Indian Institute Of Technology, Jodhpur

Our place is located right on Old Residency Road in Ratanada. It’s an older part of Jodhpur, so the streets can get pretty crowded during the day with all the traffic and pedestrians. The buildings around here have that typical blue city feel, though some are just plain stone or painted a duller color. We spend a lot of time dealing with the desert sun, which is pretty brutal for most of the year. You learn quickly to keep the curtains drawn in the afternoons to keep the rooms cool. Inside, it’s mostly just desks, old chairs, and piles of papers stacked everywhere. There are some local stalls nearby where we grab kachoris or tea when we need a short break. It’s not a very fancy setup, just a functional space where people come to study or work on their various projects. Sometimes the power goes out for a bit, but we are used to that and just wait for it to come back. The neighbors are mostly families who have lived in Ratanada for generations, so it feels like a real neighborhood rather than just an institution. You can hear the sounds of the city all day, with horns honking and people shouting in the street. It’s a bit noisy, but it’s home for us for now. We don’t have much in the way of gardens, just some potted plants near the entrance that we try to keep alive. It’s a busy spot but it works for what we do.