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Her Rai on
conservation THE first thought that crosses your mind on seeing Gurmeet Rai is that she is a very attractive young girl. She has perfect Indian features, kajal-lined large eyes, long straight tresses and a flawless complexion. You want to keep looking at her. Gurmeet is also an extremely focused individual. An architect, who is also a conservationist, she is busy trying to protect monuments and heritage sites in Punjab. She completed her graduation in architecture from Chandigarh and married the famous photographer Raghu Rai. After shifting to Delhi, she did her Masters in architectural conservation. He first assignment was with INTACH, where she was given the task of documentation and listing of historical buildings along the G.T. Road. She was a part of a team of 10 people comprising geographers, historians, architects etc. While working with
INTACH, she travelled a lot. "I was not happy travelling
throughout the country. I was working in Jaisalmer and realised that
there were too many problems. I came to the conclusion that I should
concentrate only on one area. Since I understood Punjab and its
culture, the climate and the material used, I decided to work
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Gurmeet, who has also worked in America, is of the view that the difference in the work ethos in both the countries is tremendous. While there it is the community which generates funds to conserve, here only individuals and certain organisations feel the need to do so. As Gurmeet put it, "Here you still have people saying a poor country cannot afford the luxury of conserving old buildings without realising that it is our culture which binds us and provides a soul to a nation." Gurmeet feels, "Systems in every sphere have to be in place. NGOs alone cannot put them in place. The government has to take the initiatives, be it while preserving heritage, culture or whatever." However, she is hopeful and feels the people are becoming aware. Soon they will demand that old, historical monuments are looked after. With the 73rd and 74th amendments, the local people will identify areas of concern and generate funds. A man of many parts Talking to Pawan Varma
always brings to mind a question:How does he manage to do so much?A
career-diplomat, he is currently looking after the Africa desk in North
Block. But just doing his job doesn’t seem enough for him. So, after
the stupendous success of a non-fiction like The Great Indian Middle
Class, he is coming out with another book on how to maximise your
life — Action Plan for the — Belu Maheshwari |
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the building plus the
surrounding area and use local material to rebuild it. Work is in
progress in Kishan Mandir, Kishankot village, Dargah of Baba Shah
Badrdiwan, and many other places. Gurmeet come to Punjab every week. In
fact, she spends more than six months in a year in the region. She has
received no support from the Punjab government. Other agencies are
funding the work. "The villagers understand the need for
conservation.But our project needs trained personnel who can guide the
local people to preserve their heritage. There is a lot of work for
architects and conservationists," says Gurmeet.
Middle Man. The book is being
sponsored by the Home Ministry. Another book in the pipeline is an
anthology on erotic literature. His collaborator on this is Sandhya
Mulchandani. He is also about to finish a book on Kaifi Azmi for
Penguin. It will be released on Azmi’s 81st birthday. This is not all.
Verma is involved in a number of issues and is always ready to give a
helping hand to any deserving cause. To top it all, his life is not all
work and no play. He loves his golf and bridge and enjoys socialising
and partying with friends. Besides, he gives lectures, participates in
discussions and appears on TV programmes. Phew! It is indeed difficult
to keep pace with this man.