The challenge was in the concurrence of Charles Correa. And the charming denouement was my dream project, the City Centre Salt Lake, that found fruition with the touchstone of this titan of an architect. More than a decade ago, when I foolhardily believed in a mammoth integrated and unconventional hangout and shopping hub, it was really the trust that the visionary Charles Correa brought to bear on the project that gave the 42,000sq m of commercial and entertainment space a life and a soul. And Calcutta got its "kaleidoscope of contrast, colour and energy... a microcosm of the whole metropolis" in the architect's own words.

When the first of the awards came to it as the most preferred shopping mall in India, I could only think of what I had personally received from a man of international stature, who had been conferred some of the most prestigious worldwide awards, and the Padma Vibhushan from our own country. For me, he was warm, empathetic, quirky, and his mentoring was munificent. He was as caring and compassionate as he was temperamental and fastidious. He led me into his unique perceptions of urban planning, just as he has infused the dimensions of his genius into creating some iconic structures in India and around the world. I mention the ones I have come face to face with: the pristine simplicity of the Sabarmati Ashram, the Kanchanjunga Apartments in Mumbai which I pass frequently with their cantilevered open "courtyard" terraces, the multi-arts Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, the crystalline roof dome of the Ismaili Centre in Toronto, the Navi Mumbai city, so contextually brilliant and so grounded in a culturally sympathetic construct.

He truly interpreted Indian sensibility in a contemporary manner, inclusively looking at courtyards, and kunds and jharokas, excising ornamentation, finding cost-effective solutions, staying with an oh-so-Indian palate of colours - the oranges, and ochres and browns.

I must mention an amazing creation of his that I visited just last year - the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon. A hugely aesthetic project at the confluence of the river and the sea with breathtaking views. Conceived by him as a museum of science. In Charles Correa's words, it "uses the highest levels of contemporary science and medicine to help people grapple with real problems. And to house these cutting edge activities, we tried to create a piece of architecture. Architecture as Sculpture. Architecture as Beauty. Beauty as Therapy." I found the buildings to be sculptural masterpieces. And what is housed within is symbiotic with advanced scientific breakthroughs, particularly in cancer solutions.

Here was a man who was the epitome of urbane elegance. A pioneering towering figure in the world of architecture. The void he leaves behind is perhaps ironically symbolic of the spaces and light that he imbued into his creations.