Housing various major design institutes, works by renowned designers, artists and architects...
Read MoreHousing various major design institutes, works by renowned designers, artists and architects, and, above all, extreme passion for the creative field, it is needless to say that a festival of design like the Ahmedabad Design Week was highly anticipated by the city, and was bound to be the phenomenal success it eventually turned out to be. And of course, being India’s first Design University and the Academic Partner of ADW, the enthusiasm Anant showed in the event was truly on a different level!
The event was inaugurated on the 17 th of January in the presence of various prominent faces from the design space, along with the chief guest Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal.
Then began a series of fun and enriching activities, workshops and lectures from dignitaries around the globe. Various stalls and exhibits were installed, displaying the design ventures of people from all parts of the world. Anant itself had four exhibits of its own, more than any institute or group taking part, displaying the works of students from the Foundation Year all the way to the Fellowship. One particular installation worth noting was the puzzle set put up by Anant, allowing viewers to take a part of our institute back home.
Apart from this, a small flea market was also set up by various craftsmen, where one could purchase traditional Indian craftwork, toys, etc. You could even try your hand at the pottering wheel and frolic about eating delicacies at the several food stalls in place. The Vintage Car Exhibition, set up by the Gujarat Vintage and Classic Car Club, was also a notable point of attraction (and selfies).
After a long day of absorbing various ideas, one’s mind needs to rejuvenate. And the folks at ADW got that covered too!
Every evening had some sort of amazing event planned for the guests – the first eve had a concert by the band When Chai Met Toast, the second eve turned the venue into a dance floor for a DJ night, and the final night had a Fashion Show to feast your eyes.
All in all, the event turned out to be an extremely insightful and entertaining experience for the students. Akash Jami and Vedant Kadam, students of Foundation Year and part of Anant’s Documentation Team for the event, said that they “really liked Anil Reddy’s lecture, in which he said that one must look at design as a whole, and not bifurcate it into disciplines, to see the broader picture.” Tanvi Satpute, another member of the team, marvelled on the fact that she “got so much exposure and the opportunity to interact with so many people with such great ideas over the span of the event.”
While the event has long ended, the spirit of Design is always ablaze in Ahmedabad, ever-increasing, with more and more young students coming to this city, taking the mantle of pursuing it as their career. And so, we wait for another Design Week with much greater enthusiasm. But one must not think that the time between fests like these is not as enriching. In fact, that would be the most important time for designers, as that is when all the ideas one gathers at fests like these take form – as actual, original designs. That is when one realises, that designing something is, in fact, the greatest celebration of Design.
And to that, this city needs no introduction to.
Students of AnantU, Priyaansh Bhatt and Khushi Jhankharia, won prizes for the Everyuth Fresh Face Contest, 2020...
Read MoreStudents of AnantU, Priyaansh Bhatt and Khushi Jhankharia, won prizes for the Everyuth Fresh Face Contest, 2020. The students participated and cleared several rounds, which involved a showcase of talent, ramp walk, question-answers and more. They also participated in a training and grooming workshop for 3 days, sponsored by Everyuth, before the finals.
Priyaansh Bhatt made an impressive painting of 'The Joker' in two minutes, for the talent round, while Khushi Jhankharia mesmerised the crowd by playing the guitar, drum, mouth-organ and hi-hat together.
Priyaansh was the first runner up among 50 people, and Khushi won the title of Miss Talented Ahmedabad 2020. The university congratulates the students for their wins!
As their inaugural trip, AnantU’s travel club - Anuraahi, organised a one-day visit to Polo Forest on 14 January...
Read MoreAs their inaugural trip, AnantU’s travel club - Anuraahi, organised a one-day visit to Polo Forest on 14 January. Polo Forest lies on the border of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and is about 160 kilometres away from AnantU. The trip was recreational in nature, and was meant to be a bonding experience for the members of the travel club as well as other students, through trekking and exploration.
The bus departed at 9 am, and the students were in high spirits, dancing and singing songs. As the journey was only three hours, there were no rest stops, but they were served a light breakfast in the bus itself. They reached the forest comfortably for lunch, after which some students sat by the river, skipping stones and chatting before the trek started. The trek, led by an experienced enthusiast from the forest itself, was fairly challenging, involving steep slopes, rocky climbs, and thorny bushes. Despite this, it was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, as was seen in the bright cheeks and shining eyes of the students.
The trek ended near the ruins and the temple, where the students captured some beautiful photographs and explored the unique architecture of the surroundings. This was followed by sitting near the dam, where some students went inside the water while the others watched from safer vantage points. They sat with their friends, drinking chai and soda and eating masala maggie as the day slowly turned to dusk.
The bus departed from the forest around 6 pm, and, though tired, the students were cheerful, singing and chatting, having enjoyed an exerting but memorable day.
Structures is tend to be taken as a tedious subject with mathematical solving and...
Read MoreStructures is tend to be taken as a tedious subject with mathematical solving and physical laws. The students of 2nd year b.arch explored this subject with a more practical approach under the guidance of Prof. Sanjeev Trivedi and Prof. Darpil Shah. The design problem included being able to design a cantilever structure on a small scale that would withstand the weight of six bricks. The solution to this was a model based exercise where the strength of structure was then tested by six actual bricks placed on them. With trial and errors, the students found various solutions to make cantilevered structures. This approach was interesting and a better structural understanding was developed among the class.
The Capstone Project between the Master's students of Sciences Po Paris and AnantU began in October 2019...
Read MoreThe Capstone Project between the Master's students of Sciences Po Paris and AnantU began in October 2019. The objective of the project is to eliminate single-use plastic from AnantU’s campus by March 2020. Five students from SciencesPo came to the campus for this project. Some of the activities that took place were as follows:
1. Documentary screening and workshop:The Centre for Sustainability screened the award-winning documentary ‘A Plastic Ocean.’. The movie explains why the issue of plastic pollution is important and what can we do to stop it. Students from Sciences Po Paris and AnantU’s MIPD students co-curated an insightful workshop on the topic.
2. Graffiti wall painting:The artwork was directed by Hanif Kureshi. He is the artistic director and co-founder of St+art India foundation which aims to make art accessible to a larger audience in India. The artwork can be seen on the walls above the MP Hall.
3. Workshop on eliminating plastic waste:The workshop organized by the Centre for Sustainability and led by Sciences Po and MIPD students. This workshop helped the participants learn about inconsiderate use of plastic by consumers and its impact. Aditya Shukla, CEO of Saltech Design Labs, an award-winning company that recycles unsegregated plastics, was present to interact with the participants and to share his insights with them.
User research was conducted to find a relationship between user behaviour and waste management. This was done by preparing questionnaires and survey sheets to collect quantitative and qualitative data on waste and its user behaviour from AnantU's students, faculty and staff members.
The Capstone Project students actively worked on change management strategies, workshops, events, and relevant policy implications to eliminate single-use plastics. The students' research data observed that the Cafeteria supplies the most single-use plastic products on the campus. One of their initiatives is to eradicate single-use plastics from Cafeteria by bringing a sustainable transition for plastic items. Installations of chains of teacups were hung on the ceiling of the entrance lobby to make the people in the campus aware of how many paper teacups were being wasted every day.
The students were excited to be a part of the Capstone Project as they received a global understanding of the plastic waste problem and learned from subject matter experts, field visits, community engagements, and literature surveys.
The outcome of the project is implementing and deriving practical and realistic strategy documents on the research problem.
AnantU’s M:IPD students along with students from Sciences Po designed a concept...
Read MoreAnantU’s M:IPD students along with students from Sciences Po designed a concept called ‘Mr Bin,’ during their capstone project at AnantU. The concept was aimed at creating awareness among the students and staff about the huge number of paper cups being used in a single day, and how those non-recyclable cups are harming the land and thus our environment. ‘Mr Bin’ was primarily created by the first-year MDes students and later on utilised by the second-year students. One of the problems the students faced was that it was difficult to convey the message to the illiterate cleaners, who used to dump the collected paper cups every day. They put up a notice for everybody so that they put all the used paper cups in Mr Bin. After that, they made curtains out of those used cups and hung it on the courtyard entrance. They wanted all onlookers to realise how much they contribute to making this world a not-so-better place to live.
Anuj Sharma, founder of Button Masala conducted a workshop on sustainable fashion at AnantU on January 10, 2019...
Read MoreAnuj Sharma, founder of Button Masala conducted a workshop on sustainable fashion at AnantU on January 10, 2019. Rather than stitching the clothes, he promotes using buttons or bottle caps as replacement. Since there is no stitching involved, there is no cutting and wastage of cloth.
After giving a short introduction about himself, Mr. Sharma demonstrated and taught the participants how easily can one make glamourous clothes simply by using buttons and rubber bands. When students grasped the process, they tried making interesting outfits out of the materials provided to them.
At the end of the workshop, all of them, along with Mr. Sharma, were astonished to see the resulting outfits. He explained the rationale behind wearing specific outfits on particular occasions. Students felt fortunate to have had learnt how to make an outfit in such a small time period and at a very low cost.
This workshop was conducted by the Centre for Sustainability at AnantU...
Read MoreThis workshop was conducted by the Centre for Sustainability at AnantU on 11 January under the guidance of the artist Hanif Kureshi. It was held with the intention of propagating the idea of ‘Reusing’ and ‘Refusing’ plastic and promoting the concept of sustainability. The participants included the Bachelor’s foundation year, second year, Master’s, and Fellowship students. They were asked to sketch everyday plastic products used by them. Taking those sketches as references, they had to morph those products into letters and paint them, spelling out the letters R-E-F-U-S-E across the walls of the first floor above the MP Hall.
This exercise pushed the students’ creative and artistic skills to their limit. After over five hours of cooperation, hard work, and persistence, the students finished the graffiti and left a permanent as well as meaningful mark on the campus.
It is well known that ‘Uttarayan’ or ‘Makar Sankranti’ is a major festival in Gujarat...
Read MoreIt is well known that ‘Uttarayan’ or ‘Makar Sankranti’ is a major festival in Gujarat. As AnantU celebrates all festivals and cultures, we had an exciting Uttarayan celebration on campus. A kite-making competition was held where students from all academic years participated by making unique kites that could be flown. On 10 January, there was a combined celebration of kite-flyinng for Uttarayan followed by a bonfire for Lohri. The evening started off with everyone wearing sunglasses and caps, flying their colourful kites high and low in the sky. The terrace of the AnantU building was filled with everyone shouting their hearts out while flying kites. The enthusiasm was immeasurable. Once the sun set and everyone seemed calmer, it was time for the Lohri bonfire. Everyone sat around it enjoying the warmth of the fire at the peak of winter. It was rejuvenating to end the beautiful day with a few songs while being together with everyone.
Rethinking Foundation, a workshop curated and led by Mr Jinan KB, was a five-day faculty workshop retreat with a purpose of shifting the lens from teaching paradigm to the learning paradigm. The workshop retreat was conducted with the aim of helping the student, who has come from a teacher-taught paradigm, to become a learner. The workshop helped our faculty rethink and relook at their role as design teachers and to become learners instead.
Mr Jinan works in areas of design and education. His ongoing search and research forms have brought forth a realisation that there must be more co-exploration to claim what has been lost due to formal schooling. He strongly believes there is a need to reorient the first-year students from ‘teacher dependency’ to ‘independent learning’, thereby enabling students to regain the abilities of true learners damaged by the ‘schooling.’ He furthermore believes that we are schooled and trained to see everything in fragments, but the world is integrated. Thus, the initial exercises must be to experience the wholesome nature of life.
The workshop took place from 15 to 19 of January 2020 at the AnantU campus. Within the time frame of the workshop, the faculty did various activities where they photographed nature and textures, and explored multiple materials to condition and reawaken their aesthetic sense.
To start off the new semester and year, the foundation-year students...
Know MoreTo start off the new semester and year, the foundation-year students at AnantU chose two-week module electives taught by both internal and external faculty. Visual Journaling was offered by Joseph Rajini Asir, a designer from the Marketing Team at AnantU. The course was thoroughly enjoyed by the students, while Mr Asir took them through various exercises to understand the concept and methodology of Visual Journalling. He also held several discussions about design, including humanising objects, the abstract versus the apparent, and the sounds of the mind. In addition, he conducted a photoshoot where each student was given the task of expressing a ‘navarasa,’ the nine basic expressions in the performing arts. He captured a few candids and the students attempting to express their navarasa. The final output of the course for each student was a handmade stitched journal, which they filled with their experiences and understandings from the two-week course and its exercises. Each journal was then reviewed and discussed individually with the student by Mr Asir and Ms Jinal Doshi, a designer from the Office of Student Services at AnantU.
The spring module for the course 'Architectural Montage' was conducted by Cyrus Mobedji from January 6 to January 18. First, he briefed the students about what a montage was; an kind of organized collage where the different components of a place are put together to make an interesting and meaningful composition.
After understanding the concept and process of montage making, they were taken to the Old City since the students mutually decided to organize a montage of that area. There, they were asked to capture the beautiful elements which described the essence of both the Old City and Ahmedabad. These elements could be old and wooden doors, windows, pillars, vendors, and everything that describes the essence of Old City. Then, using those little elements, they made a montage using Adobe Photoshop.
The main aim of the module was to observe and showcase the creativity. At the end of the course, all twenty students got a hands-on experience on the process of making a montage. They enjoyed the company of their instructor and the course was concluded with the production of many new montages by the students. Also, after going deeper into the montages, they themselves understood the exact purpose and usage of a montage.
Creative writing, as a topic, is quite the familiar venture, having been...
Know MoreCreative writing, as a topic, is quite the familiar venture, having been explored since the lower grades in school, but this module took things a step further and helped the participants gain more empathy and understand different perspectives and personalities, and through these means, develop better writing sense.
The course was fun and interactive and many new terms such as psychic distance and negative capability were taught to the students under the guidance of Dr Ashima Sood, the facilitator for this course. Her encouragement and knowledge helped the students draw out and discover their full potential in the art of writing.
This course helped the students get a taste of the vast world of writing and increased their interest and understanding towards it. The final exercise of giving feedback to their peers also helped develop their sense of empathy, something which is essential for a designer, making this a very relevant course in terms of design.
Professional Communication Course conducted by Prarthana Sachdev, a faculty of AnantU, provided students with insights on professional behaviour, writing emails and making resumes. The course module was for two weeks and consisted of adjustments in one’s formal behaviour starting from the dressing sense to the formal language used in emails.
Regular interactive sessions further enhanced the speaking skills and formal interaction between the students. Submission deadlines made students realise the importance of punctuality in professional life. The importance and influence of social media were also highlighted in the course.
The final assignment was a real-life case interview about an internship at different Indian organisations depending on the student’s specialisation at AnantU. The class was asked to do a thorough background study on the company and present themselves as an ideal intern for the company.
The ancient art of shadow puppetry was revived through this course...
Know MoreThe ancient art of shadow puppetry was revived through this course under the tutelage of Rashida Tyebjee. The course was conducted from 6 to 17 January 2020. The participants learned to work with various materials such as bamboo skewers and black paper to successfully put together a beautiful shadow puppet show (showcased on January 27).
During the course, the entire class first came up with a storyline, and then designed characters out of black paper and any other material which could generate a shadow. After that, bamboo skewers were attached to the joints of the characters to operate the limbs. With the aid of an LED light source and a translucent glass screen, the paper puppets came to life through the clever manipulation of their shadows and told their stories in the form of a play.
Through this module, the students learnt teamwork, how to handle the material and gained an understanding of the mechanisms of the puppets (especially the simplest and most durable way to make the joints of the puppets). They also ultimately learnt how to create a detailed and engrossing story and portray it through shadow puppetry.
According to the instructor, Rashida Tyebjee, her main objective throughout the course was ‘to do something different from the usual exercises’. She guided the students through the process of making puppets and helped them perfect the performance. The students, having never done theatre before, were also taught the methods of narration, as opposed to just reading it off a paper.
The puppet show consisted of five different stories – a traditional Gujarati children’s poem, ‘Red Riding Hood’ by Roald Dahl, the story of a lion who called himself king, an enactment of the current Australian bushfire situation, and a story of how humans came to Earth from Mars.
All the stories were very entertaining. The students’ skilful handling and manipulation of the puppets to convey the stories, along with the powerful narration and the sound effects, completed the overall experience and opened the audience’s eyes to the charm of shadow puppetry.
In the first week of January 2020, Professor Sanjeev Chatterjee gave a course...
Know MoreIn the first week of January 2020, Professor Sanjeev Chatterjee gave a course on Visual Communication at AnantU. Professor Chatterjee is an award- winning documentary filmmaker and professor at the Department of Cinema and Interactive Media, with a secondary appointment at the Department of Journalism at the School of Communication, University of Miami.
The postgraduate students were asked to make short documentary films about the ‘Pol’ houses of Ahmedabad, whereas the undergraduate students and postgraduate students were asked to make Photo Essays about 'The Taste of Ahmedabad.' A 'Behind the Scenes' (BTS) team was also formed and had been asked to make a short film on the backstory of all the groups.
The Fellows went to the pols located in the Old City of Ahmedabad and created short films that were also displayed at the Ahmedabad Design Week, (ADW) 2020. The students undergraduate had postgraduate students made Photo Essays on different cuisines of Ahmedabad which were exhibited at the AnantU campus.
Dance is an art form that not only captivates the hearts and minds of the...
Know MoreDance is an art form that not only captivates the hearts and minds of the audience but also spiritually heals the performer. Hence, this course mainly focussed on the spiritual nature of dance.
The famous and much-accomplished Mohiniyattam dancer, Ms Mandakini Trivedi, facilitated the course and enlightened all the participants to the yog, rasas, and the cosmic mandala – major spiritual concepts that are very important to the art of dance. She also informed the students about how valuable Indian classical dance forms are (especially since India has eight major classical dance forms while ballet is the only major classical dance form abroad) and urged the students to preserve them.
During the course, she also taught the students that it isn’t necessary to gain information, the experience is more important. And true to her words, the entire experience of the class was very memorable and quite the experience to each student. The beauty and grace of her Mohiniyattam performances left an indelible memory in their minds.
Related Study Programs (RSPs) are field trips and visits to document, understand and...
Know MoreRelated Study Programs (RSPs) are field trips and visits to document, understand and study both urban and rural areas around the country. The Foundation Batch at AnantU had their RSP in January 2020, where they explored Diu, Daman, and Bhuj.
Diu is a coastal state connected to Gujarat by a bridge. It is known for being a quaint beachy city that livens up with tourists in the winter months. Diu also has a stark and prominent Portuguese influence that is reflected strongly in its architecture.
The RSP started with a nine-hour night bus journey from AnantU to Hotel Triveni and Hotel Hemal Garden in Diu, where the students would be staying. The bus arrived shortly before breakfast, and the students, though tired, were in high spirits, and awaiting the adventures of the trip. Following room allocations, they were instructed to explore the city as much as they could, but given the liberty to do what they wished to on the first day. The batch split up into smaller groups and picked areas at random, exploring everything from beaches such as Jalandhar, Nagoa, and Ghoghla, to the St. Paul Church and Diu Museum, the China Market, the fishing area of Vanakbara, and the Diu Fort. Several groups ended up running into each other due to Diu being a small place.
The batch reconvened and met with their faculty in the evening, where there was a bonfire accompanied by some songs and lively talk. Dinner was served, following which the students dispersed, sitting with their friends, walking around the hotel premises, or turning in for the night.
The second day started with the division of groups. It had been decided that to maximize the productivity and output of the RSP, the students would be divided into six groups of 15, and each group, with one faculty member, would explore and document one prominent area of Diu. The six areas were St. Paul Church, the China Market, Vanakbara, the Diu Fort, the Naida Caves, and Nagoa Beach and its surroundings. Over the second and third day, the students documented their respective areas in different manners; taking photographs, sketching, exploring, interacting with both tourists and locals, and researching. In addition to the academic aspect, the students were also given the opportunity to spend time with their peers in a beautiful city. Each day ended with a bonfire and dinner, after which the students were left to do what they liked. The end of the third day saw the completion of a good amount of the deliverables expected from the students, and recreational trips were planned in the evening to the different beaches in Diu - Ghoghla, Nagoa, and Jalandhar.
The bus for Ahmedabad left shortly after breakfast on the fourth day, with the students happy to be going back, but sad that their trip had finished so soon. There were stops for a snack break, lunch, and dinner as the bus made its way through the quiet and winding roads of Gujarat back to the capital. The main outcome of the RSP was to be an exhibition curated by the students, scheduled to be displayed from 31 January. The memories and bonds of friendship created in the first RSP is something each student will treasure in the days to come.
From 21 to 24 January, one group of students from the foundation year visited Daman for their...
Know MoreFrom 21 to 24 January, one group of students from the foundation year visited Daman for their Related Study Program (RSP).
On 21 January, the students explored the area around the Bom Jesus Church & Dominican Monastery located in the administrative district of Daman City. Students observed and studied the Damanian style of architecture.
On 22 January, the students traveled to Udvada, a village about one hour away from Daman on the Gujarat-Daman Border. Udvada is a pilgrimage place of the Parsis. It is the place where the sacred fire of the Parsis finally rest after being moved from Iran to Mumbai, then to Surat, and then finally here in Udvada. Parsi people from all over the world come to Udvada and celebrate. The village majorly consists of people from the Parsi community. Students studied the vast Parsi culture in the village. They also got a very lucky chance to visit the Parsi fire temple which was being renovated. They also visited the Parsi museum, where they learnt more about the Parsi culture in depth. After returning to Daman, the students spent their remaining time around Devka beach and explored the market nearby.
On 23 January, the students visited Sanjan, a small village on the Maharashtra-Gujarat Border. The village is famous for a Parsi stambh located there. The locals told the students that there was a time capsule that was buried around 2000 inside the stambh, which is supposed to be opened by 2200. Due to their decreasing number, the Parsis feel that maybe by 2200, their community may not exist.
The trip to Bhuj was an educational trip that opened us to various cultures, social life and traditions...
Know MoreThe trip to Bhuj was an educational trip that opened us to various cultures, social life and traditions. On the first day, we went to Aaina Mahal, where we saw the old mirrors, broken … which told a story within themselves, mirrors which have seen ages and mirrors which have been lifeless for so long. Later, we visited the Kutch Museum and Prag Mahal as well. The details which these monuments carried reminded us that hard work and skill can bring life to things.
On the second day, we explored the Rann of Kutch. The journey started by visiting Bhirandiyara. It was a small town where people settled during partition. We documented the experience, personal life, and traditions of its people.
We also met a talented man who played an instrument known as Ghado Ghamelo in Ranveer Singh's upcoming film.
The peculiar thing about that place was that the walls were decorated with designs of PoP along with mirror pieces, and women wore strikingly vibrant traditional clothes. Our next stop was Gandhi Nu Gam. It had a limited population and woodworking was their main profession. Few of the students tried working on teak wood only to realise that the profession was not only about hard work but also about skill and years of practice.
We ended the day visiting the Great Rann of Kutch. The place was spectacular and left us speechless. We could only see white salt stretching to the horizon!
On the third day, our first stop was Ajrakhpur, where we learnt about the complete procedure of block printing. The process of making a full cloth takes about 15 days alongside making other pieces. Everyday approximately 3 meters of cloth is dyed and dried. The amount of preciseness and labour it took was justified in the price of the cloth. A fully block printed saree’s starting range was around Rs.7000
Departing from a place like Ajrakhpur was hard as there was a lot to learn. LLDC Museum was our next stop; it was like the overall summary of what we saw and documented in our trip. The museum was a well-choreographed area with amazing space management and was full of different art forms developed by various communities. It acted as a common ground for communities to put up their work and to learn about other communities' works.
Wrapping up our journey, we went to the beach to watch the beautiful sunrise while water splashed at our feet. This was the moment we realized how these 4 days have passed and that we will miss Bhuj. It is one of the places where you can discover a lot of diversity in art, culture, and traditions. The different communities living in Bhuj have made it even more special and have made it a must-visit place in India.
The series revolves around the political career of Selina Meyer, Vice President of the Uni...
See MoreThe series revolves around the political career of Selina Meyer, Vice President of the United States, and her eventual ascension to become POTUS ie President of the United States.
The story shows the eventual transition of Selina from someone who just wants to leave a mark in the pages of history into someone who turns into a ruthless woman who sacrifices people close to her to get what she wants. Even though the story has all the makings of a serious drama, it won’t fail to make you laugh with its humor that comes from the disastrous yet funny consequences that are results of Selina’s team trying to make her relevant in the American Politics. The show received critical acclaim, received numerous Emmy Awards and viewers will certainly be delighted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s and Tony Hale’s showmanship.
Almost everybody knows the tale of Ramayana, the story of King Rama who went with his brother, Laxmana, and his army to Lanka to save his wife, Sita. The triumph over Ravana, the king of Lanka, has been shown to be a moment of truth and justice. Ramayana has many variations from Jain versions to the Thai versions. The existence of different versions of one simple tale leads to the conclusion that things can never be one-sided accounts of events.
This novel lets us take a deep dive into Ravana’s side of the story and provides a fresh perspective of the losing side of the war. The novel has flaws in its story that has troubles with pacing and the use of a writing style that fails to provide intellectual stimulation. This month’s suggestion is to let the readers understand how empathy is an important thing in life and how it can lead to a better understanding of the situation.
William Somerset has a few days left before his retirement. He is paired up with his new partner, David Mills, to investigate a series of murders. The recurring motif of seven deadly sins lends an inquisitive nature to the viewers as it brings in a twist unlike many movies based on homicides and psychopaths. With bodies piling up one by one, it’s up to the pair of detectives to catch the killer before it’s too late.
One of the strong points of the movie is the strong visuals that are not afraid to show gruesome yet realistic images of the crime scenes. Not for the faint-hearted, this movie leaves a deep psychological impact on the viewers. This movie shows the contrasting views with its old cop-young cop pairing which helps in empathizing as they put their thoughts and emotions clear to see for the viewers. This is a movie that helps in cementing the opinion that movies are a medium of art.
Cinema has played a very crucial role in influencing our society, lives within, individualistic mindsets and vice versa...
Know MoreCinema has played a very crucial role in influencing our society, lives within, individualistic mindsets and vice versa. They have often proved themselves to be the social fabric which binds people together, forces important conversations and spreads awareness regarding various social taboos.
As it is rightfully said, films are a reflection of both the past and the present. More often than not, they are more than just characters playing a part, but ideas and stories which connect to people around the globe.
From the first film ever made in India, Raja Harishchandra in 1913, there has been incessant evolution in terms of how viewers have perceived the productions to the type of characters being played, from women being portrayed as mere objects and damsels in distress to women fiercely taking on lead roles, from showcasing ‘macho’ men and stereotypes, which sent across the message that men have to be the pillars of family and shouldn’t show their pain and grievances, to men accepting and crying tears of joy after breaking chains of machoism around us; the world of cinema has changed.
Javed Akhtar, lyricist and a poet, has correctly noted that Cinema is the synthesis of many art forms put together, be it literature, dance, music, visuals, acting etc. And hence Cinema has always been an integral part of reflecting how society has changed over the years.
It is said that in the light of the characters that have been played over the years, one can easily write the socio-political history of our country.
In the ‘40s ‘Devdas’ was our hero, because the society then could connect to the character. The lovers and the rebels during those times couldn’t even fathom the idea of rebelling against their parents and state their desire to marry someone they chose; hence, that anger and the pain was directed towards themselves, which was glorified in those times.
After our independence, the society was jovial and content after a long and tiring battle for freedom, and finally had the courage to speak for themselves, and so we then had a rebel star in the ’70s who was bold enough to fight for himself, his choice of career, who to marry and so on so forth.
This change in itself is tremendous. In a span of 25-30 years, a whole new generation of thought process had been borne. Even in terms of political reforms, people had started to question and reject the court’s judgement, which was an unthinkable thing to do earlier. This was the time of revolution throughout India where our brains had started to urbanise along with the physical reality of our nation.
Later in the ’80s and ’90s our villains had changed, they were no more ‘Gabbar Singh’; instead, our villains became our corrupt policemen and politicians. Then came the Indo-Pak war, where the villains of our story became our neighbours.
And finally, now Bollywood has movies which talk about social stigmas and movements like the LGBTQ revolution, acid attack survivors, rape victims, genocide, suicide, body shaming, mental health awareness along with movies which challenge unethical traditions like Sati and Jauhar from the past. Lo and behold our cinema has come a long way and has proved itself as an unforgiving mirror for our society.
As one of the wonders of Africa, the Djenne mosque of Mali isn’t like any mosque we have seen. While Islamic architecture...
Know MoreIn the 1920’s, the automobile industry had a major rise and Henry Ford’s company was benefiting from selling thousand cards. Due to the increase in the demand for automobile there was a massive requirement of rubber for production of tires and other car parts such as valves and gaskets. Rubber had to be transported from Europe and Henry Ford decided to have his own rubber production and plantation. Brazil’s amazon forest being the native land to coveted rubber trees, Ford purchased a large piece of land and decided to create a township with rubber production and manufacturing. He named this city, ‘The Fordlandia.’ Not only did he plant rubber trees but also made bunglows for the employees, dance halls, churches, bakers and butchers markets.
While all this is seems fancy, the Fordlandia was plagued from the very beginning. Seeing a little closely, a man sitting in the States planned out a township based on the American lifestyle in the middle of Brazilian rainforest denying the understanding of the local culture, climate and lifestyle wa a plan bound to fail. The employees that shifted from America to work with the locals in Brazil weren’t used to the heat and swamp of the rainforest and fell ill quite often. Ford had distrust towards experts and without consulting a single botanist, he planned out the plantation not keeping in mind that the rainforest also had insects that bred on rubber trees. The fordlandia plantation became a breeding place for such insects.
Henry Ford imposed people in the town to follow a ‘healthy lifestyle’ which included attending dances in the hall, being part of recitals that were only in English and also forced them to dine only in cafeterias and such. This led the local people to rage as it wasn’t their culture nor was it turning out to be a healthy lifestyle. But Ford didn't just want to tame men; he wanted to tame the jungle itself — and therein was his failure.
These days, Fordlandia is quite beautiful. The "American" town where the managers and administrators lived is abandoned and overgrown. Some local people also love in the abandoned American styled houses.
As one of the wonders of Africa, the Djenne mosque of Mali isn’t like any mosque we have seen. While Islamic architecture...
Know MoreCube Tower, Foshan, China
China has one of the strangest looking buildings in the world, so strange, in fact, that President Xi Jin Ping has called for an end to the constructions of these bizarre structures a few years back.
Despite this, the Cube Opera Tower in Foshan, is a marvelous 469-foot
tall high rise structure, completed in 2015, graces the skyline of the
rapidly growing city.
I was in a taxi, on my way to the train station, when I glanced upon this
peculiar building. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and in the evening, on
my way back, I stopped near the building to take it all in.
The Cube Tower, designed by Danish architecture firm Godefroy Tang, is made up of nine cubes of varying sizes stacked in a vertical formation, with each cube’s facade covered in traditional design motifs. It overlooks the Pearl River and comprises of conference areas, a theatre, an exhibition hall, and other commercial facilities.
The outer facade of this building is completely made of welded steel, and the white color emphasises the motifs in a beautiful way. It is like a toddler stacking building blocks on top of each other, funny yet genius. The building has 34 elevators and 16 escalators, all installed by German mobility Thyssenkrupp.
The building glows up like an exotic lamp at night, in all its glory, and it looks like you’ve come 100 years into the future. After spending the whole evening waiting for the lights on the Cube Tower, I can safely say that it was definitely worth it.
China is extremely unconventional, so if you’re ever in the mood to see some really out-of-the-box landmarks, you know where to vacation next!
The 2020 Winter Youth Olympics was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. Which is also the home of the International ...
See MoreThe 2020 Winter Youth Olympics was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. Which is also the home of the International Olympic Committee. It was the third edition of this international multi-sport cum cultural fest, where 33 nations participated. Popular winter sports like ice hockey, alpine skiing, speed skating etc. were played. Jessie Diggins became the first U.S. women to win an Olympic medal in cross country overtaking Sweden and Norway in the final round. Russia topped the leader board with 10 golds, 11 silver and 8 bronze medals.
The venue for this time - Melbourne - experienced a lot of cut-throat matches as well as some
milestones being achieved. Serene Williams played her 400th grand slam singles match and
won against Tamara Zidansek 6-2, 6-3.
Novak Djokovich heading towards the third round beating Tatsuma Ito 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
India’s Divij Sharan and New Zealand partner Artem Sitak went to the third round of men’s
double but Rohan Bopanna and partner Yasutaka Uchiyama knocked out.
Annual extreme sports hosted, produced and broadcasted by ESPN. Players compete to win medals and prize money. Extreme sports involve a high degree of risk. Activities are based on speed and high level of physical exertion. This includes 6 skiing events, seven snowboarding events and two snow bike events. This time the music and sports festival has come to Calgary for the next 3 years. Henrik Harlaut won the Real Cost Men’s Ski Big Air and made history as the winningest skier in the X games history.
1st match: IND won by 6 wickets
2nd match: IND won by 7 wickets
1st ODI: Australia won by 10 wickets 2nd ODI: India won by 36 runs 3rd ODI: India won by 10 wickets
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
1-1
Chelsea vs Burnley
3-0
Leicester City vs Southampton
1-2
Manchester United vs Norwich city
4-0
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool
0-1
‘Six Nations’ Rugby union (Feb 1 - March 14)
ICC World T20 women (Feb 21- 8 March )
World track championships, cycling (Feb 26-1 March)
South Africa vs England (ODI’s and T20’s )
India vs New Zealand (ODI’s and Test)
Asian Championships, Wrestling (Feb 18 -23)
Hockey Pro Leagues
India vs Belgium ( Feb 8,9)
India vs Australia ( Feb 21,22)
New technological advancements excite him more than his...
Read MoreNew technological advancements excite him more than his own birthday. He likes to Netflix and chill, especially when sci-fi movies are playing.
A hardcore music fan with a soft-spot for good art, good coffee, and good books...
Read MoreA hardcore music fan with a soft-spot for good art, good coffee, and good books. Mountains or beaches? She’ll take both.
A multitasker who is always interested in discovering new frontiers...
Read MoreA multitasker who is always interested in discovering new frontiers. He is a nerdy reader and a friend at one time, funny and chirpy at the next moment. You can find him writing vigorously, coding slowly, talking to new people, leading the group through strange roads.
A jolly person who brings joy everywhere he goes. He is an adventuro...
Read MoreA jolly person who brings joy everywhere he goes. He is an adventurous individual who likes to explore beyond his limitations.
Kind of a good samaritan, terrible athlete, but extremely blessed in t...
Read MoreKind of a good samaritan, terrible athlete, but extremely blessed in the napping skills department. Loves dogs and books probably more than humans. Caffeine dependant life-form. Socially awkward at first, the life of the party once you get to know her. Living vicariously through travel and music. Choosing a destination to cause havoc next is always on her to-do list.
He is a visual artist who loves to make images, draw...
Read MoreHe is a visual artist who loves to make images, draw abstractions and make music. He loves curating energising experiences for lost souls. He also loves to cook and sleep a lot.
He absolutely loves videogames and the craft of making them...
Read MoreHe absolutely loves videogames and the craft of making them. If there are stars in the sky, you will always catch him catching a glimpse of them. Videogames and Space are what drive him.
With a quirky personality and a mindful brain, Pranjali is an aspir...
Read MoreWith a quirky personality and a mindful brain, Pranjali is an aspiring designer and an avid reader. With her monumental love for classical literature and evergreen old songs, she's a true duchess in her mind. She maybe living in the 21st century but her senile soul resides in classics that she adores.
A proud closet introvert, she lives by Jean Paul Sartre's "I am my c...
Read MoreA proud closet introvert, she lives by Jean Paul Sartre's "I am my choices." Her pet peeve is writing about herself.
Someone who really likes stories of all kinds no matter what the mediu...
Read MoreSomeone who really likes stories of all kinds no matter what the medium of storytelling is. When talking about himself, he ponders, "Sometimes I dream way out of my league but sometimes I think I can achieve them. I believe I am more of a food critic than a foodie, and that's all folks!"
Someone who is extremely resourceful in crisis, as her friends call her,...
Read MoreSomeone who is extremely resourceful in crisis, as her friends call her, 'jugado ki chalti firti dictionary'. That one person you call at 2 am and ask for communication skills or psychology assignments. Loves reading, travelling, and debating, and is a social bee.
Travelling just for the sake of travelling never interested him...
Read MoreTravelling just for the sake of travelling never interested him. A born wanderlust with no fear of the unknown, he just travels with his trusty camera by his side. Always looking for serenity in the wild unknown, he draws his journey with a curious eye that looks to capture the moment.
On two roads diverged by woods, he always takes the one less travelled by.
My work speaks fluent originality about me. Mostly curious, con...
Read MoreMy work speaks fluent originality about me. Mostly curious, confused and compassionate. Likes to chill with people who are chill in life.