THERAPIST

A friend wrote on her Facebook wall that maybe our country would be better off if still ruled by the British, than by the spineless Government we have now. This was a reaction to the inability of the Indian Government to take affirmative action against the recent rape rhapsody that is being played throughout the country with the North hitting the climax every alternate week. Although I understand the frustration which led to the comment, it is sad that we don't even realize the importance of freedom, really. I would just go Marathi on this and say we would be better off if Shivaji still ruled, not to mention his punishments for rapists.

image source: DNA India

It's not really the politicians who make the nation, it is the people. After all, they are the same people - they represent the same crowd. Our country is going backward. People need some mass mental therapy. In a nation where even the Dhongi Baba's are involved in sex scandals and ancient texts put women at the bottom, even religion can bring no change. How someone could even imagine doing shit like putting foreign objects in a five-year old still surprises me, but blaming the politicians or the place is not going to help. Mass male thinking needs to change, attitude towards women needs to change and some civic sense needs to be induced before these Barbarians take over our society. This might take generations.

I am in no way attempting to defend the rapists and further reading might give that impression. My attempt is to understand/ identify what really might be the cause of kids/ men acting the way they do. Why, having the same anatomy doesn't make me a Barbarian, but the rapists can’t keep themselves within social boundaries?

Making all schools co-ed can be the first step maybe? I am no expert to make an opinion, but it is pretty apparent that the country lacks co-ed school, rather it lacks girl students. It looks like a small thing, but the way a child grows makes a big difference. These kids who have never known a girl in their entire 13 year life-span suddenly hit puberty and run across town waving their dongs. What they don’t understand is that you can’t simply objectify a female to fulfill your passion/ madness. There is no respect, no human value devoted to the female, because she is never looked at as an individual. To this teen-age wanker, the girl is not a person. He looks at her just as an object to satisfy his desire.

We always come across the commonly agreed notion that the girl should be educated. Why’s that?  I think the girl should not be educated only because she can know her rights and be in a better position to protect her and be an equal part of the society. A girl should also be educated, so the boy knows that she is just another person, like he is. She has her own dreams, ambitions, feelings and he can get close to her, but with respect. He has to win her respect to be in a position to be part of her life. To understand that he can’t wake up one day, walk in her life and destroy it for sake of satisfying his urges. He should understand the better part of his cardinal feelings rather than getting carried away with lust.

Till we keep treating girls differently, protect them more, keep them locked in rooms, send them to separate schools, have separate compartments in trains (even buses to my surprise, in some cities) and expecting them to silently cook, eat the left-overs and clean-up before going to bed near the kitchen platform, we can’t really have these dong-waving baby boys to turn into men. We are building an army of losers.

With media being so active, the cases are coming upfront, but this issue has existed for way too long. The number of cases hasn't increased; the number of cases people hear/ know about has increased. And this is not a political problem; this is a social problem, rather a cultural issue. Co-ed schools might just be one step, but I think it is very important for our society, specially the rural parts of the country, to make education more interactive. To let the girl out, to let the kids mingle and grow together.

Rape culture is not very common in cities like Mumbai, because we always grew with girls around. They were always talented, they painted, and they sang, they danced, they played. All we guys knew was Cricket. We always looked at girls as someone better. Someone we wanted to know better.  Maybe a particular girl – let’s not get there. And doing something bad to her, or letting something bad happen to her was out of question.  I remember I have been part of fights because someone said something bad about a girl I knew. We would go in and get him. Not the proudest moments, but that’s what co-ed’s do. That’s what knowing someone does, you get protective towards them. You don’t think of raping them.

Once we have a stable education system where there are as many girls in school as there are boys, till they out-perform the guys and there is a competitive environment, like in pretty much every average co-ed school in Mumbai and suburbs, the boy won’t run around town waving his dong and he won’t grow up to be THERAPIST. 

Starbucks Hai Boss!

                                Picture courtesy: Business Today Mobile

I grew up in the suburbs. Mumbai was fairly far away at the time and dad would take me along when he went for his work sometimes. He would take me to Mani’s at Matunga for lunch, where I would enjoy dosa’s and medu vada’s with unlimited sambar. It was a good time spent, him telling me stories about how he enjoyed his time at Mani’s with his friends, how he scored that half-century on the cricket ground across the street and how he took the winning catch! It was all fun and Mumbai seemed cool. A place where my dad had his memories tied, a place which served as a gateway for us to take the train to visit my uncle, a place where we bought the sweets and fire-crackers for Diwali.

McDonalds had already made its way to India when I was still a kid, but we didn’t see one around where I lived. Let alone coming across one, I had not even heard of it till a couple of years since inception in Indian market. Well, most middle-class Indian’s from my generation would relate surely, that we always had this one rich/ elite family in our circle with great cars, a huge house and the ability to make you feel shitty. I got that “You haven’t been to McDonald’s yet?” when I was a kid. They would boast about having been at McDonalds and Crossroads Mall (where you couldn’t enter if you didn’t have a debit/ credit card). Slowly then, I started coming across more people like these, only to notice that there were quite a lot. 

Chinese food, Mall culture, McDonalds, Hookah parlors, brands like Levis and Spykar (don’t even know why it was/ is so popular), most sedans, expressways, PC’s, coffee shops like Café Coffee Day and Barista - all entered the Indian lifestyle way too steeply. There was no time for a common suburban kid to get exposed to all this stuff. Then slowly, things got common. The biggest McDonald’s opened in Kalamboli, where the expressway to Pune would begin. It was like an Oasis for the Mumbaikar’s to wait in a small town where their kids could feel comfortable in the ‘playplace’. As if no one ever loved eating at Shree Datta snacks. The ‘harbor line’ trains were in full service by now and a teenager could easily escape to Vashi, which was like being in Vegas. Malls, lights, chicks, wide roads, sweet cars and customized bikes – they were all there.  The kids were now at least getting their share of urban life. I was that one of them.

I then went on for higher education, the whole fallacy of fancy spaces with neon lights was overruled by Architecture School and I got over these attractions pretty quick. I was now a part of the urban domain. Only to realize that it wasn’t me. We all went through a social phenomenon of accepting these new things which suddenly came in and just stayed. It wasn’t me growing; the society had absorbed all this. It was now common to order a sweet corn soup and a hot ’n sour soup and spring rolls followed by uttapa, pav bhaji and biryani in the same meal.

Till recently, I thought it was just a phase and we had absorbed the things around the world in a very short time. There was nothing to boast about, there was nothing to be hysterically amazed by. Not in Mumbai at least. You might have experienced how poor kids in remote areas get excited when they see you with a digital SLR or for instance they see a white guy (‘foreigner’- the most worshiped deity in rural India). We in Mumbai don’t.

Then suddenly one day, Starbucks comes in, and that same stupid people rise. These are mostly the ones who have been to a place where they have Starbucks, or have someone who got them the Starbucks coffee beans, or who just want to establish the fact that they are elite. I saw a video where people were interviewed and shamelessly confessed (rather boasted) that they had been in Que for past couple of hours to get a freaking coffee! When asked why, the only answer was, ‘Starbucks hai boss! Worth the wait!’ Paying 200 INR for the coffee is not the issue. I remember paying 75 at Barista, so that I could spend time with my girlfriend without having some anna waiter slamming the check before being asked for. But crowding a coffee shop because it’s a Starbucks ‘from America!’ is plain bullshit.  

It only shows that the phase is not gone. For generations to come, we probably won’t get over the western attraction syndrome, and that our society is yet not ready to react to globalization. Mumbaikar’s crowding the Starbucks are just like the poor kids from remote villages who have never seen a camera before. The excitement of getting the coffee from Starbucks is like the kid watching his face on the LCD screen of the camera. It’s in there, it’s going on the web, people are going to watch it, but the kid is just becoming a subject in the process. He won’t get a print and he can’t keep the digital copy either. He can only boast to the other kids that he saw himself on the screen of the camera, that he met someone who had had a coffee at Starbucks! Get over it people, you are better than this!

                                Picture courtesy: Business Today Mobile

Note: This post is meant to hurt the feelings of only the participating individuals. I'm not making/ trying to make a general statement/ view on Indian society or Mumbaikars for that matter. I love Mumbai and Mumbaikars. 

Young Indian Architect’s Paradox

Very often, I hear fellow Architects complain about people abusing 'free ideas' from young Architects and passing them on to contractors. The client’s just misuse the preliminary design services and do their own thing. What we fail to see is the duality to the issue. Problem starts with the over ambitious designers out of/ still in school way too eager to get something they designed built. They can’t go to bed peacefully after 4th year in Architecture school if they don’t have some ‘project’ at hand. If one expects professional treatment, one should act professional. There is no difference between a Kashmiri Shawl or Calcutta Sari wala walking around Mumbai suburbs selling stuff every November and a young eager Architect (are they even allowed using the title yet?) wanting someone he/ his Dad knows to buy/ accept his design and build it. Paise nako kaka! 

I don’t have a legit source to confirm, say a survey or something, but I bet that the most unprofessional interior and single family home projects are completed in Navi Mumbai (not under-estimating rest of the country). Ironically, they are designed and executed by so-called Architects/ Interior designers. There are also other breeds called ‘interior decorators’ and ‘interior Architects’. Every one of us wants our own office, wants to be our own boss and execute our own ideas. What we fail to understand is that Architectural services come along with a lot of responsibilities. You are not a web-designer designing a website for a restaurant so people can order online and make reservations. You are the restaurant. And you can’t experiment for your pleasures at the cost of someone’s business/ dwelling. What young designers are doing right now with fascinated clients loving birch finishes and yellow lights over designer glass bowl sinks is clear prostitution of the profession. And prostitutes are always bargained with. And they always complain about what they are paid. And when they finally get a job with a desk and a 24-inch screen, their boss knows what they are. He did the same. He treats them the same way and they quit making the ‘my office’ feeling stronger. And eventually every young Architect complains. We have already gone too far and there is no one day solution to this problem. Nor do I claim that I can come up with one. But I sure see a problem.

The ‘Young Indian Architect’s Paradox’ is that they think they can maintain their dignity by ‘not’ working for another Architect who is always a retard and working for a client who appreciates every stupid/ intelligent idea put in front of him. Fun begins when the client doesn't pay this young designer, presses his own ideas, directly communicates with the contractor and slowly pushes him out of the whole process. Confused, the young designer claims that the client used his ideas and got it built in a shoddy way. “I stopped working for that client; he was getting on my nerves.” The truth is, buddy, you were never qualified enough to build it for him. Not as a professional at least. And even if you had been involved throughout the process, chances are that the end result would not differ much.

Problems lie on multiple levels. For instance let’s compare the amount of time required after graduating from Architecture school to get a license so as to legally use the title ‘Architect’ and practice as one, in the order of country, governing body and duration are as follows–

USA, NCARB, 5-7 years

London, RIBA, 3-5 years

Most of Europe, Differs, 2-3 years

India, Council of Architecture, Right away!

NCARB, the regulating body for Architecture licensure in the US is often criticized for the amount of time needed to get licensed. Moreover, you need to apply separately for each of the 50 states, if you are seeking projects in different states. So NCARB is a central body, but not really. Think about those 5 years you work as an intern after getting your Master’s degree, so that you can use the title and ask for that additional 10k, of course with all the legal liabilities. No wonder why an American Architect gets furious if you put the work ‘Architect’ on your resume at the age of 22! Following are the titles people can freely use if they are registered in other parts of the world and seeking work in the US:

Eurotect - European architects

Toyotect - Japanese Architects

Taichitect - Chinese Architects

Pacmantect - Philippine Architects

Currytect - India Architects

Tacotect - Mexican Architects

Pizzatect - Italian Architects

Asstect - Puerto Rican female Architects 

Bulltect - Spanish Architects

Kimchitect - Korean Architects

Beertect - German Architects

HopTect - Australian Architects

Finetect - Singapore Architects 

Photect - Vietnamese Architects

Shawarmatect - Middle east Architects

Halaltect - Israeli Architects

Mapletect - Canadian architects

Kisstect - French Architects

Champtect - Irish Architects

(Credits: someone with pseudo username on some Architecture forum)

I am not against having a plain and simple registration process which takes less than a couple of years to use the title. I hate NCARB equally. The argument I am trying to make is that you can’t expect the society to treat you as a ‘Starchitect’ just because you paid tuition for 5 years (one more than those stupid engineers!). After all, didn’t you think that most of your professors, now fellow Architects were retards and never deserved to be Architects? Respect can’t be demanded. I think there is a dire need for young professionals to put in more time and effort before diving head first. Choose who you want to work for. At least complete a full project at an office. Stick around for a bit. Don’t get lured by your aunt offering you the first project and at the same time pushing you to get married. Travel. Even the best authors take time to write a good book. What you are building right now is equivalent to ‘50 shades of gray’ in literature. Sorry, does it even qualify to be part of contemporary literature? Or is that what it is coming to? Do you hate that book? Well, look back at yourself. After all, it is up to you. Be patient. Don’t turn into someone you have hated for this long.

Young Architects/ students fail to understand that without having a legitimate practice, a signed contract, a real project, a good set of drawings and some kind of experience of getting shit done, no client is going to pay and the projects won’t be a success. The suburbs are developing very fast. They need your services. But don't let them buy you out for cheap. It won't be beneficial for either of the parties. Don't whore the profession. The Tikli Architecture/ Interior Design services are not raising the standard of living. Take some time fellas, Architects don't have to retire till they die. You have a lot of time! Get out of this mental burden of building something to prove yourself to the society as an Architect. You need white streaks in your hair for people to take you seriously as an Architect, and for you to find a worthy and legitimate client. 

Missing what I hated

UTA (Utah Transit Authority) has changed its service quite a bit – the two TRAX lines we had when I came here for the first time have multiplied to four colors, the Red obviously carries the Utes. The bus routes, except for the addition of some random character like ‘F’ before the bus number, have pretty much remained unchanged. Every once in a while, I love doing this – get on a random long distance bus heading out of town, sit back and relax on the round-trip. Thanks to my U-card which still works, I am able to travel without paying on top.

I miss those times in Mumbai where I traveled from one end of the city to the other to get to work and back home. It’s funny indeed to miss something you absolutely hated. But those long train trips gave me ample time alone, to think about and sort out issues in my own life. They allowed me to engage with myself, think about my actions, gauge if I was going in the right direction and if not, was I at least happy going the wrong one. Self-engagement is not an issue anymore, as I lay back home trying to find work, applying for jobs. What was more interesting about the daily commute was that it allowed me to take a glance at the life people around me on the train, just explore the thin crust of thoughts and actions which defined them as individuals.

I remember this 40-ish man cry on the train in public for he spilled the ‘toor dal’ (lentils) he had bought just before boarding the train. That was food for his family for rest of the week. He probably worked for a whole week to earn money to buy it. It was not his level of social expression but the impact of the simple mistake he indulged into. It might have been the layers of events which hurt him all this time and made him break down so bad. And then I recalled ‘us’ – the people on the other side of the line which breaks the Indian economy into two unequal parts. Us, throwing excess food every day, us complaining about bad internet connections, us complaining about the long Q’s at the gas station, us complaining about every small thing which doesn’t even exist in this man’s life.

And now I sit here on the UTA bus totally alienated from the facts of life I was always ignorant about back home, facts which I rarely had an exposure to. These events help one get out of the nut-shell, out of the image of a pseudo-society one has constructed to feel comfortable about. I am happy that I was consciously exposed to such events.

Mumbai Attacks

With Mumbai blasts in picture, i feel that sometimes Barbarian pleasures overrule Platonian instincts.

United States feels much safer place because the Government is ready to go to any extent for its people. World peace is a different story here. There was a case a couple of days back, where a Pakistani couple traveling on an American Airlines flight was taken in custody as the plane landed in emergency. This happened after the ground security received a hoax call saying that the plane was about to be hijacked. This was clarified later, but meantime, the couple was interrogated by officials, mistreated and insulted. The couple decided to sue the Govt. but was let down saying that they were the only Muslim people on board and they needed to be interrogated for security of the people and the nation in general. This was not ethical, but it gives an idea that the being right is not important for a nation. Security/ feeling of security is a relative measure. This won't make me not take American Airlines. I would feel more secure. The link below leans more towards the innocent consumers, but describes the event.
http://consumerist.com/2011/07/couple-sues-american-airlines-following-hijacking-hoax.html

Till Kasab is not brought upfront, killed in a 'not so peaceful' way like Bin Laden was and some counter action is not taken, no Mumbaikar will get the Barbarian peace.I think it is important. For national integrity, for basic respect towards the authorities from people and humanity in general. It has been going on since ages.

I remember I tried to pet a sparrow with a broken wing when i was a kid. I treated the bird, fed it and when i thought it was healthy enough to fly in the next couple of days, I let it go. The moment I released it, there was a flock of sparrows waiting which got hold of this one sparrow. I thought they are happy, but they hurt the bird, they ended up killing it and left. The sparrow was touched! It had lived with humans, it had done something unacceptable. It deserved to die and it was given death. I couldn't accept this when Mom tried to explain it. I firmly believe now that it is a rule of nature, that if someone does something highly unacceptable according to social systems, he needs to die. He needs to die in the worst way possible to set an example.

I don't say be stupid and Blow up Pakistan. I don't say declare a war. I just feel that the Kasab should be brought upfront, killed in the worst way one can imagine. A way in which he dies all the 160 deaths of 2008 attacks, 21 which occurred last night, the pains the survivors suffered, the loss the families faced and everything accountable. I can enlist 5 unique ideas I have to kill someone like Kasab in public. But the readers might be grossed out - Like they are when they see the pictures of the victims in the blasts. But it is high time. Mumbai deserves those Barbarian pleasures. Mumbai deserves to be part of implementing them. Let the people show how they celebrate the Birthday of a person who has taken couple hundred lives and still demands Hyderabadi Biryani in his prison cell. Give him away!

I suppose this won't happen and I assume there are a lot of people who do think this should happen. There's a game online, the developer probably has similar ideas... here's the link
http://www.games2win.com/en/play-kill_kasab.asp
It is stupid to keep playing such games as it does nothing in real life, but their existence shows the frustration, intent and craving of a Mumbaikar and an Indian in general. Peace (till it screws our life up, violence then on).

Aniket

So What Goes Above Them?

Pallets used as cladding for Stryker House - DesignBuildBluff

Off weeks in Bluff are awesome. Lay back, read, paint, cook, and try finding the missing parts of life. The property is totally transformed from a building ground to what the rest of the town is known for - retreat! With not much to do day long after five tiring restful days in a row, I decided to work for a while. I hence picked the safest and enjoyable job where you need only music as your companion – Sanding the pallets. I was working for a while with Bollywood music when a couple walked in. They were looking at the four half-finished blocks on the property with anxious eyes. I walked up to them, introduced myself and took them around the houses with few details on how they go together. The guy introduced himself as Dwayne (possibly-I am bad at names), a friend of Mitch. Two events reminded me of studio along this walk. The couple saw the pallets hanging up against the aluminum sheets - sanded, polished and ready to go, and ended up asking, “So what goes above them?” Awkwardly I answered, “That is our finish material, nothing goes above it.” I had to take a couple of minutes to make them apparently understand that all the pallets are salvaged and free, they seem unusual but are sturdy enough to use as exterior finish and beautiful enough to be appreciated. The guy nodded, but the lady seemed indifferent. Secondly, we entered the living module. With her first step, the lady commented that she loved the flooring. The laminate flooring apparently, is the only commonly used commercial material we have used in the house. I don’t hate it, but it just gave a clear idea of stereotypic likes and dislikes we have as a society and as consumers. I really appreciate the couple being curious enough to walk in and take a look at the houses. I think it is part of the issues DesignBuildBluff tries to tackle by embracing reuse of materials with houses, which seem weird at the first look but end up blending well in the context. They reflect the reality behind their existence. After all, all what is used to make these houses is all that is around us, all what we have discarded and all what has come back to us with a new interpretation.

DesignbuildBluff

DesignBuildBluff I feel has not only been a program I did to achieve my masters of architecture. It has done a lot more. Rediscovering myself, the way I look at life, the responsibility I  feel towards my commitment, the sense of equality, trust in self and others around, breakage of social taboos and many such things which are partly commonplace and partly radical to life. The house started from nothing but a pile of dirt cleared for it to be placed. And today it stands tall in front of us, demands to be completed. Things which are looked at as piece of shit stare back into your eye reclaiming  their existence as beautiful things which have a right to exist. Sustainability not seen as green solar panels but as a fight against issues which a common man faces to exist in the society. Like a paper boat made from trash notebooks from last year, which sails in the rainwater along the streets and makes kids scream with joy, piles of reclaimed, reused and salvaged materials have come together to make it a house. Gravity, structure, ratios and quantities, proportions and aesthetics are not stories in books but principles of life. The house is not the best design or the coolest looking or perfectly working solution. But it surely is a collage of events, materials, thoughts, conversations, arguments and ambitions. It is not ordinary for the only reason that everything that brought it into existence was extremely ordinary. I think it is one thing the program thrives to make you realize- the beauty of ordinary things, simple living and the fact that it takes a perfect setting for making sense out of nonsense and art out of imperfection.