Phinder Dulal in 2016 (while meeting alumni of Rizvi College of Architecture).
Research Interests: Breath - Body - Voice, Canadian Literature, Oral Traditions, Animals and Animality, Animals in Literature, and 15 moreOrality, Orality (Literature), Poetry and Poetics, Animals, New York University, Representations of animals and human-animal relations in literature., New York, Literary Bestiary, Online Rhetoric and Narrative; Secondary Orality; Oral Verbal Arts, given in New york University, Orality and Writing, Literary Festivals, Indo-American issues, QR codes in literature, and Meena Alexander
"Even as the sun sets here and we break our fast, the sun is simultaneously rising on the other side of the world where someone else has just begun her fast. So, as the sun moves from east to west, it remains behind the curve of an... more
"Even as the sun sets here and we break our fast, the sun is simultaneously rising on the other side of the world where someone else has just begun her fast. So, as the sun moves from east to west, it remains behind the curve of an individual who wakes and consecrates his day by resolving to fast for the sake of a higher cause, for his Creator. It is a tidal wave of humans rising, resolving to fast, and fasting."
Address delivered @ Carleton University Faculty sponsored Iftar
Address delivered @ Carleton University Faculty sponsored Iftar
Research Interests: Education, Islamic Studies, Islam, Fasting, University, and 15 moreFeasting and Fasting, Ramadhan, Fasting in Islam, Muslims, Teacher Talk, Muslims in the West, Canada Day, Muslims In Educaiton, Religious Fasting, Contemporary Muslim society, Intermittent Fasting, İftar, Carleton University, Psychological Benefits of Fasting, and Ramzan
"The High Commission of India in Ottawa, in collaboration with Canada-India Centre for Excellence in Carleton University, Ottawa celebrated the Hindi Diwas today, 14th September, 2016. The event was attended by prominent academics,... more
"The High Commission of India in Ottawa, in collaboration with Canada-India Centre for Excellence in Carleton University, Ottawa celebrated the Hindi Diwas today, 14th September, 2016. The event was attended by prominent academics, visitors and students who are studying India, including Hindi and Sanskrit languages. On this occasion, a Hindi Poetry Reading Pakhwada was also organized where Prof. Jagmohan Humar, Prof. H. Masud Taj, Prof. Vinod Kumar, Prof. Rashmi Rekha Gupta and Mr. Kamesh Mishra recited their Hindi poems."
Cross Reference. See also:
"Dehriyon ka Dootavas" Hindi transcreation of H Masud Taj's "Embassy of Liminal Spaces" by Dr. Rajiv Trivedi (forthcoming in Video Section)
Cross Reference. See also:
"Dehriyon ka Dootavas" Hindi transcreation of H Masud Taj's "Embassy of Liminal Spaces" by Dr. Rajiv Trivedi (forthcoming in Video Section)
Research Interests:
Sinan was the Imperial Architect for half-a-century at the height of the Ottoman Empire. He designed more projects than any other architect in documented history and indeed is credited with the very skyline of Istanbul. In his biography,... more
Sinan was the Imperial Architect for half-a-century at the height of the
Ottoman Empire. He designed more projects than any other architect in
documented history and indeed is credited with the very skyline of
Istanbul. In his biography, Sinan mentions three mosques as milestones in
his long career, built when he was an apprentice, journeyman and master;
we will examine his projects at the cross section of faith and empire and
their teasing intersection with modern architecture. The illustrated talk
includes poetry, calligraphy and architecture and ends on a detective trail
on the footsteps of Sinan.
Sinan Tour 2015
1. 25 May: Ottawa
2. 27 May: Istanbul
3. 07 June: Nashik
4. 15 June: Pune
5. 10 July: Delhi
6. 20 July: Goa
7. 22 July: Ahmedabad
8. 24 July: Mumbai
Ottoman Empire. He designed more projects than any other architect in
documented history and indeed is credited with the very skyline of
Istanbul. In his biography, Sinan mentions three mosques as milestones in
his long career, built when he was an apprentice, journeyman and master;
we will examine his projects at the cross section of faith and empire and
their teasing intersection with modern architecture. The illustrated talk
includes poetry, calligraphy and architecture and ends on a detective trail
on the footsteps of Sinan.
Sinan Tour 2015
1. 25 May: Ottawa
2. 27 May: Istanbul
3. 07 June: Nashik
4. 15 June: Pune
5. 10 July: Delhi
6. 20 July: Goa
7. 22 July: Ahmedabad
8. 24 July: Mumbai
Research Interests: Ottoman History, Architecture, Ottoman Studies, Biography, Turkey, and 15 moreOttoman Empire, Architecture Design, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, History of architecture, History of Istanbul, Istanbul, Mimar Sinan, Edirne, Architecture and Public Spaces, Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi, Architect Sinan, Urban Studies: Constantinople/Istanbul, Mimar Sinan University Faculty Architecture, Süleymaniye Camii, and BÜyÜkÇekmece
The art of creativity is knowing, not how to succeed, but how to bounce back from failure. Hence, we need to practice failing. At the outset I told the audience: let us try to fail. Hence, invited to speak, I would not give a talk,... more
The art of creativity is knowing, not how to succeed, but how to bounce back from failure. Hence, we need to practice failing.
At the outset I told the audience: let us try to fail.
Hence, invited to speak, I would not give a talk, but only invite questions. The event’s duration was 45mts. If they ran out of questions, or I ran out of answers, then the event would end in failure.
But if the event failed then we would have succeeded (in our objective of failing). If, however, the improvised session went the whole distance as a lively event than we would have also succeed.
So how do we fail?
Can a Flop Show ever flop?
It was the nearest I came to Stand-up comedy (an admirable art). The venue being a Music Hall helped, as did the wonderful student-audience of Goa College of Architecture. The event was held (2015) thanks to Architect Dean D’Çruz
Cross Ref. Also see:
“Blackboard: Keywords workshop” in Calligraphy section
“Awards & Illusions” in Review section
“A Tale of a Tree” in Memoir section
At the outset I told the audience: let us try to fail.
Hence, invited to speak, I would not give a talk, but only invite questions. The event’s duration was 45mts. If they ran out of questions, or I ran out of answers, then the event would end in failure.
But if the event failed then we would have succeeded (in our objective of failing). If, however, the improvised session went the whole distance as a lively event than we would have also succeed.
So how do we fail?
Can a Flop Show ever flop?
It was the nearest I came to Stand-up comedy (an admirable art). The venue being a Music Hall helped, as did the wonderful student-audience of Goa College of Architecture. The event was held (2015) thanks to Architect Dean D’Çruz
Cross Ref. Also see:
“Blackboard: Keywords workshop” in Calligraphy section
“Awards & Illusions” in Review section
“A Tale of a Tree” in Memoir section
Research Interests: Creativity studies, Creativity--Knowledge Invention & Discovery, Creativity, Design Creativity, Resilience, and 15 moreDesign Methodology (Creativity), Stand Up Comedy, Innovation and Creativity (Business), Philosophy of Play, Failure Analysis, Creativity Research, Humour, Methods to Stimulate Creativity, Collective creativity, Student Success, Improvisational Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Positivity, Critical Success Factors, Play and Creativity in the Curriculum, and Failure Mechanism
An Architectural Quest
This 2-week Summer School Programme, offered by CEPT University, was conducted by artist and architect Ajit Rao of Lonavala.
This 2-week Summer School Programme, offered by CEPT University, was conducted by artist and architect Ajit Rao of Lonavala.
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Architecture, Learning and Teaching, Site-Specific Art, Green architecture, and 15 moreMind Over Matter, Sustainable Architecture, Materiality of Art, India, Workshop, Materiality, Material Culture & Materiality, Modern India and Maharashtra, The relation between mind and matter, Workshops, Maharashtra, Pune, CEPT University, Material Architecture, and Summer Project Work
Translating poems Translating poets Translating motion Translating time Translating space Translating form Translating death - September 7, 9-11.30AM Translation: Theory, Tradition and Discursive Mediation. University Grants Commission... more
Translating poems
Translating poets
Translating motion
Translating time
Translating space
Translating form
Translating death
- September 7, 9-11.30AM
Translation: Theory, Tradition and Discursive Mediation.
University Grants Commission program
Academic Staff College, Jamia Millia Islamia Central University, New Delhi
Cross References:
1. “…one problem of translation remains. And it has nothing to do with languages but more to do with the limitations of translating geometries. Just as qiyās is not merely a logically consistent argument with a conclusions deduced from two propositions but rather a hybrid form of thinking that combines logic and imagination to take a leap in analogical thinking, so also does a spiritual journey for a reader unconverted to or inexperienced in wayfaring requires cross-domain mapping. Poetry is more adept at such a manoeuver.”
See “Kernel of the Kernel” in Book Reviews
2, Lebbeus Woods is well known among architecture aficionados for his visionary drawings (Lebbeus, fittingly, means “a man of heart; praising; confessing”). But unlike mainstream architectural drawings, which are a means to a realized building, his delineations have no intention of undergoing such translations. Paradoxically that has only increased their consumability because their audiences are left with the enigma of translation; of imagining them as built spaces and as spaces of inhabitation. (The book is aptly dedicated to Heinz von Foerster the cybernetician of self-referential systems, whose motto was: The world, as we perceive it, is our own invention).
See "The Enigma of Translation" in Book Reviews.
Translating poets
Translating motion
Translating time
Translating space
Translating form
Translating death
- September 7, 9-11.30AM
Translation: Theory, Tradition and Discursive Mediation.
University Grants Commission program
Academic Staff College, Jamia Millia Islamia Central University, New Delhi
Cross References:
1. “…one problem of translation remains. And it has nothing to do with languages but more to do with the limitations of translating geometries. Just as qiyās is not merely a logically consistent argument with a conclusions deduced from two propositions but rather a hybrid form of thinking that combines logic and imagination to take a leap in analogical thinking, so also does a spiritual journey for a reader unconverted to or inexperienced in wayfaring requires cross-domain mapping. Poetry is more adept at such a manoeuver.”
See “Kernel of the Kernel” in Book Reviews
2, Lebbeus Woods is well known among architecture aficionados for his visionary drawings (Lebbeus, fittingly, means “a man of heart; praising; confessing”). But unlike mainstream architectural drawings, which are a means to a realized building, his delineations have no intention of undergoing such translations. Paradoxically that has only increased their consumability because their audiences are left with the enigma of translation; of imagining them as built spaces and as spaces of inhabitation. (The book is aptly dedicated to Heinz von Foerster the cybernetician of self-referential systems, whose motto was: The world, as we perceive it, is our own invention).
See "The Enigma of Translation" in Book Reviews.
Research Interests: Translation Studies, Architecture, Death, Interdisciplinarity, Poetry, and 15 moreMediation, Teaching Translation, Philosophy of Time, Arts-sciences interdisciplinarity, Space and Time (Philosophy), Interdisciplinary Studies, Translation, Structure from Motion, Analogical Reasoning, My academic interests mainly lie within the domains of interlanguage pragmatics, intercultural communication, cross-cultural (im)politeness research and intercultural interactional competence., Discursive Analysis, Qiyas, Dead Poets Society, Cross Domain Mapping, and Interdisiplinarity in Islamic Prespective
The talk featured a cross section of the speaker’s productions that occurred one summer when he spent seventy days in thirteen cities across Turkey, Saudi Arabia Germany and India.
Research Interests: Architecture, Photography, Poetry, Video Art, Saudi Arabia, and 8 moreTurkey, Calligraphy, India, Germany, Travel, Jellyfish, Umbrella, and Wayfaring
A memorable evening with Stanza Poets: Bill Jenkinson, Ben Parker, Jalina Mhyana, Judi Sutherland, Kate Abolins, Stella Shakerchi, Hanne Busck-Nielsen and Albeniz Clayton
Research Interests: Poetry, Orality-Literacy Studies, Modernist poetry, Canadian Literature, Oral Traditions, and 15 moreModern Poetry, Oral Tradition, Contemporary Poetry, Orality, Indian Writing in English, Oral literature, Oxford, indian Poetry in English, Poets, University of Oxford, Indian English Poetry, Modern Indian English Poetry, Oxford university, Stanza, and Contemporary Indian English Poetry
Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism 2011
Research Interests:
Poster courtesy: Marywood University Cross Reference. See also "Reading @ Tree" in Video Section to listen to Dragonfly "Dragon Fly . Medina Highway . Forest . Yellow . Magritte’s Dreams . The Clock Tower, the Skyscraper and the Moon."... more
Poster courtesy: Marywood University
Cross Reference. See also
"Reading @ Tree" in Video Section to listen to Dragonfly
"Dragon Fly . Medina Highway . Forest . Yellow . Magritte’s Dreams . The Clock Tower, the Skyscraper and the Moon." in Poetry Section
Cross Reference. See also
"Reading @ Tree" in Video Section to listen to Dragonfly
"Dragon Fly . Medina Highway . Forest . Yellow . Magritte’s Dreams . The Clock Tower, the Skyscraper and the Moon." in Poetry Section
Research Interests:
Cube & Chiasm: Spirituality & Spatiality of Muhammad ﷺ Given the Kaaba as the sole altar that channelizes the horizontal qiblas from all mosques of the world converging onto the vertical axis connecting heaven and earth and given the... more
Cube & Chiasm: Spirituality & Spatiality of Muhammad ﷺ
Given the Kaaba as the sole altar that channelizes the horizontal qiblas from all mosques of the world converging onto the vertical axis connecting heaven and earth and given the Prophet ﷺ as one on whom Divine Words (Quran) descended and who experienced the Night of Ascension, then both the Kaaba and the Prophet ﷺ interface the horizontality of mundane existence with the verticality of the divine axis. Furthermore given that the Prophet ﷺ continues to be a recipient of salutations from the horizontal plane of human existence as well as the vertical axis of Divine blessings (Quran 33:56) locating him perpetually at the interface of horizontal and vertical blessings, two artworks by the author (calligraphy & woodworking) probe the transitional interlock.
Talk delivered at Art University of Isfahan, Iran
4th International Conference of Islamic Art & Architecture, May 19-21, 2010
Given the Kaaba as the sole altar that channelizes the horizontal qiblas from all mosques of the world converging onto the vertical axis connecting heaven and earth and given the Prophet ﷺ as one on whom Divine Words (Quran) descended and who experienced the Night of Ascension, then both the Kaaba and the Prophet ﷺ interface the horizontality of mundane existence with the verticality of the divine axis. Furthermore given that the Prophet ﷺ continues to be a recipient of salutations from the horizontal plane of human existence as well as the vertical axis of Divine blessings (Quran 33:56) locating him perpetually at the interface of horizontal and vertical blessings, two artworks by the author (calligraphy & woodworking) probe the transitional interlock.
Talk delivered at Art University of Isfahan, Iran
4th International Conference of Islamic Art & Architecture, May 19-21, 2010
Research Interests: Spatial Analysis, Spiritual Leadership, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Spatiality, Divine Revelation, and 15 moreAltars, Spatiality of the body and movement, Muhammad, Isfahan, Muhammadiyah Studies, Spatiality of Religion, Kaaba, Muhammadiyah, Muhammad (Pbuh), Qiblah, Embodied Spatiality, Interdisciplinary spatiality, Direction of Qibla, Isra and Miraj, and Qibla
Carleton University announcement of the event held at the National Gallery of Canada (along with audience reaction to the event). Photo: Courtesy John W. MacDonald Cross Ref. See also: “Standing Room Only” in the Reviews section “Taj &... more
Carleton University announcement of the event held at the National Gallery of Canada (along with audience reaction to the event).
Photo: Courtesy John W. MacDonald
Cross Ref. See also:
“Standing Room Only” in the Reviews section
“Taj & Erickson in Conversation” in the Reviews section
“Quote: Erickson” in the Calligraphy section
Photo: Courtesy John W. MacDonald
Cross Ref. See also:
“Standing Room Only” in the Reviews section
“Taj & Erickson in Conversation” in the Reviews section
“Quote: Erickson” in the Calligraphy section
Research Interests: Architecture, Canadian art, In-depth Interviews, Conversational Discourse, Conversation, and 15 moreCanadian Culture & Identity, Interviewing, Canada, Vancouver, Interviews, Famous Architects and Their Works, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Recent Work of Famous Architects and Their Design Concepts, Architects, Canadian Architecture, Architecture and Public Spaces, Architects and Architectural Practice, Need for Architects, and Canadian Modern Architecture
Slide Presentation: Pit @ School of Architecture, Carleton University, Ottawa. Poetry & Calligraphy: Bat Cockroach Turtle Vulture Thing Humsaya (Urdu: neighbour) Architecture: War Memorial XXX (School of Architecture was,... more
Slide Presentation: Pit @ School of Architecture, Carleton University, Ottawa.
Poetry & Calligraphy:
Bat
Cockroach
Turtle
Vulture
Thing
Humsaya (Urdu: neighbour)
Architecture:
War Memorial XXX
(School of Architecture was, counterintuitively, later renamed Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism).
Poetry & Calligraphy:
Bat
Cockroach
Turtle
Vulture
Thing
Humsaya (Urdu: neighbour)
Architecture:
War Memorial XXX
(School of Architecture was, counterintuitively, later renamed Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism).
Research Interests: Architecture, Death & Dying (Thanatology), Intuition, Architecture Design, Thing Theory, and 15 moreBats (Mammalogy), Contemporary Poetry, Phenomenology Of Intuition, Calligraphy, Philosophical or "Intellectual" Intuition, Philosophy of Death, Turtles, Memorials, War Memorials, Monuments & Memorials, Architecture and Public Spaces, Material Architecture, Vultures, Memorials and Architecture, and Creativity and intuition
Elements like: Doors, Windows, Balconies along with ways of seeing like Cat, Yellow, Bat etc
Poetry recitation at the office Caruso St John Architects in London UK.
https://carusostjohn.com/
Poetry recitation at the office Caruso St John Architects in London UK.
https://carusostjohn.com/
Research Interests:
2004 STLHE Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 24thAnnual Conference 16 – 19 JUNE, 2004 | OTTAWA, ON Hosted by: University of Ottawa Theme: Experiencing the Richness of the University Mosaic: from Diversity to... more
2004 STLHE Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 24thAnnual Conference
16 – 19 JUNE, 2004 | OTTAWA, ON
Hosted by: University of Ottawa
Theme: Experiencing the Richness of the University Mosaic: from Diversity to Individuality
“Thank you for your interest in the upcoming STLHE conference in Ottawa. We received close to 190 excellent proposals from across Canada and from six different countries (Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Brazil) .It is a pleasure to inform you that your proposal entitled “Feeling Watching Thinking Doing: Everything you always wanted to know about Picasso but were too afraid to ask Mona Lisa " has been accepted…"
- Organizers: STLHE Annual Conference
(The inscribed poem, recited during the talk, is “Yellow” anthologised in “Reasons for Belonging: Fourteen contemporary Indian poets” Penguin Books 2002 p.53)
Cross Ref. See also:
“Dragon Fly . Medina Highway . Forest . Yellow . Magritte’s Dreams . The Clock Tower, the Skyscraper and the Moon” in the Poetry Section
“Recollections of an Unconventional Pedagogy” in the Articles section..
16 – 19 JUNE, 2004 | OTTAWA, ON
Hosted by: University of Ottawa
Theme: Experiencing the Richness of the University Mosaic: from Diversity to Individuality
“Thank you for your interest in the upcoming STLHE conference in Ottawa. We received close to 190 excellent proposals from across Canada and from six different countries (Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Brazil) .It is a pleasure to inform you that your proposal entitled “Feeling Watching Thinking Doing: Everything you always wanted to know about Picasso but were too afraid to ask Mona Lisa " has been accepted…"
- Organizers: STLHE Annual Conference
(The inscribed poem, recited during the talk, is “Yellow” anthologised in “Reasons for Belonging: Fourteen contemporary Indian poets” Penguin Books 2002 p.53)
Cross Ref. See also:
“Dragon Fly . Medina Highway . Forest . Yellow . Magritte’s Dreams . The Clock Tower, the Skyscraper and the Moon” in the Poetry Section
“Recollections of an Unconventional Pedagogy” in the Articles section..
Research Interests: Teaching Thinking Skills, Experiential Learning (Active Learning), Design thinking, Creative thinking, Visual Thinking, and 15 moreAffect, Emotion and Feeling, Experiential Learning, Pablo Picasso, Integrating Design and Strategic Thinking, Imagination and Creativity in Design Thinking, Feelings, Feeling, Kolb learning cycle, Kolb Learning Styles, Design Thinking Practice, Art Teaching, Kolbs Learning Cycle, Design Doing, Hidden Secrets in Mona Lisa, and The Mona Lisa
Invited by Auburn University to give a public lecture soon after 911, the talk traced the history of the word “equality” from the time of slave-owner Jefferson drafting the Declaration of Independence to Lincoln’s Gettysburg address,... more
Invited by Auburn University to give a public lecture soon after 911, the talk traced the history of the word “equality” from the time of slave-owner Jefferson drafting the Declaration of Independence to Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" arguing for the equality of all Americans irrespective of colour.
The Quran advocates equality; only piety distinguishes one from the other: "O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware" [Quran 49:13].
Hence, the talk argued that after 911, in a unipolar world with the United States' defence spending almost half of global military expenditures,, “equality” ought to encompass Americans and non-Americans; i.e. the equality of all humankind. In other words, the mission of The U.S. Department of State that “leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity” ought to take into account the interests of Non-Americans, their safety and economic prosperity. If not, Foreign Affairs decisions flowing from 911 were in the danger of succumbing to hubris.
Note: The text in the the poster, other than Title & Abstract, was provided by Auburn University, Alabama.
In retrospect, the talk, sponsored by the Breeden Eminent Scholar Fund and the College of Liberal Arts, is dedicated to the memory of my host Dr. David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Daniel Breeden Eminent Scholar at Auburn University February 22, 1930 – March 15, 2021. I will always treasure his endorsement.
The Quran advocates equality; only piety distinguishes one from the other: "O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware" [Quran 49:13].
Hence, the talk argued that after 911, in a unipolar world with the United States' defence spending almost half of global military expenditures,, “equality” ought to encompass Americans and non-Americans; i.e. the equality of all humankind. In other words, the mission of The U.S. Department of State that “leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity” ought to take into account the interests of Non-Americans, their safety and economic prosperity. If not, Foreign Affairs decisions flowing from 911 were in the danger of succumbing to hubris.
Note: The text in the the poster, other than Title & Abstract, was provided by Auburn University, Alabama.
In retrospect, the talk, sponsored by the Breeden Eminent Scholar Fund and the College of Liberal Arts, is dedicated to the memory of my host Dr. David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Daniel Breeden Eminent Scholar at Auburn University February 22, 1930 – March 15, 2021. I will always treasure his endorsement.
Research Interests: American Studies, Equality Studies, Abraham Lincoln, Nationalism, Thomas Jefferson, and 15 moreEquality and Diversity, Quran, U.S. Foreign Policy, Nationalism & Conflict, Declaration of Independence, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Muslims, Equality and Non Discrimination, Unipolarity, Ground Zero, US Department of State, Muslim philosophy and thought, Gettysburg Address, Auburn University, and David Edwin Harrel Jr
Talk delivered at the Hall of Philosophy, Chautauqua Institution, New York July 27, 2000 (on the occasion of parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary). Cross Reference. See also: “The Kaaba: Guarding the Centre, Generating the Circumference... more
Talk delivered at the Hall of Philosophy, Chautauqua Institution, New York July 27, 2000 (on the occasion of parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary).
Cross Reference. See also:
“The Kaaba: Guarding the Centre, Generating the Circumference (Folia, Literary Supplment, Hindu, India: Sept 23, 2001) in the Articles Section
“Mosque: Cube & Circle” (Faith & Form: The Interfaith Journal On Religion, Art And Architecture, 2015) ) in the Articles Section
“Three Shores of the Cube” (Building 22, 2015) in the Articles Section
Cross Reference. See also:
“The Kaaba: Guarding the Centre, Generating the Circumference (Folia, Literary Supplment, Hindu, India: Sept 23, 2001) in the Articles Section
“Mosque: Cube & Circle” (Faith & Form: The Interfaith Journal On Religion, Art And Architecture, 2015) ) in the Articles Section
“Three Shores of the Cube” (Building 22, 2015) in the Articles Section
Research Interests: Place and Identity, Space and Place, The Body, Place (Architecture), Islamic Art, and 15 moreIslamic Studies, Sense of Place, Phenomenology of the body, Phenomenology of the Body (Philosophy), Phenomenology of Space and Place, Mosque Architecture, Place, Sacred Geometry, Muslims, Mosques, Chautauqua+, Mosque, Space Time Cube, Chautauqua Presentations, and Chautauqua
Hart House Reading 1999 along with Sophia Kaszuba and Bruce Meyer. Hart House was initiated and financed by Vincent Massey, an alumnus and benefactor of Toronto university, and was named in honour of his grandfather, Hart Massey.... more
Hart House Reading 1999 along with Sophia Kaszuba and Bruce Meyer.
Hart House was initiated and financed by Vincent Massey, an alumnus and benefactor of Toronto university, and was named in honour of his grandfather, Hart Massey.
Cross Reference. See also:
"Hart House Reading" Review by Independent Weekly in Review section
Hart House was initiated and financed by Vincent Massey, an alumnus and benefactor of Toronto university, and was named in honour of his grandfather, Hart Massey.
Cross Reference. See also:
"Hart House Reading" Review by Independent Weekly in Review section
Research Interests: Poetry, Orality-Literacy Studies, Modernist poetry, Modern Poetry, Animals and Animality, and 15 moreContemporary Poetry, Philosophy Of Animals, Animals in Literature, Animals in Culture, Orality, Animals in Philosophy, Calligraphy, Language Poetry, Animals and non-humans, Oral literature, Toronto, Animals, Recitation, Oral Communication Skills, and University of Toronto
When Adil Jussawala invited me to contribute to his mini-series “By the Way” (see Articles section, 1993), I wrote, “After a decade of practicing one and two decades of practicing another, the question remained: Did architecture and... more
When Adil Jussawala invited me to contribute to his mini-series “By the Way” (see Articles section, 1993), I wrote, “After a decade of practicing one and two decades of practicing another, the question remained: Did architecture and poetry occupy different domains of the mind; or did one mask the other?”
Two years later when the Indian Navy asked me to make a presentation of my architectural projects, that short article evolved into a 200 slides on 3 screens slide-talk accompanied by poetry recitation. That presentation led to being invited to design the War Memorial for the Indian Navy on the shores of the Arabian Sea (currently on display in the Library of the Canada-India Centre of Excellence CICE, Ottawa).
The slide talk was a retrospective of stairways (movements embodied) from my architectural projects (built & unbuilt) and recitation of my poems with analogous movement patterns.
Event held at:
• Institut für Hochbau für Architekten, Graz, Austria, May 1998
• L.S.R. School of Architecture, Mumbai, February 1998
• AJ Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre, JMI New Delhi October 1997
• EyeRhymes International Conference, Univ. of Alberta, Canada (invitation), June 1997
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), IDC, Mumbai March 1997
• The Poetry Society, Hyderabad July 1996
• College of Architecture, Hassan, June 1996
• School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi, April 1996
• IIndian Institute of Technology (IIT), IDC, Bombay, March 1996
• The Indian Navy Seminar, Bombay, September 1995
Cross Reference. See also:
"By The Way" in Articles Section
Two years later when the Indian Navy asked me to make a presentation of my architectural projects, that short article evolved into a 200 slides on 3 screens slide-talk accompanied by poetry recitation. That presentation led to being invited to design the War Memorial for the Indian Navy on the shores of the Arabian Sea (currently on display in the Library of the Canada-India Centre of Excellence CICE, Ottawa).
The slide talk was a retrospective of stairways (movements embodied) from my architectural projects (built & unbuilt) and recitation of my poems with analogous movement patterns.
Event held at:
• Institut für Hochbau für Architekten, Graz, Austria, May 1998
• L.S.R. School of Architecture, Mumbai, February 1998
• AJ Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre, JMI New Delhi October 1997
• EyeRhymes International Conference, Univ. of Alberta, Canada (invitation), June 1997
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), IDC, Mumbai March 1997
• The Poetry Society, Hyderabad July 1996
• College of Architecture, Hassan, June 1996
• School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi, April 1996
• IIndian Institute of Technology (IIT), IDC, Bombay, March 1996
• The Indian Navy Seminar, Bombay, September 1995
Cross Reference. See also:
"By The Way" in Articles Section
Research Interests: Architecture, Interdisciplinarity, Poetry, Kinesthetics, Kinesthetic Empathy, and 15 moreHomology, IIT Bombay, Stairs, Subconciousness, Oval staircase, Subconscious, Spanish stairs, Spiral, Indian Navy, Staircases), Staircase, kINESTHETIC ARCHITECTURE, Stairway, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Stairway Design
Reading at Winston Kingdom was during the UK & Europe Tour in the Summer of 1998 About Kain The Poet: “Kain emerged on the New York scene in the late 60s. He is widely cited as a primary influence on the development of modern spoken... more
Reading at Winston Kingdom was during the UK & Europe Tour in the Summer of 1998
About Kain The Poet:
“Kain emerged on the New York scene in the late 60s. He is widely cited as a primary influence on the development of modern spoken word culture, which later spawned rap. In 1970 he released the seminal 'Blue Guerilla' album, which set the benchmark for things to come. Inspired recording artists have heavily sampled his work, most notably The Prodigy on their 90s classic 'Voodoo People'. Currently working in various musical formations, he continues to tell it like it is, with no apologies.” Rub Recordings. See also: http://www.kainthepoet.com/
About Donald Gardner
"Donald Gardner was born in London, but has largely lived outside the UK, moving to the Netherlands in 1979. He began writing poetry in the early 1960s, when he was living in Bologna as a Prix de Rome historian. Later he spent some years in New York where he was a lecturer in English Literature at Pace College. His first live reading was at the Poetry Project on Saint Marks Place and in 1967, he took the stage at the East Village Theatre, in the company of Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and others. On his return to London, his first collection, Peace Feelers, was published in 1969 by Café Books. A second collection followed by 1974, For the Flames (Fulcrum). Recent books are The Wolf Inside (Hearing Eye, 2014) and Early Morning (Grey Suit Editions 2017). Gardner has always been a literary translator, as well as poet, initially of Latin American writers: The Sun Stone by Octavio Paz and Three Sad Tigers by Guillermo Cabrera Infante. He has also translated many Dutch and Flemish poets and in 2015 he won the Vondel Prize for his translations of Remco Campert (Shoestring Press). Now in his eighties, he continues to write poetry and to translate other poets and is an acclaimed reader of his own work." https://greysuiteditions.co.uk/2021/11/29/new-and-selected-poems-1966-2020-by-donald-gardner/
About Winston Kingdom
“Located in the heart of the Red Light District a stones throw from the Dam square, the Winston Kingdom is a small underground club with a long history. Started off as the hotel bar of the famous art hotel Winston and hang¬out to Amsterdams artists, musicians, poets and assorted drinkers in the mid¬eighties, the bar has grown into a popular nightclub and live music venue. Some of the artists that previously performed at the Winston Kingdom include: The Gaslight Anthem, Hoffmaestro, Sticky Fingers, State Champs, Duff McKagan with Walking Papers, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, Molotov, The Flatliners, Off With Their Heads, Tigers Jaw, Strike Anywhere, Citizen, Blackberry Smoke, Acid Mothers Temple, Pianos Become The Teeth, Radio Moscow, My Baby, Kesha, Jaya the Cat, Touche Amore, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis.”
- History of Past Events (Winston: Party Hard Sleep Easy in Amsterdam)
About Kain The Poet:
“Kain emerged on the New York scene in the late 60s. He is widely cited as a primary influence on the development of modern spoken word culture, which later spawned rap. In 1970 he released the seminal 'Blue Guerilla' album, which set the benchmark for things to come. Inspired recording artists have heavily sampled his work, most notably The Prodigy on their 90s classic 'Voodoo People'. Currently working in various musical formations, he continues to tell it like it is, with no apologies.” Rub Recordings. See also: http://www.kainthepoet.com/
About Donald Gardner
"Donald Gardner was born in London, but has largely lived outside the UK, moving to the Netherlands in 1979. He began writing poetry in the early 1960s, when he was living in Bologna as a Prix de Rome historian. Later he spent some years in New York where he was a lecturer in English Literature at Pace College. His first live reading was at the Poetry Project on Saint Marks Place and in 1967, he took the stage at the East Village Theatre, in the company of Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and others. On his return to London, his first collection, Peace Feelers, was published in 1969 by Café Books. A second collection followed by 1974, For the Flames (Fulcrum). Recent books are The Wolf Inside (Hearing Eye, 2014) and Early Morning (Grey Suit Editions 2017). Gardner has always been a literary translator, as well as poet, initially of Latin American writers: The Sun Stone by Octavio Paz and Three Sad Tigers by Guillermo Cabrera Infante. He has also translated many Dutch and Flemish poets and in 2015 he won the Vondel Prize for his translations of Remco Campert (Shoestring Press). Now in his eighties, he continues to write poetry and to translate other poets and is an acclaimed reader of his own work." https://greysuiteditions.co.uk/2021/11/29/new-and-selected-poems-1966-2020-by-donald-gardner/
About Winston Kingdom
“Located in the heart of the Red Light District a stones throw from the Dam square, the Winston Kingdom is a small underground club with a long history. Started off as the hotel bar of the famous art hotel Winston and hang¬out to Amsterdams artists, musicians, poets and assorted drinkers in the mid¬eighties, the bar has grown into a popular nightclub and live music venue. Some of the artists that previously performed at the Winston Kingdom include: The Gaslight Anthem, Hoffmaestro, Sticky Fingers, State Champs, Duff McKagan with Walking Papers, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, Molotov, The Flatliners, Off With Their Heads, Tigers Jaw, Strike Anywhere, Citizen, Blackberry Smoke, Acid Mothers Temple, Pianos Become The Teeth, Radio Moscow, My Baby, Kesha, Jaya the Cat, Touche Amore, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis.”
- History of Past Events (Winston: Party Hard Sleep Easy in Amsterdam)
Research Interests:
Event at UT Delft during the spring/summer '98 tour. The Faculty building at UT Delft in which the talk was delivered (1st floor hall- North Wing) burnt down eight years later due to a short circuit on the 9th floor. The Faculty... more
Event at UT Delft during the spring/summer '98 tour.
The Faculty building at UT Delft in which the talk was delivered (1st floor hall- North Wing) burnt down eight years later due to a short circuit on the 9th floor. The Faculty shifted to another building in 2006.
The Faculty building at UT Delft in which the talk was delivered (1st floor hall- North Wing) burnt down eight years later due to a short circuit on the 9th floor. The Faculty shifted to another building in 2006.
Research Interests:
Babushka on Notting Hill (clubbing with regular DJs & bar ‘specialising in Russian Vodkas’) was a lively place for slam showdowns in London UK in the 90’s. It subsequently reverted to its original name of Tavistock Arms and was lamented... more
Babushka on Notting Hill (clubbing with regular DJs & bar ‘specialising in Russian Vodkas’) was a lively place for slam showdowns in London UK in the 90’s. It subsequently reverted to its original name of Tavistock Arms and was lamented by red in 2011 as "demolished and is currently a pile of rubble with a pair of mechanical diggers on site. I've no idea what it will be if/when rebuilt." It reincarnated as Crescent House.
Research Interests: Modernist poetry, Rebranding, Hip-Hop/Rap, Contemporary Poetry, Russian culture, and 15 morePoetry and Poetics, Russia, London, Urdu Poetry, Club Culture, DJ culture, SLAM, Slam Poetry, Repurpose, Clubbing, Poetry Slam, Indian English Poetry, Vodka, Tavistock, and Consumer Perception Towards Rebranding
Event during the spring/summer '98 tour. Reading with Ver Poets (arguably among the oldest running poetry groups in England) during the UK/Europe Poetry Tour in the spring/summer of '98. Among the poems recited that evening was... more
Event during the spring/summer '98 tour.
Reading with Ver Poets (arguably among the oldest running poetry groups in England) during the UK/Europe Poetry Tour in the spring/summer of '98. Among the poems recited that evening was “Daedalus” (and during the Q&A “Thing.”)
As an architect in Oman, bereft of English poets, I became an international member of Ver poets (from 1984-1988) receiving their mailers by post from England. Yet in all those four years, amusingly, I never sent any poem to their several competitions or anthologies as that would require the poem to be written down and I was then a diehard oral poet who eschewed writing. It did result in a fascinating correspondence with their founder May Badman culminating in finally meeting her at her house in St Albans before the reading.
“Ver Poets was founded in 1966 by May Badman. ‘Ver’ refers to the river flowing through St Albans, where the group meets. The group has a local, national and international membership.
May Badman organised the meetings, competitions and published many anthologies until 2004. During that time, membership grew steadily to include poets from over the whole country and abroad. May maintained her links with the society as Patron, and continued to publish anthologies of her poetry until her death in 2011.
Current President, John Mole, is a well-known poet. John is currently Poet in Residence for the City of London, critic and jazz clarinettist.”
- verpoets.co.uk
Cross Ref. See also:
“Daedalus (Calligraphy)” in Poetry section.
Reading with Ver Poets (arguably among the oldest running poetry groups in England) during the UK/Europe Poetry Tour in the spring/summer of '98. Among the poems recited that evening was “Daedalus” (and during the Q&A “Thing.”)
As an architect in Oman, bereft of English poets, I became an international member of Ver poets (from 1984-1988) receiving their mailers by post from England. Yet in all those four years, amusingly, I never sent any poem to their several competitions or anthologies as that would require the poem to be written down and I was then a diehard oral poet who eschewed writing. It did result in a fascinating correspondence with their founder May Badman culminating in finally meeting her at her house in St Albans before the reading.
“Ver Poets was founded in 1966 by May Badman. ‘Ver’ refers to the river flowing through St Albans, where the group meets. The group has a local, national and international membership.
May Badman organised the meetings, competitions and published many anthologies until 2004. During that time, membership grew steadily to include poets from over the whole country and abroad. May maintained her links with the society as Patron, and continued to publish anthologies of her poetry until her death in 2011.
Current President, John Mole, is a well-known poet. John is currently Poet in Residence for the City of London, critic and jazz clarinettist.”
- verpoets.co.uk
Cross Ref. See also:
“Daedalus (Calligraphy)” in Poetry section.
Research Interests: Poetry, Oral Traditions, Rivers, Oral Tradition, Contemporary Poetry, and 15 moreAural and Visual Cultures, Language Poetry, Reading groups, Oman, Urdu Poetry, Sultanate of Oman, St Albans literary production, Founder, Indian English Poetry, 1998, St Albans, Postal Service In Literature, Roman St. Albans, Poetry Readings, and Daedalus and Icarus
COLOURED ANIMALS & PUNCTUATED FLOWERS
Research Interests: Poetry, Modern Poetry, Contemporary Poetry, Punctuation, Indian Writing in English, especially poetry, and 15 moreColor, Animals, indian Poetry in English, Colour, Flowers, Metaphysical poetry, Posters, Architecture and Colour psychology, Plants and flowers in poetry, Indian English Poetry, Modern Indian English Poetry, Flowers and Spirituality, Post Independence / Modern Indian Poetry In English, Contemporary Indian English Poetry, and Modern Indian Poetry in English
Essays, stories, calligraphy & poetry
Rizvi archfest
Rizvi archfest
Research Interests:
PROSE & POEMS
Reading followed by a discussion with the faculty.
Reading followed by a discussion with the faculty.
Research Interests: Creative Writing, Poetry, Modern Poetry, Indian English Literature, Contemporary Poetry, and 15 morePoetry and Poetics, Indian Writing in English, Indian Muslims, The Critical Reflective Essay, Essays, Essay, indian Poetry in English, Essay Writing, Indian Writings in English, Indian English Poetry, Modern Indian English Poetry, Critical essays on art, literature and social, Critical Essay, Modern Indian Poetry in English, and Jamia Millia Islamia
“Every university in Gaza has been turned to rubble. As our students have taught us, we cannot in good conscience permit our campus to return to normal. As education workers, we refuse to be complicit in scholasticide and genocide.” -... more
“Every university in Gaza has been turned to rubble. As our students have taught us, we cannot in good conscience permit our campus to return to normal. As education workers, we refuse to be complicit in scholasticide and genocide.”
- Joint Statement
The first Faculty Solidarity Encampment in USA
New School NY
(named after Refaat Alareer)
- Joint Statement
The first Faculty Solidarity Encampment in USA
New School NY
(named after Refaat Alareer)
Research Interests: Genocide Studies, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Calligraphy, Solidarity, and 15 moreGenocide, Faculty, University, Palestine Gaza, New York, Gaza Strip, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Faculty Diversity, Solidarity movements, Israel-Palestine Conflict, Israeli Palestine Conflict, Intergenerational Solidarity, Colonial Genocide, Academic/faculty Development, and Refaat Alareer
A man asked Muhammad (pbuh), “Who deserves my best behaviour?” Muhammad (pbuh) replied, “Your mother.” The man asked, “Then whom?” Muhammad (pbuh) replied, “Then your mother.” The man asked, “Then whom?” Muhammad (pbuh) replied,... more
A man asked Muhammad (pbuh),
“Who deserves my best behaviour?”
Muhammad (pbuh) replied,
“Your mother.”
The man asked, “Then whom?”
Muhammad (pbuh) replied,
“Then your mother.”
The man asked, “Then whom?”
Muhammad (pbuh) replied,
“Then your mother.”
The man asked, “Then whom?”
Muhammad (pbuh) replied,
“Then your father.”
(Reported by Abu Hurayrah RA)
“Who deserves my best behaviour?”
Muhammad (pbuh) replied,
“Your mother.”
The man asked, “Then whom?”
Muhammad (pbuh) replied,
“Then your mother.”
The man asked, “Then whom?”
Muhammad (pbuh) replied,
“Then your mother.”
The man asked, “Then whom?”
Muhammad (pbuh) replied,
“Then your father.”
(Reported by Abu Hurayrah RA)
Research Interests: Islamic Studies, Islam, Biographical Literature of the Prophet Muhammad (Sirah Rasul Allah), Calligraphy, Ideologies of Motherhood, and 15 moreIndian Muslims, Prophet Muhammad, Motherhood, Muslims, Muhammad, Mothers, Motherhood Studies, Biography of the Prophet Muhammad, Muhammadiyah Studies, Mother, Muhammadiyah, Muhammad (Pbuh), Life of Muhammad (Pbuh), Upbringing, and Contemporary Muslim society
What students do when they chant and seem to be very—others might say—extreme, they’re actually putting things on the agenda that people don’t want to hear. - Noëlle McAfee Professor & Chair, Department of Philosophy Emory University... more
What students do when they chant and seem to be very—others might say—extreme, they’re actually putting things on the agenda that people don’t want to hear.
- Noëlle McAfee
Professor & Chair, Department of Philosophy
Emory University
(+"Statement from the Tenured Faculty")
- Noëlle McAfee
Professor & Chair, Department of Philosophy
Emory University
(+"Statement from the Tenured Faculty")
Research Interests: Political Philosophy, Perception, Israel/Palestine, Truth, Calligraphy, and 15 moreStudents, College Students, Students Motivation, Perceptions, Students Attitudes, Campus, Civil Unrest, Social Unrest and Popular Protest, Political Unrest, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Students' perceptions, Unrest of Students, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Social conflict and unrest, and Emory University
Sometimes, we meet someone by chance, however briefly, and we are changed by that encounter.
- Jesse Stewart
Chance Encounters: One Person Show
The Gladstone July 5-8, 2023
- Jesse Stewart
Chance Encounters: One Person Show
The Gladstone July 5-8, 2023
Research Interests: Social Change, Cultural Encounters, Change Management, Culture Change, Calligraphy, and 15 moreMusicians, Stranger Studies, Service Encounters, Chance, Social transformation, Musician, Cross-Cultural Encounters, Quotations, Sociology of the stranger, Intercultural Dialogue and Cross Cultural Encounters, Strangerness, Once we were strangers, Quotes, Strangers, and Sometimes
"Look into the mirror of my eyes can you handle what you see? Is this who you really are? Is that all that you can be?" Vocals Nader Khan; Lyrics Imam Zaid Shakir, Nader Khan, Dr Bano Murtuja, Norm Sabourin; Songwriter Norm Sabourin,... more
"Look into the mirror of my eyes
can you handle what you see?
Is this who you really are?
Is that all that you can be?"
Vocals Nader Khan;
Lyrics Imam Zaid Shakir, Nader Khan, Dr Bano Murtuja, Norm Sabourin;
Songwriter Norm Sabourin, Nader Khan
can you handle what you see?
Is this who you really are?
Is that all that you can be?"
Vocals Nader Khan;
Lyrics Imam Zaid Shakir, Nader Khan, Dr Bano Murtuja, Norm Sabourin;
Songwriter Norm Sabourin, Nader Khan
Research Interests: Genocide Studies, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Lyrics, Calligraphy, and 15 moreIsrael and Zionism, Israel-Palestine, Genocide, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Mirrors, Nader, Songs, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Eyes, Mirror, Song Lyrics, Colonial Genocide, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, and Israel and Palestine
So remember Me; I will remember you.
Quran
2:152
Quran
2:152
Research Interests: Quranic Studies, Quran, Calligraphy, Divine Simplicity, Remembrance, and 15 moreDivine Revelation, Quranic and Islamic Studies, Collective Remembrance, Divine Action, Islamic Calligraphy, Arabic Calligraphy, Divine Healing, Sacred and divine kingship, Al Quran, Ulumul Quran, Remembrances and Identities, Collective Remembrance and Memory, Culture of Remembrance, Memory and Remembrance, and History of Arabic Calligraphy
"Students almost always are the cutting edge of the spear ... moving a society forward." - Steven Donziger Environmental lawyer 4:19 mts into the interview with Kate Halper "'You Cannot Create A Nation By Stealing Another People's Land... more
"Students almost always are the cutting edge of the spear ... moving a society forward."
- Steven Donziger
Environmental lawyer
4:19 mts into the interview with Kate Halper "'You Cannot Create A Nation By Stealing Another People's Land And Expect To Live In Peace'"
- Steven Donziger
Environmental lawyer
4:19 mts into the interview with Kate Halper "'You Cannot Create A Nation By Stealing Another People's Land And Expect To Live In Peace'"
Research Interests: Environmental Law, Israel/Palestine, Global Justice, Palestine, Civil Society and the Public Sphere, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Students, Society, Student Life, College Students, Public Uprising, Students Motivation, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Students Attitudes, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Students' perceptions, Quotes, Student, and Quotes of the Day
'You Cannot Create A Nation By Stealing Another People's Land And Expect To Live In Peace'
- Steven Donziger
US-based environmental lawyer
- Steven Donziger
US-based environmental lawyer
Research Interests: Israel/Palestine, Palestine, White Settler Soceties, Concept Mapping, 'Decolonization' and the politics of settler state/Indigenous relations, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Settler Colonial Studies, Israel-Palestine, History of Palestine and Israel, Settler Colonialism & Its Legacies, Mapping, Settler/Indigenous relations, Settler colonialism, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Popular resistance in Palestine, Mapsi, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, and Israel and Palestine
"The 19th century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer would have recognized the problem of clickbait. In his essays, On Authorship and On Reading, he identified two types of authors: those who write for the sake of the subject, and... more
"The 19th century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer would have recognized the problem of clickbait.
In his essays, On Authorship and On Reading, he identified two types of authors: those who write for the sake of the subject, and those who write for the sake of writing (and really, for the sake of making money).
...It’s the literary equivalent of clickbait – content created not to inform, but simply to capture eyeballs and sell ads. Our world is awash in this type of soul-sucking content. As Schopenhauer put it, writing for money is “at bottom, the ruin of literature. It is only the man who writes absolutely for the sake of the subject that writes anything worth writing.”
...Not all writing is worth reading. Just because someone can put words on a page doesn’t mean they are worth reading or add value."
- Shane Parrish "Master Your Attention: Schopenhauer’s Strategy Against Clickbait." Farmant Street
In his essays, On Authorship and On Reading, he identified two types of authors: those who write for the sake of the subject, and those who write for the sake of writing (and really, for the sake of making money).
...It’s the literary equivalent of clickbait – content created not to inform, but simply to capture eyeballs and sell ads. Our world is awash in this type of soul-sucking content. As Schopenhauer put it, writing for money is “at bottom, the ruin of literature. It is only the man who writes absolutely for the sake of the subject that writes anything worth writing.”
...Not all writing is worth reading. Just because someone can put words on a page doesn’t mean they are worth reading or add value."
- Shane Parrish "Master Your Attention: Schopenhauer’s Strategy Against Clickbait." Farmant Street
Research Interests: Literature, Reading Habits/Attitudes, Schopenhauer, Reading, Writing, and 15 moreArthur Schopenhauer, Authorship, Calligraphy, Teaching and Learning Writing and Reading, Strategy, Reading Strategies, Commercial, Schopenhauer's Philosophy, Authors, Schopenhauer's School, The Philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, Reading and Vocabulary Strategies, Reading Strategies and Cognition, Arthur Schopenhaver, and Clickbait
A verse from the Quran commonly found framed in Muslim houses.
Research Interests: Community Resilience, Resilience, Quranic Studies, Doctrine of God, Resilience (Sustainability), and 15 moreFamily Resilience, Quran, Calligraphy, Philosophy of God, Mindfulness and Resilience and Psychological Well Being, Quranic and Islamic Studies, Islamic Calligraphy, Arabic Calligraphy, Sufficiency, Ulumul Quran, Resilence, Community Self-sufficiency, Resielience, Credo, and Sufficiency in Creed
"We have been quietly going mad over the last few months. We carry on, we work, we sleep, we eat, we talk, and we occasionally even laugh. But every day is poisoned by the awareness that while we go on about our lives, hundreds of... more
"We have been quietly going mad over the last few months. We carry on, we work, we sleep, we eat, we talk, and we occasionally even laugh.
But every day is poisoned by the awareness that while we go on about our lives, hundreds of ordinary people like ourselves are being murdered.
Or being forced to witness the murder of their children."
Pankaj Mishra
London Review of Books Winter Lecture Series 2024
But every day is poisoned by the awareness that while we go on about our lives, hundreds of ordinary people like ourselves are being murdered.
Or being forced to witness the murder of their children."
Pankaj Mishra
London Review of Books Winter Lecture Series 2024
Research Interests: Genocide Studies, Israel/Palestine, Everyday Racism, Calligraphy, Everyday Life, and 15 moreMurder, Genocide, Shoah, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Quotations, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Literature of the Shoah, Colonial Genocide, Pankaj Mishra, Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Shoah and Israel, Pedagogy of Shoah, and Israeli occupation of Gaza
“What did you do in Lebanon? You annihilated what you annihilated. It was great! It had to be done! If attacks were... more
“What did you do in Lebanon?
You annihilated what you annihilated.
It was great! It had to be done!
If attacks were launched from Canada into the United States, everyone here would have said,
‘Attack all the cities of Canada, and we don’t care
if all the civilians get killed.’”
- Joe Biden.
Speaking with Begin on the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon in which 19,000, mostly civilians, were killed.
Yedioth Aharonot, Tel-Aviv. pg. 3, 25 June 1982
(The Jacobin 10.22.2023)
You annihilated what you annihilated.
It was great! It had to be done!
If attacks were launched from Canada into the United States, everyone here would have said,
‘Attack all the cities of Canada, and we don’t care
if all the civilians get killed.’”
- Joe Biden.
Speaking with Begin on the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon in which 19,000, mostly civilians, were killed.
Yedioth Aharonot, Tel-Aviv. pg. 3, 25 June 1982
(The Jacobin 10.22.2023)
Research Interests: Genocide Studies, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Calligraphy, Israel, and 15 moreCanada, Canadian, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, International Humanitarian Law and Protection of Civilians, Quotations, Protection of Civilians, Menachem Begin, Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Situations, Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Joe Biden, Direct Targeting of Civilians, Protection of Civilians During Armed Conflicts and International Humanitarian Law, Biden Administration, Biden administration on arms control, and Biden
The Palestinian Shaykh Mahmoud Al-Hasanat delivered his shortest khutba (sermon given by the Imam to the congregation during Friday prayers): “If 30.000 martyrs, 70.000 injured & 2 million homeless Palestinians couldn't wake up the... more
The Palestinian Shaykh Mahmoud Al-Hasanat delivered his shortest khutba (sermon given by the Imam to the congregation during Friday prayers):
“If 30.000 martyrs, 70.000 injured & 2 million homeless Palestinians couldn't wake up the ummah, what impact will my words make? What more do I say and to whom? Straighten your rows, let's pray”.
“If 30.000 martyrs, 70.000 injured & 2 million homeless Palestinians couldn't wake up the ummah, what impact will my words make? What more do I say and to whom? Straighten your rows, let's pray”.
Research Interests: Genocide Studies, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Calligraphy, Genocide, and 15 moreSermon Studies, Imams, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Conciseness, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Sermon, Sermons, Colonial Genocide, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Khutbah Jumat, Mahmoud, Khutbah Jumat Terbaru, and Israeli occupation of Gaza
"Western leaders are experiencing two stunning events: defeat in Ukraine, and genocide in Palestine. The first is humiliating, the other shameful. Yet, they feel no humiliation or shame..." The West’s Reckoning? by Dr. Michael... more
"Western leaders are experiencing
two stunning events:
defeat in Ukraine,
and genocide in Palestine.
The first is humiliating, the other shameful.
Yet, they feel no humiliation or shame..."
The West’s Reckoning? by Dr. Michael Brenner
Professor Emeritus of International Affairs, Univ. of Pittsburgh
two stunning events:
defeat in Ukraine,
and genocide in Palestine.
The first is humiliating, the other shameful.
Yet, they feel no humiliation or shame..."
The West’s Reckoning? by Dr. Michael Brenner
Professor Emeritus of International Affairs, Univ. of Pittsburgh
Research Interests: Genocide Studies, Shame Theory, Psychology of humiliation, Humiliation, Guilt/shame (Psychology), and 15 moreCalligraphy, Shame, Ukraine, Genocide, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Quotations, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Epistemic Defeat, Humiliation and Conflict, Colonial Genocide, National Humiliation, Ukraine Crisis, Russia-Ukraine Relations, and Humiliation Studies
“If the Olive Trees knew the hands that planted them,
their oil would become tears” – Mahmoud Darwish
their oil would become tears” – Mahmoud Darwish
Research Interests: Arabic Poetry, Poetry, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Contemporary Poetry, and 15 moreOlive Oil, Calligraphy, Mahmoud Darwish, Olives, The Trail of Tears, Tears, Gaza Strip, Quotes, West Bank, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Darwich, research on the poems of mahmoud darwish, and symbolism in Mahmoud Drwish poetry
The parable of the believers in their compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body suffers. - Muhammad (peace be upon him) Reported by Al-Nu’man ibn Bashir. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6011, Ṣaḥīḥ... more
The parable of the believers in their compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body suffers.
- Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Reported by Al-Nu’man ibn Bashir.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6011, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2586.
- Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Reported by Al-Nu’man ibn Bashir.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6011, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2586.
Research Interests: Brotherhood, Compassion, Ummah Studies, Hadith Studies, Calligraphy, and 15 moreProphet Muhammad, Hadith, Islamic Calligraphy, Muhammad, Arabic Calligraphy, Muhammadiyah Studies, Gaza Strip, Quotes, Muhammadiyah, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Muhammad (Pbuh), Ummah, The Hadith, Qur'anic and Hadith sciences, and ummahat al mumineen
“I am not very good at design… I am very well aware of that. However, I do pay careful attention to what is around me.” - Riken Yamamoto 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize... more
“I am not very good at design…
I am very well aware of that.
However, I do pay careful attention to what is around me.”
- Riken Yamamoto
2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize
https://www.canadianarchitect.com/riken-yamamoto-receives-the-2024-pritzker-architecture-prize/ March 5, 2024
I am very well aware of that.
However, I do pay careful attention to what is around me.”
- Riken Yamamoto
2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize
https://www.canadianarchitect.com/riken-yamamoto-receives-the-2024-pritzker-architecture-prize/ March 5, 2024
Research Interests: Japanese Studies, Architecture, Japanese, Architectural History, Architecture Design, and 15 moreJapan, Calligraphy, Architectural Design, Architecture and urbanism, Famous Architects and Their Works, Architeture, Archiecture, Archtiecture, Recent Work of Famous Architects and Their Design Concepts, Quotes, Architecture and Public Spaces, Engineering and Architectutre, Pritzker Prize, Inspirational Quotes, and Famous Architects and Their Work
“Architecture is artful, but it is not art.
Its artistic dimension exists alongside technical requirements."
- Paul Kariouk, Architect
(Stunning, Award-winning Design Meets Soul and Sustainability by Ty Burke)
Its artistic dimension exists alongside technical requirements."
- Paul Kariouk, Architect
(Stunning, Award-winning Design Meets Soul and Sustainability by Ty Burke)
Research Interests: Art History, Architecture, Contemporary Art, Green architecture, Environmental Sustainability, and 15 moreSustainable Architecture, Calligraphy, TECHNICAL, Residential location choice, Green and Sustainability Practices, Residential Architecture, Artfulness Measures for Site Designs attention Catching, House Design, House Plan Designer, Sustainability, House Planning, Calligrammes, Artful Play, Artful Inquiry, and Artful Thinking
Poetry has a hallucinatory component; it is about a delirium-like state of being. It is about reducing a meaning of something to the absolute essence. - Cecil Balmond, Structural Artist (Source: THE SECRET OF DOSTOEVSKY’S NOVELS AND... more
Poetry has a hallucinatory component; it is about a delirium-like state of being. It is about reducing a meaning of something to the absolute essence.
- Cecil Balmond, Structural Artist
(Source: THE SECRET OF DOSTOEVSKY’S NOVELS AND BALMOND’S DESIGNS by Simeon B. Mihaylov)
- Cecil Balmond, Structural Artist
(Source: THE SECRET OF DOSTOEVSKY’S NOVELS AND BALMOND’S DESIGNS by Simeon B. Mihaylov)
Research Interests: Poetry, Theories of Meaning, Meaning, Modern Poetry, Contemporary Poetry, and 15 moreMeaning Making, Delirium, Essence and modality, Poems, Hallucinations, Quotations, Emergence Delirium, Quotation, Essence, Existence and Essence, Excited Delirium, Being and Essence, Critical Appreciation of Poems, Essence of the Creative Process, and Hallucination
Do we live inside the machine?
Or does the machine live inside us?
- Federica Goffi
Suspended Ceiling Stories
Or does the machine live inside us?
- Federica Goffi
Suspended Ceiling Stories
Research Interests: Machine Learning, Sayings, Machine Translation, Modernity, Modernism, and 15 moreHousing and Dwelling (Architecture), Dwelling Practices and Built Environments, Calligraphy, Questions, Questions and Answers, Flexible Dwelling, Dwelling, Culture and Modernity, Quotations, Inversion, Martin Heidegger on the subject of Dwelling, Mallarme on the BOOK, G.Bachelard on the Poetics of space, Mechanical, Inversions, Rhetorical Questions, and Logical Inversions
"The garden must contain the entire universe."
- Louis Barragan
- Louis Barragan
Research Interests: Observational Cosmology, Gardens, Holistic Education, Philosophy of Cosmology, Garden History, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Gardening, Cosmology, Universe, Garden of Eden, Holistic, Floriculture and Landscape Gardening, Islamic Garden and Persian Gardens, Urban Gardening, Luis Barragan, Holistic Approach, Casas de Barragán, Luis Barragán, Louis Barragan, and Secrets of the Universe
"Shall I tell you a degree better than prayer, fasting and sadaqa?: Improving a state of friendship." - Muhammad (peace be upon him) Reported by Abu'd-Darda' Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 391 In-book reference : Book 21, Hadith 7 English... more
"Shall I tell you a degree better than prayer, fasting and sadaqa?: Improving a state of friendship."
- Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Reported by Abu'd-Darda'
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 391
In-book reference : Book 21, Hadith 7
English translation : Book 21, Hadith 391
- Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Reported by Abu'd-Darda'
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 391
In-book reference : Book 21, Hadith 7
English translation : Book 21, Hadith 391
Research Interests: Sayings, Friendship Studies, Islamic Studies, Philosophy Of Friendship, Biographical Literature of the Prophet Muhammad (Sirah Rasul Allah), and 15 moreFriendship, Calligraphy, Prophet Muhammad, Friendship Relation, Islamic Calligraphy, Muhammad, Arabic Calligraphy, Quotations, Biography of the Prophet Muhammad, Muhammadiyah Studies, Friendships, Muhammadiyah, Friendship Quality, Muhammad (Pbuh), and Life of Muhammad (Pbuh)
"Al-Andalus is not a fixed history of conquest and re-conquest but a site of creativity, a story that can be re-created to imagine better, more tolerant futures." - Christina Civantos The Afterlife of al-Andalus: Muslim Iberia in... more
"Al-Andalus is not a fixed history of conquest and re-conquest but a site of creativity, a story that can be re-created to imagine better, more tolerant futures."
- Christina Civantos
The Afterlife of al-Andalus: Muslim Iberia in Contemporary Arab and Hispanic Narratives p.53
In Middle East Research and Information Project 284/285 (Winter 2017)
- Christina Civantos
The Afterlife of al-Andalus: Muslim Iberia in Contemporary Arab and Hispanic Narratives p.53
In Middle East Research and Information Project 284/285 (Winter 2017)
Research Interests: Creativity--Knowledge Invention & Discovery, Creativity, Al-Andalus, Critical Thinking and Creativity, Al Andalus (Islamic History), and 15 moreTolerance, Calligraphy, Andalusia/Al-Andalus, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Al-Andalus History, Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle Ages, Afterlife, Historia de al-Andalus, Toleration, TOLERANCIA, Al-Andalus society, Post-Orientalism. Al-Andalus., Intellectual History of Al andalus, Religious Tolerance, and La Mujer En Al-Andalus
Concilium
a talking
together
a garden
and a people
in the garden
- A. F. Moritz
A Garden is not a Place
Poetry and Beauty
a talking
together
a garden
and a people
in the garden
- A. F. Moritz
A Garden is not a Place
Poetry and Beauty
Research Interests: English Literature, Poetry, Modernist poetry, Canadian Literature, English, and 15 moreGardens, Modern Poetry, Contemporary Poetry, Calligraphy, English language and literature, Ephemeral art, Ephemerality, Tissue culture, Beauty, Ephemeral Objects, Poets, Ephemeral architecture, Ephemeral Apparatuses, Ephemeral Arts, and Ephemeral Practice
Asking apocalyptic questions
is more important
than providing quintessential answers.
- Darius Cooper
is more important
than providing quintessential answers.
- Darius Cooper
Research Interests: Critical Theory, English Literature, Indian studies, Critical Pedagogy, English language, and 15 moreApocalypticism, Critical Thinking, English, Apocalypticism In Literature, World Englishes, Parsis, Indian English Literature, Apocalypse Theory, Calligraphy, Questions, Indian Writing in English, Questions and Answers, English language and literature, Quintessence, and Quotes
Some people talk and talk And never say a thing. Some people look at you And birds begin to sing. Some people laugh and laugh And yet you want to cry. Some people touch your hand And music fills the sky. — Charlotte Zolotoff (aka... more
Some people talk and talk
And never say a thing.
Some people look at you
And birds begin to sing.
Some people laugh and laugh
And yet you want to cry.
Some people touch your hand
And music fills the sky.
— Charlotte Zolotoff (aka Zolotow)
All That Sunlight, 1967
And never say a thing.
Some people look at you
And birds begin to sing.
Some people laugh and laugh
And yet you want to cry.
Some people touch your hand
And music fills the sky.
— Charlotte Zolotoff (aka Zolotow)
All That Sunlight, 1967
Research Interests: Personality Psychology, English Literature, Personality, Poetry, English language, and 15 morePersonality Assessment, Modernist poetry, English, Theories Of Personality, Modern Poetry, Calligraphy, Verse Form & Metre, English language and literature, People, Personality Traits, Quotation, Quotes, Calligrammes, Comparison personality characteristics of Artists and ordinary people, and poetesses
"Political Analyst Marwan Bishara condemns Western appeasement and Arab complicity amid Egypt-Israel tensions near Rafah, calling out the shameful and shameless responses to Israeli actions."
Research Interests: Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Guilt/shame (Psychology), Calligraphy, Shame, and 15 moreIsrael-Palestine, Shame/Guilt, The Human experience of shame, Palestine/Israel, Al Jazeera English, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Popular resistance in Palestine, Shame and Guilt, Shameless, Rafah, North Sinai Rafah, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, and Israel and Palestine
Quotation from the daily prayers of Shaykh Muhammad Hydara al-Jilani.
Research Interests: Prayer, Islam, Kingdom of God, Contemplative Prayer, Muslims, and 15 moreVeiling, Quotations, Spirituality and Prayer, Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, Quotation, Quotes, Veiling and Embodiment, Concealment, Shaykhism, Muslim philosophy and thought, Contemporary Muslim society, Abdal-qadir Al-jilani, Prayer and Healing, Abdul Qadir Jilani, and Pre-Dawn Prayer
“Our most beautiful moment was when we heard a long time ago ‘Am I not Your Lord’ (VII:172), and that manifestation of God imprinted upon our souls knowledge beyond words.”
- Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah
- Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah
Research Interests: Sayings, Quranic Studies, Islamic Studies, Islam, Quran, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Philosophy of God, Memory, Quranic and Islamic Studies, Muslims, Quotations, Recollection, Quotation, Quotes, The Primordial Tradition, Beautiful, Moments, Inspirational Quotes, Umar Faruq Abdallah, and early recollections
Research Interests:
The Vietnamese who have endured years of American heavy bombing have responded not by capitulation but by shooting down more enemy aircraft. In 1940 my own fellow countrymen resisted Hitler’s bombing raids with unprecedented unity and... more
The Vietnamese who have endured years of American heavy bombing have responded not by capitulation but by shooting down more enemy aircraft. In 1940 my own fellow countrymen resisted Hitler’s bombing raids with unprecedented unity and determination.
For this reason, the present Israeli attacks will fail in their essential purpose, but at the same time they must be condemned vigorously throughout the world.
The development of the crisis in the Middle East is both dangerous and instructive. For over 20 years Israel has expanded by force of arms. After every stage in this expansion Israel has appealed to “reason” and has suggested “negotiations”. This is the traditional role of the imperial power, because it wishes to consolidate with the least difficulty what it has already taken by violence. Every new conquest becomes the new basis of the proposed negotiation from strength, which ignores the injustice of the previous aggression. The aggression committed by Israel must be condemned, not only because no state has the right to annexe foreign territory, but because every expansion is an experiment to discover how much more aggression the world will tolerate.
Betrand Russel
31st January, 1970
(Yours Faithfully, Bertrand Russell, Open Court, 2002, pp. 411-12)
For this reason, the present Israeli attacks will fail in their essential purpose, but at the same time they must be condemned vigorously throughout the world.
The development of the crisis in the Middle East is both dangerous and instructive. For over 20 years Israel has expanded by force of arms. After every stage in this expansion Israel has appealed to “reason” and has suggested “negotiations”. This is the traditional role of the imperial power, because it wishes to consolidate with the least difficulty what it has already taken by violence. Every new conquest becomes the new basis of the proposed negotiation from strength, which ignores the injustice of the previous aggression. The aggression committed by Israel must be condemned, not only because no state has the right to annexe foreign territory, but because every expansion is an experiment to discover how much more aggression the world will tolerate.
Betrand Russel
31st January, 1970
(Yours Faithfully, Bertrand Russell, Open Court, 2002, pp. 411-12)
Research Interests: Strategy (Military Science), Israel Studies, Israel/Palestine, Bertrand Russell, Calligraphy, and 15 moreIsrael, Israel and Zionism, Strategy, Arab-Israeli conflict, Imperialism, Anti-imperialism, Letters, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Russell, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Aerial Bombing, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Colonialism and Imperialism, ISRAEL GAZA WAR, and Betrand Russel (Extract from a textbook)
Istanbul had over 1000 drinking fountains called Sabil. The word is from the Quran (2:261). The calligram inscribes the verse in which the word "sabil" occurs along with its meaning.
Research Interests: Water, Etymology, Quranic Studies, Ottoman Studies, Ottoman Empire, and 15 moreMuslims in Europe, History of Ottoman Art and Architecture, Quran, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Ottomans, Quranic and Islamic Studies, Drinking Water, Muslims, Al Quran, Fountains, Etymology of Words, Sabil, Monumental Fountains, The fountain, and Ottoman Fountains
This is a poem by Refaat, poet and professor, a few weeks before the IDF airstrike on December 7, 2023, killed him, killed his brother Salah killed Salah's son killed his sister Asmaa killed Asma's three young children. If I... more
This is a poem by Refaat, poet and professor, a few weeks before the IDF airstrike on December 7, 2023,
killed him,
killed his brother Salah
killed Salah's son
killed his sister Asmaa
killed Asma's three young children.
If I must die
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail) so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad, who left in a blaze—
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh,
not even to himself—
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale.
- Refaat Alareer
Killed on December 7, 2023, Gaza Strip
killed him,
killed his brother Salah
killed Salah's son
killed his sister Asmaa
killed Asma's three young children.
If I must die
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail) so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad, who left in a blaze—
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh,
not even to himself—
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale.
- Refaat Alareer
Killed on December 7, 2023, Gaza Strip
Research Interests: Death, Poetry, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Modern Poetry, and 15 moreContemporary Poetry, Calligraphy, War Poetry, Israel-Palestine, Arab-Israeli conflict, Resistance, Palestine/Israel, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Palestine studies, Popular resistance in Palestine, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Israel and Palestine, and Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
MC Abdul (real name Abdulrahman Al-Shantti) raps about the carnage and destruction in the Gaza Strip.
Research Interests: Poetry, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Hip-Hop/Rap, Lyrics, and 15 moreContemporary Poetry, Calligraphy, Israel-Palestine, Art and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, International Humanitarian Law and Protection of Civilians, Nakba, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Direct Targeting of Civilians, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Palestine Israel South Africa Apartheid Zionism Islam Conflict Resolution, and Palestine – Israel – refugees – refugee camps – unrwa – Nakba (Palestinian catastrophe) – photography archives
"Allow me the grace of serendipity
To find lost continents on my tongue."
- Prayer (Asylum) by Jerry Pinto
Reading at: Indian Writing on English, University of Hyderabad, Nov 27, 2023
To find lost continents on my tongue."
- Prayer (Asylum) by Jerry Pinto
Reading at: Indian Writing on English, University of Hyderabad, Nov 27, 2023
Research Interests: Languages, Poetry, Prayer, Asylum, Modern Poetry, and 15 moreIndian English Literature, Calligraphy, Poetry and Poetics, Indian Writing in English, Contemplative Prayer, Grief and Loss, Indian Writings in English, Quotes, Contemporary Indian Writing In English, Continents, Jerry Pinto, Prayer and Healing, Quotes of the Day, receiving the gift of tongues, and Self Deliverance Prayer
Observing Gaza and recalling a verse from a ghazal by Jigar Moradabadi (1890-1960).
Research Interests: Community Resilience, Resilience, Poetry, Translation of Poetry, Urdu Literature, and 15 moreHindi/Urdu, 'Decolonization' and the politics of settler state/Indigenous relations, Calligraphy, Social Resilience, Settler Colonialism & Its Legacies, Norms, Urdu Poetry, Mindfulness and Resilience and Psychological Well Being, Settler/Indigenous relations, Nakba, Urdu Poetry and Literature, Disaster Resilience, Ghazal, Norms in International Relations, and Urdu Language and Literature
Senseless calligraphy (apparently) with death misspelt, following senseless violence:
“What invigorates life, invigorates death,
And the dead advance as much as the living advance.”
- Walt Whitman
Song of Myself (1892 Version)
“What invigorates life, invigorates death,
And the dead advance as much as the living advance.”
- Walt Whitman
Song of Myself (1892 Version)
Research Interests: Poetry, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Modern Poetry, Walt Whitman, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Israel-Palestine, Twentieth Century American Poetry, American Poetry, Ancient Palestine, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Quotes, Modern American Poetry, Life and Death, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Israel and Palestine, Song of Myself, and Creative Reception of Walt Whitman
Calligraphic quote: "The conventional army loses if it does not win. The guerrilla wins if he does not lose."
Henry Kissinger in Foreign Affairs January 1969
(Oxford Essential Quotations, OUP:2016)
Henry Kissinger in Foreign Affairs January 1969
(Oxford Essential Quotations, OUP:2016)
Research Interests: Calligraphy, Arab-Israeli conflict, ARAB ISRAEL CONFLICT AND HAMAS, Guerilla War, Henry A. Kissinger, and 15 moreGuerrilla Warfare, Guerilla Warfare, Israel's national security and military history, IDF doctrine., Hamas, Guerrilla, Henry Kissinger, Wars: Dynamics of Wars, Civil Wars, Militias & Guerrilla Warfare, Guerrillas, Kissinger, Israel /Hamas, Hamas and Israel, Hamas, Palestinian resistance,, Who Is Henry Kissinger?, Gaza Hamas, and IDF Israel Defense Forces
“If there is a hell on earth today, its name is northern Gaza. People who remain there, the corners of their existence is death, deprivation, despair, displacement, and literally darkness. The entire Gaza Strip has been plunged into... more
“If there is a hell on earth today, its name is northern Gaza. People who remain there, the corners of their existence is death, deprivation, despair, displacement, and literally darkness. The entire Gaza Strip has been plunged into darkness since the 11th of October, when the electricity grid was shut down and fuel stopped entering.”
- Jens Laerke
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs & World Health Organization.
10 November 2023 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Jens Laerke
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs & World Health Organization.
10 November 2023 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Research Interests: Death, Israel/Palestine, United Nations, Palestine, Calligraphy, and 15 moreElectricity, Israel-Palestine, History of Palestine and Israel, Deprivation, Darkness, World Health Organisation, Displacement, Palestine Gaza, Gaza Strip, Heart of Darkness, World Health Organization, Despair, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Israel and Palestine, and OCHA
The significance of October 7 for Israel by Amira Haas, the Israeli journalist who has been a resident of Gaza for almost three decades.
Research Interests: Israel Studies, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Israeli-Arab Relations, Israel, and 15 moreIsrael-Palestine, Arab-Israeli conflict, History of Palestine and Israel, Journalist, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Caligraphy, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestine Gaza, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Popular resistance in Palestine, Isareli conflict, Amira, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, Israel and Palestine, and Jounralism
New Medical Acronym 'Unique To Gaza': W C N S F "Wounded Child No Surviving Family." (Reported by Doctors Without Borders Dr, Haj-Hassan, BBC News'The Context) “Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children.” The UN Secretary General... more
New Medical Acronym 'Unique To Gaza':
W C N S F
"Wounded Child No Surviving Family."
(Reported by Doctors Without Borders Dr, Haj-Hassan, BBC News'The Context)
“Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children.”
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
(Reuters Nov, 6, 2023)
W C N S F
"Wounded Child No Surviving Family."
(Reported by Doctors Without Borders Dr, Haj-Hassan, BBC News'The Context)
“Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children.”
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
(Reuters Nov, 6, 2023)
Research Interests: Children and Families, War Studies, Israel/Palestine, United Nations, Palestine, and 15 moreChildren and Youth, Children and War, Children's Rights, Calligraphy, Street Children, Children, Children and War, Peace Studies, Conflict Resolution, Graveyards, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestine Gaza, Peace, Conflict Resolution, Children in War, Gaza Strip, Children War Peacebuilding, War-affected Children, and Children In War
Angela Davis, speaking recently with Marc Lamont Hill, recalled something that the poet June Jordan had said.
Research Interests: Moral Psychology, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Morality (Social Psychology), Personal and Moral Autonomy, and 15 moreMoral Philosophy, Free Will and Moral Responsibility, Calligraphy, Israel-Palestine, History of Palestine and Israel, Moral, Morality, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Palestina, Palestine Gaza, June Jordan, Angela Davis, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Popular resistance in Palestine, and History of Israel Palestine Conflict
Calligram of the names of chapati worldwide for the forthcoming essay "An Architect Eats Chapati."
Research Interests:
A calligram of entangled Palestine. The quest is to disentangle.
Research Interests: American Studies, Indigenous Studies, Israel/Palestine, Colonialism, Palestine, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Israel, Israel and Zionism, Israel-Palestine, History of Palestine and Israel, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Palestine/Israel, Palestine and UN, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Entanglement, Palestine Gaza, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Popular resistance in Palestine, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, and Israel and Palestine
Islam saved Jewry
by David J. Wasserstein
Professor of Jewish Studies
Vanderbilt University
Extract from his talk at SOAS University of London May 14, 2012.
by David J. Wasserstein
Professor of Jewish Studies
Vanderbilt University
Extract from his talk at SOAS University of London May 14, 2012.
Research Interests: Islamic Studies, History of the Jews, Islamic History, Islam, Iberian Jewry, and 15 moreCalligraphy, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Maimonides, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Jews in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, Jews of Medieval Spain, Biography of the Prophet Muhammad, Gaza Strip, Sephardic Jews, Translations of Sephardic Jews during the Spanish Golden Age, Jews In Islamic Lands, Central European Jewry, Research Conducted in the Ghettos on Judaica and on the Persecution and Destruction of Jews by the Nazis, Persecution of the Jews, and Contemporary and Latin American Jewry
Güneş gibi ol şefkatte,merhamette. Gece gibi ol ayıpları örtmekte. Akarsu gibi ol keremde,cömertlikte. Ölü gibi ol öfkede ,asabiyette. Toprak gibi ol tevazuda,mahviyette. Ya olduğun gibi görün,ya göründüğün gibi ol. In mercy and... more
Güneş gibi ol şefkatte,merhamette.
Gece gibi ol ayıpları örtmekte.
Akarsu gibi ol keremde,cömertlikte.
Ölü gibi ol öfkede ,asabiyette.
Toprak gibi ol tevazuda,mahviyette.
Ya olduğun gibi görün,ya göründüğün gibi ol.
In mercy and compassion, be like the sun.
In covering others’ faults, be like the night.
In kindness and generosity, be like a river.
In anger and fury, be like the dead.
In modesty and humility, be like the earth.
Either exist as you are or be as you appear.
- Mevlana Rumi
Gece gibi ol ayıpları örtmekte.
Akarsu gibi ol keremde,cömertlikte.
Ölü gibi ol öfkede ,asabiyette.
Toprak gibi ol tevazuda,mahviyette.
Ya olduğun gibi görün,ya göründüğün gibi ol.
In mercy and compassion, be like the sun.
In covering others’ faults, be like the night.
In kindness and generosity, be like a river.
In anger and fury, be like the dead.
In modesty and humility, be like the earth.
Either exist as you are or be as you appear.
- Mevlana Rumi
Research Interests: Poetry, Translation of Poetry, Sufism, Turkish Literature, Calligraphy, and 15 moreTurkish Language, Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, philosophical Sufism (school of Ibn 'Arabi), Turkish Language and Literature, Sufisme, Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi symbolic sembol simge imge, Hexagonal, Mevlana University, Mevlana, Mevlana, Sufizm, Mevlânâ, Mevlana Celalettin-i Rumi, Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, Mevlânâ Celâleddin-i Rûmî, Mesnevi , and Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî
A verse from the Quran featured in the IHMC Talk 2023: "Water in Islam & The Aqueducts of Sinan."
Research Interests: Water, Hydrology, Quranic Studies, Understanding, Ecology, and 15 moreEcohydrology, Watershed Hydrology, Philosophy of Nature, Quran, Calligraphy, Nature, Experiences in nature and psychological well-being, Quranic and Islamic Studies, Connectedness to Nature, Islamic Calligraphy, Hydrology and water resources, Al Quran, Signs and Symbols, Signs, and Quran's Translations
O Heart! This transitory world is without permanence. A lifetime is but a moment. - Sinan (One of the forty calligraphic plates from the "Water in Islam & The Aqueducts of Sinan" calligraphy exhibition, Ben Franklin Place, Centrepointe,... more
O Heart! This transitory world is without permanence. A lifetime is but a moment.
- Sinan
(One of the forty calligraphic plates from the "Water in Islam & The Aqueducts of Sinan" calligraphy exhibition, Ben Franklin Place, Centrepointe, Ottawa, October 21, 2023)
- Sinan
(One of the forty calligraphic plates from the "Water in Islam & The Aqueducts of Sinan" calligraphy exhibition, Ben Franklin Place, Centrepointe, Ottawa, October 21, 2023)
Research Interests: Sayings, Ottoman Empire, Mortality, Calligraphy, Famous Architects and Their Works, and 15 moreMortality studies, Translation of proverbs and sayings, Mimar Sinan, Gaza Strip, Quotes, Architects, Lifetime, Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi, Architect Sinan, Mimar Sinan University Faculty Architecture, Biographies of Architects, Wise Sayings, Inspirational Quotes, Sinan, and Quotes of the Day
(Un)Common Precedents, the Agora II International Symposium,
hosted by the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism (ASAU).
Carleton University September 22 to 24, 2023.
hosted by the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism (ASAU).
Carleton University September 22 to 24, 2023.
Research Interests: Critical Pedagogy, Architectural Education, Pedagogy, Studio Practice, Studio (Architecture), and 15 moreCalligraphy, Design Studio, Studio, Pedagogia, Architecture Education, Design Studio Teaching, Enhancing Architecture Education, Design thinking in Architecture Education, Architecture and Education, Sometimes, Reciprocal, Architectural Precedents, Calligrammes, Urban Patterns and Precedents, and Precedents
(Un)Common Precedents, the Agora II International Symposium,
hosted by the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism (ASAU).
Carleton University September 22 to 24, 2023.
hosted by the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism (ASAU).
Carleton University September 22 to 24, 2023.
Research Interests: Education, Architecture, Critical Pedagogy, Jacques Lacan, Pedagogy, and 15 moreFreud and Lacan, Studio Practice, Studio (Architecture), Calligraphy, Design Studio, Students, Students Motivation, Studio, Architecture Education, Design thinking in Architecture Education, Architecture and Education, Parapraxes, Architectural Precedents, Urban Patterns and Precedents, and Precedents
Vertical Studio Intensive in the Summer of ‘08 00 Studio Poster 01 Introduction Slash Student Recollection 02 Course Outline 03 Schedule (May12 – June 23. Six weeks fulltime) 04 Assignment 1: /Scalar Montage 05 Assignment 2:... more
Vertical Studio Intensive in the Summer of ‘08
00 Studio Poster
01 Introduction Slash Student Recollection
02 Course Outline
03 Schedule (May12 – June 23. Six weeks fulltime)
04 Assignment 1: /Scalar Montage
05 Assignment 2: /Photomontage/Drawing/Movie1
06 Assignment 3: /Deterritorializer
07 Assignment 4: /Photomontage/Drawing/ParkingGarage/Movie2
08 Assignment 5: /Deterritorializer/Slater
09 Assignment 6: /Slater/MockupModel
10 Assignment 7: /Wheelchair2Heaven/Stairway 2Hell
11 Assignment 8: /Movie1/Movie2/Movie1Slash2
12 Assignment 9: /Concept/Content/Communication/Composition/Collage
13 Assignment 10: /Slater/MockupModel/W2HS2Hinsert1
14 Sample of Student Questions
15 Student Statements
00 Studio Poster
01 Introduction Slash Student Recollection
02 Course Outline
03 Schedule (May12 – June 23. Six weeks fulltime)
04 Assignment 1: /Scalar Montage
05 Assignment 2: /Photomontage/Drawing/Movie1
06 Assignment 3: /Deterritorializer
07 Assignment 4: /Photomontage/Drawing/ParkingGarage/Movie2
08 Assignment 5: /Deterritorializer/Slater
09 Assignment 6: /Slater/MockupModel
10 Assignment 7: /Wheelchair2Heaven/Stairway 2Hell
11 Assignment 8: /Movie1/Movie2/Movie1Slash2
12 Assignment 9: /Concept/Content/Communication/Composition/Collage
13 Assignment 10: /Slater/MockupModel/W2HS2Hinsert1
14 Sample of Student Questions
15 Student Statements
Research Interests: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, Cinema and the City, Automobile, and 15 moreStudio (Architecture), Slasher films, Composition, Carbon Footprint, Design Studio, Urban Design, Wheelchair locomotion, Chlorophyll, Deterritorialization, Urban Space, Wheelchairs, Parking Maneuver, Ottawa, Watching movies, and Storyboard
Summering studio that responds to the sun-soaked seasonal "Summer" a word with origins in a "horizontal bearing beam" and means as an adjective "appropriate for or done during the summer" and significantly as a noun "the period of fi nest... more
Summering studio that responds to the sun-soaked seasonal "Summer" a word with origins in a "horizontal bearing beam" and means as an adjective "appropriate for or done during the summer" and significantly as a noun "the period of fi nest development, perfection or beauty." The intensive studio seeks to translate an act of individual imagination into the formulation of a public place. The studio concerns itself with the germination of an idea and its translation into architecture. Students will be guided to formulate an architectural proposition based on the interpretation and translation of their own research and analysis of a problem or condition found in the natural environment. Hence the studio ranges begins with a student's haunch/thought that clarifies into a proposition as it grounds itself on a site while expressing itself in a program. Once the program/problem has been defined it will be seen to carry its own resolution in to a project in the urban context.
01 Course Outline
02 Schedule (6 Weeks Fulltime)
03 Assignment 1 (out of 12 Assignments).
Vertical Studio Intensive in the Summer of ‘10 conducted jointly by Adjunct Professors: Eric Archambault & H Masud Taj
Cross Reference.
For a more detailed coverage of a summer intensive, see also
"Slash Studio" in Syllabi Section
01 Course Outline
02 Schedule (6 Weeks Fulltime)
03 Assignment 1 (out of 12 Assignments).
Vertical Studio Intensive in the Summer of ‘10 conducted jointly by Adjunct Professors: Eric Archambault & H Masud Taj
Cross Reference.
For a more detailed coverage of a summer intensive, see also
"Slash Studio" in Syllabi Section
Research Interests:
The aim of the seminar is to get at the heart of the studio and clarify the role of imagination in architecture. How do we imagine and how do we make? How do our surroundings be both a lab to test our concepts and simultaneously the means... more
The aim of the seminar is to get at the heart of the studio and clarify the role of imagination in architecture. How do we imagine and how do we make? How do our surroundings be both a lab to test our concepts and simultaneously the means by which we imagine a new world? Thus the seminar is a hybrid; it encourages thinking creatively and critically and involves writing and making.
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Course Outline
3. Student Recollection
4. Student’s Evaluation of Instructor
5. Blackboard inscriptions (photographed by students)
Cross Reference. See also
“Seminar: Six Degrees of Architecture Students Work” in Syllabi Section
"Lightness" in Calligraphy Section
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Course Outline
3. Student Recollection
4. Student’s Evaluation of Instructor
5. Blackboard inscriptions (photographed by students)
Cross Reference. See also
“Seminar: Six Degrees of Architecture Students Work” in Syllabi Section
"Lightness" in Calligraphy Section
Research Interests: Education, Models of Creativity & of Creative Processes, Photography, Creativity, Literature, and 14 moreCritical Pedagogy, Academic Writing, Reading, Drawing, Critical Thinking and Creativity, Italo Calvino, Studio (Architecture), Design Studio, Hybrid Learning, Artefacts, Art & Architecture, Seminar, Architectute, and Six Memos for the Next Millennium
The Calvinian Quad Group Photograph Sampling of projects: 1. Quickness Artefact: The Fabric of Space & Time _ Hadiya Al Idrissi 2. Visibility & Multiplicity Artefacts _ Mackenzie Mclean 3. Constant of Change: The Consistency _ Frank Wen... more
The Calvinian Quad Group Photograph
Sampling of projects:
1. Quickness Artefact: The Fabric of Space & Time _ Hadiya Al Idrissi
2. Visibility & Multiplicity Artefacts _ Mackenzie Mclean
3. Constant of Change: The Consistency _ Frank Wen Yao
Cross Reference. See also:
"Seminar: Six Degrees of Architecture" in Syllabi Section
"Lightness" in Calligraphy Section
Sampling of projects:
1. Quickness Artefact: The Fabric of Space & Time _ Hadiya Al Idrissi
2. Visibility & Multiplicity Artefacts _ Mackenzie Mclean
3. Constant of Change: The Consistency _ Frank Wen Yao
Cross Reference. See also:
"Seminar: Six Degrees of Architecture" in Syllabi Section
"Lightness" in Calligraphy Section
Research Interests: Education, Architecture, Models of Creativity & of Creative Processes, Photography, Literature, and 15 moreCritical Pedagogy, Reading, Drawing, Critical Thinking and Creativity, Italo Calvino, Design Studio, Students, Hybrid Learning, Multiplicity, Architecture Design Studio pedagogical methods, Artefacts, Consistency, Art & Architecture, Seminar, and Architectural Drawing
Architectural Alterity: Through mediation alterity unveils the excluded “others” that are the genesis of architecture. Conceptually, architectural identity originates in separation: of interior from exterior, culture from nature, the... more
Architectural Alterity:
Through mediation alterity unveils the excluded “others” that are the genesis of architecture. Conceptually, architectural identity originates in separation: of interior from exterior, culture from nature, the same from the other. Yet the “other,” broadly defined (the ancient past, “the orient,” nation, gender) can never be totally excluded. It lingers and infiltrates architectural thought and making as the presence and the effect of that which is outside the discourse of architecture.
Venice and the Other:
Venice is a city in between. The pointed archways, private courtyards, screened balconies, rooftop crenelations, intricate ceilings and distinctive stone and tile work of Venetian architecture derived from Muslim models, and the Venetian urbanscape displaying the typology of a Muslim city, highlight the historical, geographical, and cultural interactions and continuums in the medieval Mediterranean world. A broker of east-west commerce, Venice when lost its power to the Portuguese, its alterity mirrored and it become a broker of west-east culture.
Contents:
1. Course Outline
2. Reading List
3. Student’s Reading Queries
Through mediation alterity unveils the excluded “others” that are the genesis of architecture. Conceptually, architectural identity originates in separation: of interior from exterior, culture from nature, the same from the other. Yet the “other,” broadly defined (the ancient past, “the orient,” nation, gender) can never be totally excluded. It lingers and infiltrates architectural thought and making as the presence and the effect of that which is outside the discourse of architecture.
Venice and the Other:
Venice is a city in between. The pointed archways, private courtyards, screened balconies, rooftop crenelations, intricate ceilings and distinctive stone and tile work of Venetian architecture derived from Muslim models, and the Venetian urbanscape displaying the typology of a Muslim city, highlight the historical, geographical, and cultural interactions and continuums in the medieval Mediterranean world. A broker of east-west commerce, Venice when lost its power to the Portuguese, its alterity mirrored and it become a broker of west-east culture.
Contents:
1. Course Outline
2. Reading List
3. Student’s Reading Queries
Research Interests: Architecture, Mamluk Studies, Urbanism, The Other, Islam, and 15 moreTheory Of Architecture, Representation of Others, Republic of Venice, Alterity, Identity and Alterity, Venice, 16th century Venice, History of Venice, Art & Architecture, Philosophy of the City, Visual encounters with alterity, Orientalism & Othering, Ethics of Alterity, Othering and Alterity, and History of Venice (14th-16th Cies)
Thomas Jefferson & Stanford White
Julia Morgan, Frank Lloyd Wright & Nari Gandhi
Louis Kahn & Fazlur Khan
Mimar Sinan & Antoni Gaudi
Francesco Borromini & Carlo Scarpa
Le Corbusier & Eilleen Gray
Julia Morgan, Frank Lloyd Wright & Nari Gandhi
Louis Kahn & Fazlur Khan
Mimar Sinan & Antoni Gaudi
Francesco Borromini & Carlo Scarpa
Le Corbusier & Eilleen Gray
Research Interests: Architecture, Death, Death Studies, Thomas Jefferson, Frank Lloyd Wright, and 15 moreThanatology - Death Studies, Le Corbusier, Famous Architects and Their Works, Carlo Scarpa, Mimar Sinan, Francesco Borromini, Biographies, Antonio gaudi, Architects, Louis Kahn, Julia Morgan, Stanford White, Nari Gandhi, Fazlur Khan, and Eilleen Gray
Buckminster Fuller Ron Thom & Arthur Erickson Wren & Brunel Soane & Pugin Hasan Fathy & Samuel Mockbee Utzon & Aalto Charles Correa & Zaha Hadid. H Masud Taj, award winning adjunct professor at the Azrieli School of Architecture and car... more
Buckminster Fuller
Ron Thom & Arthur Erickson
Wren & Brunel
Soane & Pugin
Hasan Fathy & Samuel Mockbee
Utzon & Aalto
Charles Correa & Zaha Hadid.
H Masud Taj, award winning adjunct professor at the Azrieli School of Architecture and car crash survivor returns after a near-fatal heart attack that left him with five stents and this new lecture course. His projects include the Navy Memorial and the House of Last Days which was commissioned by a dying client.
He has featured at International Festival of Authors, Toronto; his book on an Indian apprentice to Architect Frank Lloyd Wright is archived in the Special Collection of Carleton University Library and his multi-lingual multi-disciplinary The Embassy of Liminal Spaces has been inducted into the Library of Parliament.
Ron Thom & Arthur Erickson
Wren & Brunel
Soane & Pugin
Hasan Fathy & Samuel Mockbee
Utzon & Aalto
Charles Correa & Zaha Hadid.
H Masud Taj, award winning adjunct professor at the Azrieli School of Architecture and car crash survivor returns after a near-fatal heart attack that left him with five stents and this new lecture course. His projects include the Navy Memorial and the House of Last Days which was commissioned by a dying client.
He has featured at International Festival of Authors, Toronto; his book on an Indian apprentice to Architect Frank Lloyd Wright is archived in the Special Collection of Carleton University Library and his multi-lingual multi-disciplinary The Embassy of Liminal Spaces has been inducted into the Library of Parliament.
Research Interests: Architecture, Death, Death & Dying (Thanatology), Buckminster Fuller, A.W.N. Pugin, and 15 moreFamous Architects and Their Works, Sir John Soane, Alvar Aalto, Bryant/haybale House Samuel Mockbee, Brunel University, Biographical Research, Architects, Zaha Hadid, Hassan Fathy, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, Sir Christopher Wren, Jorn Utzon, Arthur Erickson, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and Charles Correa
Featuring: the enigmatic Ka’aba, singular Dome of the Rock, urban Suleymaniya, Isfahan’s labyrinthine Bazaar, the incomplete Sultan Hasan madrassa, sensuous Alhambra, infinite Cordoba, photogenic Taj Mahal. Extant structures from 7th to... more
Featuring: the enigmatic Ka’aba, singular Dome of the Rock, urban Suleymaniya, Isfahan’s labyrinthine Bazaar, the incomplete Sultan Hasan madrassa, sensuous Alhambra, infinite Cordoba, photogenic Taj Mahal. Extant structures from 7th to 16th century in different regions will be introduced along with concurrent Muslim thinkers, poets, mystics, scientists and architects. As the enigmatic buildings are laden with inscriptions (given the the centrality of Quran and status of calligraphy in Muslim culture), they provide us clues to decipher the monument’s meaning in our attempt to make sense of the past as of the present.
Note: the lecture course was previously taught both at Carleton University, Ottawa and at Jnanapravaha, Mumbai in 2018. This course outline was for the course scheduled for 2020 (postponed due to the pandemic).
Note: the lecture course was previously taught both at Carleton University, Ottawa and at Jnanapravaha, Mumbai in 2018. This course outline was for the course scheduled for 2020 (postponed due to the pandemic).
Research Interests: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Quranic Studies, Islamic Studies, History of Ottoman Art and Architecture, and 15 moreMadrasa education, Castle Studies, Epigraphy, Isfahan, Moghal Mosques, Alhambra, Kaaba, The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, Architecture and Public Spaces, Great Mosque of Cordoba, The Dome of the Rock, Bazaars, Sultan Hasan Mosque, Süleymaniye Camii, and Taj Mahal
A Palace-City encloses within walls residences of the ruler and the ruled. Palaces are interspersed with gardens and baths, mosques and markets, bureaucracy and security, servant and served spaces. The walls are semi-permeable as the... more
A Palace-City encloses within walls residences of the ruler and the ruled. Palaces are interspersed with gardens and baths, mosques and markets, bureaucracy and security, servant and served spaces. The walls are semi-permeable as the Palace-City strives to sustain a reciprocal relationship with the surrounding city. We will probe the city within city by examining Andalusian Spain’s Al Zahra in Cordoba and Al Hambra in Granada; and Mughal India’s Fatehpur Sikri; all sites as elevated as the metaphorical quest for the ideal city.
Research Interests: Al-Andalus, Islam, Mountain communities, Andalusia/Al-Andalus, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, and 15 moreNasri Kingdom of Granada, Statecraft, Alfarabi, Shahnama of Firdosi, Mughal Emperor Akbar, Alhambra, Palaces, Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, Zahra, Mughals, Nizamülmülk, Madinat Al Zahra, Fatehpur Sikri, Boabdil, and Al Mawardi
From the madrasa-graduate establishing the scientific method to the inventor of algebra; from the geographer of the most accurate map in the pre-modern world to the theologian-poet whose travels exceeded Marco Polo, Magellan or Columbus;... more
From the madrasa-graduate establishing the scientific method to the inventor of algebra; from the geographer of the most accurate map in the pre-modern world to the theologian-poet whose travels exceeded Marco Polo, Magellan or Columbus; from a million-word medical encyclopedia to Enlightenment’s bestselling Arabic novel; from North America’s bestselling poet to Reagan’s favourite medieval economist; from the Shariah judge that inspired Europe’s most freethinking university to the scholar who at the pinnacle of his fame walked away from it all: we will examine their influence in their time and ours. The course, back by popular demand, will visit the brighter side of the medieval Dark Ages: the golden age of Islam, to make sense of the present.
★ Rabia 717-801
★ al-Khwarizmi 780-850
★ ibn al-Haytham 965-1040
★ al-Biruni 973-1050
★ ibn Sina . 980-1037
★ al-Idrisi 1100 -1165
★ ibn Tufayl 1105-1185
★ al-Ghazali 1126-1198
★ ibn Rushd 1058-1111
★ Saladin 1137-1193
★ Nasir al-din Tusi 1201-1274
★ ibn Arabi 1165-1240
★ Mevlana Rumi 1207-1273
★ ibn Batuta 1304-1369
★ ibn Khaldun 1332-1406
★ Rabia 717-801
★ al-Khwarizmi 780-850
★ ibn al-Haytham 965-1040
★ al-Biruni 973-1050
★ ibn Sina . 980-1037
★ al-Idrisi 1100 -1165
★ ibn Tufayl 1105-1185
★ al-Ghazali 1126-1198
★ ibn Rushd 1058-1111
★ Saladin 1137-1193
★ Nasir al-din Tusi 1201-1274
★ ibn Arabi 1165-1240
★ Mevlana Rumi 1207-1273
★ ibn Batuta 1304-1369
★ ibn Khaldun 1332-1406
Research Interests: Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Sina, Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (d. 1111), Ibn Arabi, Avicenna, and 15 moreAverroes, Algazel, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Ibn Rushd (Averroës), Dark Ages History, Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Ibn al-Haytham, Saladin, al-Idrisi, Al-Biruni, Rabia, Ibnu batutah, Ibn Tufayl, and Rabia al-Adawiyya
Was the Renaissance a miraculous and unique case of spontaneous combustion or was it set aflame by torch carriers arriving from elsewhere? This course will examine the traffic of ideas that flowed into Europe over the course of the... more
Was the Renaissance a miraculous and unique case of spontaneous combustion or was it set aflame by torch carriers arriving from elsewhere? This course will examine the traffic of ideas that flowed into Europe over the course of the Renaissance periods with a focus on influences from predominantly Muslim civilizations (but also China, India etc). Exploration of the Renaissance Intersection will provide an intercultural understanding of the light that shone after the European Dark Ages. Though interdisciplinary in scope, the course does not require any specialized knowledge. It is in a series based on the principle of alterity: to know ourselves we need to know the “other.
Lecture 1. Elephant in the Room (Ahmed ibn Majid & Vasco de Gama)
Lecture 2. Snow White’s Prince (ibn Rushd: Averroes/Averroism via SPan & Siciliy; Leo Africanus & Dante)
Lecture 3. On the Shoulders of Giants (Ziryab, ibn HAzm & Troubadours; ibn Rushd, Al Farabi: Alfarabius/Avenassar; ibn Arabi & Dante)
Lecture 4. Looking Outward (ibn al-Haitham, al Battani, Urdi, al Tusi & Copernicus, Galilieo)
Lecture 5. Looking Inward (ibn al-Haitham, Ghiberti, Roger Bacon, Witelo; St Francis & Giotto; al Razi: Rhazes & Vesalius; Ghazali)
Lecture 6. Elephant crossing the Ocean (ibn Tufayl & John Locke; Conclusion)
Lecture 1. Elephant in the Room (Ahmed ibn Majid & Vasco de Gama)
Lecture 2. Snow White’s Prince (ibn Rushd: Averroes/Averroism via SPan & Siciliy; Leo Africanus & Dante)
Lecture 3. On the Shoulders of Giants (Ziryab, ibn HAzm & Troubadours; ibn Rushd, Al Farabi: Alfarabius/Avenassar; ibn Arabi & Dante)
Lecture 4. Looking Outward (ibn al-Haitham, al Battani, Urdi, al Tusi & Copernicus, Galilieo)
Lecture 5. Looking Inward (ibn al-Haitham, Ghiberti, Roger Bacon, Witelo; St Francis & Giotto; al Razi: Rhazes & Vesalius; Ghazali)
Lecture 6. Elephant crossing the Ocean (ibn Tufayl & John Locke; Conclusion)
Research Interests: Dante Studies, Medieval Islam, Galileo Galilei, Al Farabi, Muslim Spain, and 15 moreMuslim-Christian Relation, Copernicus, Islamic History and Muslim Civilization, Ibn Rushd (Averroës), Dark Ages History, Ibn Hazm, Ibn al-Haytham, Troubadour Studies, Vasco Di Gama, Rennaisance Humanism, Dark Ages, Leo Africanus, Ziryab, Rennaisance culture, and Al Battani
Pilgrimages consist of significant movements (Where am I going?) between significant places (Where am I?). During Hajj, which takes place in the last month of the lunar calendar (October, this year), over two million pilgrims will pray in... more
Pilgrimages consist of significant movements (Where am I going?) between significant places (Where am I?). During Hajj, which takes place in the last month of the lunar calendar (October, this year), over two million pilgrims will pray in a single congregation and then wait for sunset to perform the biggest concurrent migration of humans in history. We zoom into eleven significant individuals (Who am I?) across eleven centuries: Khayyam, Mansa Musa, Batuta, Khaldun, Zheng, Piri, Sikander, Shamil, Weiss, MalcolmX , Shariati, who set off from countries that generate headlines today: China & Chechnya, Iran & India, Africa & America, Europe & Turkey.
H Masud Taj, performed Hajj in 1985. He returned there seven times since, in various guises, ranging from a pauper staying in the Prophet’s Mosque, living off food sent by residents of Medina; to performing the royal pilgrimage, flying royal jets, staying in the palace of Mecca. He proposed a scientific classification system at the International Conference on Mosque Architecture in Saudi Arabia and delivered a Keynote on the Kaa’ba at the Second International Conference of Islamic Art & Architecture. With wit and verve he shares his Ghazalian conviction that we are all saliks (wayfarers).
Cross Reference. See also:
"Facing the City: The Influence of Qibla on Street-line Orientation in Islamic Cities" in Papers Section
"The Kaaba: Guarding The Centre, Generating The Circumference" in the Articles Section
"Jalebi & The Knot Of Sacred Architecture" in the Articles Section
"Three Shores Of The Cube" in the Articles Section
"Mosque: Cube and Circle" in the Articles Section
"Medina Highway ." in the Poetry Section
H Masud Taj, performed Hajj in 1985. He returned there seven times since, in various guises, ranging from a pauper staying in the Prophet’s Mosque, living off food sent by residents of Medina; to performing the royal pilgrimage, flying royal jets, staying in the palace of Mecca. He proposed a scientific classification system at the International Conference on Mosque Architecture in Saudi Arabia and delivered a Keynote on the Kaa’ba at the Second International Conference of Islamic Art & Architecture. With wit and verve he shares his Ghazalian conviction that we are all saliks (wayfarers).
Cross Reference. See also:
"Facing the City: The Influence of Qibla on Street-line Orientation in Islamic Cities" in Papers Section
"The Kaaba: Guarding The Centre, Generating The Circumference" in the Articles Section
"Jalebi & The Knot Of Sacred Architecture" in the Articles Section
"Three Shores Of The Cube" in the Articles Section
"Mosque: Cube and Circle" in the Articles Section
"Medina Highway ." in the Poetry Section
Research Interests:
Prospect (UK) and Foreign Policy (USA) conducted a global poll 2008 to determine the hundred most important public intellectuals. The top ten turned out to be Muslims. Identity politics notwithstanding, they offer us a cross-section of... more
Prospect (UK) and Foreign Policy (USA) conducted a global poll 2008 to determine the hundred most important public intellectuals. The top ten turned out to be Muslims. Identity politics notwithstanding, they offer us a cross-section of diverse views that influence the world of contemporary Islam. The course, allowing us to eavesdrop in the conversation that Muslims are having among themselves, is in a series on alterity i.e. we need to know the ‘other’ to know ourselves.
Lecture 1: African Perspective: Mahmood Mamdani
Lecture 2: South Asian Perspective: Aitzaz Ahsan, Muhammad Yunus
Lecture 3: Egyptian Perspective: Amr Khaled, Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Lecture 4: Iranian Perspective: Shirin Ebadi, Abdolkarim Soroush
Lecture 5: Turkish Perspective: Orhan Pamuk, Fethullah Gulen
Lecture 6: European Perspective: Tariq Ramadan
Lecture 1: African Perspective: Mahmood Mamdani
Lecture 2: South Asian Perspective: Aitzaz Ahsan, Muhammad Yunus
Lecture 3: Egyptian Perspective: Amr Khaled, Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Lecture 4: Iranian Perspective: Shirin Ebadi, Abdolkarim Soroush
Lecture 5: Turkish Perspective: Orhan Pamuk, Fethullah Gulen
Lecture 6: European Perspective: Tariq Ramadan
Research Interests: Foreign Policy Analysis, Intellectual and cultural history, Orhan Pamuk, Gulen Movement, Mahmood Mamdani, and 15 morePublic Intellectuals, Fethullah Gülen Movement, Identity and Alterity, Muslims, Fetullah Gulen, Fethullah Gulen, Amr Khaled, Muhammad Yunus, Shereen Ebadi, Soroush, Gulen, Contemporary Muslim society, Fethullah Gülen, Abdolkarim Soroush, and Youssef Al-Qardawi
The tale spans ten centuries across architecture, philosophy, politics, history, religion and media. It begins with the reconquista's conversion of the Great Mosque of Cordoba into a cathedral and ends with contemporary media's conversion... more
The tale spans ten centuries across architecture, philosophy, politics, history, religion and media. It begins with the reconquista's conversion of the Great Mosque of Cordoba into a cathedral and ends with contemporary media's conversion of the Cordoba House into the "Ground Zero Mosque"-from the rise and fall of civilizations to the rise and fall of Twin Towers. It features caliph Abd ar-Rahman, philosopher Ibn Rushd, novelist Ibn Tufayl, king Alphonso X, the liberal John Locke, founding father Thomas Jefferson, architect Minoru Yamasaki and imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. The tale takes unexpected twists and turns, as it follows the flow of ideas across land and waters, in a series on alterity; to know ourselves we need to know the other.
Lecture 1: Cordoban Crucible caliph Abd ar-Rahman
Lecture 2: Toledoen Transfer king Alphonso X; philosopher Ibn Rushd Lecture 3: Oxford Ownership the liberal John Locke; novelist Ibn Tufayl Lecture 4: Virginian Version founding father Thomas Jefferson
Lecture 5: Manhattan Monuments architect Minoru Yamasaki
Lecture 6: American Andalusia imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
Cross Reference. See also:
"Toledean Testimony: Reconquista, Architectural Convivencia and the Man from La Mancha" in Articles Section
"Interview by India Abroad" in Interview Section
Lecture 1: Cordoban Crucible caliph Abd ar-Rahman
Lecture 2: Toledoen Transfer king Alphonso X; philosopher Ibn Rushd Lecture 3: Oxford Ownership the liberal John Locke; novelist Ibn Tufayl Lecture 4: Virginian Version founding father Thomas Jefferson
Lecture 5: Manhattan Monuments architect Minoru Yamasaki
Lecture 6: American Andalusia imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
Cross Reference. See also:
"Toledean Testimony: Reconquista, Architectural Convivencia and the Man from La Mancha" in Articles Section
"Interview by India Abroad" in Interview Section
Research Interests: Media Studies, Architecture, Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, Ibn Rushd (Averroës), and 15 moreAlterity, Twin Towers, Convivencia, Reconquista, Ground Zero, John Locke, Skepticism, External world knowledge, Ummayad Architecture, Averroes (Abu'l-Walid Muhammad Ibn Rushd, *1126 – †1198) - Polymath, 911 Truth, Alphonso X, Great Mosque of Cordoba, Feisal Abdul Rauf, Ibnu Tufail, Ibn Tufayl, and Ibn Tufayl, Hayy b. Yaqzan
Animals help us see the world afresh. Interweaving poetry, science, calligraphy, history, art and philosophy, we delve into astounding realities (each encapsulated in a word) of: Ants, Bulls, Cats, Dragonflies, Elephants, Fireflies,... more
Animals help us see the world afresh. Interweaving poetry, science, calligraphy, history, art and philosophy, we delve into astounding realities (each encapsulated in a word) of: Ants, Bulls, Cats, Dragonflies, Elephants, Fireflies, Grasshoppers, Horses, Iguanas, Jellyfishes, Kangaroos, Lions, Mosquitoes, Newts, Owls, Parrots, Quails, Rats, Sheep, Tigers, Umbrellabirds, Vipers, Whales, Xolos, Yaks and Zebras. This lecture series is as much about us as it is about the animals that help us regain our sense of wonder.
Ant: emergence
Bull: hyper-focus
Cat: deportment
Dragon: exobiology
Elephant: mothering
Firefly: synchrony
Grasshopper: leap
Horse: consonance
Iguana: anthropomorphism
Jellyfish: transdifferentiation
Kangaroo: marsupium
Lion: deportment
Mosquito: transpersonal
Newt: regeneration
Owl: gravitas
Parrot: (bio)mimicry
Quail: quilt
Rat: exponential
Sheep: topography
Tiger: deportment
Umbrellabird: play
Viper: ophidiophobia
Whale: echolocation
Xolo: reciprocal-amensalism
Yak: yakkety-yak
Zebra: moire
Cross Reference. See also:
"Alphabesitary" in Books Section
"Alphabestiary (Introduction)" in Articles Section
"AlphaVocab" in Calligraphy Section
Ant: emergence
Bull: hyper-focus
Cat: deportment
Dragon: exobiology
Elephant: mothering
Firefly: synchrony
Grasshopper: leap
Horse: consonance
Iguana: anthropomorphism
Jellyfish: transdifferentiation
Kangaroo: marsupium
Lion: deportment
Mosquito: transpersonal
Newt: regeneration
Owl: gravitas
Parrot: (bio)mimicry
Quail: quilt
Rat: exponential
Sheep: topography
Tiger: deportment
Umbrellabird: play
Viper: ophidiophobia
Whale: echolocation
Xolo: reciprocal-amensalism
Yak: yakkety-yak
Zebra: moire
Cross Reference. See also:
"Alphabesitary" in Books Section
"Alphabestiary (Introduction)" in Articles Section
"AlphaVocab" in Calligraphy Section
Research Interests: Social behavior in animals, Animals in Art, Animals and Animality, Philosophy Of Animals, Animals & Society studies, and 15 moreAnimals in Myth (Anthrozoology), Animals in Literature, Animals in Culture, Ethics of Animals, Animals in Philosophy, Animals in biomedical research, Animals in Islam, Companion Animals, Animals, Laboratory Animals, History of Animals, Animals and Society Studies, Pets and Animals, Depression in Caged Animals, and Threatened Animals
As pessimism saps energy in the twilight of our lives lived in the twilight of a civilization, what is the antidote? The session will probe the power of positivity encoded in words. Following an introduction to the keyword "Resilience"... more
As pessimism saps energy in the twilight of our lives lived in the twilight of a civilization, what is the antidote? The session will probe the power of positivity encoded in words. Following an introduction to the keyword "Resilience" discussion will follows, with participants contributing keywords that engender vibrancy in ourselves and in society. The instructor/ calligrapher will then inscribe all the participants' keywords on the blackboard onto a large 2.5 foot by 8 foot recycled sliding shutter.
Research Interests: Community Resilience, Resilience, Compassion, Courage, Philosophy of Humour, and 15 moreHumour Psychology, Humour, Mindfulness and Resilience and Psychological Well Being, Supportive Care, Positivity, Self Confidence, Mental Toughness Research, Flexible Structures, Self-Confidence, Loving Kindness meditation, Mental Toughness, Conviction, Toughness, Resileince, and bouncebackability
Course in Aural Literacy People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing songs that voices never share And no one dared Disturb the sound of silence - Paul Simon, The Sound of Silence As conscious... more
Course in Aural Literacy
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
- Paul Simon, The Sound of Silence
As conscious designers of built environments and inadvertent creators of acoustic spaces, architects have an impact on the acoustic ecology. Hence the objective of the course was to make the students of architecture aurally literate. The course examined not only the technical aspects of acoustics but also the history of problems and dreams. It attempts to impart in the student-participants sensitivity and self-awareness of their roles as:
- emitters of sound (speakers);
- receivers of sound (listeners);
- designers of sound (architects).”
The course had two objectives:
1. To fuse technical knowledge of acoustics with the intuitive insights of an oral-poet to bring about a more holistic understanding of sound. It argued to have acquired knowledge is to have gained in self-awareness.
2. To change the method of teaching by fostering team-learning and delegating more power to students with the teacher as facilitator and students as participants in order to give to balance the experiential with the technical.
One of the sessions was anchored by playing “The Sound of Silence.”
The course, taught at Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai Semester IV, 1995-1996, was one of the seven courses worldwide covered in “Teaching Acoustic Ecology: An International Overview" By Gary Ferrington in Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology Vol.2 No.2 December 2001 pg.21-24
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
- Paul Simon, The Sound of Silence
As conscious designers of built environments and inadvertent creators of acoustic spaces, architects have an impact on the acoustic ecology. Hence the objective of the course was to make the students of architecture aurally literate. The course examined not only the technical aspects of acoustics but also the history of problems and dreams. It attempts to impart in the student-participants sensitivity and self-awareness of their roles as:
- emitters of sound (speakers);
- receivers of sound (listeners);
- designers of sound (architects).”
The course had two objectives:
1. To fuse technical knowledge of acoustics with the intuitive insights of an oral-poet to bring about a more holistic understanding of sound. It argued to have acquired knowledge is to have gained in self-awareness.
2. To change the method of teaching by fostering team-learning and delegating more power to students with the teacher as facilitator and students as participants in order to give to balance the experiential with the technical.
One of the sessions was anchored by playing “The Sound of Silence.”
The course, taught at Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai Semester IV, 1995-1996, was one of the seven courses worldwide covered in “Teaching Acoustic Ecology: An International Overview" By Gary Ferrington in Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology Vol.2 No.2 December 2001 pg.21-24