masala-waala

:D

Today, on the way back from the metro station, via Hauz Rani, I met a masala-waala! He sells masalas, and, unbelievably, pasta (!) on his redi/ wheel-cart. He sits in this area every Wednesday. Shit, I never even knew there were masala-waalas like him, let alone masala-aur-pasta waalas. This made my day, and even made the cycle-which-fell-on-my-foot-two-minutes-later sorta worth it.

Update:

My all-knowing brother tells me that a masalawaala isn't that rare (he's seen them around the Hauz Khas Village) and, more importantly, what I thought was pasta are actually un-fried/ dry fry-ums. You know, those snacky things that blow up when fried. Still, a weird thing to sell.

isabgol and licences

 

Packaging for Sat-Isabgol, which my dad has been having since forever. I think it's brilliant! So retro. Absolutely love the typography. Notice how elements are repeated on both the English and Hindi sides, especially love the 'R' of registered. It's cardboard, and the 'trademark registered' oval is embossed. And the telephone! I don't understand the significance, but I definitely like the style and the detail. Click on the image for a zoomed in view.

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Got my driving licence! Very impressed by the authority- I gave my test yesterday morning and got it today by 3.30 in the afternoon. The envelope and the licence both have "Drive only if you must: use public transport" displayed quite prominently. And, surprised to note that Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit Systems Limited is a project partner with the Transport Department.

Winning and Losing

Via Steven Heller's daily column at Imprint Magazine.
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Housing's over! YAY!

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In the latest issue of the Journal of Landscape Architecture, about the international design competition for the New Museum of Ancient India, Patna:

Five world-leading architectural firms are competing... each with their Indian architect partner firms...:

1.  Coop Himmelblau (Vienna) with ARCHOHM
2. Foster + Partners (London) with C.P. Kukreja & Associates
3. Maki & Associates (Tokyo) with OPOLIS
4. Snohetta (Oslo) with Spacematters
5. Studio Daniel Libeskind (New York) with Morphogenesis

Whoa.
The museum, preliminary budget INR 350 crores, is slated to be operational by mid-2015.