I grew up in South Bombay amidst remnants of the world’s most famous patches of Gothic architecture. From the huge spires of Gloria church to wide spans and idling gargoyles at “CST” to thhe arches of Crawford market; stained glass painting of biblical scenes, detailed marble statutes and inscriptions, stunning roof frescoes . Mumbai is over-flowing with examples of artsy gothic buildings, large in scope, lush in depth and detail. The amount of art you casually walk past is stunning . There are also some corners of Art Deco buildings.

Walk in to the interiors of those buildings however and they inspire no such grandeur. Until the recent renovations of CST, if you could get past the people, the paan stains, the dirt; you just find one big melded splotch of gray and white; drab, dull and uninspiring. Which is what probably inspired my leap towards minimalism. The aesthetic that is the modern staple of art, productivity porn and tech youtuber videos. Few colours, bright lights, largely straight lines, completely free of intricate details . You can see how this is the refuge of people who’ve seen clutter, dirt and revolting things their entire life. Minimalism is an anti-dote.

Not opinionated, bringing very little and yet very soothing. Taken to it’s extreme, minimalism becomes brutalism . You could say well done minimalism is just multi-coloured brutalism. A grim brooding cousin of minimalism is cyberpunk; dark, dystopian and full of neon.

After playing for a while with this aesthetic for my wallpaper choices (too poor to make buildings, too lazy to decorate rooms), I’m back to fancying details and depth. I still find the aesthetic pleasing, but the intricacy of details adds a whole new dimension . One of my most memorable wow moment was seeing the carved and engraved gems stones in the shapes of flowers in the Taj Mahal. It felt so rich and fine . So I’m now latched on solarpunk, Islamic architecture, lot of intricate details, liberally used curves , lushness, greenery and an organic touch.