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[Music]
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in 2013 when dr. Angela D passed away
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there was this sort of creating a
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memorial for him to kind of celebrate
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his memory
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and we all along with all the family
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members we got together at this place
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and we were looking at alternative sites
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because there was a lot of options
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available all across to choose the best
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place but out of several options finally
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we chose onto this particular site and
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there are a lot of reasons for for that
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one of the main reasons was when used to
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sit and work in his lab which he was
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extremely passionate about about his
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laboratory we would have some of his
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guest guest scientist and we would take
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them for a lunch to his farmhouse which
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is just behind and he would actually
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take this path from his lab walking
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around walking through these Ashoka tree
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Avenue and right up to the farmhouse so
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we thought back to that path has to be
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sort of respected the memories along
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that path have to be respected and at
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the end of this Avenue there is one
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people treat the people tree is called
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Bodhi tree which is a symbol of
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knowledge and when we would take some of
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these scientists along he would actually
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talk about that Bodhi tree so he was
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quite attached to that and that became a
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important reference point for us the
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second thing was this grid of goober
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trees and the beautiful thing about this
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goalball trees which keeps changing as
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for the seasons at one time it is all
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fed with all white flowers then suddenly
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all the flowers go off and you have very
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barren kind of a landscape
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then suddenly again it turns totally
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green so over the seasons you have these
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different kind of a scenario different
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kind of ambience which would happen
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that was the second aspect to it the
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third one was the row of palm trees
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royal pumps and they almost form the
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wall along one axis then we had these
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open ground which we could use it for
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larger functions and lastly this large
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avenue of trees along the main road at
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that particular time the boundary wall
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was at the edge of the road so that
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became one more reference for us so we
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wanted to use all that energy which is
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there in the site you know to develop
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something which could evoke dr. Brady's
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memories now talking about dr. Vedas I
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was fortunate enough to know him for a
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long time and he if you see his
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childhood it comes from a very humble
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background in one of the villages in in
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Andhra Pradesh and his father used to
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grow turmeric plants and used to give
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medicine to odd in the village and
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that's how he got interested in medicine
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and then he happened to establish one of
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the largest you know pharma industry in
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India so so this is the complete kind of
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a growth story there are a lot of
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landmarks on the way lot of milestones
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we achieved but his passion was always
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about discovery so it's about
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discovering things it's about motivating
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youngsters at the same time when you
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know him as a person
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he was very childlike a passionate
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person you know very very transparent
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you can actually see through him and he
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had a very infectious laugh he would
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laugh like a child now all these aspects
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we wanted to capture while designing a
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memory
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and wanted all that all those those
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energies to come into this space so we
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started reacting to each and every
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element which is which is here one of
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the first thing was we had to look to
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locate the ashes where those could be
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placed and that would actually become
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the relic the samadhi kind of a feature
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so and that had to be done very fast
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within within some 15 days so so there
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was urgency in taking some design
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decisions for us so so we did some very
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initial kind of concepts in terms of how
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those place will feel like and finally
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we establish that place where actually
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that void is we were talking about the
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presence of absence because we want his
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memory to stay and his absence to be
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felt so that's why the idea of a wild
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came in and we started with the idea of
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water actually because that's something
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which is so tranquil it has a quality of
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reflection you know which no other
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material in the nature has as much as as
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much as the water where you can see the
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reflection you see the movement you see
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the the glimmer kind of a thing onto it
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so so we place this entire stretch of
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water body which culminates into that
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void and that water body actually comes
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out so before you enter the place you
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can almost touch that water you can feel
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the water so even before entering you
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are establishing the contact across and
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that was important for us
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the secondly the idea of discovery had
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to be emphasized so you don't enter the
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complex directly you sort of come in
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directly you walk across and then you
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see the entire ambience to these
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different openings and you again restore
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the whole place so there is a sense of
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discovery which happens within the whole
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formation of the of the plan then this
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Ashoka Cree Avenue the walk that he used
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to take that actually symbolizes his
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evolution right from childhood so it
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starts with very rough stones then it
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becomes slightly more slightly becomes
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semi polished they then they become
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polished and then they become grass and
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that's how this whole life kind of
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evolved because after reaching a point
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after reaching all those milestone or
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during that time his philanthropic life
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sort of comes to comes forward and you
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realize he starts giving so much you
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know and that idea of giving idea of
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sort of distributing not just the
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knowledge but the wealth for the
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well-being of the society that was
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something which was very very important
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so so you see the roughness which sort
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of slowly changes and becomes grass
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becomes nature the same thing happens
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when you are when this wall around the
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the Samadhi again it starts as a very
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low wall becomes bigger becomes still
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bigger and then it finally becomes this
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row of trees so again we are talking
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about starting from the low becoming
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less you know establishing larger goals
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and finally meeting the nature now if
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when you when you when you see these
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again there is a void in the in that
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wall exactly in line with that void
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which happens into the water now that
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when you stand in the axis and look at
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it that word gets reflected into the
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water and it sort of creates this long
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vertical line which is which is actually
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the sense that we are missing here maybe
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you know that it's a kind of against the
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same word I am using the presence of
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absence and then from there you start
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with one opening the opening start
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increasing become 2/3 and they become
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larger and larger and it's talking about
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the life starting small and becoming big
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in always that becoming a team becoming
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taking people along but at the same time
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during the night
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all these openings get lit up and they
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start becoming like stars and it starts
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with a smaller one star more stars and
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finally it reaches the sky till it you
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know with actual stars so so
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symbolically we are sort of trying to
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link that entire aspect to the larger
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context the next one was about the
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[Music]
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depicting heads of milestone in life now
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that's why we work with different
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different people and other designers the
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elephant design they are this kind of
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design that entire entire setting so we
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have this entire display which happens
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across which is like one spine and
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that's where you sort of look through
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his achievements the landmarks the big
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you know and and some of the collection
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some of the some some of the objects
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which were dear to him and that
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culminates into a room which which is a
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replica of the of the office room which
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he used to use where there are some of
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the scribble
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ketchup and which are there on some of
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the glass board so you actually feel is
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present there when you and this entire
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stage culminates into that room then we
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have the main walkway which happens
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along the main road now as I said
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earlier the the fencing or the boundary
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was along the road but we wanted the
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scientists specially the young
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scientists to walk along that path and
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it's a long stretch if you see so what
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we did is we moved that that boundary
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and we created a transparent green wall
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now that transparent green wall again
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symbolizes transparency of his character
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you can as I said he was he was such a
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transparent person and you can actually
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look through him so symbolically this
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green wall represents that and in that
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entire walk you have his bike - good
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bike which used to use as a youngster
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which is kept at one end and then there
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is the mercedes-benz which was very dear
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to him one of his first one which is
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kept at the other ring and as you walk
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towards the Mercedes you climb up so
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symbolically you sort of go higher as
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you go to work and for a youngster it's
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a it's a path which sort of energizes
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them motivate them that anybody from any
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small background could actually reach
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very very high goals and as long as you
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have that spirit within you have that
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are you know motivation within you so as
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you walk through there are there are
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benches where a lot of inspirational
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sports by different scientists are
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engraved into it so as you walk through
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that Avenue you sit onto those benches
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read about it get energized you know you
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know again get charged up and go back
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and do some you know fascinating work
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and that's the whole idea and as you
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sort of walk
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we have created one diagonal path and
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those who a lot of them who work with
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him who had very close association with
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him so even if you don't step into this
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place when you are taking a walk there
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you just get a glimpse of this samadhi
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from there and you sort of connect
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yourself with with the with the police
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and with him and then you continue your
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walk and I think that is that's very
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important you know to just get charged
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all the time we added these mounds which
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are smaller amounts just to create this
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introverted space now this almost
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becomes a very meditative kind of a
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space I was talking about his laughs
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which was very very infectious just to
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remind you about the about that we have
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hung a lot of these wind chimes which
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you can hear in the background and when
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you hear those wind chimes you sort of
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remember that simile surely the kind of
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laugh that he used to have and one of
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the most important aspects of his life
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was about cilantro
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about giving and that had to be it had
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to be expressed so we we started with
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the idea of firm of a spouse or a spouse
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almost like you know giving giving away
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or either the knowledge or the wealth
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and which he kept on doing all the time
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and that when that water falls out from
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the samadhi and it sort of spreads
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across across that entire spine and gets
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connected across the whole space one
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more important thing that when you
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actually experience that samadhi we
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wanted to emphasize onto that void and
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as you go in you sort of walk down and
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when you walk down your eye level comes
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closer to the water and the water being
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treated with black granite stone it
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becomes very reflective it's almost like
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a black cube of water and then when you
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go down and with your eye level is very
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close to the water that's where the void
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stands out and you can't see what is
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within the void and and again there is a
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sense of curiosity sense of loss and
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that is very very evident when you take
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that price reduction at the lower level
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and then you come up again and
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everything opens out during the design
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process when we are clearing some of
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these areas we discovered these few
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younger silver oak trees and then we
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started responding to that we call it a
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philanthropic walk and the kind of
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philosophy that he did all those details
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about all those schemes and always all
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returned there so you walk around there
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you know discover that and then continue
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your walk along this the along the
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display area the display area we wanted
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to separate it with the screen and in
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fact we we spent a lot of time detailing
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that out the screen using the granite
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the same granite which which is used for
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creating all these walls again we spend
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a lot of time and you know getting that
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right texture different kind of textures
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different kind of horizontality to bring
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the scale down and and the same stone is
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used to create this jolly and in the
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night it gets lit up and you you see
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these different kinds of voids and it
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almost creates a flame across when you
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approach the project I was talking about
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that sense of discovery which happens
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but it happens with a kind of a method
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we have three openings indicating three
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accesses the first access is about the
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display area the second axis is the
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Ashoka path thought he used to take the
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third one is the main axis which leads
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to the Samadhi and
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the void and the fourth axis is a
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diagonal one which sort of as you walk
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accidentally you come across and again
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it's connected to the to the main shrine
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so so there is a kind of a definition in
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the sense of discovery as well and in
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the night the whole scenario keeps
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changing as the light falls down during
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the daytime you have this filtered light
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coming through these feeds and it's
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almost like a canopy during the data but
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the way in the night we sort of
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accentuated some of these accesses we
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worked with a lighting lighting
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consultant called Linus and we we have
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sort of accentuated some of these spots
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and the entire canopy of please get let
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up in the night so you almost sort of
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create a space within within this is
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kind of a space within space and that
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gives a very very different character to
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the to the entire ambience so so it's a
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kind of a process of discovery there is
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a meditative question as to the whole
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thing and it's a place where you sit and
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remember dr. Anjali
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you
