CONTENTS A Dedication 13 Foreword by Balkrishna Doshi 17 Prologue 21 Beginnings Letter 1: Omens of A Magic Gift 35 Letter 2: Legacy and Endowment: An Architect's Self Discovery 43 Letter3: Five Lessons Life has Taught Me 61 Letter4: An Uncertain Journey: The Education of an Architect 65 Conception to Realization Letter 5: In Search of Architecture 73 Letter 6: A Timeless Way of Living 79 Letter 7: Architecture as a Social Tool 87 Letter 8: The Design of Design 97 Letter 9: Language and Pattern: The Mahindra United World College of India 105 Letter 10: De-schooling Architecture 113 Letter 11: Themes and Motifs in Architecture: The Dilemma of Style 117 Letter 12: Back to Basics 121 Letter 13: Looking Back and Forward 125 The Importance of Being Modern Letter 14: Modern, Postmodern and the Intervention of the Effete 133 Letter 15: Imagineering and the Creation of Space 145 Letter 16: Why Europeans Sleep with their Dogs and Other Architectural Theories 159 Letter 17: The Beautiful Velvet Box 167 Letter 18: Le Corbusier: The Modern Project and the Challenge 171 In Search of the City Letter 19: The Principles of Intelligent Urbanism 181 Letter 20: The Challenge and the Response 185 Letter 21: Models of Habitat Mobility in Transitional Economies 195 Letter 22: Visions and Devices of Urban Form 203 Letter 23: Five Myths which Plague Urban India 209 Letter 24: Poverty Alleviation in Cities 219 Letter 25: Channels of Access to Shelter {Interview by Gargi Gupta, Business Standard) 231 Letter 26: An Interview to Harsh KabraofThe Hindu 241 Remembrances Letter 27: Acceptance Speech for the Great Master's Award 253 Letter 28: What Made Raje Laugh 257 Letter 29: Doshi at Eighty 261 Meanings Letter 30: The Ordering Project 269 Letter 31: The Importance of Curiosity 287 Glossary 301