Dr SS BHATTI: Biographical Conversations to Explore Many Fascinating Dimensions of His Versatile Creativity

Dr SS BHATTI: Biographical Conversations to Explore Many Fascinating Dimensions of His Versatile Creativity is a unique biographical book written in the form of an extended interview. Dr SS Bhatti (b.1938) is a former Principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture, and a very versatile professional. He holds three PhDs and M Arch from The Queensland University, Australia. Apart from being an inspired academician and architect, Dr Bhatti is a painter, sculptor, graphic designer, Urdu and English poet par excellence. He has authored more than 30 books on diverse fields like art, architecture, pedagogy, religion, poetry in both Urdu and English, besides other fields of human endeavour.

As a student of Dr SS Bhatti from 1974 to 1979, the author found something unusual in his teacher's demeanour and teaching style that prompted him to sustain it at any cost. Fortunately, he has succeeded in doing so for nearly five decades. During this half a century, the author has kept track of Dr Bhatti's diverse activities and achievements. What he marvels at is Dr Bhatti's undiminished vitality and vigour with which he still maintains the momentum of his versatile creativity in terms of astounding quantity, quality, and diversity. Surprisingly, far from slowing down, his output has shot up in every way in every sense of the word.

Dr Bhatti's versatility spans the entire gamut of human creativity from sombre seriousness to rib-tickling humour that makes him an apt example of his credo of 'Holistic Humanism' [his coinage]. His depth of scholarship, breadth of knowledge, and height of imagination is hard to match, which together make his life a rich source of enduring inspiration for anyone who has the passion and perseverance to tread such an offbeat path. The present book has attempted a laser-like peep into his mind to observe and understand its mystical mechanics, with a view to recording everything the best in scope and diversity for posterity.

The author, Sarbjit Bahga (b. 1957) is an architect, urbanist, author, and photo-artist. He is Principal Architect of Bahga Design Studio LLP, which is a Chandigarh-based Architecture + Urban Design firm. Earlier, Bahga had worked in the Punjab State's Department of Architecture, Punjab Health Systems Corporation, and Punjab Mandi Board on various positions. He has 40 years of practical experience in the designing of various building-types, complexes, and campuses. His completed works include an eclectic and impressive range of administrative, recreational, educational, medical, residential, commercial, and agricultural buildings. A monograph on his selected works titled MODERN REGIONALISM: The Architecture of Sarbjit Bahga has been published. Bahga is also a keen researcher and a prolific architectural writer. He has eight books to his credit, which include Modern Architecture in India, New Indian Homes, Le Corbusier & Pierre Jeanneret: Footprints on the Sands of Indian Architecture, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret: The Indian Architecture, Trees in Urban Habitat, Contemporary Indian Houses, Landscaping Human Habitat, and New Indian Architecture - 1947-2020. Bahga's contribution to architecture has been largely recognized. He is a three-time recipient of World Architecture Community Awards. His name has been featured in Guinness Book of World Records for designing the "longest covered concrete corridor" in Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health, Amritsar.