Anne BALDASSARI of the Musée National Picasso, Paris flanked by Picasso's bronzes. (Pictured in Room 5: "Figures on the Seashore", Pablo Picasso, 1931)

The arrival of a Picasso exhibit at the AGO constitutes the second time since 1964 that the museum (then named the Art Gallery of Toronto) is playing host to the artist’s works, though the first time round Picasso chose some of the exhibition works. Almost fifty years later, museum-goers can enjoy this illuminating collection which makes its only North American stop here from 01 May till 26 August 2012. “I think AGO will be the Picasso museum in Canada for the next months,” warmly announced Anne Baldassari. The collection has been touring the world over the last year since the Paris-based museum closed its doors in 2009 to undergo an extensive face-lift. Its re-opening is scheduled for 2013.

Following the delivery of brief speeches by Teitelbaum, Baldassari and lead sponsor, BMO Financial Group, along with acknowledgements of the AGO’s lead promotional partners, Joe Fresh, among others, the exhibit floors were opened!

Ushered to the exit, Natasha ARORA in a hurried pose just as the Media Preview had closed. (Pictured in Room 7: "Nu couché et homme jouant de la guitare", Pablo Picasso, 1970)

I walked into the din of a crowded room full of anticipation. I scanned the room glancing at the works but also at the people beholding them. I recognized someone. An art critic. I had seen him in print only a week earlier. With only slight trepidation, I approached this fellow art-viewer and introduced myself. We were in Room 2, thematically entitled Making Way: Ancient, African and Oceanic Inspirations (1906–1909), with a corresponding quote on the wall: “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth” to entreat viewers to enter Picasso’s psyche. My new friend and I discussed the relevance and aesthetic pleasure of art sprinkled with mentions from our own psyches: family, relationships, friends. In truth, it was fun to be accompanied and, as the saying goes, the time just flew by. I think we were both there to realize some kind of truth in spite of the clock. The rooms had cleared and only twenty minutes remained before the end of the Media Preview. We had wrongfully assumed we’d have all day! Indeed, a return visit is already planned….

I felt awfully privileged to be in the company of such masterpieces that have punctuated 20th century history. On a personal note, they served up some nostalgia of my university days as an art history student. Where have the years gone?! As I meandered through the remainder of the exhibition, I was reminded of Teitelbaum’s intuitive remark earlier that morning that “museums are actually a place to be together, to share ideas.” Et il avait vachement raison.

At the end of this viewing, I took refuge in the relative silence of the newly installed café which will remain in the Gallery Italia till the show’s pre-Labour Day closing. Other new features introduced by the Director in the context of “creating a social experience around the content of the exhibition” are free kid-friendly audio guides, Paella Tuesdays at Frank restaurant, and soon-to-be unveiled cultural offerings on the AGO’s events calendar.

Reflecting on Picasso's masterpieces at the pop-up café, Gallery Italia, AGO

I spent considerable time in the Gallery Italia post-exhibition immersed in the light of day and the feeling of Picasso curated with great consideration to the play of light. At that moment, Teitelbaum’s closing remarks rang true: “Museums exist to help us with language, with ways of thinking, with ways of approaching challenges in our world. Maybe artists might be some of our very best guides in that regard…to help us imagine new ways to think.”

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During my winter’s stay in New Delhi, I was charmed by the many rustic flower stalls on roadsides in the city’s residential neighborhoods. I love flowers because they can be beautiful, smell great, make you feel positive, and can evoke a nostalgia that is almost palpable. Flowers know no bias and can also make others happy. On a couple of sporadic occasions, I approached flower vendors with a desire to make a purchase. In my humbly abject Hindi, I attempted to negotiate a fair market price for the remaining flowers of that day—since not to feneggle would be unlike this NRI (non-resident Indian). But most of the time I felt like I was being ripped off. Most of the time I just walked away.

Hearts be adorned at the Mall, New Delhi, February 2012

However, on 15 February I mosied over to a Delhi branch of the immensely popular Ferns ‘N’ Petals (FNP).  This time I absolutely needed to buy flowers, one bouquet to offer that day and another I anticipated I would need and return for a few days later. Valentine’s Day in India is without a doubt an overdone, commercialized mega-social event where schemes and tactics, beginning at least one week before, are meant to lure buyers, lovers and the faithful types into spending copiously on chocolate, flowers, lace, and more.

Of course there should be ample flowers to choose from on 14 Feb but also on 15 Feb and any day if you are as reputable as FNP. This company is monied enough to be able to supply its stores with the very merchandise to be carried year-round irrespective of the social calendar. I suppose this corporate brand is known for quality and variety. I suppose that their florists know how to put together bouquets tastefully and understand how to artfully and harmoniously marry colored florals and foliage with each other. But my first (and only experience) with FNP was utterly unimpressive and disappointing to say nothing of the actual store design and layout. Here, the store manager was insolent as he sat almost hidden behind the counter providing almost no guidance whatsoever. He blamed the spare offerings on Valentine’s Day. Huh? Inexcusable. The few flowers which remained were gaudy V-themed bouquets with glitter and fuss.

Upon exiting FNP in a huff, I stumbled upon a gentle-mannered independent flower shop vendor a mere stone’s throw away from the big, bully brother. I peered into the flower bins and liked what I saw. I asked myself how this “little fish” had a satisfactory selection of fresh flowers the day after the day before and again how come FNP was so grossly ill-equipped and their customer service non-existent. No matter, I knew I would never be going back there. From under this make-shift tent off the dusty road, I chose accordingly.

Good-bye flowers. Good-bye India. New Delhi, February 2012

Days later I returned for my second arrangement. My florist had been expecting me on this Saturday morning. I felt I was building a relationship with him and was looking forward to the transaction. He was kind and worked thoughtfully. He took my suggestions, helpfully offered his own, and arranged my selection in the best way—with care, heart and rigor. In no time my Indo-French bouquet was ready!

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The Delhi Metro is cost-efficient and runs promptly, its compartments are air-conditioned (which for months in a calendar year is a heavenly (re)treat), and it is safe. During my winter’s stay, this last point was of concern to me as I often traveled by public transportation. In most cases I did have to take a rickshaw or an auto-rickshaw in order to arrive at or depart from a metro station because walking on the city’s streets had proven precarious. In Delhi, despite its burgeoning population, you would be hard-pressed to find adequate sidewalks for pedestrian use that will keep you out of harm’s way. On a daily basis, I faced problematic infrastructure issues, and in my head would create interim solutions that were sometimes evident, but sometimes daunting.

Outside honkers, pissers, spittters are found but inside the Metro some bad habits die hard.

Navigating the metro station is relatively smooth and after a few uses, you can get the swing of it. In the nation’s capital, the Delhi Metro has created jobs as every day at every station an extensive anti-terrorist security regime is in place to monitor commuters as they file through in separate queues to be frisked by security personnel while their personal belongings are electronically screened before entering the turnstiles onto the platforms. I was amazed at how civilly obedient all travelers from all denominations had become to this routine necessity in the name of safety. Organizing the masses in this democracy is indeed possible.

Noticeably, a greater proportion of riders are male and travel in hoards in compartments reserved for them, while occasionally heterosexual couples stand or sit together. This was reassuring to me on the oft chance I was not able to reach the smartly designated women’s compartment at the head of the metro. I commend the DMRC for implementing this ‘Ladies Only’ feature as more female commuters are in the workforce, often traveling solo to and fro work at all hours of the day. From my experience, I never saw any men wandering in here and believe that if caught by station controllers would be reprimanded while other inappropriate acts would be punishable with a fine.

The Delhi Metro is democratically enjoyed by commuters both young and old, modern and traditional.

Most of the time commuting was easy-peasy. Only during rush hour was I usually not able to secure a seat and had to huddle with other passengers, like human cattle. Riding the Delhi Metro is an efficient way to avoid vehicular traffic, people, noise, and dust pollution on the maddening streets below—especially if you want your travel time from point A to point B reduced.

(Top l): Natasha ARORA attempts to snap wall art inside the Delhi Metro but gets caught by station controller; (Top r): Indian man in traditional Indian wear going about his day; (Bottom): Natasha ARORA in Happy Socks!

State-of-the-art technology meets charm meets commerce on the Delhi Metro.

The DMRC and its commuters are in an essential relationship as the former ensures a smooth and safe travel service throughout the urban sprawl’s major cross-points, while the latter enjoys and respects this blessed innovation for facilitating their lives and existing usefully in their City. It is also a fun way to aerially view the city as it metamorphosizes from station to station: residential rooftop gardens, silhouetted temples, out-of-home (OOH) billboards, national landmarks, scurries of people at open-air markets, all appear closer than they are. Bring your camera and hop on the Delhi Metro. It too is a destination to be explored.

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The brainchild of IAF founder, Neha Kirpal, (also its managing director), this Fair is a growing international art gathering in an emerging market that promotes high art, many of which is produced by artists of Indian extraction, to appeal to a range of groups from collectors, art dealers and art advisers to students and the educated masses. Naturally, in a country as population-large as India, appealing to the throngs is empirically big business.

Natasha ARORA with Marina ABRAMOVIC's "The Levitation of Saint Teresa" 2010, Lisson Gallery, IAF, New Delhi 2012

Equally sizeable, is the global business and commerciality of the artworks as international galleries like Hauser & Wirth, Lisson Gallery (the only one I noticed with Hindi/English labels) and White Cube were present as A-list gallery booth exhibitors, auction houses like Sotheby’s as supporting partner, and Financial Times (my personal favorite read in the world), as media partner.

The Speakers’ Forum, free and open to the public, was a daily event held on the grounds of the IAF. The sessions brought together an esteemed group of the world’s cultural leaders and agitators in art, philosophy, media, and philanthropy and engaged panelists along themes that were both diverse and of-the-moment.

Natasha ARORA with works by Anish KAPOOR (l) "Untitled" 2009, Kiran Nader Museum of Art; (r) "Untitled" 2011, Galleria Continua, IAF, New Delhi, 2012

Over five days, from Wednesday to Sunday, streams of stylish participants and attendees delighted in the vibrancy of this major event on Delhi’s social calendar. Also to be enjoyed were the countless satellite events which took place throughout this Megacity at Indian galleries in Hauz Khas Village to newly launched exhibits at the gorgeous (and do-India-proud) Devi Art Foundation and Kiran Nader Museum of Art. The former and latter being spaces I had noted as must-visits months earlier and was enthralled as a first-time visitor. At each destination the concrete spaces were utterly modern and evoked a mood of contemporaneity that was so strikingly in contrast to the chaos of the city outside. Both privately operated, family-owned places were at once a refuge and a find.

Natasha ARORA with Anita DUBE's "Sea Creature" 2006-12, Nature Morte, IAF, New Dehli, 2012

In this great land of democracy, the India Art Fair is a great business brand that has a promising future. Its story will continue to unfold next year and once again re-activate the five senses: sights, sounds, tastes, smells AND EMOTIONS to the delight of fair-goers.

NB readers: Please visit and LIKE Natasha ARORA Eco Deco on Facebook and also view more IAF photos. Feel free also to FOLLOW me on Twitter.

1/92 automatic walkways and Explore trolleys, IGI Airport, New Delhi, Winter 2012

Touching down in New Delhi after four years, I was experiencing the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport for the first time since my last visit in April 2008; when it had already been under extensive construction till its opening in the summer of 2010. The smell of camphor was in the cool night’s air, wall-to-wall carpeting was rich in amber-colored shades of busy paisley designs, expansive walls were sparsely but effectively decorated with corporate and travel advertisements, passengers were few but airport staff was stationed. As I manoeuvered the spacious corridors at nearly midnight on the first Monday in January 2012, I passed through customs with incredible ease, later purchased bottles of Scotch from an informed salesperson at Duty Free, and waited not long at all for my baggage to arrive intact.

Clever Wayfinding Signage, IGI Airport, New Delhi, Winter 2012

INDIA! At long last I was back in India! The sticky notes on my walls at home ensured that my wish to return this year, departing no less on the first of the month, an auspicious date in my sometimes superstitious mind, would actually happen. I was a happy traveler, and ignored how tired I was after such a long journey. Smoothness and order pervaded the check-in/check-out procedure here, and this was so pleasantly surprising even in this heavily guarded, terrorist-targeted country.

IGI Airport. India's Place of Pride Where Co-Existence Happens, New Delhi, Winter 2012

The world has been talking about India’s economic boom and its countrymen’s empowering pride for years now. But could this new, organized, clean, and world-class airport be its sure-fire ambassador in concrete and steel? My foot experience upon landing had been delightfully seamless. I was giddy with excitement at the prospect of a new beginning in this New Year. And my, my, I asked myself, what other pleasant surprises lay ahead for me as I adventured in my homeland….

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The evening before, Deepa Mehta is dressed casual in dark khakis, black sweater, and a woolen Indian shawl with discrete embroidery detail that drapes her petite frame. Her long, shiny, straight, dark hair appears as though she’d just stepped out of a hair salon and her eyes are curious and kind. Deepa Mehta is in fine form, and ever so articulate with her answers during the Q&A which would follow the short screening moderated by Charlie Keil, Associate Professor of the Institute of Cinema Studies. Though to invited guests and members of the general public, she admittingly was stressed about the imminent approval meeting with her literary friend of five years.

At Innis College, located at University of Toronto, I am sitting in the Town Hall, an auditorium which yearly hosts/seats upwards of 50,000 attendees of events and screenings, and it’s where the presentation with this extraordinary filmmaker took place. Students, financiers, educators, professionals, and many other South Asians enjoyed a pre-SR preview of her poetic and poignant film hosted by Janet Paterson, Principal. By the same token, Ms Paterson also used the stage to signal the launch of the Town Hall fundraising campaign to raise $3.25 million, the estimated budget to redesign this core space — the heart and soul of Innis College.

The overall sentiment gleaned by the audience seated in this large grey room desperate for a makeover after more than twenty years of wear, was one of pride and honor: to watch Deepa Mehta’s unreleased film with Deepa Mehta. How utterly cool. The eight-10-minute film clip we were privileged to watch was superbly edited, a teaser of Midnight’s Children. It held my attention from the first second and, without doubt, her film will be another stellar work of art. A daring and caring filmmaker, Deepa Mehta films are so appealing because they are at once personal and mainstream. Her cinematic stories leave you pregnant with emotions and ideas about family, feuds, discord, love, zindagi (Hindi: life), other universal themes and “change as the only constant”.

Quick facts about the making of Midnight’s Children

The idea of making a movie based on a Salman Rushdie novel was hatched more than three years ago over dinner together at the filmmaker’s Toronto home; choosing which novel to adapt into a screenplay was her decision and an obvious one for the story’s “cinematic” qualities; the first draft delivered by Salman Rushdie was (not surprisingly) a lofty 297 pages; an average film script is 120 pages; the film shoot lasted 69 days in Sri Lankan settings where temperatures reached a soaring 42 degrees Celsius every day without reprieve from the heat; there were 64 locations and 30 actors of which 17 were main actors; the storyline spanned 60 years. Plus, for added real-life drama, the Sri Lankan government created permit issues and threatened to stall film production brought on via pressures from the Iranian government over the shooting of a Salman Rushdie adapted screenplay, despite the lifting of the fatwa twenty years ago. But the issues were resolved.

The logistics of making a film with layered histories that spans six decades and where “design was very important, cinematography and costume design” required that Deepa Mehta take to the gym eight weeks before international production began. She attributes a steady gym routine acquired at the JCC (Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre) in Toronto for keeping her “fit, alert” during the filming “marathon”.

It was an energizing autumnal evening and, as I left the University campus by foot, I couldn’t help but wonder how lovely it would be to have colorful conversation over a meal with the affable and talented Deepa Mehta. She has so many more stories to tell!

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From the point of view of my customer experience post-construction, this Starbucks is the same if not more confusing; simply ordering here is easier said than done. Where the queue might begin is a curvy, complicated walk from the main entrance. An existing support column downstairs is enhanced by a wide counter and stools around it and thus uses this area effectively, yet only a few feet away the other support column impedes human flow and disrupts the sightline to the chilled items for sale. On two occasions, I overheard customers asking: “Are you in line?” referring to whether the person next to them had placed their order. The space allotted between this seating area and the areas of commerce are rendered full of limitations and people flow has not been considered at peak hours.

Regardless, it is still popular drawing huge numbers, though its decibel level can be annoyingly high. When the upper floor is unoccupied it is like an oasis in the sky, but normally it is where business folk and students flock, hold meetings and make themselves comfortable much as they would at home. Employees’ chatter can be heard between floors and is reminiscent of collegiate behaviour (OK, so they’re mostly acting their age), while cell phone users abound in their indiscrete conversations on sport, business, financials, and much more. I acknowledge that this kind of coffee shop could never live up to the feeling of being at a public library, a place where the sound of silence, my preferred music, usually prevails.

The new furniture, mostly moveable pieces including bistro chairs, bar stools, corner and communal tables, armchairs, and chairs with arms, loveseats, floral rugs, and drapes too, necessitate that constant tidiness be maintained by staff if harmony is at all to be achieved. But upstairs, a pair of soft leather armchairs, although attractive pieces, are already starting to show signs of wear and perhaps are more appropriate in a study at a private residence than for rough general use at a busy Starbucks. Meanwhile, some improvements include easy access to the main bathroom (though you need to first ask for the door code upfront), and a quick pathway to the upper floor via the same set of narrow stairs shooting out to a side street exit.

After my first visit and walk-about, I had asked a kind employee if the redecoration was complete. “Yes,” he answered, “is there something missing?” Biting my tongue, I responded, “It needs help.” One month later, I still hold the same belief. The quick point I am trying to make here is that a finished space is not finished if it looks and feels unfinished. I have to EOL (Exclaim Out Loud).

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Of course, I recognize that there’s no turning back the hiked prices and that we are all patrons who are continually and literally paying the price for retail expansion and expansive business costs in still dreary economic times. But with this incremental charge for my tall, wet cappuccino (without lid, sleeve, stick, sugar or napkin), I ask myself why thoughtful design cannot come with?

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In my short history with Starbucks, I have adapted to a new coffee brand and a way of ordering my preferred drink, and adjusted (granted with some fuss) to the changed decor and design of one such coffee shop.

But I look forward to walking into this newly designed store, one of five along my path, but only the second one to undergo a cosmetic transformation in less than a year.

The potential is everywhere for commercial environments to endorse twin friends, beauty and function, and match them with easy communication, even with a general public. Whatever the design outcome, I reckon that at the very least the reconstruction will be an optimal improvement.

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1) Will this be a brand reinvention through redesign?
2) Is a commercial metamorphosis meant to act as a stimulus to improve business?
3) Were focus groups used to best determine what employees, regulars and newbies would like to experience? If so, what did findings reveal?

Eco Deco believes that most people react positively to a good-looking and good-smelling place and the feeling it brings to their body, eyes and mind. Most people can recognize the difference between what is comfortable and uncomfortable, practical and impractical, thoughtful and thoughtless, necessary and unnecessary. We are informed by design and vice versa. It is democratically accessible. I’d also like to add that most people deserve to live and consume — in dignity — whether in a private or public space. It can be enjoyable, and possibly you know the feeling.

So then why are Starbucks outlets hauntingly unattractive places? Incongruous color palettes, inflexible moving spaces, disregarded functionality of negative space, ill-conceived lighting installations (or lack thereof), poorly-delivered ventilation plans and even less considered sound proofing options….

A Starbucks in Toronto, Summer 2011 Photo credit: Eco Deco

Someone in Toronto once told me that Starbucks is “where the people are”. She was referring to it being a good place to network — and stay for hours if need be. This is a generous truth about the Starbucks culture. But the Starbucks design team should consider geometry, symmetry, proportion, and harmony, one as an intricate function of the other, when designing, redesigning or retrofitting their stores because their consumers, frankly deserve better.

Clients, who are increasingly design-aware, would appreciate good lighting (task, ambient) which enhances a reader’s experience while nursing a cup of coffee or tea; a non-disparate ventilation system where, regardless of season, the indoor temperature adjusts according to the outdoor temperature, but also ensures that hot or cold air be equally and fairly distributed throughout the establishment so as to diminish even avoid the chance of catching a debilitating cold. At most Starbucks where I’ve visited, they are perennially dark, shadow-ridden and depressing places despite the crowds. I do not know why, for instance, where there are window coverings, why they are not easy to manipulate according to the changing natural light outdoors and a consumer’s whim. What’s wrong with spreading sun?

Seating is another point of contention. For indoor and outdoor needs, choosing the right type of seating for communal usage is fundamental. But it is possible to find a chair, that is wide and weighty enough for people of all ages, sizes and habits to be comfortable enough to stay awhile. Plus, each store should allot for additional seating albeit in the form of stackable chairs on hand for the oft chance that coffee for one becomes a tea party for many.

What is more, employees need to care about their environment too. Physical surroundings should be kept regularly tidy where tabletops, chairs, floors, ledges, and even lighting fixtures are dusted, cleaned and tended to with as much attention as is given to consumers when taking their drink and food orders.

This consumer is a believer: there is always room for improvement. And forty years on, the Starbucks story could still say more — but also do much more.

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