A few months back, during an invitation to Kolkata, my flight was delayed for 14 hours — and quite unexpectedly, I met Pavel ( @pavelpedia ) along with his family (@mukherjee_smriti) + team Sayan (@shadow_paint_).
After RAW Architecture’s lecture on design perspectives in Kolkata, India, we continued the conversation at the terminal through a podcast session. Pavel has a fascinating way of building inspiration behind his films — using podcasts as a kind of backbone, a space to think aloud and weave ideas.
This post is my small gesture of appreciation for their effort to document a way of sharing struggles, processes, and inspirations — many of which I only discovered during that conversation. We talked about so many things: how to appreciate architecture, the sense of wonder and struggle within it, the tension between global inspiration and local action — and how critical thinking can lead us back to architecture rooted in culture and nature.
Our conversation flowed through the Mahabharata, the Seven Wonders, education, libraries, hermitage, postcolonial conditions, and even children’s education. It all ended on a reflective note — about the meaning of life, the joy of meeting new people, and how every encounter brings new energy.
Pavel is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in Bengali-language films. He made his debut with Babar Naam Gandhiji, followed by many others.
Thank you, my friend — and to the team and all the beautiful people behind it. You can listen to our podcast through the QR code below. Have fun, and enjoy the conversation.
Note: I still owe a reflection on the trip to the Santiniketan constellation, Bidyut Roy and Lipi Biwas’s home and works — brought to us by Swagata Mam, Lakshmi, Priyak and Riya. Thank you.
(Ep. 40), we cross oceans and cultures – from India to Indonesia –
Host: Pavel
Producer: Jaspreet Kaur & Pavel
Cinematography: Sayan Bose
Assistant DOP: Ayush Gupta
Research & Creative Head: Smriti Mukherjee
Edit: Pallab Bose
Team: Arko Kiran Guha, Sumit Chowdhury & Priyanka Bhattacharya
My Mayonnaise Jar 