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Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
The project vision - Constructing a house in Kerala
The biggest puzzle to crack was the question " Why are we constructing our own independent house in Kerala?". That too in a piece of land, which we already own. In fact, by doing so, I am not adding any additional wealth to my portfolio. So, it is not a good business decision to construct your own house in a piece of land which you already own. With the same cost, I could have owned either a villa in a gated community nearby, or I could have gone for a flat within the Kochi city itself. Both are wiser and safer options, considering the fact that I travel a lot as part of my job. So it is not business. It is pure nostalgia.
The nostalgia of living at the same spot, where your ancestors lived their lives. That is a different feeling, which is inexplicable. So went for it. The decision went like this, If Kerala, it is at our ancestral property, because every other property is just a property. The next question to be addressed is the theme for the place called home. We had to make a choice out of the following;
- A peaceful, simple place to relax and live
- A building to show off the money power
- A farm house / country home (for vacations)
We were unanimous in choosing the first " A simple and peaceful place to relax and live.". For that it has to be simple, yet elegant. We took a while to conclude, because some of the family members were still wondering whether Kerala is the right place for them. I cannot blame them, because they did not spend any time in Kerala to have that emotional attachment to Kerala. Why should they come to Kerala?. They are not against Kerala, but it just the fear of the unknown, because of the unfamiliarity. That got changed, once we lived here for a couple of years in a rented flat. For someone, who lived outside Kerala for a long time, getting adjusted with the local culture is tough, till you get used to it. A simple thing like people staring at others, especially women is a phenomena which is unique about Kerala. Initially you get irritated with it, then over a period of time you learn to ignore it. This is just an example. Hopefully more will follow in the following post.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Construction of my dream home @ Kochi, in Kerala, India
Even after spending more than two decades outside Kerala due to work related compulsions, when it was time to really settle down, we were unanimous on the choice of Kochi city in Kerala. We are constructing our home at Varapuzha, which is a small town on the suburbs of Kochi, which is well connected to Kochi city, Always and North Parur. Why Varapuzha within Kochi?, the main reason is our ancestral home is there. We wanted to start the building of the house, and at the same time, we did not know many in Kerala, to entrust this work. The first challenge was to identify an architect, who is affordable to us, and who is receptive to our ideas, while capable of adding value to the whole process. The first two architects we came across were not willing to listen to our ideas. Then we came across Sujith Kumar, from Kannur and we decided to go ahead with him as the architect for our house. Since, most of the time I am on travel, I do not have the time to stand at the site and supervise the work every day. Another risk was, my knowledge on house construction and the local environment was not very good. So Tomy Varghese in Dubai, and Saju Simon another good friend, recommended M.S Saju as the civil engineer and contractor for the project. Even when many say that an architect is expensive, he was instrumental in signing a win-win contract with the sub contractor. So far the work has progressed as planned, and with God's grace, we are hopeful of completing it on the adreed upon time. Here is the photo of the current status;
Saturday, June 4, 2011
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