The Things We Talked About

1. **Why Architects Should Read Murder Mysterie**s - The design of a manor house in Agatha Christie novels, where the structure of rooms is so important to figuring out the killer., appeals to the architect in Anisha and Snehanshu. Besides, Murder Mysteries are all about the detective figuring out hidden motivations, needs and restoring the right structure to society. They reveal the culture and the structure of societies. Keigo Hagashimo’s The newcomer for instance is such a wonderful portrayal of a quirky neighbourhood in Tokyo. Boris Akunin’s Erastin Fedora series the history and geography of Tsarist Russia.

1. **The Inside Scoop on Satyajit Ray’s Library in Kolkata **- what is it like to sit inside the room Ray worked in. To spend a day or two , going through a trunkful of Ray's drawings, sitting surrounded by his books, his work table, everything still just so. The inside scoop from Snehanshu Mukherjee as he put together an exhibition of the great artist’s sketches.

1. **The Secret Appeal of Libraries** - There’s something about the feel of books. Surrounding yourself with books is proven to lead to better work. Snehanshu talks about a scene from Isabel Allende’s new book ‘The Long Petal of the Sea’ where the traumatised immigrants find peace in a library. Read also Borges famous short story ‘The Library of Babel’.

1. **A List of Objects Can Be The Most Powerful Story in the World **- Just a list can tell a powerful story. Read Neil McGregors History of the World in 100 Objects. See architecture student Raghav Malhotra’s stories of Kohima in an exhibition of objects. Read also Tim O Brien’s classic short story ‘The Things They Carried'

1. **How to Build the Best Bookshelves **- Having designed shelves for the Oxford Book Store , Snehanshu is a pro ! Width and depth, lie them down or stand them up, he can optimise all !

1. **Where to find the Best Versions of Ancient History** - On the matter of who built the Pyramids for instance- slaves or somebody else , the historians disagree completely. Follow the archaeologists , says Snehanshu, they are the best detectives.

**Reading Recommendations**

*Blake & Mortimer Belgian comic series *

*Clifton the Belgian comic series *

*Art is a Verb by Likla Lall - award winning picture book *

*Boris Akunin Murder Mysteries set in Tsarist Russia*

*Keigo Hagashimo's Japanese murder mystery series *

*The Red House by A A Milne, brilliant but little known *

*Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey*

*Behold Here’s Poison by Georgette Heyer*

*Feluda mysteries by Satyajit Ray*

*Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose - atmospheric thriller set in an Abbey*

*Nicholas Blake mystery stories*

*All Agatha Christie , of course !*

*The Red Fort of Shahjahanabad by Anisha Shekhar Mukherji*

*Jantar Mantar by Anisha Shekhar Mukherji*

*Playtime by Tati - a perfect critique on modernist Architecture*

*Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino*

*Jorge Luis Borges' The Library of Babel*

*The Lost River by Michel Danino *

*The Collected Writings of Dharampal *

*The Magic of Making: Essays on Art and Culture by K. G. Subramanyan*

*Delhi Calm by Vishwajyoti Ghosh graphic art *

*Bapu Kuti by Rajni Bakshi *