MODERN SOUTH ASIA
A Visual Archive of South Asia’s Modernist Heritage

The Modern South Asia (MSA) series is dedicated to exploring modern architecture of historic importance in South Asia through photography-based books. The series will focus on architecture from the 20^th century, designed and built by regional and international architects. Each book will provide the reader with an in-depth visual exploration of the architecture through contemporary photographs, architectural drawings, and newly commissioned writing by architects, thinkers, and academics. 

The MSA series is edited and photographed by Randhir Singh. The project is supported and published by Arthshila Trust.

The Street As Stage: Charles Correa’s Kala Academy Goa

Essay by Rohan Shivkumar
Photographs by Randhir Singh

This could be a sequence from a Buster Keaton silent-era comedy. One summer evening, a man is sitting on the edge of the river, sipping his coffee. There is a warm breeze drifting over the water as the sun sets. He hears the gentle strains of a piano playing Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ over the sound of the waves lapping the shore. Caught in its spell, he walks towards the music. He must find out who is playing. In a daze, humming to himself, he climbs the steps of an amphitheatre to a blue-tiled terrace. In one of the rooms, he sees a woman playing the piano. A student stands over her shoulder watching her hands. The man wants to get as close as he can to the music. He walks straight towards her and collides directly into a pane of glass. The glass shatters. He falls. Everyone rushes to help him – the piano teacher, the watchmen of the building and other people enjoying the evening breeze off the river. Befuddled, he sits up. Luckily, he is not injured. Only his nose is a little bruised, and so is his pride.