Work Review

So who is going to defend him?...Adarkar asked the panel
(everyone surprised)
I mean, who is going to be his representative?
(everyone looking at each other)
Ok whose group you are in…

“Padma ma’am” I replied

Poor padma…she got caught!

After about 5 months, there was finally a work review. My thesis design had progressed a bit, however, it was equally controversial. The panel listened to me patiently for the first five to seven minutes and then jal interrupted as usual. The problem with the cinema for the blind is that the subject and the object- both are quite flexible in terms of their interpretation. Jal was more concerned about the empirical formulations of the project. I just nodded away his questions about ‘how much of blindness have you studied’ because I did not find the question even important to respond to. If I started telling him about my ideas, he would have just whooshed it away! And anyways, I don’t understand why does he have to be ALWAYS negative? Why can’t he make his criticisms constructive?

Adarkar, on the other hand was more concerned about the sensory experiences…tactile, olfactory…all that he knows about the blind…and his typical examples…

Amberkar was very quiet, and he understood that it was beyond him to comment. I appreciated that.

Kale was more concerned about the functionality of the project and how would it prove useful. He gave me atleast some opportunity to go ahead and complete my explanation of design. He also gave me some more clues.

Padma just didn’t live up to my hopes…she still kept questioning why I was doing a cinema, if I had to address urban issues.

Ah! Finally I went ahead to meet shetty…after waiting for about two hours, shetty asked us to show our work hurriedly (as always) and gave us enough time. I showed him my large sketch.

He was happy to see the sketch. He also said that this must be your sheet like. However, today he seemed as if he wanted to wrap up the design. But I went ahead and asked about the unresolved parts. He tried to bring in some dialogue, again on the conceptual terms. He said that the cinema for the blind actually will be difficult to build. But this would be a CONCEPT OF SPACE that you are trying to create in the city. Such a space will be used by the blind to discuss stories…create, write, read….and all sorts of such activities. He also said that such a space would later on become a space to use for exhibitions or public activities.

On the other hand, he clearly asked me to work and resolve the internal tid-bits of the project. I agreed to do that, but I felt that he must have gotten tired with me – discussing and trying to explain me the same old thing. But that is so natural. On one of the instances, I also felt that he was too busy, as he just got irritated about smaller issues (like water logging in my project) and said “so what am I supposed to do?” but I don’t think it’s his fault at all. He is completely free to express his frustration. I just smiled. What else could I do?

His dialogue clearly brought out that he understood that there is a lack of (good) faculty in AOA. He asked me to prepare the final presentation I am going to deliver. I told him that I have thought about it. But he said, don’t think, PREPARE. I said okay…and he further said very sweetly, that that is what he would help me at. He also said that it’s just those last 15 minutes which made the difference for him during his jury. On a personal note, I like it when he gives examples about his jury. Because it’s nice to know the process of a successful project, and on the other hand, it’s just nice to understand him as a person.

While leaving, I asked him for my dissertation, which I had handed over to him 7 weeks ago. Still he said… “but I have not read it”. I said it’s fine. But while returning the booklet to me, he saw the cover page…held it for 2 seconds and smiled at it…

I knew why he did it…because the cover page said…. “c nema for the bl nd”

I smiled back at him. I think we both enjoyed the pun!

While leaving, atul was with me… and he said that perhaps Prasad did not have a grip over my project. However, I thought that how does that matter. It’s shetty who has guided me since the beginning and I trust him fully. He also said that he doesn’t think that now anything would happen towards making an ‘aha’ design, as there is no time. That’s the typical negative atul for you! I just blankly accepted it and threw it out of my head.

However, we can not stop trying. It was an eventful as well as a wasteful day. Shetty has told me to meet me with the drawings within some time. I have told…”Ten days?”….

“Will you be able to finish in a week?” shetty asked
“I will try to, and anyways, I think the talking will take care of the nitty gritty!” I replied.
“yes, talking is important…I will tell you. Come prepared!”

Clay Modelling

It has been a long time since I have spoilt myself.

The other day, my sister was upto me to give her some idea of clay modeling as my nephew was to participate in a competition. She got the box of clay I had gifted my nephew on his 4th or so birthday…

We kept wondering what must be made such that it looks competitive…soon we started playing with the colourful clay. Making slices of watermelon, cherries, apples….wow, it was so much fun. My sister and I also experimented with the idea of making a boat, or a basket. But my nephew was so fed up with the clay thing (since my sister was pushing him too hard over the preparation for the competition). I told her very openly that it’s not important that he must win. My idea was that he must explore the material.

I think she digested this soon and we started thinking over objects where the shape would not matter much and could also be handled by a small child…we then thought of making a bunch of grapes. That was indeed a nice idea. The fact that a grape is simply round and the bunch of grapes doesnot need to be in a particular shape…

We soon made a handful of other fruits too. I got so excited and went ahead to do some detailing on the clay fruits… making depressions, etc. I further made a chilly and peas too…for some time I felt that I must keep making more of this. And also that I love to play with such materials and get dirty.

I really enjoyed working with clay. Lets see now what my nephew comes up with!

con - FUSED!

Architects are born confused. I think they are the most confused people on the planet. They are never sure of what they want to do till the last moment…there are 10000 changes in the drawings and the finalized one is till bound to change on the site!!

But my point here is that what if a person is confused about pursuing architecture or no! I know this is a weird predicament. But it has happened with me. What shapes up a person in his or her field is the experiences he/she has had during the course of the study or the professional term. One gains confidence from appreciation by people whom they respect or others, who are just confident and ‘less confused’. A few people learn from their mistakes and very few gain confidence from their bad experiences.

On another relative term, one feels good about doing a course, if he/she is generally doing well. If he/she is satisfied with what is being done. Satisfaction again sometimes becomes a victim of expectations – personal expectation or others’ expectation towards one. When one experiences good, everything seems good, otherwise, he/she is in a state of a deeper confusion. I am a victim of confusion…

Sometimes it’s so encouraging to talk to a person who likes your work. But at some time, if the same person criticizes your work, you feel worthless. And this happens especially when that person is someone whom you respect or idealize. But there is also a personal and a relative factor. As we say, that a man is also shaped by the personal biases and his likings and disliking, his grooming atmosphere, and finally his own mental capabilities. If taken that into consideration, then the idea of dependence on someone’s else’s opinion on your work collapses, and the idea of ‘appreciation’ also falls apart. Taking from the conversation of an old man (who coincidentally is an architect) and my friend, the old man wisely said, “You are the best judge of your own work, no one else can judge your work.”

Philosophy is the greatest support in bad times. Philosophy itself is a thought which is developed by personal experiences or biases or the way we look at things. But philosophies too are relative. One judges someone else’s work with one’s own philosophy. So if the philosophical thoughts of two people are congruent, then they will agree to each other. According to one’s own philosophy, what he/she does is always right. So again, the idea of judging ones own work does not stand substantial…
Judging generally splits decisions into the range of two binary opposites – good or bad. Good is something that is congruent to the jury’s thought and bad is incongruous. The other range of decisions are only an adjustment with one’s thought. For that range of decisions, either the ‘judge’ tries to think on the lines of the speaker or the speaker tries to succumb to the ideas of the ‘judge’.

Therefore, something that clicks right at the first go is good…because it does not need time to look into details (it is non biased) and something that is discussed far too much and ended with a remark falling within the range of good and bad is just a mismatch of thoughts…it’s confusion between understanding a single thought with two minds…

I know that the piece of writing has a fusion of ideas that have no verdict, but can it be of any use? I am confused!

friends

F - Few
R - Relations
I - In
E - Earth
N - Never
D - Die

End of internship

Another phase of the academic life comes to an end. I completed my internship today, and I feel no different than I was 4 months back. Partly because I have still not completed my thesis like others. In a way, it is good because it keeps my mind busy. But on the other hand, it is a mild pressure that keeps me tensed.

But I would dedicate this blog to the people whom I was working for the last 4 months. Today was the lamest day at office. While rahul and sonal knew that I am going to leave today, I was not given any considerate work. So the last three days were just like a formality to complete training.
As a token of farewell, I had given my colleagues a small pack of kites, out of which one they had to return me back with their messages to me. I would like to share some of them. Starting with the senior most person, Akanksha actually brought back all the days we spent together working and having fun…she said something very beautiful...

“Dream big
Chase your dreams
Learn all the time
Hold on to precious moments in life…
Keep flying high!”

Something very aptly and honestly put.

Rika was not well today and she was planning to leave when I realized that I must give everyone away the card then. She was sweetly happy to receive the card. And she said that “hope you fly higher than a kite with no strings.” I think I will miss Rika the most, because she was perhaps the most intelligent and expressive person in the office. She is short tempered, but her anger helps her big time. She is sharp, crisp and confident – something that I have never been!

Rashmi’s message is the most dear to me…for the fact being that I shared my desk for 4 months with her. And perhaps she had to be avictim of my endless commentary! She wrote

“…had an amazing time with you, will surely miss your gaana bajaana and the expert comments”

She was the most helpful person for me… taught me so much of autocad…and we would have plenty of talks filled with laughter. I would share everything with her…how I spent my weekend, my trip from home to office, the lamest of the incidents….she was the best company…and her vivaciousness showed in her eyes…

Yatin said something to me in the way we used to talk…he wrote…

“anuj…jaane kahaan gaye who din…”

I gave a big smile to him and it was only the gesture that communicated. Yatin, shailesh and I were big fans of old hindi music and we used to talk about them all the time. We sometimes used to talk in songs too…and there was his sentiment so perfectly put in that one line…

Rahul, Lucy and Prabhakar pleasantly wished me best luck for my thesis. And tanmay wished me best luck for future. He too remembered the way I used to talk with him in Gujarati, and hence like an elder brother, wrote, “Pachho jaldi avaje.” Rahul rhino and rashmi gave me an excellent cd of cartoons…comic strips…full of comics…thanks public…if you are reading this blog…heartfelt thanks.

What disappointed me was my boss’s gestures…he kept asking me “are you coming back” the entire day. Sonal went to the extent of getting a letter signed. I hope that Rahul would pay me a little more for the last month, but that too put me off when I say the cheque with the same digits…

while leaving Rahul told me, “so anuj, how was working at opolis? You must have enjoyed… no work (says ironically)…are you coming back?(says once again)”

I was surprised to know that my boss is telling me that I did no work…I felt betrayed. I wanted to work. And hence, still with mixed feelings, I complete this blog with a confused mind whether to join back the office or no, as I might not see the sweet people around next time (as most of them are leaving for various reasons). May be time will tell….

what is general knowledge

Is France the capital of Italy or Italy the capital of France?
Have you never learnt geography?
Why?
Have you ever seen the map of the world?
Yes..only seen…
Italy and France are two different countries.
Oh!
How can you not know that…it’s like asking is Afghanistan the capital of India! Had you been an American, I could have understood, but I don t expect this stupid question from you…only Americans ask such stupid questions… like - is Pakistan a part of India…or is Nepal in India…

By the way, what is the capital of france and italy?

The capital of France is Paris.
And Italy?
Rome.
Oh..how could I forget…
What how could I forget!?
Ok… my general knowledge is not so good!
What do you mean general knowledge? Its not even general knowledge. Even a 2nd standard kid will tell me that…ok 3rd …

So tell me what is general knowledge?

???

No tell me what is it if it is not general knowledge? Ok tell me how many countries touch India?
Are you talking about present India or the India before??
Ok I don’t want to know the answer…

after loads of work...

yesterday and the day before was the busiest day at the office...preparing a master plan, and then preparing a presentation...taking out copies...composing drawings....incorporating suggestions and changes...co ordinating with colleagues...

for some time i felt that life must be that busy...it must be so busy that you feel like sleeping after going home.you feel like taking rest.

unfortunately, loads of work is coming when i am about to end my internship, and i will be taking a big break for the completion of my thesis...

thesis is another interesting thing to do, but its difficult when you are not getting anywhere. surprisingly, the review of the dissertation done by my guide was very lenient. and unexpectedly she kept asking me about my personal life rather than the design. felt curious and asked her about that, when she told that she was being inquisitive.

another experience on that very day (Monday)...while returning back home, the fuel in the car was empty, and i was stuck in the middle of Andheri fly over..was another experience in life. and was amazed to encounter the best of the worst in life. the car was stuck at andher, which was fairly near to my brother's office. my mobile's battery was very low. and after i made the last call to my brother, we waved at each other...the phone was dead!

i remembered what my late uncle had said to me..."don't panic, call up, and wait!" and that was what i did; and it worked!

there have been many more things i have been wanting to write...let me see if the week end permits me too...meanwhile...just bored of typing!

capturing kala ghoda

bright snaps at kala ghoda

Black Horse

kaaaaaaaalaaaaaaaaaa ghodaaaaaaaaaaaa '08!

wonder why it had to be so upmarket!? but anyway...my first kala ghoda...i loved every part of it! and with the cold, it was awsome...

the food was expensive, bot good...and to fill our stomach to the fullest, we went out to the local bhelpuri walla to have some sev puri and cheese sandwich!

i had a big glass of sugarcane juice too....

and landed up with cold the next day...ah! i dont mind it at all...

Monday Morning

It was difficult to get out from my warm cozy blanket today…however, after prolonging my sleep for an extra half hour, I finally decided to get ready for a cold winter morning. However, while I took a bus to reach the station, it was still dark. Was a bit lucky to get a fairly empty train…I stood at the gate to enjoy the cold breeze.

I put on my walkman and disconnected from the rhythmic sound of the train.

It was a beautiful morning…the sun had not risen and I could see the orangish tinge in the sky, lighting up the grey clouds. The silhouette of the city against the sky was breath taking. Somewhere in santacruz, a lady with a large vessel on her head pointed me to help her keep down the vessel in the train. Initially, I did not understand as I was engaged in my music, so I thought she wanted some space – I stepped aside. Later, she pointed out again with the finger…I then quickly helped her with the vessel…the vessel was very very heavy…the old woman’s effort was commendable. The train started with a jerk again. I was happy to see the lady pushing the vessel to place in the compartment, along with her partener, who was pretty young with some stuff on her head.

I continued with my music and the large view the gate offered me. It was now that the crescent of the moon appeared through the clouds. The clouds had a lovely orange lining by now. It reminded me of the morning when I similarly saw the candy orange sun through the door of the train, in full shape.

I got down at Dadar and got lost into the numerous men heading towards their work places. At Kabutar Khana, I saw the fluttering pigeons, but the buildings that framed the sky were still black and the sky was now completely orange, and overpowered the birds. Gushes of cool wind kept me cold, and I kept walking to the rhythm of my music…

The college was still dark, the library was shut, and the office too. I took a seat to warm myself, went on to read the notice board across me, and then was engaged with some talk with a senior. Madhavi came in by then and we went to the library, which was open by now, to have a short update over the past week. I met adarkar sir, and tried to explain him my dissertation. We discussed towards some positive anticipations…

Madhavi and I left for office then. She kept talking to me in the cab, but I could not pay attention. I was lost in mesmerizing the beautiful Monday morning…