First semester jury

My first semester jury was a good experience. Initially the idea that it was called a jury did seemed a little absurd. Somehow the thought that it was going

to be like a court house jury where I had to make a point and defend it. As expected it was more or less like that.

The issue I has ahead of me was my first semster jury. To start with I looked at the whole jury episode as a concern and that I had to somehow address this concern. Metaphors are always helpful when it comes to interpreting certain concerns. I chose a metaphor for how my learning's in the first semester were and I ended up finding it similar to taking a bath in ice cold water.

Initially there is a lot of Hesitation to touch this water. One is unaware as to how the body is going to react to an external force. Once a single mug of water is picked up, Fear crawls in. now it seems as if this water could melt the person completely. Somehow with certain will one does pour a mug of water over their head. Once this starts, it cannot stop. This is where it gets exciting. It almost feels as if one is playing with the water now, having fun .Fear is long gone and has now manifested into Fun. One is having so much fun that this act of cleansing one is now secondary. Once cleansed, the person is well established in this "institution" so much so that it has changed the person completely.

Design education is very similar to taking bath in ice cold water. Initially jumping to Elements of Design ( the first course) seemed very absurd. And I hesitated every time my professor spoke at lengths about depth and balance, harmony in chaos and vice versa. As this course went on, I did get a little scared. I dint understand a thing and this got me a little worried. The harder thing was my inability to beable to explain what I learnt to anyone else. Not even to my near ones. Somehow after a couple of trials, just like the first mug of water I could not stop doing what I was doing. Excitement stepped in and cleansed me completely. I can now say that I am well established in this "institution" of Design and can

explain it well to anyone who has had his or her start with it.

Starting for second semester at NID, I have decided to write on a regular basis. I want to try and capture all the ideas and thoughts and put it up here. Hope that works fine.

Naan Vareen ( നാന്‍ വരീന്‍ )

If it was about asking questions, no one could stop Sidharth. "Why must i say that i am coming back when i am actually going ?" Sidharth, and his inquisitiveness. Curiosity had till date only killed kittens. Somehow he knew he could question everything. Challenge anything. Maybe this old man with whom he was having this conversation was responsible for the cat in Sidharth. Whether it was correct to ask or not was a value system too relative to discuss, atleast thats what 'He' felt.

“So, when a person is leaving, why should he say that he is coming back? shouldn’t he be saying that he is leaving?” asked Sidharth. “It’s not said that way, it’s I will be back. Although we know he will be back, that’s how it is generally said”. “Now, how confusing is that. Why should i say that?” “How shall i explain this to him?” The wise one thought. Is it too early to explain to him the concepts of life, thus death? How will this naive kid ever understand the teachings of old? How shall I explain to him that this body has to be discarded one day and that I have to move on. He has to move on. Perhaps even after this event I would come back, only stitched differently. How will he understand this? When will he understand this? Questions were plenty, answers few, considering the size of this developing intellect.

Whether the kid questioned with any intentions of learning was another state that bogged ‘Wisdom’. “Are there any deeper intentions behind this curiosity? No, he's to little to think in this direction. Someday, he will understand all this. And that will happen in a moment to quick to comprehend, but deep rooted.”

Years past, conversations improved. Some questions were answered, others were better left unanswered. But the initial debate was mildly forgotten,almost as of it was taboo.

For some reason, Sidharth’s curiosity did lead him to restate the same exact question couple of years later. Only this time “Wisdom” spoke in perhaps the most subtle way " you will sooner or later know ".

Time I wish could be in our hands at times. But at times, Time is the best teacher. Atleast in Sidharth’s case that’s what happened. Just when Sidharth thought it was to early, Wisdom had to discard old, torn clothes. Rituals do not allow a kid of his age to attend any of these rites, but knowing the close association between the kid and “Wisdom”, some rules were bent by the seer himself.

It was raining that day, the smell of that mud is still alive. The only thought that crossed Sidharth’s mind was as to how will so much wood and Cloth burn in these climatic conditions. Whether this became a prayer of sorts, is yet to be established but one thing was for certain, the rain gods were closer to Sidharth’s thoughts than he thought.

The well draped body was mounted on top of the wood while the seer chanted the final mantras. Gold was placed on the head which later was established (only by questioning) as a symbolic gesture to allow passage to the afterlife. What followed was the spark that lit a burning torch and lots of ghee that was drained into the wood. It did not take much time for the wood to catch fire. The rain gods had really been kind this day. Sidharth could see the flames rise and nibble at the flesh. On the other side was his dad, hands folded, accepting condolences from the relatives and friends who had come to witness this final passage.

Conversations at times can happen at the most inappropriate and unexpected moments. What started as a simple question in a kids mind was finally answered in perhaps only one possible way. This conversation ended with "sherri da, Naan poorain"( ശെരി ഡാ, നാന്‍ പൂരിന്‍)(All right kiddo, I'm going now.)