ABSTRACT
Sujatha Shankar is a well-known, Chennai-based architect. A multifaceted personality, Shankar made a film on the city of Madras (now Chennai) in 1992, highlighting the evolution of its architecture and exploring the city’s wealth of heritage. Clearly in love with Chennai, Shankar is well versed with its history as well as contemporary architecture. Born to Maharashtrian parents originally from Tanjore, her maiden name was Sujatha Nagoji Rao. Her father was an actuary with UK qualifications and her mother a homemaker, greatly interested in reading, needlework and gardening, among other things. Her great grandfather was the dewan of the state of Travancore and Indore as well as Baroda in colonial times, two other ancestors were also dewans and another great grandfather was the first Indian commissioner of police in Chennai.
