A Cowboy's Den

Residence Owned By Photographer Haider Khan in Andheri

Many of us use the power of pen to define objects and beauty, some of us even take the help of paint brush to portray beauty...but...writing with lights and shutter speed with an eye of creativity is his style. He captures frozen emotions and makes them speak forever through his lens as poetry with its unique saga of emotions. The city's one of the finest story teller through his eye of creative vision and India’s renowned photographer - Haider Khan.

While taking a tour around his bachelor’s pad, I could discover some untold things about him which we could not get a glimpse of in his captures…A 2 bhk apartment in Andheri west which he got completely transformed into his crafted world with fusion of fantasies which is so rustically coarse and yet so fertile. I couldn’t stop myself from asking him what inspired him to design his home to which he smiles and says…

” I am highly inspired by life in Texas, especially the Country side. Though I have never been there, yet so far but all I saw is in movies. The cowboy appearances have always fascinated me. So you can find lots of sleeper wood work at my home to get the rustic feel of the local area. Living like a Marlboro Man was my first fantasy which helped me design my abode that replicated the image which involves of a rugged cowboy.”

On gazing around the living room, few elements grab attention amongst which are the blocks of logs and metal chains. The surprised look that appears on my face makes him explain me that he collects logs from jungles especially for his shoots and he thought of using them along with the sofa. The unique blend created above the backrest portion with logs hanging using chains, lit from behind, just adds as a cherry over the cake of dramatics.

The use of logs, chains and lanterns blends with the ambiance and takes you in the 19^th century Spanish era of the typical cowboy lifestyle. Haider’s home is just full of surprises. For him he lives in his world of fascination which is where he loves coming back to but for us it’s just another fold of his life that gets unfolded from his life.

The bar in his living room is another eye catching zone. It reflects the Western films which were enormously popular in the silent era. The Ranch environment created dramatically with a pair of handcuffs, skull, old golf stick, framed pictures of cowboys, Merlyn Monroe, and many posters hang on the rustic backdrop of sleeper wood. The indirect mode of lighting that he has chosen here emphasis on these objects. Turning gaze all around the guitar catches the attention.

To this he says: “I love Goa. I also play Guitar. You cannot say I am a musical person but little bit of music is necessary. I wanted to have this musical side of Goa in my home along with my bar. Again the part you see in beaches and of course movies and music is a part of our lives”.

One room with a blend of cowboy culture and life of ranch yet adds a tinge of rhythm that makes it musical and the entire thing gets emulsified with different modes of lights that he has chosen. I was not surprised at this but again the curious look makes him speak: “I have used 34 – 35 numbers of lights to enlighten these elements. Every light is of different volts. I am a photographer and I understand that proper lighting is what is needed to enhance anything. These objects would lose its importance if lights of different volts and colors were not used and the feel of my home would not be the same in just day light or normal lighting. My job is to enhance the beauty”.

The package of surprise just does not end over here. Every element that has been added in this home to makes it look different and unique in its own way. I knew he was a creative guy and his ideas reflect in his photography but each of them has been inspired by different modes and regions. For doing this place he did not hire any Architect or Interior designer which as an Architect myself surprised me a lot. The dramatic look was his idea and his set designer who creates sets for his shoot just got it executed. The entire living room brightens up with a tinge of golden look. The even tone of this lighting gets broken at places with red, blue and green indirect light.

Haider’s Master bed room had another surprise. This part of the home is so similarly different from the typical cowboy attitude that he had reflected in his living room. His bed was of a very unique design. He immediately explained: “I love the Shikaras. The floating effect while sailing around in Kashmir mesmerizes me. So I thought of having a bed that looked like a Shikara and when I sleep on it I get the same feel of sailing in one of the Shikara”.

Though he wanted the feel of Kashmir at his home exactly the way it felt like sailing amidst the beautiful lakes and viewing the mountains, but living in a city like Mumbai which is always hustling sounded a bit surprising. He took me towards the window which covered one of his wall’s breadths. He said: “there is nothing constructed here. I see a green park outside my window all greenery no trace of dirt or noise”.

Just opposite the bed was his mirror. “I m not a self obsessed person but I love to have a mirror just opposite my bed”. There is a wall hung TV besides the bed. Though he is not a regular Tv watcher, yet sometimes he enjoys watching cricket while on his bed. The calmness of the bedroom is so unlike the rest of his home. I guessed this would be his favorite place in his home. The spark in his eyes with which he shows me the greenery outside his window says it all. He admits “this is my favorite place. I love to spend time here when I am home and don’t have much work. When I invite my friends at my place for parties, we sit in here and watch movies together. I love the silence over coziness here”.

Haider Khan who is best known for his story telling though photographs has the most unusual storyline in each aspect of his home. The way he makes his models and actors look stunning though his captures is so very different from what he reflects to be at his den. A short visit to this cowboy’s den really left me mesmerized and took me to a different era. Though he has always been a great friend but I was unaware of this cowboy nature of his that reflected so well at his residence. Unveiling this side of Haider made me know him a little more and when I was asked to write about his home I was thrilled as if I had been through an adventure land myself. From forest to the ranch, crossing the beaches and moving to the Shikaras was much an exciting journey under one roof which not only unfolded the real Haider Khan but also acquainted all of us with his fanciful and yet adventurous world whose melodies are audible through his home photographs.

Text By : Pameli Kayal

Date : 30^th April 2011

For : India Today

Photograph Courtesy : Haider Khan

From the aromas.......

Often the very first thing one notice about any house is its fragrance. There is nothing like the heady fragrance in any room to tease your mind into a chosen state. The first thing to greet your guests as they enter your home in the aroma, and the impression it creates is more enduring than that made by any fixtures and fittings.

One very elegant way of spreading the aroma and enhancing the space is with candles. Candles are so valuable in daily life. With the broad assortment of scents that candle making creates, you can find any scent imaginable to solve several household and personal matters. Candles are so valuable in daily life.

One very elegant way of spreading the aroma and enhancing the space is with candles. Candles are so valuable in daily life. With the broad assortment of scents that candle making creates, you can find any scent imaginable to solve several household and personal matters. Candles are so valuable in daily life. With the broad assortment of scents that candle making creates, you can find any scent imaginable to solve several household and personal matters. We all like to make a statement in our homes and often times it can be as simple as using bright and bold colors, textures and unique scents. But if you really want to make a statement, consider making it all about your style. Remember, your home should be about you and your signature touches - and it all doesn’t have to be what you see but what you smell. Candles can offer your home unique scents such a fruits, foods and flower scents. Each scent can evoke a warm feeling or fond memory and candles are a convenient way to fill your space with wonderful aromas while creating a cozy ambiance.

Our homes can always benefit from the use of aromatic candles. Let us now discuss some household uses of scented candles. Even the feeling of your home can be improved by the wonderful aroma of a scented candle. Bathrooms, kitchens and mudrooms can all be benefited. The sweet aroma of scented candles can freshen even the dankest places at home.

If you have kids and pets at home it is not a matter of worry as scented candles can help you too. In fact, your home may especially benefit from them. Kitty litter spots, pet feeding areas, kennels, playrooms and diaper changing stations are all areas that need them from time to time. However, if you chose to improve your home by burning candles with pets and children present, always use safety measures. This is important to ensure the ones you love are not injured. Always keep them out of reach of children; also be sure they are not in places where they could be tipped to the floor-this could endanger the whole household. Then of course a burning candle should never be left unattended.

These candles can create a special ambiance. You may be looking for a cozy feeling; maybe you want a romantic feel. Whatever mood you want to create, these will do the trick. Scented candles go even further, to create a particular mood. Smells can be associated with so many wonderful things. And scents of all kinds are used for candle making. You can find them boasting of baked goods scents, fresh linens, or even candies! Truly the most difficult decision is what your preference is for scents. Burning scented candles while bathing is a great way to relax and enhance your bathing experience. Try to choose a soap or bubble bath formula that compliments or is similar to the fragrance of the scented candles you are using, so that you are not "thrown off" by having too many different (or even conflicting) fragrances in the air all at the same time.

Once you have identified the scented candles that you find the most soothing and relaxing, purchase a few of these. You can simply burn them anywhere in the house whenever you feel the need to relax. Some people like to burn scented candles while they are doing chores or reading or relaxing, just to add a nice, soothing scent as a sort of comforting backdrop to their daily activities. Aromatherapy is the use of certain aromas cure ailments and to heal. This works because of the use of essential oils in candle making for therapy. Certain essential oils are emitted through the air in aromatherapy and their scent appeals to the brain to encourage calmness. But for this to happen, special oils are infused into candle wax during candle making and this creates an aromatherapy candles.

So go head and pull out your scented candles! Use these three simple ideas to solve everyday problems. They can refresh a room, set a mood, and even heal. Discover what scented candles can do for you.

Infosys Park 4, Mysore

In the existing premise of Mysore, the SDB - 4 building stands erect, reiterating the debonair of the site. The building is again thoughtfully designed by Ar. Hafeez Contractor, considering the Japanese traditional concept of Origami. Origami is an old and traditional art of folding paper in an artistic fashion in Japan.



He got inspired by this traditional concept when he saw the length of the building going unexpectedly long. He then thought to match the profile of the building along the profile of the site. Also his ideology while designing was that – the building should stand out as an interface of imagination of the software developers working for Infosys.

The parameters on which the building was designed had been very challenging from the beginning. Right from the tremendous contours on which the building is constructed, to the extremely horizontal profile, till its buoyant interiors, everything was carefully designed. The inspiration of the shape of the structure was drawn from the jaggedness of the site, especially the flow of contours. The harmonious combination just blend with the surrounding as if this was the structure the land had been waiting for.

The most important was the length of the building, which was turning out to be linear and horizontal. That is when the idea of origami struck him and then he saw that the concept blended very well with the profile of the site. He then decided to implement the principles of this traditional art and make the building stand out amidst the premise as a piece of art in itself.

The base of the building moves enigmatically, which with use of origami, just falls in as pieces of paper, and every fold perfectly falls side by side without any overlaps. Though it’s a 5 storeyed structure, the interiors are just a perfect blend to the form adopted for the building, with thoughtful pockets serving as atriums. These atriums act as blending zone for the rectilinear work spaces within the building to the sheathed glazed outer skin.

In front of the building is a football court encircled by bright red running track which again helps to let the building stand out acting as its base, giving a definite bottom-line. Though the building is located on one of the peripherals, yet it makes a striking difference in the premise standing alone and making a different. Thus we can say that inspite all odds faced initially, the project is a great success and ads up to the journey of the Architect as one the finest designers of the Country.

Cosmic Architecture

In ancient India science, medicine, astrology, astronomy, mysticism, philosophy and spirituality lived in amiable juxtaposition, their boundaries overlapping and one enriching the other. Herein lays the truth and freshness that allows us more than 3000 years later to draw on its perspectives. Indian religion, Hinduism, culture and civilization are basically spiritual in nature. The principles of Vastu were formulated keeping in view, the cosmic influence of the Sun, its light and heat, the direction of the wind, the earth’s magnetic field and the influence of cosmos on our planet earth. Our ancient scriptures reveal that an exact and intimate knowledge of the manipulations of these energy fields to the desired intensity was known to our rishis. Hence in Vastu-shastra, selection of a site is an important factor since the plot represents a fixed form and it would radiate positive as well as negative energies depending upon its shape, proportion, direction and location of its openings etc. Astronomy is the foundation of astrology and they together with the calendar play an important role in different aspects of vastu shilpa, particularly in deciding the right time and day to commence the construction work.

The physical world, according to the principles of vastu comprises of five basic and essential elements known as Panchabhutas and they are:

1. Aakasha - Space, 2. Vaayu - Air, 3. Agni - Fire, 4. Jala -Water, 5. Bhumi - Earth.

The human body is also made up of these five elements, and again it is the very same elements that we see in building construction. The interplay of these forces sustains life and maintains a near equilibrium on this planet. Any imbalance in the interplay of these forces can result in chaos. An invisible equation operates, between the elements outside, the elements within the individual and his living place. While the first two are near constants, the third is a variable. Man can design buildings better, if he understands the effectiveness of these five natural forces. Generations after generations in India believe that the location, direction and composition of the buildings have a bearing on the health and happiness of the inmates. The Vastu influence of buildings on human beings is like the cosmic influence of the sun on our ecosystems. The Japanese art and Tibetan mandalas also reveal this knowledge.

"There is one timeless way of building. It is thousands of years old, and the same today as it always has been."

Christopher Alexander

Nature plays a vital role in all life forms, men, plants and animals. Natural forces like wind, light, directions, gravitational forces, magnetic forces have effect on human body and material. It can be felt by all of us while climbing up a mountain, driving down the slope or cycling against the wind. Thousands of years ago, our old masters had understood the secret power of these forces, which moves in our surrounding.

Most of our buildings have been constructed under economical, structural and technological considerations. But human factor is of paramount importance in creating an individually suited, healthy and ecologically sound building environment.

We are enveloped by a series of environmental. We all care about our homes and spend time, effort and money, trying to make them more comfortable. For most of us it represents one of the biggest investments we ever make. Our home can damage our health, the air we breathe and the water we drink, without our even being aware of it.

Similarly, the places where we work environmental hazards in our day-to-day life, which leads us to irresistible, endless physical and mental disorders.

Japanese Architecture :

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press.

Japanese architecture structures created on the islands that constitute Japan. Evidence of prehistoric architecture in Japan has survived in the form of models of terra-cotta houses buried in tombs and by remains of pit houses of the Jomon, the neolithic people of Japan.

Religious Architecture :

The more highly developed religious architecture of China came to Japan with the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th cent. Late in the 7th century. the great monastery of Horyu-ji, near Nara, was near completion. The gateway, temple, and pagoda remained practically untouched until the 20th cent., when they were faithfully restored. These buildings illustrate the first epoch of Japanese architecture (6th-8th cent.), which was characterized by gravity, frankness of construction, and simple, vital compositions, sparsely ornamented.

Current Developments :

Landscape ecologists find traditional feng shui an interesting study. In many cases, the only remaining patches of old forest in Asia are "feng shui woods," often associated with cultural heritage, historical continuity, and the preservation of species. Some researchers interpret the presence of these woods as indicators that the "healthy homes," sustainability and environmental components of ancient feng shui should not be easily dismissed.

Environmental scientists and landscape architects have researched traditional feng shui and its methodologies.

Architectural schools study the principles as they applied to ancient vernacular architecture.

Geographers have analyzed the techniques and methods to help locate historical sites in Victoria, Canada, and archaeological sites in the American Southwest, concluding that ancient Native Americans considered astronomy and landscape features.

Whether it is data on comparisons to scientific models, or the design and sitting of buildings, graduate and undergraduate students have been accumulating solid evidence on what researchers call the "exclusive Chinese cultural achievement and experience in architecture" that is feng shui.

Feng Shui (today):

Today, feng shui is practiced not only by the Chinese, but also by Westerners. However, with the passage of time and feng shui's popularization in the West, much of the knowledge behind it has been lost in translation, not paid proper attention to, frowned upon, or scorned.

Robert T. Carroll sums up what feng shui has become in some cases:

"… feng shui has become an aspect of interior decorating in the Western world and alleged masters of feng shui now hire themselves out for hefty sums to tell people such as Donald Trump which way his doors and other things should hang. Feng shui has also become another New Age "energy" scam with arrays of metaphysical products … offered for sale to help you improve your health, maximize your potential, and guarantee fulfillment of some fortune cookie philosophy."

Others have noted how, when feng shui is not applied properly, or rather, without common sense, it can even harm the environment, such as was the case of people planting "lucky bamboo" in ecosystems that could not handle them. Still others are simply skeptical.

Nevertheless, even modern feng shui is not always looked at as a superstitious scam. Many people believe it is important and very helpful in living a prosperous and healthy life either avoiding or blocking negative energies that might otherwise have bad effects. Many of the higher-level forms of feng shui are not so easily practiced without either connections, or a certain amount of wealth because the hiring of an expert, the great altering of architecture or design, and the moving from place to place that is sometimes necessary requires a lot of money. Because of this, some people of the lower classes lose faith in feng shui, saying that it is only a game for the wealthy. Others, however, practice less expensive forms of Feng Shui, including hanging special (but cheap) mirrors, forks, or woks in doorways to deflect negative energy.

Even today feng shui is so important to some people that they use it for healing purposes, separate from western medical practice, in addition to using it to guide their businesses and create a peaceful atmosphere in their homes. In 2005, even Disney acknowledged feng shui as an important part of Chinese culture by shifting the main gate to Hong Kong Disneyland by twelve degrees in their building plans, among many other actions suggested by the master planner of architecture and design at Walt Disney Image engineering, Wing Chao, in an effort to incorporate local culture into the theme park.

Historical criticism :

Victorian-era commentators on feng shui were generally ethnocentric, and as such skeptical and derogatory of what they knew of feng shui.

In 1896 at a meeting of the Educational Association of China, Rev. P.W. Pitcher railed at the "rottenness of the whole scheme of Chinese architecture," and urged fellow missionaries "to erect unabashedly Western edifices of several stories and with towering spires in order to destroy nonsense about feng-shui.

Sycee-shaped incense used in feng shui - Some modern Christians have a similar opinion of feng shui:

It is entirely inconsistent with Christianity to believe that harmony and balance result from the manipulation and channeling of nonphysical forces or energies, or that such can be done by means of the proper placement of physical objects. Such techniques, in fact, belong to the world of sorcery.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, feng shui has been officially deemed as a "feudalistic superstitious practice" and a "social evil" according to the state's ideology and discouraged or even banned outright at times.

Persecution was the most severe during the Cultural Revolution, when feng shui was classified as a custom under the so-called Four Olds to be wiped out. Feng shui practitioners were beaten and abused by Red Guards and their works burned. After the death of Mao Zedong and the end of the Cultural Revolution, the official attitude became more tolerant but restrictions on feng shui practice are still in place in today's China. It is illegal in the PRC today to register feng shui consultation as a business and similarly advertising feng shui practice is banned, and there have been frequent crackdowns on feng shui practitioners on the grounds of "promoting feudalistic superstitions" such as one in Qingdao in early 2006 when the city's business and industrial administration office shut down an art gallery converted into a feng shui practice. Communist officials who had consulted feng shui were sacked and expelled from the Communist Party.

Partly because of the Cultural Revolution, in today's PRC less than one-third of the population believe in feng shui, and the proportion of believers among young urban PRC Chinese is said to be much less than 5%. Among all the ethnic Chinese communities the PRC has the least number of feng shui believers in proportion to the general population. Learning feng shui is considered taboo in today's China. Nevertheless, it is reported that feng shui has gained adherents among Communist Party officials according to a BBC Chinese news commentary in 2006, and since the beginning of Chinese economic reforms the number of feng shui practitioners are increasing. A number of Chinese academics permitted to research on the subject of feng shui are anthropologists or architects by trade, studying the history of feng shui or historical feng shui theories behind the design of heritage buildings, such as Cao Dafeng, the Vice-President of Fudan University, and Liu Shenghuan of Tongji University.

Feng shui practitioners have been skeptical of claims and methods in the "cultural supermarket." Mark Johnson made a telling point:

This present state of affairs is ludicrous and confusing. Do we really believe that mirrors and flutes are going to change people's tendencies in any lasting and meaningful way? ... There is a lot of investigation that needs to be done or we will all go down the tubes because of our inability to match our exaggerated claims with lasting changes.

Forming a cosmic web, galaxies in relatively nearby parts of the universe arrange themselves as spidery filaments or as giant walls separated by huge voids. That's what telescope surveys began to reveal in the 1980s, when astronomers charted the cosmos a few hundred million light-years from Earth.

A team of astronomers reported last May that they had seen hints of the same large galactic structures in a patch of sky 20 to 30 times more distant. Although researchers cautioned that the pattern of galaxies in this single region of the sky might not be representative of the cosmos as a whole, the observations suggested that the smooth, primordial universe developed lumps-networks of galaxies- earlier than some theorists have asserted.

From the pages of our history..

Dosti Acres, Wadala.

With a vision of architectural grandeur, the Dosti group developed the Dosti Acres in the central part of Mumbai in Wadala. Initially keeping their needs restricted to the low-rise development, the design of seven storeyed structures were finalized and constructed; but later Mr. Contractor convinced them on proceeding with 14 storeyed structures in the central part of the site. Thus to bring in more luxury to the category of necessity, the buildings took their shape over a one storeyed podium.The usage of low-pitched roofs, arched entryways and the landscaping is an evocation of the Mediterranean style of architecture. The retro style adapted by Mr. Contractor, blends easily with the surrounding greenery.

Allowing easy accessibility to the common activity areas like the clubhouse has also been an important planning aspect, which makes it convenient for the non-residents of the complex visit for activities like – gymnasium, sauna, skating rink, jogging, etc.

Thus, the complex not only promises a soothing view of the surroundings but also is an attempt to provide a healthy ambience for its residents and visitors; with an enduring edifice in the fast growing suburbs.