Mary N. Woods - Women Architects in India: Histories of Practice in Mumbai and Delhi

The author gratefully acknowledges the generous contributions provided by the following organizations:

Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
Deans Fund, College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Cornell University
South Asia Program, Cornell University

Histories of Practice in Mumbai and Delhi

MARY N. WOODS

First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2017 Mary N. Woods

The right of Mary N. Woods to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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British Library Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Woods, Mary N., 1950 author.
Title: Women architects in India : histories of practice in Mumbai and
Delhi / Mary N. Woods.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017.
| Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016025542| ISBN 9781472475305 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781315546803 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Architectural practiceIndiaMumbaiHistory20th
century. | Architectural practiceIndiaDelhiHistory20th century. |
ArchitectureIndiaMumbai. | ArchitectureIndiaDelhi. | Women
architectsIndia.
Classification: LCC NA1995 .W66 2017 | DDC 720.92/2dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016025542

ISBN: 9781472475305 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781315546803 (ebk)

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Working on this book has been a strange mixture of joy and anxiety. The reasons for these emotions are due to my subjects: women architects in Mumbai and Delhi. It has been inspiring to learn about the lives and work of these extraordinary women. They have made me think about design, cities, history, and architectural practice in new and exciting ways. As a historian it was a joy to have the living architects as my primary sources. When I began this project, however, I did not fully understand the challenges of writing about individuals not fixed in time and space. It was like trying to hold quicksilver in my hands. Without the enormous trust, faith, and generosity of these women (not to mention their patience with my glacial pace) this book would have been impossible. And yet their incredible support made me all the more anxious about doing justice to their exceptional lives and multifaceted practices. By telling their stories at length and in depth, I hope (even as an outsider to India), I can communicate something about their cities, culture, and architecture that has so stimulated and captivated me.

My work in India came about only because of the friendship and collegiality of Porus Olpadwala and Michael Tomlan, my colleagues at Cornell. By inviting me (an American urban and architectural historian) to participate in an exchange program to India, they opened up a new world to me. I will be forever grateful to them. Rahul Mehrotra was literally the first colleague we met on that eventful first trip to India in 1998.