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ARCHITECTURE AS A PERFORMING ART
REMEMBERING ASHOK DHAWAN [1942–2021] | Iftikhar-mulk Chishti
LA 68 |
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| Ashok Dhawan, urban designer, architect, interior designer, actor, traveller, photographer, gymnast, swimmer and much more, passed on in Delhi in June 2021 at a private hospital due to post-Covid respiratory complications. For a man who was known for his sports activities this was an unfortunate way to go. Covid-19 had played havoc with all of us without recognizing any boundaries as pandemics are known to do. The fact is that Ashok died in difficult times.
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Magic of Ammonia Printing
The fact also is that Ashok was born in difficult times in Delhi in 1942 when cholera hadn’t yet been eradicated, World War II was on, the freedom struggle was at its peak, leading up to Independence, the Partition and riots. Ashok remembered witnessing the violence from the window of his family home located in Connaught Place. Exposure to the Robert Tor Russel designed mixeduse neighborhood of that time must have left a lasting impression as he had fond memories of spending his growing-up years playing in the vast expanse of the Central Park, the covered corridors of the inner and outer circles and the traffic-free, tree-lined radial avenues. Coupled with it, as luck would have it, next door to their flat was located the architecture firm, Kothari & Associates. Impressionable Ashok was mesmerized by the magic of the blueprinting process, unknowingly marking the beginning of his fascination with architecture. It may seem ironic that many decades later, when we started working together around the time of transition to digital printing, Ashok was to gift me his ‘imported’ ammonia printing machine, now a part of my precious memorabilia.
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