Soon after becoming the first Gujarati to be conferred with 'Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters' - France's highest honour for arts, eminent architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi is all set to don another hat - that of an author. Doshi is currently busy working out the finer details of his fifth book Relevance of Architecture - the book with a difference, as he calls it.     

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For Doshi, the recent French honour from French consul general Jean Raphael Peytregnet is another third such honour he has received from the European nation - after the French Great Gold Medal and the French government lifetime achievement award. It acknowledges his contribution towards strengthening relationships between India and France in the sphere of art and architecture due to the camaraderie he shared with eminent French architect Le Corbusier.

When asked how it feels to be acknowledged by so many countries, the modest master architect humbly responds: "I am very grateful and feel blessed." The recent French honour for him was to acknowledge Doshi's contribution to enhance relationships between India and France in the field of art and architecture.

Doshi believes that awards and recognitions are part of life. One should move further and look into what lies ahead. He currently is working on his fifth book, his next project. "This is a different kind of book. Unlike my previous publications, this will not have any photographs. It has sketches, unusual drawings and writings," Doshi said.

"This book is an effort to document how I see architecture. It speaks of my journey of how I learnt from everyone I met. The number (of people) is large, from different walks of life - literature, philosophy, spirituality, academicians, industrialists and many more. In short, the book is a perspective into my life."