TWO PATHS ONE WAY

GOING BEHIND THE SCENES OF TWO OF INDIA’S MOST UNIQUE DESIGN PRACTICES THAT ARE DRIVEN WITH PASSION AND SHARED BELIEFS BUT TREAD DIFFERENT PATHS.

We chose our independence professionally to manage a balance personally,” says the elegant, saree clad Shimul, as she fondly reminisces the early days of her career - where she made her mark as a woman, who not just started her own practice, but also sought architectural projects with conviction. As for Rahul, while he admits it wasn’t easy to join his father’s business, he knew it was the right thing to do. Since then and now, it all seems to have worked out. It wasn’t easy, but their faith got them this far. And of course, love. What is life without it anyway?

Friends from college, Rahul and Shimul’s love story is like an organically developed urban landscape. It’s beautiful, sustainable, and very wonderfully compartmentalised. Rahul moved after 12 years of sitting in a dark, windowless corner at IMK Architects, a firm founded by his father, renowned architect, IM Kadri, to become the head of the practice, and Shimul flew with wind beneath her wings with her own practice. Once a one-woman show, it has its own partnerships today. Their work has been inspiring on many levels, be it design, commitment, contribution to society or sustainability.