Speaking Archaeologically™

  After that extremely eventful session, we ventured out on a rainy Chandigarh afternoon to visit the Le Corbusier Museum. If you are looking for a place to really understand the entire historical journey of the city of Chandigarh, this is your place. From letters between Prime Minister Nehru and Corbusier, the architect of Chandigarh, to large maps detailing the city’s plan, this museum was a fresh and exciting space to visit. We saw Harappan artefacts that had been unearthed when the city’s foundations were being laid, and glimpsed at the personal belongings of the architect himself- his chair, paintings and sketches, and the ‘open hand’ concept the city was based on. We were a little amused and (and slightly irked) with one very curious staff member. “Don’t get too close!”, “Don’t sit there!” “Don’t touch the lights!” Someone was REALLY passionate about their job.  Our hotel being just a few minutes from the museum, and it being a beautiful drizzly day, Diparka and I saw th...

  Day 1: Here it All Starts! "Wow, this is what Haryana looks like," I thought to myself as I gazed out of the car window at a bright July sky. I was finally going to meet the entire Speaking Archaeologically Research Wing in person after a month of online meetings. The All-India Meet was going to be a workshop where all 13 members from various parts of the country would gather together and have practical sessions for the first time. Even though I had already met the majority of the members in Chandigarh three days prior during another workshop, this would be different. Was I nervous? Totally, and that made me a little more overwhelmed. I never anticipated that barely a month after joining SA, I would visit the Bhima Devi temple, one of the most important sites for our organisation. "Will I be able to fit in?" I wondered, as I couldn't help but wonder how my day would go, how it would not just be about exchanging ideas but also about getting to know each other b...