A Cowboy's Den
Monday, May 2, 2011
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
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
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 19th 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
For : India
Photograph Courtesy : Haider Khan
From the aromas.......
Saturday, April 9, 2011
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
Sunday, January 23, 2011
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.
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