Biography
I am an architect by training. I did my undergraduate and masters studies in architecture from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture & Ekistics, Jamia Millia Islamia at New Delhi, India. My masters specialisation was in urban regeneration.
I work in the field of urban conservation, cultural geography, and architectural histories in South Asia. Beyond purely architectural preoccupations I design and curate works exploring ethnomusicology, cultural landscapes, and socio-religious ephemera.
I am currently a Gulbenkian Yuval Cambridge International Scholar at Churchill College.
Research
My research interest includes historic water infrastructure and the urban & architectural history of the Sultanate and Mughal period. My thesis explores the system of waterworks and drainage in the historic city of Shahjahanabad. The historical water system of Shahjahanabad has significance on the urban-regional scale, which demands detailed investigation, calling out on its success and failures, both on utilitarian and aesthetic grounds. These water systems hold great meaning and utility not only for historical preservation but also for facilitating better-informed urban infrastructure policies that incorporate informed and historically contextualized architectural continuities and optimally utilise extant tools and structures.
Key Publications
Towards an Architecture of the Indian Ocean: Mapping Syncretic Grammar of Coastal Cities & Architecture through Ibn Battuta’s Water Journeys (1342-1347) in Cosmopolitan Cultures and Oceanic Thought, Edited by D.M. Menon and N. Zaidi, Routledge India Publications (eBook ISBN: 9781003300939), 2023, 152-167
Landscapes as Museums: Staging & Framing Kashmir's Historical Geography. In LA Journal of Landscape Architecture, India (ISSN:0975-0177), Issue 75, December 2022.
Of Hauz & Kund: A Scientific Study of Water Infrastructure, in Science in Architecture, Edited by T. Munawer, Medtech- A Division of Scientific International (ISBN 978-93-89393-60-6), 2020, 93-103.
Transitioning Waterscapes of the Two Great Tanks of Delhi: Hauz-i-Shamsi & Hauz-i-Khas, in Ekistics: An Approach to Urban-Regional Planning & Development, Vol. 2: Urban Transformation, Edited by Q. Irshad & M. Juned, Wellworth Books International (ISBN 978-8193774953), New Delhi, 63-67.
Empire & Watersheds: A Digital Repository Template for ‘Bunds & Hauzs’ of the Aravallis in Delhi, in The Science & Splendor of Indian Architecture, Edited by Taiyaba Munawer, Aryan Books International, India (Forthcoming 2025)
Teaching and Supervisions
Supervisor: Dr Cameron Petrie