Ratish Nanda

Namaste and you're listening to another episode of We the Fellows, where we're talking to the various eisenhower fellows finding out about their countries and their thoughts and opinions on global issues. Ratish is one of India’s leading conservation architects. As Program Manager for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Ratish oversees a wide variety of restoration and conservation projects in India and Afghanistan. He has also been responsible for the conservation of more than 50 buildings dating from the 11th century for the Delhi Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). He is best known for his exhaustive inventory of 1,200 buildings and historical sites, Delhi, The Built Heritage, published in 2000. When I read that Ratish Nanda would be coming to the US for the program from India, I have to admit, I was somewhat scared. How important would it be for us to get along? It's India and Pakistan for Goodness sakes! How is this supposed to work?! My mind went off in a number of skewed directions but I felt like such a goof when he and his wife came to say hello to me as I was frantically typing away at some document during the first week of the fellowship. It was as if we had known each other for a long time. I honestly don't care what the media says - Ratish has become a wonderful friend and he has done well to preserve his heart of gold. Stay tuned for more podcasts and keep checking the eisenhowerfellowships.org website for more details about the various programs and news about all of us. Until the next podcast, this is Rabia Garib, logging off.