My eyes have a serious problem with bright monitors. I narrow my eyes as if I were talking to the sun or something. Sometimes I feel like buying sunglasses so that I could wear them every time I use the computer. Can you imagine that? Hehe..

I remember thinking about 4 years back (when I was finalizing architecture)- that I wanted to take up something that won’t require me to dumbly- (I think the word does not exist)-sit in front of the comp for thirteen hours a day. Come to think of it, I do spend a lot of time working on the comp these days- most of the work produced impossible without the machine. ‘I might as well have become a software engineer’, I sometimes think. Not because its easier to do, but because I actually loved programming in college- it would have simplified my life. What I am happy about, though, is the fact that I still have the capability to think outside of the computer, merely use it as a tool- programming only being a method used to instruct the computer to perform a task that you want to get done- a task, mind- for a higher purpose. Its the task, not the handing over of the task- the goal is not efficient instruction, but the design value of the project- something that a machine cannot produce. The computer can help me draw the design differently, but it cannot help me design differently.

I am sipping mango milkshake as I write. I LOVE mangoes and anything to do with them- the 'luvvvv' is purely unconditional. :)

I simply DO NOT understand why people do not comment in my blog. I talk about things that are very easily perceivable by all; and my opinions-(whenever I do have them, that is)-are extremist. Yet, no one stands up against them. Like when I say, “I think we as a human race are stupid.”- does no one have anything to say about it? Or do you just agree with me?! I don’t think so.

I really appreciate the efforts that BMTC is putting in towards good bus transport in Bangalore. They’re contacting designers for everything- right from the design of their bus terminals to the design of the 2 zillion bus stops in the city. They have a strategy, an intent- they want bus stops to be designed in a way so as to redefine the image we have of city bus transport. The big boss of BMTC speaks the language of design. I have never seen that happen in India at such a public level. Its an amazing feeling. But then, recently, I saw the new design of the bus stop, and I hated it. That’s the catch. The minute any issue is handed over to the community of designers, it’s a debate. There is no fool-proof ‘excellent’ design. There exists something called a bad design, too. How can we expect ordinary citizens to make the effort and haul the project over to the designer if, ultimately, half of us do not approve of the design? The client would rather get a contractor to 'design' it rather than get into the endless debate with no factual base? The client has no drive. That, I think, is the sad part.

I’ve pasted a roll of paper all along the walls in my room- 2’ high, at eye level. I call it my scrap book. Anybody can write anything on it- reminders, thank u notes, stick pictures, make lists, scribble deadlines, and the like. I love it. It makes things so easy to put down. This is one of those things that live with us, and something we can carry forward as reminders of the past. Now that my universal book of the semester wont exist anymore, I’ve been looking for alternatives to capture the moments we spend as time trots along...

I never write/wrote the date in any of my books in school and college. I thought it pointless. Ironic, eh?

Crossovers between various strata in the society are such interesting events. Movies are made of them. They are rather rare, too. I experienced it recently. Somehow, the great bridge has not yet been constructed. Love marriages are trying their luck at it.. maybe it’ll take longer. But then again, it’s a fundamental difference that’s rather unique to our species, don’t you think? I mean, is there distinction like that in snakes? Ants? hmm...

I used autocad today for the first time to a satisfied finish. I usually don’t prefer ‘computer generated’ design because the drawings feel shallow; the missing pencil lines strip them of substance. Also, cad takes like a million years to finish- I can never complete a cad drawing. Also, there are so many issues related to machinery failure: no electricity, no ink in printer, no printer, no plotter, and worst of all- virus. “I just cannot understand WHY this hatch WONT WORK!!” Sandeep said today that computer generated drawings are more professional than hand made. ???. I dunno.

Yesterday I watched my friend play tennis. Great game, tennis. My immediate reaction was- ‘I want to learn too!!’. I love sport. But then there is this thing of the jack and the master, and I don’t know if I should let myself try everything. Its confusing to be good at everything as opposed to excellent at one. The other day I played squash, and I was named a natural. They say you shouldn’t play both tennis and badminton. I love playing badminton, and I am dying to learn tennis. Hmm..

I think I am a rigid designer. I am unable to draw as easily as the pencil allows one to. I don’t know what the origin of this is, but its rather difficult for me to draw random lines on site. Just can’t. This semester when I incorporated a rollercoaster in my design, I intended to free myself- so as to be able to see the possibilities. Not that right angles are bogus, but to get a taste, know the horizons. Its not as easy- and this semester didn’t work. I wonder if I should try again in thesis. Thesis, they say, is the most important creation of an undergrad. Should I make this an experiment? This is not the real question in my mind. The real one calls out to time. Should I cry out to revive, or should I embrace the new? Is revival a pointless attempt at keeping something as it is, while we all know that change is the one notable constant in the universe? I don’t know what the exact intent of my architecture is- its rather hazy at the moment. In some cases, it gets sentimental. Like the temple. Should we carry the burden like a box and place it on newly cleared land, or should we try to accept temples of aluminium cladding panels? What is today? Is it what it has become, or is it what we want it to be?

I recently attended a panel discussion on how to reduce the gap between architectural education and the profession. And got royally blasted from HOD for it. He thinks it’s a waste of time- says that the ‘panel’- does not have even one architect who actually knows what he’s talking about. I wouldn’t agree completely- I’m not saying I was ‘inspired’ by the experience, but I did get some insight into the problems we’re facing as a community. Some things were right on display, very much like HOD said. I believe that attending these kind of forums help you- in some way or the other- at least they help me form an opinion on the various issues of architectural education. They help you come face to face with the city’s architects. They give you a chance to stand up and ask questions to the selected ones. They help in creating your opinion of them- it’s definitely not a waste of time.

My final design review is in a week. We are to propose a metro station with added facilities on Bangalore’s most important road- the mg road. I have proposed an ‘infotainment’ centre with the station. The main agenda is to keep alive the organic skyline created by the unique green stretch. I am helping the dense pedestrian edge of the mg road spill onto the road (the road dips below as a subway), and fold into my building across the street- underground. The terminal and the building are one; one can see the trains pass as they sip coffee in the café. This might be a problem for the acoustics- the maddening sound created by the arriving train must be muffled. I have to detail it still. Hmm..

Its been a long time since I wrote. I wonder if it makes any difference to the quality of writing at all- unhealthy amounts of break- how are book authors supposed to handle it? ‘Sharpen the saw’.

My student life is coming to an end. I wont be attending any more building construction theory classes. I wont be attending any structures classes anymore. Planning, theory, sociology, history. The same madness that a combination of an eccentric genius as HOD, crazy faculty, peers who are more interested in the rain than the solar angles, the existence of ‘mediocre’ work, mass bunking, group ‘presentations’, and escapist attitude- cannot be dreamt of replacing. Unquestionable- in a masters course. Hehe. It was fun, to dream in class of the cup-noodles at the gate, and the free class at the end of the week. Architecture was fun when it was being taught. Now let’s see if it’ll be fun actually learning it. :)