ABSTRACT
To trace the journey of Samira Rathod (née Mehta) from an uninterested student of architecture at Sir J. J. College of Architecture, an eager graduate at the University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, to her growth as a fiercely ardent professional is certainly an interesting one. Defying her father’s initial desire of taking up medicine, she found herself rather impassive at Sir J. J. in Mumbai back in 1981. Three years into the course, her interest in architecture was reinstated with the patient guidance of architect Uday Master, under whom she was made an apprentice by her father. In her final year, Prof. Chandavarkar further fuelled her involvement in architecture, encouraging her to do a thesis that she enjoyed immensely. Nevertheless, her aspirations as a student were a far cry from the fervour and zeal her work expresses today.
