The Remarkable Journey of Piloo Mody โ Indian Architect
Piloo Mody was an Indian architect and politician. He was one of the founding members of the Swatantra Party. He was elected to the 4th and 5th Lok Sabhas, he served in the Rajya Sabha from 1978 until his death.
He spearheaded the passing of an important Bill in the Parliament that enabled the Architects Act of 1972. The Act provides for the registration of architects and overlooks their roles and responsibilities. Besides, it streamlines architecture education to produce excellent and responsible architects.
Early and Personal life
Piloo Mody was born on 14 November 1926 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He was born in a Parsi family. He was a member of the Parsi community. Piloo Mody was one of the sons of Sir Homi Mody. He had two brothers named Kaly Mody and Russi Mody.
He was educated at The Doon School, Dehradun. After School he attended Sir J. J. College of Architecture and the University of California, Berkeley, from where he graduated with a masterโs degree in architecture. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who went on to become Prime Minister of Pakistan in the 1970s, was his college roommate and the two were close friends.
He was married to an American, Lavina Colgan Mody, she was a fellow architect student at Berkeley on 3 January 1953. He had 2 brothers, Kali Mody, a pioneer of credit card operations in India and Russi Mody, a former chairman of the Tata Iron and Steel company Limited.
Work as architect
After his stint at Berkeley he returned to India. He worked for two years spent on the Chandigarh Capital Project. He also designed the Chennai headquarters of Engineering Construction Corporation, a former subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
It won the Federation Internationale de la Precontrainte prize for excellence in pre-stressed concrete from India. Piloo and his wife Lavina set up an architecture firm Mody and Colgan in 1953 at Stadium House, Churchgate. Their first project was a residential apartment at Marine Lines for senior officials of TISCO.
They also designed the front casing of one model of Voltas Air conditioner. Pilooโs other projects include residential project Olympus, three TELCO offices, the headquarters of Bharat Bijlee, Mukand Iron and Steel, Sandoz, Voltas and Diners Club and Business Service centres.
Political life
In political life Mody was an advocate of liberalism and freedom. He was associated with Swatantra Party at its founding. According to his wife Lavina, Piloo found designing pretty buildings unsatisfying with the country going to the dogs via the socialistic road.
Later he became a founding member of Swatantra Party. At the 1967 general election he was elected to the 4th Lok Sabha, representing the Godhra constituency in Gujarat. Again in 1971 he was re-elected and served in the 5th Lok Sabha until March 1977. In 1972 he was instrumental in promoting the Architectsโ Act.
In 1975, at the time of the Emergency in India, Mody was arrested on the orders of the Indira Gandhi government, using the controversial powers granted by the Maintenance of Internal Security Act.
After an absence of a year from parliament, on 10 April 1978 Mody joined the Rajya Sabha and served there until his death in 1983. The Piloo Mody College of Architecture, at Cuttack, Orissa, and a FIDE chess tournament are named in his honour.
Death
Piloo Mody died on 29th January 1983, at the age of 56.
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