Ramu Katakam is a respected architect and a cheerful presence to his friends. Both of these qualities are evident in his beautifully crafted memoir, Spaces in Time.
Life with architecture. In his words, he attempts to "summarize his interesting 70+ years of Indian independence and my perspective on buildings that have played a role in my life." His story is as much about the buildings he designed as the life he lived. But what makes it even more remarkable is the way he presents his life story, both successes and failures, personally and professionally, in an honest and engaging way, without the artificial or baggage of fear. is that
Katakam said he was born in 1944 and "the influence of colonial mindset and way of life was dominant as British rule and Indian independence were coming to an end [so]". His father was a government official, and the stories of his family, childhood, school, and friends offer fascinating insights into the new, independent society that is taking hold. His father later became an influential bureaucrat, with a privileged lifestyle resulting from his work and posts in Beijing, Cairo, and European capitals, as well as his parents' influential domestic and international network of friends and associates. has helped close the door, facilitating Katakam's path at key points in his life. It transparently explains the accidental circumstances of
He studied architecture at Cambridge University in his 1960s. His involvement with the key architects who were his teachers, and experiencing the country's "rocking" social life marked his rite of passage as an introspective architect and as a confident individual. . He then returned to India to establish a professional practice. He found the practice difficult to maintain and left to look for a lucrative job as an architect for a British firm building large complexes in Saudi Arabia. He returned from Delhi and Bangalore to resume his practice with varying degrees of success. His career spanned his 40 years and many of the projects he designed are discussed in books along with the stories and people associated with them.
In the small social circle of government bureaucrats who lived in post-independence Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi was his early schoolmate, and Katakam's family had a strong relationship with Naerth until Indira Gandhi's mandate as a politician alienated them. We interacted. One of the interesting architectural projects he describes is a weekend home outside Delhi, designed by his father's colleague and National Security Adviser R.N. Kao and built without anyone's knowledge. The project was just started by Indira Gandhi on his November 19, 1984 birthday when he was assassinated on October 31, 1984. Professionally, although devastated by the turn of events, he was very happy with what he had accomplished, but he originally told Rajiv Gandhi, who had succeeded his mother as prime minister, to do it. could not be persuaded to use it for And soon he too was killed.
Although he has designed numerous large-scale projects, the leitmotif of his work is residential architecture, a clear indication of his Modernist training at Cambridge. His affinity for designing homes is evident early on in his memoir, which he draws from sketches of a house his grandfather built in Madras around 1920 and spent several summer vacations in the 1950s. He has traveled to other homes he has lived in or experienced, from the tent his family stayed in when they first moved to Delhi to Teen Murti Bhavan where Jawaharlal Nehru lived as prime minister. This section explains. He was also inspired by the Hutongs of Beijing that his father saw when he was stationed in Beijing. Its architecture can therefore be easily negotiated between the Eastern and Western influences that have restored some villas. He concludes by describing his dream home. It is "a perfectly sculptural house in white, surrounded by roses of the same color, near the sea." The architectural and spatial sophistication of his designs shows how far he has evolved from the modernism he imbibed at Cambridge.
Katakam also incorporates into his narrative collaborations with many famous architects, artists and writers he has come to know over the years, and appreciates their work and ideas. In other sections of the book, the places and buildings he visited inspired him, leading to his two books he wrote.
An insight into stone Kerala architecture and cosmic dance. His love of cars and motorcycles and an unbridled interest in golf are also mentioned, but "I spent a disproportionate amount of my income restoring and purchasing unique cars" and "I practice has long suffered. "Afternoons of Golf". Architecture and architectural practice evolved dramatically in the period Katakam's memoir covers, and the book's appeal is its sensitive evocation of a bygone era. As writer Colm Teibin once put it in reference to other memoirs, it is "a form of redemption, a way of reconnecting the self with simpler time, structured by orchestration." It's a way to listen to old songs from before they were released."
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