New York JKF Airport Royal Air Maroc check-in:

A large group of African women dressed in multicolored long Kaftans make me realize that I unfortunately packed the wrong clothes. My summer wardrobe consists of tiny Abercombie & Fitch shorts, mini skirts, t-shirts and tank tops; It’s the first time in my life that something like this has happened. I’ve got that strange feeling that I’m going to learn something different this trip.

“Manicure Miss?” I have time. At a spa close to my gate, I pick out a bright orange nail polish. I’ve never used this color before. My feet are in someone’s hands, and with my eyes closed, I am finally starting to dream about a distant and unknown mosque… Suddenly I hear an announcement over a loudspeaker… several times, and it’s not a Salat… It’s my name they are calling, my last call, I am apparently late for my flight and my nails are still not dry, the whole plane heading to Casablanca is waiting for my pedicure to dry.

I decide to run barefoot with the resort Marc Jacobs in my hand. As I enter the aircraft, all passengers clap their hands very loud while the tanned and tall flight attendant whispers in my ear a little intrigued “Why a manicure? You are flying to Morocco where the best Mehndi is available, silly of you, don’t you think?”

I’ve had thoughts only the next day when the plane landed. The red dust of the landscape mixed with the evident Sub-Saharan heat made me realize only one thing: The color of the nail polish… that at least, I got right.

I am a staying at a friend’s ryad, inside the South Medina, (Arabic for city) in the Zitoun El-Jedid (the Neighborhood of Olives). I’m near the Mellah, the historically Jewish quarter, the oldest section of Marrakech and the past domain of Sultans and their retinues . Hassan dressed in an long orange cotton a djellaba red Fez hat (my grandfather used to wear one) welcomes me holding a card with my name at the entrance of the Medina. “Salam Aleki, Madame Joelle”.

Cars are not allowed, so Hassan with my wheeled luggage leads me to a confluence of several salmon-pink ancient crenelated walls alleys full of pedestrians, bicycles, scooters, donkey carts, motorbikes, cats, children playing soccer in the manner of Brazilians, small antique shops, carpets dealers, and lots, lots of men calling me Gazelle.

At the end of a small alley, a small wooden door opens in front of me. The door has two brass knobs in the shape of Khamsah : one on top for men, the other, lower, for women. No need to knock….

Hassan disappears with my suitcase, Queen Nour blue eyes are always the same, she’s there waiting for me and she smiles.

Today listen to: kissat Hob

Shoemaker to the stars, Salvatore Ferragamo saw his brand become more of a lifestyle choice than an accessories line. I decided to go to Florence for the day and see how he accomplished that.

Salvatore Ferragamo may be turning 80 this year, but the Florentine fashion house shows no signs of slowing down just yet. Having made its name with leather goods (notably shoes and bags), luxury luggage and sunglasses, winning celebrity fans such as Claudia Schiffer and Nicole Kidman along the way.

It was the first Italian fashion house to diversify into travel and lifestyle. When the brand expanded to encompass boutique hotels, rural resorts, wineries and restaurants, it kicked off a trend that has quickly gained currency throughout the fashion world.

This forward-looking spirit is nothing new. Drawn to Florence by the city’s long tradition of craftsmanship, founder Salvatore Ferragamo made fashion history by inventing the wedge heel in 1937, and went on to pioneer sandals and ergonomically correct footwear.

He was the first celebrity shoemaker, making shoes for the likes of Greta Garbo and Marylin Monroe. He went as far as to claim he could judge a person’s character by touching their feet.

But the Ferragamo family has always had aspirations beyond footwear. And although justifiably proud of the brand proud of the brand’s recent globalization, retaining it’s “Made in Italy” status is clearly non-negotiable.

Unlike Gucci, which was also founded in Florence, the Ferragamo brand thrives as a locally based, family-owned enterprise; the company is still ensconced in an ancient palace off the river Arno. Along with its shoe museum, and its boutique hotels that can be found all over the city. Above all else, this is an essentially Florentine brand-if it didn’t hail from the city, it would surely have to decamp there.

Florentine style is characterized by distinguersi, a desire to be singled out for one’s subtlety not flamboyance. Florentines are rarely fashion victims, and their stylishness transcends social status, wealth, taste, even beauty. More than any other house, the Ferragamo look embodies this ethos: craftsmanship above cool brands status, effortless chic and an understated urban elegance combined with a passion for rural living.

Dressed head to toe in Ferragamo, Salvatore’s eldest son Ferruccio, pours scorn on the idea that, sartorially speaking, Florence lags behind Milan: “Florentines dress more elegantly than other Italians,”, he says. “The Italian fashion industry was born here, with the first haute couture shows in 1950s.”

Now at the helm of the company, Ferruccio attributes the firm ’s success to his mother, who despite being “a simple housewife, assigned the six of us to roles in different sectors”; he has adopted a similar approach. His son James acts as accessories designer, while James’s twin brother, Salvatore jr, runs Il Borro the family’s Tuscan wine estate and rural resort.

However, falling back on the family business is anything but an easy option. Only three family members from the third generation are allowed to work for the firm at any one time, and jobs are offered with the caveats that “they’ve proven themselves elsewhere and there’s a suitable vacancy”, explains Salvatore. As he points out with alacrity the competition between his 25 cousins is considerable. The family founded the Il Borro estate on similarly meritocratic principles.

Tucked away in the hills near Arezzo, it was originally a medieval village left in ruins after World War II. Salvatore says  his father ” had a vision of turning it into a rural resort and wine estate for trailblazing Super Toscans, rather than the traditional Chianti Classico.

With its Geranium-clad cottages and geometric gardens, the resorts borders on perfection, but Salvatore insists on its authenticity “lt’s a wine estate resort and restored medieval village, not Disneyland,” he says.

Even so, it is featured in fashion shoots, even if the Ferragamo name is notably absent from the wine bottles here. As with the family’s hotels, this is a deliberate effort to keep the integrity of the original brand intact.

It’s perhaps  not surprising that there’s no Ferragamo fashion outlet on the estate. Instead, several activities and craft workshops have been set up for a goldsmith, a carpenter, a ceramist , a glass maker and, of course a cobbler—a reminder of Ferragamo’s shoe-making heritage.

And it’s here that you’ll find the very essence of the Ferragamo lifestyle. A typical day might start with a family football match against a Florentine team, followed by a lunch of Spaghetti alla Menta (spaghetti tossed in buttery mint) at the estate inn, washed down with il Borro wine.

Rather like an Italian Ralph Lauren, the Ferragamo family offers romanticized idyll of rural life…

Except with slightly chicer footwear!

Joelle’s Tips:

Source : Lisa Gerard Sharp – Bthere magazine August 2008/ Photo Credit :Salavatore Ferragamo Museum all rights reserved

The store flagship: Salavatore Ferragamo: 4-14 r Via Tornabuoni

The Exhibition Creativity in Color: Ferragamo Museum Piazza Trinita 5r. Florence. Tel +39 055 33 60 475 Watch the virtual tour

The hotels and apartments: lie on both sides of river Arno. Most are clustered around Ponte Vecchio. Some of thse boltholes are designed for people watching,others for privacy

• Palazzo Capponi:1, Lungarno Guicciardini, a grand frescoed pile

• Continentale: 6 r Vicolo dell’ Oro is a hip hotel with a retro feel.black and white photography and views over the famous bridge,

• Gallery Hotel Art: 5,Vicolo dell’Ortowas Florence first design hotel,and still appeals to the fashion ser

• Lungarno Suites: 14 Lungarno Accianoli are luxurious serviced apartments set in Palazzi on the river. For more details, visit lungarnohotels tel +39 05527264000

The private tour: Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, not to be missed by all means! 5r Piazza Santa Trinita. Exhibits here include shoes made for Hollywood stars and the mistresses of Hitler and Mussolini.

Fans of Interiors: Lungarno Details 4,Lungarno Acciaiuoli the family’s Florentine desigh store. The objects can be found in the various hotels.

The Michelin Starred Canteen: Borgo San Yacopo 62 Borgo San Yacopo tel +39 055 281661 is the family’s Michelin-starred ‘canteen’ overlooking Ponte Vecchio

Tuscan Countryside:

• Villa Delle Rose 2,Via Brancolano, Tavarnuzze. tel +39 055 27264000 in Chianti.
• Il Borro + 39 055 977053 near Arezzo, which offers wine tasting,golf,riding,hunting and hot-air balooning.
• Osteria del Borro , a rural inn where you can take gastronomic courses

Derriere is a fairly unique restaurant concept in the heart of Paris. It offers to its guests the qualities of having a gourmet dinner in a restaurant with the comfort and warmth of eating in a traditional Parisian home. The basic idea behind this concept was to make guests feel as if they are invited and treated in a friend’s house – a concept that is lately starting to become more and more popular amongst Parisian restaurants, bars or even clubs.

Starting with the site of the venue, Derriere is located in the 3rd district of Paris amongst numerous bars and restaurants of the area. Its name (derriere=behind) originates from its exact location, which right at the back of 404 restaurant and Andy Wahloo cocktail bar in la rue des Gravilliers. As you walk on, hidden at a rather exclusive spot of the street Derriere appears as surprise offer amongst the options of Le Marrais.

What is very distinguishing about this restaurant is its atmosphere, which again provides its focal point. With the decoration of a French baroque house, Derriere is equipped with numerous ‘little touches’ that make the visitor feel as if they are having a family dinner, or one amongst friends – so that they do feel easy to behave likewise. Little wooden chairs, messy bookshelves loaded with huge piles of books, an old ‘baignoire’, a bed placed in the middle of the room space, a ping-pong table and lots of other objects that add a little something to making Derriere ‘feel like home’.

Upon their arrival the ‘guests’ of the restaurant are welcomed by the staff and are asked to choose their sitting according to their mood, having to choose between settling in the traditional yet cozy dining room, playing ping-pong in the home-like decorated salon, watching a film in the ‘movies’ designated area or having a cocktail with their friends in the boudoir.

The venue also offers a more quite area on the upstairs, which functions as a bedroom, and guests can go to relax.

What should not forget to mention is Derriere’s famous ‘secret room’. This refers to a delicately discrete fumoir (smoking room), which is a hushed whispered by many. With its entrance door looking like an old baroque wardrobe no one expects that opening it will lead you to a private room where smoking is ‘off-the record’ allowed.

Regarding the cuisine and menu options offered by Derriere, it could be said that the proposals are more or less similar to most hype restaurants of its genre offering the typical ‘revised’ French cuisine. What is rather interesting is the menu itself. Derriere has commissioned the design and graphics of the menus to Ich&Kar, also responsible for the graphic design of the famous Momo in London.

The menus are printed in thick paper illustrating vintage images such as the ones shown, whereas each dish carried in the menu is accompanied by its dictionary definition.
Regarding drink choice, being a French restaurant Derriere offers a large variety of wines whereas cocktails and champagne are also available upon request of the ‘guests’.
Derriere is open for lunch all weekdays from 12.00 to 2.30 and for dinner all week except Monday from 20.00 to midnight. As we all seek warmth and comfort, it is better to book at least five days in advance…

The menus are printed in thick paper illustrating vintage images such as the ones shown, whereas each dish carried in the menu is accompanied by its dictionary definition.
Regarding drink choice, being a French restaurant Derriere offers a large variety of wines whereas cocktails and champagne are also available upon request of the ‘guests’.

Derriere is open for lunch all weekdays from 12.00 to 2.30 and for dinner all week except Monday from 20.00 to midnight. As we all seek warmth and comfort, it is better to book at least five days in advance…

So secretly  Chic!

Joelle’s Tips:

The Restaurant Derriere 69, rue des Gravilliers 75003 Paris + 33 1 44 61 91 95
info@derriere-resto.com

Photo Courtesy: Andrea Ferrari and Owen Franken

Production: Studio Pepe Milan

Source: Via Yazer

The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan’s largest industrial district.

No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 in worked partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park  when the historic structure was under threat of demolition and created the public landscape with guidance from a diverse community of High Line supporters.

The High Line ,designed by an architectural team from Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, is meant to offer a retreat from street life, a bucolic space floating 30 feet in the air with Hudson River views. Yet it will retain many elements of its gritty past: graffiti is prevalent on the buildings it winds through, and some of the rails have been restored in the park. That the park — which grew from an idea hatched in the 1990s into a $170 million project — exists at all is a marvel.

The project gained the City’s support in 2002. Much of the designers’ work has been devoted to seeking a balance between preserving what one called “the romance of the ruin” — wild grasses growing up through the metal skeleton of rails and rivets — and creating a fresh green corridor for pedestrians.

The High Line south of 30th Street was donated to the City by CSX Transportation Inc. in 2005. Condominiums, hotels and office buildings designed by architectural talent like Jean Nouvel, Annabelle Selldorf, Renzo Piano, and the Della Valle Bernheimer firm are sprouting along the park’s span.

André Balazs’s 18-story Standard Hotel, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, is the only new building that rises directly over the elevated park. The towering structure is supported on massive concrete pillars, while a ground-floor restaurant and garden cafe are tucked underneath the High Line’s hefty steel frame.

Construction on the park began in 2006. The first portion of the three-section High Line, which runs near the Hudson River from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street, is  open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. There are entrances at Gansevoort Street (stairs) and at 16th Street (elevator); exits are located every few blocks.

The second phase, which extends to 30th Street, is under construction and expected to be completed by fall 2010. The third phase, up to 34th Street, has yet to be approved.The project has already transformed the area near its 22-block stretch near the river, prompting some of the most ambitious development in the city in years. The first two sections of the High Line cost $152 million, according to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, $44 million of which was raised by Friends of the High Line, the group that led the project.

The High Line runs through three of Manhattan’s most dynamic neighborhoods: the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea, and Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton. When the High Line was built in the 1930s, these neighborhoods were dominated by industrial and transportation uses. Now many of the warehouses and factories have been converted to art galleries, design studios, retailers, restaurants, museums, and residences.

The Meatpacking District

Much of the first section of the High Line is located in the Meatpacking District. Around 1900, the district was home to more than 250 slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants.Before the High Line was built, trains on street level, as well as barges and ships from the Hudson River, brought goods to the district for processing

When the High Line was built, it carried freight trains full of meat and other goods directly to the upper floors of these meatpacking plants and factories. In recent decades, as industrial uses have declined in New York City, the Meatpacking District has seen a resurgence of other uses. Its historic cobblestone streets and low-lying industrial buildings are now home to many restaurants, nightclubs, design and photography studios, and fashion boutiques.

When the High Line was built in the 1930s, these neighborhoods were dominated by industrial and transportation uses. Now many of the warehouses and factories have been converted to art galleries, design studios, retailers, restaurants, museums, and residences. Around 1900, the meatpacking district was home to more than 250 slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants. In recent decades, as industrial uses have declined in New York City, the Meatpacking District has seen a resurgence of other uses.

Before the High Line was built, trains on street level, as well as barges and ships from the Hudson River, brought goods to the district for processing. When the High Line was built, it carried freight trains full of meat and other goods directly to the upper floors of these meatpacking plants and factories.

Its historic cobblestone streets and low-lying industrial buildings are now home to many restaurants, nightclubs, design and photography studios, and fashion boutiques.

In 2003, following a community-led effort, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission established the Gansevoort Market Historic District in recognition of the neighborhood’s historical importance.

The corner of Gansevoort Street and Washington Street, at the High Line’s southern end, is the future location of a new Whitney Museum of American Art facility. Pre-construction has begun on the site, and the facility is currently projected to open in 2012. Visit the Whitney’s Web site for more information.

West Chelsea

To the north of the Meatpacking District is the neighborhood of West Chelsea, where the majority of the High Line is located. West Chelsea shares the industrial past of the Meatpacking District, with large factories and warehouses lining its streets and avenues. West Chelsea is now home to the world’s largest concentration of art galleries.

In 2005, much of West Chelsea was rezoned by the Department of City Planning, to allow for the High Line’s reuse, to encourage the continued use of former industrial spaces as art galleries, and to encourage economic growth through residential development along Tenth and Eleventh Avenues.

Much of Chelsea was, and continues to be, residential; its tree-lined blocks of historic townhouses earned part of it designation as the Chelsea Historic District in 1970, with an extension added in 1981.

The creation of another Historic District, in West Chelsea, was recently approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. This District focuses on the industrial history of the neighborhood, and includes many historically and architecturally significant factory and warehouse buildings.

Clinton / Hell’s Kitchen

The High Line’s northernmost section runs through the southern section of the Clinton / Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. Much of this neighborhood was part of the 2005 Hudson Yards Rezoning, which was meant to encourage large-scale development and the improvement of transportation infrastructure.

In the next decade or so, this neighborhood will likely undergo significant changes to its built environment.

High-lining- Fashion Statements

According Bill Cunningham on a covaerage for the New York Times the High Line fashion message is of the future.

30 feet above the ground and through the buildings you can witness the most interesting and cool downtown fashion promenade. Unlike Fifth and Park Avenue the fashion belongs to the art  and downtown crowd.

Sportswear, minimalistic dresses  short and long over the ground and not overly expensive reflecting the look of the of Meat Packing District shops are all seen at the High Line .

But as mesmerizing as the design is, it is the height of the High Line that makes it so magical, and that has such a profound effect on how you view the city.

Joelle’s Tips:

The Suspended Park: The High Line

Photo Credits: Joelle Lifestyle / The High Line Flikr Pool

Source: The New York Time : The High Line

You hear things.

Rumors. Conjecture.

Loose talk.

A lounge. Madonna.

A hot tub. Lohan.

Floor to ceiling windows—in the bathroom—overlooking the city from 18 floors up. And you’re…intrigued.

But a little visual proof would be nice. Something to confirm that this Shangri-La, this new Studio 54, actually exists.

Well, feast your eyes on the first shots of the brand-new Boom Boom Room, a throwback to ’70s carefree decadence

and the latest fun pit at Andre Balazs’s game-changing Standard Hotel, open now for private parties and later this week to the public.

From now on, this is where you party—and we mean really party.

The space is split into two modern-retro rooms,

but you’re going to want to start by setting up camp in the main area, filled with wavy cream-colored leather banquettes, golden fireplaces and starburst chandeliers.

The other, more intimate room is decked in black tiles and includes a mischievous, triangular hot tub—right smack in the middle of the room.

The whole place has the feel of a party lounge Donald Trump would have built on his yacht in 1979, only 18 floors above the Meatpacking District and filled with the likes of Bar Refaeli and Karolina Kurkova.

Many others were among  Andre Balazs guests. Most pictured by Patrick McMullan.

Andrew Saffir Calvin Klein, Courtney Love, Devon Aoki, Donna Karan, Glenda Bailey, Jared Leto, Jesus Luz, Jon Bon Jovi, Josh Hartnett, Jude Law,Kyle MacLachlan, Linda Wells, Nacho Figueras, Rachel Zoe, Steven Klein, Tory Burch

Others included Mick Jagger’s girlfriend L’Wren Scott , Kirsten Dunst and Margherita Missoni.

Check more pictures on the  photogallery.

Joelle’s Tips:

Boom Boom Room : Hotel Standard

Photo credits: Courtesy Patrick Mc Mullan

Source and interior photo credit : Urban Daddy

Many were the people that traumatized decided to leave the crowded Metropolis known as the fascinating Gotham City, to live in calmer and less threatened sites.

In order to heal this psychological depressive factor, restore trust in the market and help developers,  certain zoning regulations were altered by the commissary office of the buildings department allowing new construction models to take place. Among them, the so called : ” Mixed Use Buildings” .

I decide to go on an expedition into the city  newest ” architectural monsters “  all  of  them of extreme vanguard  and some , still in construction.  In the company of  the Israeli architect Avi Oster who offered to be my personal guide and  architectural consultant, my inseparable Cannon G9 camera  in my hand, I start my itinerary at 8th street Downtown East . I am also ready to feature for Marcel Steiner’s  well-known Brazilian on- line review ” Olho Magico“ , a glorious article on the New Architecture in Manhattan.

While walking on a beautiful day, under a hot sun and a clear blue sky, Avi tells me that in the city , common minimum lots are between 18 and 25 feet, a very limited space for an architect’s dream to take place. In these circumstances he adds, the new laws allowed  to take the maximum advantage of the those limited spaces accommodating both residential and commercial needs in unique building, offering thus new opportunities for both builders and inhabitants.

Moreover,  the International architectural elite was called into the city to compete with the local architects starting with the Valencian Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer  Santiago Calatrava responsible  today for the idealization and creation of the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub, icon of the American financial success.This overall effort  has the intention to rejuvenate the city with a new vital energy establishing a fresh creativity in the sector of lifestyle and modern living habitat.

Assisted , I have managed to pick 5 of these extraordinary buildings as my favorites as per Marcel ’s feature request. The selection  by the way, was not  difficult as I had been standing in front of exclusive jewels  all without a doubt among the world’ s most  innovative realized within the last four years.

New Academic Building for The Cooper Union

The new academic facility is conceived as a stacked vertical piazza, contained within a semi-transparent envelope that articulates the classroom and laboratory spaces. The vertical campus is organized around a central atrium that rises to the full height of the building.

This connective volume, spanned by sky bridges, opens up view corridors across Third Avenue to the Foundation Building. The interior space configuration encourages interconnection between the school’s Engineering, Art, and Architecture departments. All institutional amenities – including meeting rooms, social space, seminar rooms, wireless hubs, restrooms, and phones – are located in the fifth and eighth story sky lobbies that surround the atrium.

The skip-stop elevator system makes trips exclusively to the fifth and eighth floors, drawing occupants to use, and congregate on, the grand stair; in practice, 50% of people will use the stairs as their sole means of circulation.

The building’s physical and visual permeability helps integrate the college into its neighborhood. At street level, the transparent facade invites the neighborhood to observe and to take part in the intensity of activity contained within. Many of the public functions (including retail space and a lobby exhibition gallery) are located at ground level, and a second gallery and a 200-seat auditorium are easily accessible from the street.

The open , accessible building is exemplary as sustainable, energy-efficient architecture. The building will be the first green academic laboratory building in New York City. A steel-and-glass skin improves the building’s performance through control of daylight, energy use, and selective natural ventilation.

The double skin system allows for heightened performance and dynamic composition on several levels: the operable panels create a continually moving pattern, provide surface variety on the facade, reduce the influx of heat radiation during the summer, and give users control over their interior environment and views to the outside.

40 Bond Street

The building, designed by the eminent Swiss architects Herzog de Meuron, is an architectural masterpiece. It is a radical redesign of a traditional cast iron building with utterly unique apartments and townhouses (the first townhouses built in generations). Both have unprecedented, innovative and sophisticated layouts, details and finishes. But the true revolution is in the idea itself, not merely in the look. It is a contemporary luxury lifestyle with maximum pleasure and minimum bother.

In a historic neighborhood containing the most magnificent cast iron buildings in the world the team of Herzog & de Meuron, widely regarded as the world’s most innovative architects, have radically reinvented the cast iron building. They have created a landmark for the future and a new standard in luxury living by combining a classic idea with modern technology and materials. 40 Bond is an inspired building that will set new standards in its plan, in its materials and even in the way it captures and transforms light, reflecting new possibilities of glass and steel in harmony with life.

In the 19th century the historic cast iron buildings of downtown Manhattan revolutionized architecture. They combined classical architectural motifs with the latest engineering and technology advances to create elegant buildings filled with an unprecedented degree of natural light. These dramatically functional yet decorous commercial structures were the first step towards modernism. In the 20th century these buildings were transformed by pioneering artists into spacious homes and studios whose open plans transformed the style in which city dwellers live today.

One of the most salient features of 40 Bond is an elaborate sculptural gate of cast aluminum. This twenty-two foot high and one hundred forty foot long “Gaudíesque” sculptural gate separates the front private gardens of the townhouses from the street. Jacques Herzog said that “when we decided to do gates it was essential that they integrate with the New York street, we wanted to create something solid, rough and chaotic…so we began to experiment with New York City street graffiti which became the starting point of the design.

” The gates individualize the façade of the building but, at the same time, the graffiti inspired design blends the building into the neighborhood. This cast aluminum wall appears as a vast work of art (in fact it is produced by a foundry that manufactures artist sculptures), an abstract expressionist sculpture echoing Pollock, Kline and Dubuffet. Yet, it is elegantly functional and defines the façade by establishing a distinctive New York City graffiti inspired graphic motif echoed throughout the building.

Effortless Luxury Living is the essence of 40 Bond, a sophisticated new concept in urban living created by Ian Schrager. For the first time, it combines all the benefits of home ownership with the services, privileges and amenities of a unique world class, five-star hotel. This is something that has never before been offered in apartment living. It is a new way of living…a carefree and effortless one.

100 / 11 Avenue  ‘Vision Machine’

View of 100 11th Avenue in context along Manhattan’s far West Side. In 1987, maverick French architect Jean Nouvel burst onto the international scene with a new headquarters for the Arab World Institute in Paris, one of President François Mitterrand’s Grands Projets. With mechanized oculi and veils of glass and steel, the building was hailed as an unconventional masterpiece that encouraged people to not only accept modern architecture in a historic setting, but to be thrilled by it.

Over ensuing years Nouvel has woven art, history, cultural references and new building technologies into provocative architectural contrasts between inside and outside, intimacy and the urban network, and has become renowned as one of the most original designers of his generation. In conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Arab World Institute, construction has begun in New York City on Nouvel’s latest glass and steel landmark, a direct material and conceptual descendant of his Paris tour de force: 100 11th will be a 23-story tower described by its architect as “a vision machine” at the intersection of 19th Street and the West Side Highway, along the Hudson River in Manhattan.

The building’s gently curving curtain wall of different sized panes of colorless glass – each set in a unique angle and torque – will sheath one of the most meticulously customized, high performance residential addresses in the nation. This dazzling window pattern will frame splendid views from within the tower while producing an exterior texture that serves as a poetic analog for the vibrancy, density and changeability of New York City.

Nouvel describes 100 11th as “a vision machine,” with every angle and structural detail designed to create visual excitement. Approximately 1,650 different windowpanes comprise the most highly engineered and complex curtain wall ever constructed in New York City. The curtain wall of 100 11th captures daylight differently over the course of the day and the year. A surface that seems to brighten and go dark as if by computer program is, in fact,made dynamic by the movement of the Earth. These daily and seasonal changes will heighten your senses and foster a connection to nature.

The lobby is a dramatic transitional zone between the public life of the street outside and the privacy of individual homes in the tower above. Soft controlled lighting and dark monochromatic walls will create a theatrical but peaceful atmosphere that contrasts with the reflection and animation of the building’s exterior. Enormous punched windows provide views of the building’s tree-filled garden.

By raising the restaurant and other public functions of the ground floor to 4′ above grade and sculpting a concrete base, Nouvel has created a perfect balance between pedestrian activity and the lively atmosphere of interiors. Views from the sidewalk of the restaurant animate the street and further catalyze the neighborhood’s ongoing transformation located to allow for a broad variety of furniture configurations that take full advantage of the light and views.

The building’s pool is designed so that residents may swim comfortably indoors or outdoors, depending upon the weather. A portion of the pool is sheltered within the building’s structure, while the balance of its length extends into a landscaped outdoor space. A glass partition has been customized to enclose the indoor portion of the pool during winter months or inclement weather, so that the indoor portion remains fully operative and warm at all times.

Within a framework of glass, steel, and concrete, a six-story vertical garden blooms. From planting boxes built into the structure, trees soar upward and plants cascade down the walls, lending their scent to the atmosphere.

IAC/ InterActiveCorp

This $62 million, 10-story office building in Manhattan’s Chelsea District will serve as the East Coast headquarters of IAC/ InterActiveCorp, a prominent multi-media firm. Designed by renowned Architect Frank Ghery, the building is located between 18th and 19th Streets, across from the Chelsea Pier in Manhattan.

The gross area of the building is 550,000 square feet which includes retail space in the lower floors and typical office space above the 7th floor. The building is reminiscent of the boat sails on the adjacent Hudson River. The billowing exterior curtain wall was sculpted with a glass-façade to produce dramatic angles and spectacular views for the interior office spaces. DeSimone Consulting Engineers of New York City designed a gravity defying concrete frame with a typical 12-inch flat-plate concrete floor with spans up to 35 feet.

To accommodate this untraditional architectural design; the structural engineering office of Only two columns are truly vertical. All other columns have some degree of inclination—up to 25 degrees from vertical. The reinforced concrete shear walls in the core counteract the twisting effect of the columns to stabilize the structure. The floor slabs also include numerous openings which offer interior views of the building.

IAC is an electronic and new-media conglomerate that includes the Home Shopping Network and more than 60 Web-oriented brands, such as Ticketmaster, Expedia, Lending Tree, Citysearch, and Match.com. The new IAC Building’s dynamic form reflects the aggregation of these diversified brands under one roof.

The Iac building also utilizes the most advanced technological amenities, including the world’s largest high resolution video wall, ubiquitous WI-FI access and modular meeting spaces equipped with the high definition conferencing and customized internet access equipment.

STUDIOS Architecture’s interior design makes clever use of customized, 120-degree workstations that stretch out across the irregular floor plates, folding into the unusual spaces created by the building’s fluctuating envelope. Contrasting the ethereal palette of the curtain wall, STUDIOS punctuated the muted interior spaces with incidents of color, developing an eclectic aesthetic to suit the client.IAC is among a number of forces stoking the revitalization of the West Chelsea neighborhood. Opening up to its new neighbors, the ground floor of the IAC is a “living room” space for the community.

Galleries and nonprofit organizations host events in the lobby, which boasts one of the world’s largest HD-quality rear projection screens. Gehry may not have stamped his long-awaited signature onto the New York skyline, yet with IAC he has created a building that brings identity to a neighborhood in flux and to a corporation whose distinct entities can now function as a more effective conglomerate.

3W13

Finally the last stop. I am getting really tired of this expedition. I feel a little melancholic, possibly because I have worked non stop for more than 36 hours featuring these extraordinary architectural  marvels and the magic of this tour has soon come close to its end. I need to get re -freshened with something new, something different, something that still will surprise me, something that is already functioning and alive.

It’s already 10 o clock at night. Avi Oster is smiling, for some reason he knows he will provide with the surprise I need. And here it is. It’s called 3W13. Wow! Looking up to a very narrow incrustation building  between two others as small, illuminated from top to bottom. ” Is  there a party taking place  ? ” I ask.

Oster , laughing now , explains that his building signature is directly linked to a concept called  “Mood Street “. It’s basic principle consists in stimulating and elevate the senses of the individual passing by in the street, as well as of it’s inhabitants.

Through a sophisticated mechanism of  led illumination in different tones, war in the summer and cold in winter time,the facade illumination changes intensity through a system of LED  lights  controlled by a monitored panel, sensitive to heat and to the presence of street  pedestrian passing by the building.

Not happy  only  with the ” Mood Street ” concept, Avi Oster , created for 3w13 another interesting one : The ” Window into a Window” concept. Because of the residential laws of the building department windows must be enabled  to open at all times.  The 3W13 facade has two sorts of windows:  those that  will allow the building’s inhabitants  to integrate perfectly with the street life through a floor to ceiling view and  smaller windows frames  designed to fit right in the middle of the glass panels as to catch the moving reality like in a picture allowing full integration when open to breath  fresh air.

Fascinated with all the interesting concepts , I realize that Cristiano Cora, the  owner of the Cristiano Cora Studio a hair salon  in the 3W13 is in front of us talking to Oster looking  attentively at my poor thirsty hair. Oster,  author of the salon design explains that since today that most beauty salons are focused only on their sevices , his  goal in this project was  to explore a new approach to  the process of a women’ s transformation into the space. The challenge was to find elegant solutions through the use of  technology as a production line system and the language of minimalism, to achieve both cocooning and the incubation of the “hair form” itself.

Suggestive indirect light, the organic form, surrounding acoustics and the unlimited interactions of the structural elements of the space transform users to a dimension of infinite lightness of being.

I am not listening anymore. I am stopping right there. Gotham , it’s  lightness of being and  it’s new transformation into the  space  …..is what at the moment I want to focus  on while I get my hair scalp massaged from the past.

Joelle’s Tips:

The buildings:

New Academic Building for The Cooper Union

Design : 2004/2006

Costruction : 2006/2009

Arquitect:Tom Mayne of Morphosis

Type: Academic

Website: New Academic Building for The Cooper Union | Morphopedia | Morphosis Architects

40 Bond Street

Designer:  Jaques Herzok and Pierre de Meuron of Basel

Construction:2005/2008

Type: Residencial and Lifestyle Management

Website: 40 Bond Street

100 / 11 Avenue  ‘Vision Machine’

Designer: Jean Nouvel

Construction: 2206/2009

Type: Residencial Commrcial

Website: 100/11 Avenue ‘ Vision Machine’

3W13

Designer: Avi Oster

Construction:2006 /

Type: Residential Commercial

Hinduism categorizes a man’s life into four phases: brahmacharya (the young man as a student), grihasta (marriage and its encumbrances), vanaprastha (the process of moving into ashrams and retreats), and sanyas (renunciation).

Following the stage of bachelorhood or brahmacharya, a man is expected to perform his marital and social duties to perpetuate the name of his ancestors.  Thus Vivaha or marriage becomes an important institution, a bonding with his partner not only in this lifetime but, supporting the Hindu belief of reincarnation, in all lives thereafter.

It’s been a very long day.  I am invited to a dinner to celebrate someone’s birthday.  I am wearing my Diesel jeans and a black laced shirt from Rio.  My hair is as I  left it this morning – dried naturally – and obviously my camera in my pocket.  On my way to the birthday party, in the car with four friends, I suddenly hear the sound of drums from afar.

For a second I have the impression of being in the Rio Sambodromo for Carnival but I know I am dreaming.  As we approach the increasing sound, I notice  several elephants adorned in festive attire and heralds in red uniforms carrying bright lights and fireworks while riding white horses.  They are all “parked” outside a majestic entrance gate, while a procession of people greet each other in front of the gate.

“Hey guys,” I hear myself screaming, “drop me here.  I will see you later.”

“What are you taking about?” screams Chris, “It’s just another wedding. Don’t you know it’s the month of Gangaur, the spring festival?  The Hindus honor the goddess Gauri - who symbolizes marital bliss – which means, dear Joelle, that there are thousands of weddings this month in the city.  Please come with us to the birthday.  It will be fun, with lots of interesting people to feature for your lifestyle website.”

Without any more words or discussion, I ask the driver Mr. Tarsem Singh to drop me immediately here and I say good bye to my friends.  The driver very responsibly tells me he’ll be coming back to pick me up as soon as he’s done with my friends.  I thank him and run across the dark avenue in the direction of what is going to be the most incredible experience I have ever lived in the last few years.

Traditional weddings in India bring into play much of the country’s cultural and social life. Vihaha – the formal, Hindu marriage – is not only an individual rite of passage and a religious sacrament, it is also a socioeconomic transaction between families and clans.  The traditional Hindu wedding serves as an occasion where families meet and bond into a lifelong relationship as strong as the one between the bride and the groom.

The betrothal is usually arranged by the families of the prospective couples.  Appropriate partners are chosen by them in consultation with relatives, friends and sometimes, professional matchmakers.  Some common concerns are of caste, community interests, and the comparing of horoscopes to ensure that the match is socially and astrological auspicious.

For  people who believe that life is celestially organized, the matching of horoscopes or janamkundli is a necessity- no wonder they say marriages are made in heaven.  The betrothal is celebrated by gifts in the form of sweets, clothing and jewelery exchanged between the two families.

And talking about heaven, at the entrance gate apparently no one seems to notice my presence.  Suddenly I hear a voice at my back speaking in Portuguese: “Joelle?  What in heaven are you doing here?”  I turn around and I am shocked.  Friends of mine from Salvador, Bahia who now live in Zurich, recognized me. They were clients of my store in Sao Paulo.  Apparently they are guests of honor of the prestigious Sikh family named Sethi.

I am instantly introduced to the family.  Apparently this is the third daughter’s marriage this year.  I am a little embarrassed by they way I am dressed, but their hospitality is so warm that I can’t help forgetting the jeans thing and feel completely free to savor the incredible exotic delicacies from Rajastan in a food station near me.

I eat strange colored candies inside fresh green leaves, and bright colored paper in different tones of pink.  Apparently I can pick sweet or salted – I ask for both.  At least I am a being ecologically proper.  I am torn between dancing to the sounds from the three different stages of orchestras playing pure Bhangra beats, hysterically photographing everything – afraid to miss one detail, and savoring the immense and sumptuous selection of elaborate meals (mainly delicious kebabs from Awadhi cuisine).  Wow!  I am going absolutely crazy.  Is this what Bollywood is about?

I am told by my new and old friends that, with the approach of the wedding day, the bride begins preparations for the occasion.  Female relatives bathe her in a cleansing wash of Tumeric water, often accompanied by affectionate teasing.  The bride, dressed traditional finery, has her forehead painted with floral motifs.  The eyes are made to appear larger with Khol, and color is applied to her lips.

The application of Mehndi or henna on a bride’s palms hands and feet is a common custom among both Hindus and Muslims in the north of India.  The intricate designs that decorate  the palms of the bride include folk art figures of plants, birds, fish, and other auspicious symbols.  The tips of the fingers are completely covered with henna, proclaiming married love.  No wonder they fill the bride with romantic dreams.  Henna is believed to have a cooling effect, but is also a symbol of the sensual union of the couple.  The deeper the red of the henna deeper the love between husband and wife.  Check my bride’s photos:

The bride, the youngest of the three sisters, looked like she came from a fairytale.  Beautiful is not the right adjective.  The unconventional saree attire, the Ghungghator veiling of the face – generally used for protection from the evil eye and respect towards the elders in the family – helps to impart an illusion of mystery and romanticism.  Her jewelry is the most striking factor.  If my friend Zineb was here she could see that her saree was embroidered with large emerald stones cut in pears.  Someone assured me they are real.

The jewelry forms an integral part of the bride’s costume.  Apart from the aesthetic appeal of ornaments worn on different parts of the body, they also indicate the new marital status of the bride.

All jewelry, but particularly gold, is part of the streedhan -the wealth of the bride that is her prized possession, later to be passed on to her children.  In several communities the bride and groom sit on symbolic thrones, enshrined for the time being as a prince and princess.

Beneath a decorated canopy, the sacred fire – regarded as the receiver of the offering and a conduit of the gods – was attended by a priest, possibly Brahmin.  Under his guidance the bride and groom were instructed to recite ancient verses and to feed the fire with butter, seeds and grains.  The fire serves as the prime witness to their union.  This ritual reached a climax with seven circumnavigations of the sacred fire.

Around me is a grand feast.  Relatives and friends dance frenetically around the newlyweds.  Bangra bands come down into the crowd.  Everyone is happy. Among the guests are some European counts and countesses with kaftans embroidered in diamonds and men wearing turbans either in pink or lilac.  It’s a Bollywood atmosphere entangled with the Rio Carnival festival.

The bride and groom danced the first dance, followed by the bride and her father/the groom and the bride’s mother, the bride and the best man/the groom and his mother.  The newlyweds cut their wedding cake and the lavish sweet is served.

The Sikhs and Hindus of Punjab look upon marriage as a sacred and indissoluble bond.  Sikh scriptures do not recognize divorce since they consider the husband and wife as one spirit in two bodies.

The married Hindu woman will eventually observe the Karvachauth fast to pray for the long life of her husband, and in certain regions of Rajastan women – married and unmarried – will carry brass pitchers filled with water on their heads to take to a temple for a ceremonial bathing of the goddess Gauri.

I return to my driver, a little drunk and with an upset stomach, and with my camera loaded with emotions.  Half asleep in the car, I am making a retrospective of the colorful feast of this evening images and my own concepts of a long lasting marriage, the terrestrial union between a man and a woman.

This “constant alignment”  business makes me wonder if it belongs to humans or only to deities.  After all, don’t we have some of the divine sparkle within ourselves?  Doesn’t that sparkle shine in what we humans call a wedding ceremony?

I don’t seem to find the aligned answers.  What’s important though is that the information I need to process in time will be securely stored from my camera and later into my “lifestyle” !

This post is dedicated to Avi Oster

My roommate at the Oberoi Hotel is a prominent fashion stylist She comes to Delhi to embroider luxurious silk, mousseline and taffeta Kaftans from Morocco.These marvels will eventually be worn by wealthy Bohemian-luxe jet-setters and members of the well-heeled Casablanca society, including the royal family of Morocco itself.

It goes without saying that, by osmosis, I am automatically inheriting global connections bridging the growing crowd of affluent Delhi businessmen, socialites, stylists, artists, and their friends, families and entourages, who are all friends of their friends of friends of other friends from Casablanca, Paris and New York we certainly must have met somehow. Whatever.

Zineb, the stylist, calls me on my Delhi cell.” Have you got plans for tonight?  She speaks English like a Moroccan who at the moment has a Hindu accent in the British language.”I was thinking of editing my pictures in bed, watching MTV India over a yogurt and champagne, I answer. “Ok,” she says.”It’s a good idea, until I arrive. There are so many cows and the traffic is dense  I am still far from the Oberoi, you have time.”

“We are invited to the Consul of Costa Rica reception at the Taj Mahal hotel. We’ll follow to Veda (because you to have a look), and then to the home of a friend of the friends we met last night, who invited us for dinner at his house. After that we are going to a reception for a stylist, friend, and colleague of mine on a “Farm” and after that…..”

I interrupt her and tell her, “It’s OK, I don’t need to know more, it’s OK like that.”

“Get dressed then,” she tells me, “otherwise I will carry on as I am not finished!”

I quickly put on a simple black cotton Ana Abdul dress by my friend the designer from Brazil, and an interesting necklace I bought this morning at the Red Fort.  I am ready to face the night in Delhi. At the restaurant Lebanese belly dancers looking more like Hindu deities perform among models, diplomats and boring French businessmen.I beg my friend Zineb to leave as I am tired, jet lagged and terribly hungry.

I must say though, the restaurant Veda is extremely impressive.  Its location is among Connaught Place booksellers, kitchen appliances shops and showrooms. Still bearing imperial seats of approval.  Veda’s interior is a bold collision between Marbella 1976 and a Moghul mirror palace. What’s interesting, I am told by a local PR while she sips champagne, is that it began life as a ‘Fusion’ restaurant, combining classic Indian and other Asian flavors, but it was a step too far for Delhi foodies.

A reversion to much simpler, northern Indian fare served with a contemporary twist, such as pyramids of rice and cone shaped poppadoms, for example, resurrected its appeal. With its leather banquettes, orange walls, and red glass chandeliers, Veda comes into its own after dark, and I must admit it’s a pleasant place to escape the searing early afternoon heat  I tell Zineb I am satisfied and we can proceed to the next dinner at the friend of her friend’s home.

We arrive at the home.  A small crowd is enjoying drinks.Apparently the group was back from a show of the Rolls Royce where apparently one was purchased a few hours ago by our host and the occasion needed to be celebrated among friends and friends of friends.He’s a lovely man in his 50’s, his name is Harinder, he wears a dark moustache and is impeccably dressed in an expensive blue suit. Harinder welcomes us, introducing himself.He’s single, divorced and wealthy.

His home is filled with contemporary Indian Art works. They surround the library, living room and the eclectic 1970 dining room.I feel I am coming from an authentic set production of one of the early Wallpaper Magazine editions.Brass columns, reclining Buddha statues, Tiffany lamps, checkered tables in bone and vintage wood.  Wow!

We are invited to sit in the impressive dining room. The chairs are very heavy, of massive wood and upholstered in a brown leather matching the interacted mirrored pattern in the ceiling. He excuses himself because the main cook is not feeling well and therefore we should be content with a ” fewer” varieties of culinary house specialties:  Tandoris, Masalas, Raita, a cooling yogurt salad – everything is so spicy – all kinds of curried meats including minced lamb; chicken with the name of Reshmi ; Seek, and Mughlai Kebabs; rice and vegetables; warm, delicious Chapati Indian Bread and all sorts of  pickles, and chutneys served by a troupe of very young help.

They light the candles, they serve the wine, they move the heavy “royal” armchairs, they invite us to sit.  They know everything they need to do just by looking at the host’s eyes. Impressive! I remember I had to repeat several times to my help in Brazil the same requests over and over again!

We celebrate, and when I ask the pr what the host does she replied, “Business”. With this answer, the wine in my head and the delicious food in my stomach, once more I beg my friend Zineb to take us out of this wonderful apartment into cool elevator with acrylic cubic lamps on its ceiling  and move on into the rest of the night lights .

We are heading to a party at a farm. Delites (Delhi inhabitants) that live in the center of the city like to spend their weekends in these spacious farms in the city suburbs. They are generally houses with huge gardens and pools where most of the parties, weddings and reception take place. We are invited to a stylist’s 50th wedding anniversary.The evening is cool and Zineb operates in this environment like a queen from Morocco landing on a conquered land.

Torches, garden lights, Bohemian chandeliers, Ferraris, Mercedes coupes, candles, jewelry and sarees and more food delicacies are the main attraction of this late evening. People talk about the latest fashion designs, some gossip regarding the wedding season and the latest London exhibitions  I am getting sleepy but stimulated and entertained by a young and very charming Indian Jewish Photographer called Sidi Tawadey. He invites me to his exhibition ” Une Vague de reves” A wave of dream on March 31 . I will be in New York City…but his light, very green eyes are captivating, and they are telling me gently I should stay.

We are now on our way to Manre, the ultimate and newest spot in town.  It’s almost dawn. Chris Miller, a young American enterpreneur who is part of the group, suggests we spend some of our time at this place.  It is in the very south of the city, in the neighborhood of Saket, at the MGF Metropolitan Hall.

Named after a small town in the Champagne region of France, Manre  is the brainchild of Ramola Bachchan and her partner Kanwar Deep Singh whose vision it was to create a luxurious dining-out experience of international standards in New Delhi. Glamour and sophistication meet here in this sprawling dramatic space, where attention to detail and impeccable service underline an exquisite culinary experience.

In addition the uberstylish bar has become a popular hangout with the cocktail set. Stylish men and women are intimately gathered on white leather armchairs in private dining rooms, a larger party is taking place on the terrace rooftop.The music is loud, with Samba Euro beats. Chris, who is young and handsome, tells me that Manre has become the favored destination for the Capital’s cool crowd as well as the global traveler, where four distinct experiences in the same location seamlessly string together from breakfast to dawn!

The rest of the group left for the Singapoure brand Indochine, at  Lado Sarai not far away from where we are and Magique in the Garden of 5 Senses behind Saket. I am ready for a very deep and long sleep in this city, when I thought it was only New York that never sleeps.

I undress and look at the small embroidered pouch I got as a gift from Zineb from a small hype shop called Mai near the Hotel. It depicts a couple in a luxurious jeweled encounter….who knows, I may get to be part of what is the marriage experience in Delhi.

Good night, I will dream about it…who knows, my dream may come true.

Joelle’s Picks:

The restaurants- Bar- lounges :

Veda  : H 27, outer circle Counnaught Circus New Delhi, 110001 Tel + 91 11 41513535

Manre bar  M.G. Road saket New Delhi H.O. 110001 / Ph: +91 11 4066 8888  +91 011 4066 8888

Indo Chine Forbidden City: Lado Sarai, Aurobindo Marg (beside Qutab Golf Course), New Delhi; ph: 29523330.

Magique:
The Garden of Five Senses Said-ul-Ajaib / Mehrauli – New Delhi  PH: +91 11 4600 8333

Olives bar & Kitchen: Address: Kalkadass Marg, Haveli No 6-8, One Style Mille, New Delhi, 110030 / Ph: +91 11 2664 2552/ Fax: +91 11 2664 4860 / Email: ashish@olivebarandkitchen.com

Bukkhara: ITC Maurya Sheraton Hotel, Sardar Patel Marg, Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakyapuri, Delhi, 110021 / Ph:  +91 11/2611-2233

The Shop: Mai – d1o- opposite Nirulas, New Delhi 110024 / ph +91 11 465-43-3600/

“India is a land of contrasts, of some very rich and many very poor people, of modernism and medievalism…India is not a poor country.  She is abundantly supplied with everything that makes a country rich, yet her people are very poor ”

Jawaharlal Nehru

One night in Delhi has passed and I am feeling like I am missing something extremely important.  Whenever I close my eyes and concentrate on the city’s energy, I can’t avoid connecting with a certain elegance present in its austerity, discipline and asceticism.

But soul searching deeply – in images whose origins I don’t exactly understand – I see myself transported into a depth of emotions related to what is the classical example of the elitist lifestyle experience during the colonial history of British India and the country’s nationalistic abandon of it.

The British Colonial tradition is evident in the architecture, government, sports, and Victorian values still alive and well in the golf and gymkhana clubs in the metropolitan cities of India.  Many Indians who feel ” British” are in a time warp, and assume the values and customs of the Raj – which in England today are considered very strange.  Nevertheless it is important to understand that, despite its traditionalism, India’s instincts are liberal and socialist.

If Gandhi was the father of the nation founded at midnight on August 14,1947 (hence the title of Salman Rushdie’s novel Midnight’s Children), the natural first prime minister was his close associate, the brilliant Jawaharlal Nehru.

I was strongly advised by a friend that lives in the city to visit the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, close to the Oberoi Hotel where I am staying.  This time my driver’s name is Kaylan Singh Rana.  Without question he takes me through a Delhi without traffic, straight to a house called Teen Murti Bhavan, where Jawaharlal Nehru lived and died while he was India’s First Prime minister.

Upon his death the house was converted into a national memorial, comprising a museum and a library for research scholars.  It’s a beautiful sunny day.  Kaylan the driver drops me at the majestic entrance gate of a sumptuous example of classic British Colonial architecture.

Originally the residence of the commander-in-chief of British Forces in India – and located directly south of Rashtrapati Bhavan – the house was designed by Robert Tor Russel, the architect of Connaught Place and the Eastern and Western Courts on Janpath.

Its design follows the established Lutyens Style classicism with a chic teak paneled interior and vaulted reception rooms.  The tones of the upholstered armchairs and couches in those rooms are in lavish and faded pastels which give a sort of fresh lightness to the sobriety of the historical atmosphere.

I look around, walking on the white marbled floor in my high-heeled leather sandals, trying not to make noise and interfere with the platonic gazes of Nehru’s  family portraits, represented in a vast collection of old photographs in aged Sepia. His mother ’s presence and posture was impressive, so were the rest of his relatives and environment.

Nehru’s bedroom and study, still exactly as he left them, are an austere center in a grand house.  Visitors are not allowed in the rooms which are protected by thick, old glass wall divisions.  I consider myself lucky as I am taking advantage of the physical glass impediment to create through the lens of my camera an atmosphere of travel through time, into a dusty atmosphere where Nehru’s imposing presence is as though he still sits at his desk while the rest of the visitors  and I intrude silently – like watching a movie – into the realm of his deepest present thoughts and meditative wanders.

Especially interesting are the bookshelves containing Nehru’s large private collection: an eclectic mix of English classics, Left Book Club editions and treaties on the Cold War.  This home has a special place in Modern Indian history as it once housed not just the incumbent prime minister, but future ones as well: his daughter Indira Ghandi, and grandson Raijv.  Both mother and son were ultimately assassinated.

The extensive grounds are home for the planetarium and the square, three arched Kushak Mahal, a 14th-century hunting lodge built by the Tughlaq sultan, Feroze Shah. On the roundabout, in front of the house,is the memorial known as Ten Murti ( Three Statues) dedicated to the men of the Indian Regiments who died in World War!. It was from this landmark that the house derived its name.

My heart is at peace. I conciliated with what inside of me needed to be touched. The energy of one of the greatest leaders and ” lifestyle Gurus” in a way. Through letters to his grandchildren signed Papu

Nehru thought about his own legacy and way of living a simple healthy life, surrounded with beauty, grace and more that everything great dignity in values. His books, his boxes, his frames,  his art and sculptures, his summer outfit, his library, his concept about being a Yogui and a swimmer, his life as an egalitarian man reminded me about my own boxes, my Yogui  practice, the books the frames and the personal values I struggled throughout my life to keep sacred and spread throughout my friends, family and clients.

When the British asked  God to save the Queen…They probably had forgotten to metion about what they used to call their ‘crown jewel’ . Today that jewel has it’s own expression of simplicity and ath the same time exuberance.  And because that is expression is made  of love,  kindness, spirit and grace  I say in my turn… God, who is Brazilian, of course,  please,  save India too.

Joelle’s Tips:

Nehru Memorial Museum and Library: Teen Murti Marg E 43 Tel + 9111 23015191

Source: Eyewitness Travel Delhi- Agra -Jaipur