What is life without context? Meaningless, we say. And that's exactly what architect and urbanist Rahul Mehrotra is trying to explain in an upcoming Masterclass – on study of contemporary architecture and linking it to urban conditions in India. "As Architects we respond to the most obvious aspects of the context – material, physical location, and climate etc. But if we nestle the immediate context of our interventions in its broader, more fluid and often less tangible context of socio economic, cultural and political forces, we can push ourselves further to create responses that are even more grounded and productive for the communities we serve," he adds.

This could be rather complicated since we live in a globalized world with images, aspirations and influences that are fluidly traversing the globe. "We can't escape these as they also mould society's aspirations. If our buildings have to be relevant to the locality and finally to the society we serve, understanding the context of our operations is finally extremely critical," says Mehrotra who has written several books including Architecture In India since 1990.