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The HAT Project 2006/07 is supporting 20 exchange fellowships between England, South Asia and Australia

Anupa Mehta

October 7

Posted by Johnny Magee on 7th October 2006

It feels like rain this morning.

The rain in India, particularly unseasonal rain, is very different from the rain in Manchester. Warm and copious, it brings to surface the moist fragrance of wet earth. It's a scent that takes away from the heat and dust. Last night, Tom and Lionel came over to my flat for dinner along with an architect who studied philosophy, and a designer from NID. At one point, Tom was talking about the rain in Manchester, about people sipping their chai lattes in cramped cafes...

Manchester: Cold rain ... the memory of warm rain
Ahmedabad: Warm rain ... the remembrance of cold rain

Indian soil, Indian colours... India anew. Through foreign eyes. Heat, dust, cows, cow dung, dogs, children, squalor : fan-tas-tic is a good description for Ahmedabad, referred to as the Manchester of the East.