Why an Architect Keeps a Tiny Indian Temple Replica on His Desk—and Sometimes Uses It as a Pencil
Anand Sheth says the spiritual object from his mother’s hometown shaped his understanding of rituals as a child, and reminds him to form new ones.
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My parents are emigrants from India, and my older brother and I grew up in a house in Los Angeles with an at-home Hindu temple called a puja mandir. Up until middle school, the mandir was in a corner of my bedroom; there’s a little bit of an idea that spiritual protection or osmosis can happen if you’re around the mandir, so it’s not uncommon for it to be in the youngest person’s room.
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Lauren Gallow
Dwell Contributor
Lauren Gallow is a Seattle-based design writer and editor. Formerly an in-house writer for Olson Kundig, she holds an MA in Art & Architectural History from UCSB.
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