t is indeed a privilege to be invited to talk about my
journey in architecture. I thank Prof. Rama Subrahmanian, Ar.
Gita Balakrishnan and all others who took the initiative for
the discussion and the investigation into this imaginative and
great profession of architecture.
At my firm, Fountainhead, we have a concept: ‘form
follows space’. The fifty odd years of my journey in architec-
ture have been a sequence of a well-knitted labyrinth of inter-
pretations of spaces that have in many ways influenced my ar-
chitecture. Each of the spectrums had stories that came to life
in the built form. The client was and is like the child listening
to the story and impatient as to when and why it will end. The
architect in me has no answers. Every time I walk and review
the design, I mentally pace all the dimensions hoping that this
one will be one more that never was and will be timeless.
When you ask what is the evolution of Jaisim Fountain-
head, it’s difficult to explain in a few words, but I shall explain.
An effort. Sometime back in the sixties, I did not know that my
grandfather was an architect. Or that he was with the Maha-
raja of Mysore.