HiVE! April 2012
editorial
HEllo there! It’s been about 6 months since we last published a HiVE! We 4th years are loaded with work, so this is hopefully our last issue; but we have some amazing people who’re ready to take it up from the 2nd and 3rd year (Alija Sule, Aditi Kakade, Arjun Arunkumar, Palak Dudani and Viraj Joshi) and we’re sure they’ll make us proud. It’s really not easy to handle a newsletter like HiVE. It comes with responsibility, sensitivity towards content, a truckload of enthusiasm First batches getting HiVEs delivered on their deathbeds in the far-away future and will to work without credit and a pat on the back. The only incentive is getting-through to so many people and getting MITians to know each other through their work, their experiences and their writing – and there aren’t many who’re ready to work that way. Firstly a hearty congratulations to our recent graduates! We will miss you and hope you will scale more heights in the future! This HiVE we have a special cover article by Nikhil Mansukhani, talking about his experiences in Straté college in France during his student exchange. We would also like to thank the people who sent some wonderful articles that would not be published because they got stale - we’ll be publishing them on HiVE (uncensored) the Facebook page. There’s a lot going on in the news as well, and we’re hoping you’ll find it all a great read! Signing off, Editors
CONVOCATION 2012
photo courtesy: Navin Devnani Torres (Foundation Sem 2)
The convocation, for me, was something new. Having been in a school that never really took farewells seriously, the magnitude of a convocation ceremony was something new and awe inspiring. Being one of the comperes, I ended up observing the proceedings quite closely. The days leading upto it saw students and faculty alike work eagerly on the sprinkled lawn, ignoring the sun and its molten curses. Caps were worn, chairs were placed, lights were put up and cameras were strategically arranged. One would see flocks of fifth years reminiscing, catching up, savouring their final hours before graduation. The rest of the college, wanting to do every last bit for them, organized flash mobs, made origami flowers, or simply ogled, awestruck, at them for having emerged triumphant after four backbreaking years. And then came the day. The place awaited a grand episode - rangolis adorned the entrances, banners were sprawled across the building with flowers and lights adding the finishing touch. As the day progressed, the graduating students, in all their white and gold finery, along with their proud parents, settled down amidst a babble of excitement. The newly constructed stage flaunted the faculty and the chief guests. The function started off smoothly, with the World Peace Prayer and
the guests were welcomed by the inspiring words of Dr. Sunil Karad and Dr. Vishwanath Karad, Founder and Director General of MAEER’s MIT. Also present were various members of the Education Council who were duly felicitated along with the other guests. We had Mr. Ajit Gulabchand - the chief guest, who is the Chairman of Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd, the man behind numerous hydel and nuclear power generation capacities and the visionary behind Lavasa, India’s largest hill city, address the convocating batch. One of the best commencement speeches in recent memory. Finally, after the release of the Design Annual, came the moment everyone looked forward to - the announcing of the graduates. The students received their certificates, amidst thunderous applause that brought the skies down. Delighted parents scampering to take pictures of their freshly graduated children made neutral spectators like myself smile. Next was the award ceremony. More applause and cheering followed and then the ceremony ended with the vote of thanks by Prof. Dhimant Panchal and Pasaydan. The students flung their colourful stoles up in the air and headed jubilantly for dinner. Thus ended a joyous occasion. Memories were captured, tears were shed, but with a warm fuzzy feeling inside, everyone dispersed towards their own new beginning. - Swaroopa Sanap (Foundation Sem 2)
reliving classics Max Mueller Bhavan, Pune in collaboration with MIT-ID, Pune has set up a 28-day long product design exhibition called ‘New Olds’ on the 3rd floor of our academic block. I bet all of us had a look!
modern materials into these trend-setting products. Their sense of tradition was as strong as the avant-garde use of materials. Along with the old products, there were also a number of modern products like the stackable plastic chairs made in wood. The exhibition had an otherworldly timeless feel to it. I’m sure the products – so close to us, yet so nicely tweaked, have stamped their identity and inspired minds.
This exhibition travelled all the way from Germany and was inaugurated on the afternoon of 4th April. It displays products from all over Europe. As the name suggests, New Olds is all The exhibition took us through a caravan of about products that bridge the gaps of time, and bring to It taught us about classic products from all around Europe. It taught us about the us a novel melange of traditions the emotional emotional potential of products and classics with newfound and the ideas and feelings aesthetics and technology. potential of products and the inanimate products can induce in humans. Those lucky few students ideas and feelings who were at the inauguration ceremony were toured through inanimate products Professor Albus left the crowd stimulated with his concluding the exhibition and were told the can induce in statement – What about India? concept and thought process humans. For a country that has such behind every product by affluent historical and cultural heritage, Prof. Volker Albus – Designer and Curator from shouldn’t we – the young designers of India Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. - inculcate those values through our designs? Food for thought guys! The exhibit featured modern takes of contemporary designers on paradigmatic - Viraj Joshi products like the Eames chair, or the classic (PD Sem 4) wooden furniture like wardrobes and chairs. This involved an interesting intervention of
“
”
Revolution 2020 With Revolution 2020, Chetan Bhagat makes his first attempt at venturing into serious writing, of course with his usual elements of a typical Bollywood masala movie. The book misses the much liked humorous element of Two States, along with a few other aspects like basic logic and structural norms. However, these loopholes definitely won’t keep the book from still making it to the bestseller section. For all the devoted Dan Brown or Salman Rushdie readers out there, few books are better unread. The book revolves around three friends Gopal, and Raghav residing in the city of Varanasi. Gopal’s only aim in life is to make quick money whereas Raghav wants to reform the world. Both love Aarti. Apart from the love triangle, the book contains an extensive 250 page account of corruption in the education sector, which makes you want to skip paragraphs and at times even pages. The three protagonists are painfully stupid, confused and unlikable. Gopal is self obsessed, Aarti is an aimless girl only capable of flaunting her looks and Raghav is an unrealistic journalist who writes a pink supplement called Revolution 2020 in an attempt to make the world a better place, which is worse than the book itself. (Note- these are the only 7pages where Revolution 2020 actually comes into picture). 296 pages later, you would rather have preferred reading a book titled ‘How to become a bestselling novelist for dummies’ – Chetan Bhagat. 1 out of 5 buzzes :( - Alija Sule (GD Sem 6)
reviews Kahaani Here is another Bollywood film that gives us a reason to celebrate Hindi Cinema. The genre of thrillers is virtually non-existent in Hindi cinema these days and Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani is welcoming change. Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan) is a heavily pregnant lady who comes all the way from London to search for her missing husband with whom she lost communication a week back. All she knows is that he was in Kolkata. She goes straight to police station to file a missing person report. Rana (Parambrata Chatterjee) a sincere policeman tries his best to help her. As the her quest progresses it turns out that there is not a single trace or record of her husband anywhere. Even after hitting rock bottom Vidya doesn't give up. The Intelligence Bureau also gets involved and Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the tough officer ‘Khan’ who wants to have everything on his own terms. Has her husband just dumped her? Is there something more sinister that is happening? The movie keeps you wondering right till the climax - which reveals it all. Director Ghosh, who earlier made turkeys like Alladin, is in fine form here and so is the cast. Bengali actor Parambrata Chatterjee is apt the police officer and ditto with Saswata Chatterjee who plays the insurance guy and the most cold blooded killer bollywood has every seen. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is spot on! The show ultimately belongs to Vidya Balan, who plays her character convincingly without much sweat. All in all, this Kahaani spins a pretty good yarn. Go for it! 4 out of 5 buzzes! - Akhil Khandeparker (PG FVD Sem 4)
THOUGHTS & eXPERIENCES
sHANTANU’S ORDINARY YAWN - RAM SINGH (NOW A POST GRADUATE!)
Dusk is not just the setting sun, it is not just the fall of night, It has the lovely colors of heaven that god himself blends into one big sky. The time when you see the sun and moon in the same sky often. The time when the followers of god’s masterpiece come to watch the sun take a dip in the sea by the shore. The time when you see people lighting up their little houses in front of the huge masterpiece. The time when the gloomy night falls upon us with a few stars peeping out. The time just after twilight, where the shades of blue, red and purple play with one another. The joy on each child’s face who explores shapes in those lovely shades of the marvellous piece. Each passing minute is a new experience, with every fading shade you see a new shining star, all that that marvellous dusky piece does is embrace you in its huge arms of positive energy.
- Khyati Seth (RED Sem 4)
Lately my answer to everything has been “Ummmmm......” Dad: Nikhi, what about your portfolio? What about intership?” Me: Ummmmm...... Mumma: What’ve you thought about your job?? Me: Ummmmm...... Alok: Where do you wanna go for dinner? Me: Ummmmm...... And the worst one happened today: Gayatri Ma’am: Where have you reached with ‘The Mailbox?’ (my grad-film) Me: Ummmmm....... and then I started to sweat. Then Premier started hanging, and I tried everything - emptied cache, temporary files, transferred my data to my HDD - it’s STILL acting pricy. So my final answer was: “Gimme just one.more.day.” - Nikhita P. (AD Sem 8)
STUDENTS RECOMMEND! http://www.thevigilidiot.com
http://foodopia.tumblr.com
This has to be one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. I saw a post regarding one of its articles on Facebook and then I just couldn’t stop reading it. For all those Bollywood buffs out there, this is a perfect treat. Spoofs, reviews and a few Facebook fables. Also, there’s a little something for those who enjoy Ekta Kapoor’s K-sagaas. Must Checkout: The K-Soap Screenplay Generator.
You’re gonna kill us for putting this up when you live in a place like Loni-Kalbhor! A mouthwatering site all about FOOD! Colors, recipes, presentation, you name it. - Aditi Kakade (AD Sem 4)
Warning: All the SRK lovers, you all are not going to like it! - Jahnvi Shah (AD Sem 6)
pigma micron
http://www.amazonstudios.com Did anyone know that Amazon Studios has competitions for student film-makers to send in their stories? Well if you win (via votes), they’ll have a group of professionals to actually turn your scripts/storyboards/trailer into a feature film! You can also get critiques of your stories by designers in the industry, and read scripts from other students around the globe! - Akhil Khandeparker (PG FVD Sem 4)
Here’s a peak at the great pen I bought from the stationery - ‘Pigma Micron’, available in a variety of nib thicknesses; It’s really good for inking sketches and illustrations since it has a really thin nib. Helped me give the handmade look I want for my animation film. - Nikhita Prabhudesai (AD Sem 8)
http://documentaryheaven.com/
Food for your brain! This site is like a treasure chest of well made documentaries that you can watch online for free! You don’t have to hunt anymore! - Pankti Shah (PD Sem 8)
http://www.topolate.com
Personal animation equipment for animators that can be customized according to their preference!
photograph of the month
- Agniraj Chatterji (GD Sem 6)
From Paris, With love. Hello readers, I am from the fourth year TD department and I’ve been lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to participate in a student exchange programme this semester to Straté College of Design in Paris, France. The reason I’m writing this article is simple. We’ve all asked ourselves this question a million times, ‘how does our college fare compared to other ones abroad?’ especially the older, more established ones. I, myself am guilty of googling for these ratings quite a few times, and fortunately, I’ve got the opportunity to find out first hand! So what’s this article about? This is (or at least I’ve attempted it to be) an unbiased comparison between MIT’s Institute of Design and Straté College of Design. Let’s start off with what the accreditation gurus think about these two Institutions. ‘Business week’ has listed Straté College as one of the best D-schools in the world. Towards the bottom of the list we see IDC and NID, however MIT - ID doesn’t make the cut, which is quite puzzling actually because I believe we are, at this point far superior than NID. Superficially, Straté College seems to be the better of the two, the third best in the world in fact. Firstly, French design is world renowned and for the most part, its rubbing shoulders with the Italians in fields like Product Design, Transportation Design, Retail, Branding and Packaging design as well as Interactive systems, all of which are offered in Straté college. (Yes, the Graphics, Animation and the Film department should look elsewhere :) ) But before you jump to conclusions, let’s not forget the fact that Design in India is almost entirely still in its infant stages - yet to stand on its own two feet, and that’s undoubtedly an unfair advantage to the Frenchies
“
M.I.T really is the underdog with tremendous potential to nose ahead of the Europeans.
”
in Straté. After all, Design to Paris is what Shiv-Sena is to Pune - everywhere! Straté College is based in a sleepy suburb in the outskirts of Paris called ‘Sevres’, home to old ladies and awesome French bakeries. The college is quite discreet with even locals failing to recall either directions to the college, or the college itself!! I got lost somewhere between the station and the college whilst trying to find it, which gave me plenty of time to reflect on the locals. Parisians are friendly, but to an oddball like me, communication is a problem. They either don’t know English or don’t like speaking it! As Mark Twain once rightfully said “In Paris, they simply stared when I spoke to them in French, I never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language”. Two hours and a sweaty brow later I finally slogged into Straté College. Physically, the college is quite small, the building is only two storeys tall and is no bigger than the Admin building in M.I.T. Work culture here is quite disciplined (loitering in the corridors, an M.I.T favourite, is taboo here) Our hourly tuck shop escapades are most unwelcomed too. This reflects in their
lifestyle. I previously believed that all that the French did was eat, drink and make love! But I was wrong! SO wrong! A typical Frenchie has a 9 – 5 job and after that, (regardless of whether it is a weekday or weekend) indulges in shopping, heavy drinking and dining. In essence, the French are stereotypical to the phrase ‘work hard party harder’ Even the college closes doors at 7 p.m., so no late-nights here. Owing to this, we M.I.Tians should stop complaining about our lack of ‘over-night’ permissions and be content with the night deadlines we have. This is especially important as attendance is strict in Straté and tardiness is unacceptable. (I had to find out the hard way!) This is good since companies expect us to work on time and not show up after lunch! In Straté, we follow a different course structure. We have different courses everyday that echo every week, which got pretty chaotic at first. I quite often walked into the wrong class!! This verses M.I.T’s approach to the ‘one course at a time’ system has its own set of pros and cons. In Straté’s approach I never miss a deadline and the work gets done pretty fast as I have a whole week to reflect on my project, the downside is that you tend to get distracted because you have a million other
courses to handle simultaneously, in my case, six (or because of the pretty lady sitting next to me)! In MIT however, we tend to while away the time and even though we remain focused for most part of the time, we tend to work slowly. To put into perspective we worked quick enough to finish a three member group project for a PD workshop in just a week, from the ideation phase to the physical 1:1 working prototype - complete with a 3D model!! (Damn these frenchies are efficient!) Moving on to infrastructure, surprisingly (and disappointingly) there wasn’t a Wacom lab in Straté although we can issue a M-sized Bamboo. Materials however is free for use, but provided in limited quantities, and we don’t have to go about filling pointless requisition forms accompanied with all of India’s signatures!! Expensive materials like Automotive clay have to be purchased, unlike in MIT where we TD blokes can use it for free. Another respite is that all the tools are kept in the workshop itself and cannot be issued. This
“
If you want a foreign style of education, go abroad. If not, MIT is more than enough.
”
is a process worth adopting for MIT but only if we guys can avoid “borrowing” tools from the workshops or our fellow batch mates and “forgetting” about them later, only to find that they mysteriously turn up in someone else’s locker. This would save the Institute a lot of money and save us a lot of time especially during the toolreturning ritual before the juries! That said, the computer labs and workshops are a lot smaller in Straté but also a lot emptier. Batches have different work timings and the student intake is much less. I like it that way! Only about 300 students are admitted at a time. There are 5 printers and 3 huge ones for printing flexes - quite useful for those dreaded presentation days. We guys desperately need one of those in MIT Oh and there isn’t any stationery shop within the college premises. An alarming issue is the omission of a Library in Straté, but owing to the high number of Public libraries and literature stores in Paris, they don’t really need one. However, the faculty in Straté are extremely knowledgeable and updated in their respective fields. (I couldn’t justify my poor, out of proportion sketch to my professor). So, on the basis of education, Straté College has a lot to offer to its students in terms of curriculum as well as faculties. MIT really loses out on these grounds, but this sort of expertise is expected, owing to the vast heritage that design has in Europe. In terms of student work, I am ecstatic to say that, with the exception of the TD work, all the other departments’ work at MIT is on par with European colleges!! :) All that we lack is opportunities from the Industry :). We need and deserve more live projects. We TD guys however really need to work harder!
Now before I begin to sound boring and the Editors of HiVE have to reduce my article to a single line to prevent you all from falling asleep, (also partly since my hands are frozen stiff in the Parisian winter) I’d better summarize. In terms of sheer education - Straté college is well ahead with what I see as an unfair advantage. But in terms of Infrastructure, MIT has the upper hand! Now, I’m not implying that the two colleges are equal and that MIT is a facsimile of Straté college, that would be wasting your time, but because Straté college charges 8000 Euros (5.6 lakhs INR) in tuition fees per year and they don’t even have a hostel or a gym, whereas MIT charges 2.8 lakhs as of now (2 lakhs in my year). As for DSK, forget about it - it is a French college and they charge just as much as Straté but
you don’t get the most important thing - ‘The French Culture’. If you want a foreign style of education, go abroad. If not, MIT is more than enough! Having said that - MIT really is the underdog with tremendous potential to nose ahead of the Europeans, but that’s just my opinion. So I wish you all the very best for the semester at hand and let’s kick some European Butt!!! :D - Nikhil Mansukhani (TD Sem 8)
overseen! only a true filmmaker knows how to take hand-held down-shots.
I wanted to be a gymnast, but dad said no.
Err... MMMPH! GOD THIS IS SO GOOD!
BARONIA VISARJAN CONDUCTED AT BOYS HOSTEL AT LATE HOURS.
“good cinema is good design� Good cinema is good design. Simply because movie-making is an industrial process, as much as it is an art form. There are a vast number of people working towards the making of a movie, an amazing array of technologies and instruments going into communicating a story. It's a team job, it's a difficult job and it takes time. Not only to practice, but also to learn. Cinema is universal, anyone can relate to it. It has no fixed rules when it comes to interpretation or genre. And it has so many facets, so many styles and movements. No doubt it's one of the greatest inventions of mankind. 24 fps aims at watching and experiencing different types of movies, which is actually learning about different cultures, people, events, happenings etc from across the world. It's a student organization, run by the students for the students. A nice initiative to expose ourselves to various other ideals and realities apart from those we absorb in our classrooms. Lets make the most of this opportunity to educate ourselves about this vast medium while we're in college, which will surely in some way or the other, inspire us and reflect in our work. Screened festivals: Oscar Showcase Documentary Week Regional Fest Modern Mysteries Documentary Week Upcoming screenings: Green The Choir Night on Earth - Ishan Sadwelkar (FVD Sem 4)
24 fps for the fans!
In the news! The UG and PG batch of 2012 officially convocated on the 6th of April 2012. Along with the diplomas a few special awards were handed out for best student, best diploma project and best classroom project. HiVE wishes the graduating students all the very best in all their future endeavours! :) (Refer to page 3 for the complete photo courtesy: Chaitanya Shete (TD Sem 8) article) Freechai was held on 2nd April. George Joseph (GD graduate) introduced his systems design project ‘Co-op’ for practical implementation. Co-op calls for increased co-operation and active participation of all students, faculty and the administration in various extra-curricular activities happening in college. 24 fps is hosting an exciting film festival, showcasing the work of some of the finest directors. If you haven’t caught them yet, HiVE strongly recommends you to go the watch the next one! (Refer to page 15 for the screening list) Quasar 2012 - the annual college fest was held between the 30th of Jan and the 4th of Feb 2012. This included two days of interactive workshops and seminars conducted by various professionals designers and two days of fun filled events. The fest was concluded with the cultural evening on the 4th, which saw everyone dressing up in the best of their outfits for the red carpet theme. The farewell for the UG batch of 2013 was held on the 5th of April 2012 at Club Shockk. The theme was Rubik’s cube, and the seniors diligently followed the theme! Controversial snaps and gossip to be found on Facebook. ;) A new initiative called the Portfolio Archive has been taken up! Finally! We have an online library full of student portfolios from MIT-ID, available only to the MIT-ID students, faculty and administration.There’s a lot of honest and contructive feedback being exchanged. MIT-ID hosted a stall at Auto Expo 2012 (Delhi), which showcased the M9 XLR8 designed by the faculty and students of our college, along with the work of some TD students. Way to go guys! HiVE, the staff, administration and students of MIT-ID welcome Indrajit Neogi (FVD), Vaibhavi Ranavade (Fashion Design), Manasi Kanetkar (PD) and Gayatri Patil (AD) to the MIT-ID family! Editing|Nikhita Prabhudesai
Layout|Alija Sule
Contributors| Aditi Kakade, Viraj Joshi
We specially thank all the contributers who’ve given us photos, their opinions and their experiences. We also thank Alok N.R for helping us out with this issue. We would like to announce that co-founders and co-editors of HiVE - Bharat Singhal and Nikhita Prabhudesai wish to retire, and hope for a great future for the publication. (This means all the founders of HiVE are out!) Anyone who’d like to share their thoughts on HiVE can send them to hive.mit@gmail.com Cover Illustration by Aditi Kakade, coloring by Nikhita P.