Update

For a long time I have not posted. This is not because I have not been involved in writing. Instead, I am writing all the more. I was very busy writing my personal statement and research proposals for various places. In this process, I had to really really think hard on myself to understand my interests. I think I have achieved a great extent of clarity on my trajectory now. Although it's not completely clear. But every time I think of a new project or research, I clarify my theoretical position. Thus, this process has been quite enriching. For a long time, I thought of uploading all such work on my blog, but I finally refrained, because I just wanted to keep all these things to myself.

On the other hand, I have been manually writing a lot of things - since the computer is a tool which makes me dwell too much on perfection. So i end up losing a lot of ideas. When I write manually, I am not thinking about the correctness of language or the use of words. I mix and match, and mostly I am translating from Hindi to English. So such write ups are really crude. But they help in vomitting a thought out. I take time later to refine them and make these ideas crisper. I have accumulated pages and pages of such text.

There were some other writings which started off really well and were interjected by circumstantial events. The link is lost, and so, once I reconsider them, I will be able to produce a lot more writings at once. Subjects come and go. Strong ideas and thoughts pass across the mind. Sometimes, student work in nascent stage makes me think a lot, and I am able to give a good feedback to a lot. But later, I feel all that thought must be recorded. Lectures must be transcribed. A lot of times, after I finish my lectures, I sit in my room and write what I spoke...It makes so much sense. Students ask questions which help to clarify concepts.

I will take time to collate all such writings and scribblings into tangible output. For the time being, I have made a good compilation of my earlier works into a portfolio, which I really like to gaze at. I keep flipping and feeling the pages and writing all the time. I hope it makes the same impact on others who see it. It's called "Idearchive" - a hint Siddharth (Nadkarny) gave me during an informal chat...

I want to write about the nature in which my phone has gone out of order. It has started behaving weirdly. Being a touch screen, 1/3rd of it has become insensitive. the middle 1/3rd is partially sensitive and the right most part is intact. So I have to constantly be very informed to press at the wrong place to press the right button and execute the right information. For example, the "yes" and "no" button are on right and left on the touch screen. But I end up saying "no" to every thing that occurs with the phone. The key pad types absolutely absurdly. If I have to say, "Sorry to have missed you", it writes "Sorry to have kissed you"! Messages are completely going for a toss!!  It's really funny and I am looking forward to theorize it...How? Imagine a skewed phone - like a man looking crooked, performing unexpected operations and landing you up in imaginary landscapes! One could construct an interesting story out of that! Of all unintended things one did, which opened up a new perspective of life...

Of all "no's" that became "yes" and vice versa. Of all messages that went to wrong people and did interesting connections. Of all unwanted cancellations, of all numbers you dialled wrong...It could be revealing...

I have always imagined such an exercise with archaeological space. When at the Sun temple Modhera, where we saw the intricately carved temple stone blocks numbered and lined up to be reset on the facade, I wondered if all those numbers mixed up, would it change relationships between people? Wouldnt it challenge our whole belief systems, mythology, and all those narratives...An exploratory exercise in challenging history could be fictitiously constructed.

However, there are other things going on. The vertical studio where we have too much to explore and only a few sincere, interested students. I could just indulge in writing about all the 10 areas that have been selected - there are so many stories out there, so much to learn and also produce knowledge. We just have a bunch of extremely lackadaisical students who do not want to do any thing. Either their futures are set, or they do not have futures. It's as black and white as that, perhaps...

I am handling the visual culture group and there is so much to talk about it that I can't contain within myself. I am just waiting for students to bring up some amount of enthusiasm and eagerness to work. Then, I am sure we will achieve something. So, finally, writing is going on. soon you will see a lot of it. It is in the process of cooking up, and it will be served soon. The application process is already over and I can get back to attack this space again!

Academy of Architecture, Annual Lecture 2011-12

Poster Design: Anuj Daga

Delhi Study Tour 2011

An account of the "adventurous" Delhi tour with the third year batch 2011:
More details and observations to follow...

On International English Exams

Right now I am typing this text in Notepad only to be copy pasted in the blogpost; since this is the format I will be using in TOEFL exams.

While the reading and listening section of the toefl test are extremely interesting and informative (since even if you do not score well, you learn about new things), the speaking and writing sections are really funny. They expect us to write like babies and ask our opinions on frivilous issues, to the extent of suggesting things for people. All this is to understand our speaking and writing skills. Something that can be identified through our personal statements that universities ask for.

However, while thinking of some topics, I felt so bored to prepare for such an exam that I came up with my own set of sillier questions that must be posed to TOEFL organization in the speaking and writing sections, and mind you, with time limits.

Speaking section:

Do you think TOEFL is an essential test for international students?
You have 15 seconds to prepare and 45 seconds to answer.

Should TOEFL exam be waived for students whose medium of instruction has been English in High School?
You have 15 seconds to prepare and 45 seconds to answer.

Which is your favourite section in TOEFL: Reading, Speaking, Listening or writing?
You have 15 seconds to prepare and 45 seconds to answer.

Writing Section:

Is TOEFL the true measure for fluency in English? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
You will get 30 minutes to write your answer.

Is it enjoyable to give TOEFL test?
You will get 30 minutes to write your answer.

Some people believe that TOEFL is a very easy exam and prepare by themselves while others take coaching for the test? Which one of these do you think  is a better way of preparation? Support your answer with examples.
You will get 30 minutes to write your answer.

TOEFL is overrated. Do you agree or disagree?
You will get 30 minutes to write your answer.

Some people like to read, others like to write. Does TOEFL reflect true potential of a person through its evaluation?
You will get 30 minutes to write your answer.


Well,

One can keep on going with this silliness. But the point is often, speaking and writing are considered to be 'extempore' activities. For people applying for arts or humanities programmes, speaking and writing are serious disciplines. TOEFL makes highly subjective areas objective. This translation of subjective into objective is an obsession of the modern world where every thing needs to he put on a scale for evaluation...Unfortunately, Universities abroad chaff out the best amongst the 100s of applications that they receive in  the first round on the basis of these english exam scores. How many thinking minds are neglected in this objectivity?

State of Mind

These days, things are a bit crazy. I am writing this though my mind tells me I must not be spending time on this.

However, I am just wanting to express what I am going through physically versus mentally. When I work, I feel sleepy and when I close my eyes, I feel insomnia. I feel warm and I switch on the fan and switch it off only to realize I am feeling cold. I eat something and realize the taste only after it's almost over. Taste doesnot matter - it's for my health that I eat perhaps! I feel tired, but when I take rest, I feel restless. I feel I have a lot of work and when I work, I feel there is nothing to do, rather, I wonder where to start!? I feel immensely negative about something that is not, while have a gut feeling of positivity in something that I am underestimating! I start to read something and only realize later that I have been only staring at it for a long time. Ideas come to head and vanish as soon as I begin to note them. I want to draw and end up reproducing old things. Articulated sentences shout in my head but dont make way to the paper!

What is this state of mind I dont know. Nothing is happening, but still it seems I am brimming with work.

What is this? I wonder!

Re-living the Silk Mill at AOA

So we (the un-aided department) has finally got a new raw space.

Just two days ago as I was going through the Yale School of Architecture handbook, I realized that each course had its own separate instruction space with added seminar halls, research cells and other conveniences that they require. Each space had its own equipment too. I realized that as and when they start new courses, they add new physical spaces as far as possible it seems. Perhaps they never think of new courses unless they have space.

At Academy it's the reverse. However, the concept of recycling space in our kind of context is an interesting one. We save so much space - we save so much of everything! 

It is told to us that a part of this new space will be a 24 hour studio for our department. Let me describe this space to you. Its a roomy volume with a tin shed - something that matches my imagination of the school as the historical silk mill. It's practically open on all sides capturing excellent views of  the city. There is a lot of light, along with a lot of heat. We were wondering how to control both! Perhaps there was no one to supervise the whole work and there are hundreds of mistakes in execution of all possible things that exist here. The paradox of AOA is that all spaces in this architecture school are built without any involvement of architects as designers - we are just clients here. That's because the school doesnot want to pay professional architect's fees to any one who takes charge. So things happen - they just happen like buildings come up in slums.

But in appreciation, our expectation with this raw space is tremendous. We all (faculty) love this workshop like space which makes one feel in air. There is a large balcony that overlooks another one below. The volume of the space is nice, airy. The most important aspect of this space is the privacy it offers from the rest of the school. It could become a great thinking space - because it allows to wander and dream - it allows you to gaze deep and far.

I wonder how it will be handled by all in future. All have their aspirations with this raw volume - all want to carve out a space for themselves - students will want lockers, teachers will want workspace, meeting rooms, seminar rooms, projection spaces, exhibition area, work area, equipment storage, administrative staff... the space as I see, is already ruined. Some one spoke of partitioning the two class rooms. To me the biggest opportunity was the merged classes, where there are no boundaries. People just make smaller discussion groups. Eventually, many would want to have a permanent partition - because then they can sell the space, or lock up part of it claiming security reasons. However, a flexible partition must suffice.

We overdo all decisions. We will rape this space. I  am sure. In all possible ways. Students, if mature will understand that the best way to keep this space is open, so that they can pop onto each other desks across class and communicate and talk of ideas, debate designs...Teachers if dont have walls will be one with the students, nonteaching staff will be so much more a part of the team. I recall of a paper by Robin Evans called "Translations from drawing to building" where he says that 

"If there is anything that the architectural plan describes, it is human relationships, since the elements whose trace it records - walls, doors, windows and stairs - are employed first to divide and then to selectively reunite inhabited space."

Thus, to me, the absence of any definition of this space (the absence of the intervention of the architectural plan of the floor plate) is the biggest opportunity at hand we have. As soon as we divide this space, we will be demeaning all debates we have of reducing gap between students and faculty, inter-student interaction, the idea of being open, democratic, and all that!

Before any of the above happens, I have clicked some pictures for my record. We look at what future holds for this shed!

I wanted to write a lot more, but I will refrain. There are lots of ideas with this space still being a shell. We could keep doing so much with it just being a shell. Let's see...