ABSTRACT
Mathew was interested in ‘order’, and abstract forms or ideas did not appeal to her readily. Not quite knowing what a course in architecture entailed, she also started taking drawing lessons to prepare for the highly competitive CEPT entrance exams and succeeded in getting admission there in 1987. The first year at CEPT was most crucial for Mathew, which opened up a whole new world, the education leading to a life-changing experience. In spite of her liberal family background, Mathew admits that she was rather timid, having had a somewhat sheltered life and this also being her maiden venture out of home terrain. It took her a while to get into the swing of living life alone. The atmosphere at CEPT was open and highly conducive to a creative learning process, pulsating with exposure to all the arts, sciences and experimentation in the teaching and understanding of architecture. She plunged into the demands of her course with a great zest.
Mathew was in the late Prof. Kurula Varkey’s first batch. Varkey was an exceptional teacher devoted to architecture. His integrity was commendable, and he practised what he preached. His constant presence on campus and involvement in all student projects were exceptional. Even today, Mathew nostalgically looks back at that period as the golden years of her learning and experimentation with ideas in architecture and a brief but lasting interlude with textiles and craft.
After graduating from CEPT in 1992, she worked for few months with Prof. Ravindra Vasavada in Ahmedabad. She recalls this as a satisfying period where she was passionately involved in the work. She left for Bengaluru in 1993 to be a practising architect. Mathew got married to Soumitro Ghosh, a batchmate from CEPT, in 1995. Soumitro is a Bengali who never lived in Bengal, but grew up in Uttar Pradesh, having done his schooling in Meerut. They established their joint architectural practice as Mathew and Ghosh Architects the same year in Bengaluru. Her first project was a small outhouse in Kerala, followed by a house for her mother in the same city.
