MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

LiMiNAL

MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING TRIVANDRUM | KERALA

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Copyright © 2019 by Marian College Of Architecture and Planning, Trivandrum Printed at Digital House, Vanross, Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695034 This publication is released by the initiative of the students of M.C.A.P. All the images, illustrations, literature and Photography are the original works of the students and staff of this institution. Due royalty has been credited to the images used from the internet. This publication is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced or distributed digitally or otherwise without prior permission of the institution.

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Marian College of Architecture & Planning

Marian College of Architecture and Planning is a on eminent institution located in the techno capital of Thiruvananthapuram. The college is situated in a 2.5 acre plot , 17 km from the main city between the National Highway ( NH 47 ) and the Arabian seashore at Menamkulam.

Hardly a Kilometre away from the beautiful beach and located amongst beautiful churches, the College stretches over verdant campus in the neighborhood of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Techno Park, Kinfra Apparels, St. Xavier’s College and other renowned institutions.

OUR PATRON

His Grace Most Rev.(Dr) Soosa Pakiam M.

AUXILIARY BISHOP

His Excellency Most Rev. (Dr.) Christudas Rajappan

MANAGER

Very Rev. Msgr.

Wilfred E.

BURSAR Rev.Fr. Sudheesh .A

Our Mission “MCAP empower students to intervene critically into the social and environmental issues with deep understanding of the Principles of Design and inspiring them with a spirit of innovation and creative experimentation in shaping the built environment.”

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Our Vision “Architecture being a basic human need, we strive to equip our students to play an essential and innovative role in improving human habitat.”

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DIRECTOR Ar.Prof Baby Paul. K

B. Arch, M.URP , DEP, CALT(USA)

We at Marian College Of Architecture and planning, aim to cultivate knowledge to design in the present, with an awareness of the past and an insight into the future. The atmosphere of the college strives to inspire a lifelong commitment to architecture, and foster a respect for lived spaces.

To my dear students, the first steps of your lifelong commitment as an architect are taken within this college campus. Make sure to imbibe the spirit of assurance and determination from within these hallowed halls, they are invaluable tools in your journey ahead. Architecture is a skill that can be mastered only with motivated , perseverance and hard work.

In the wise words of Henry David Thoreau, the world is but a canvas to our imagination. Let the reach of your ideas not be limited,let it spill over into all realms available to you in your student life. It is with such an aspiration that Marian college of architecture and planning proudly presents the college magazine “LIMINAL”.

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PRINCIPAL

Ar.Prof.C.V. Dileepkumar B.Arch, M.H (Housing), LLB, PGDML; PGDHR; FIIA; FIV ; FIIT(Arb) ; AITP

It is a great pleasure to see the creative expression of students who had contributed to the magazine published by MCAP in 2018-19. People reading this magazine will realize the tremendous changes that are happening in the campus. The magazine I presenting a glimpse of the growth of institution in many fronts. The college has been simply unstoppable in its progress as it has been actively involved in various activities that brought t light the hidden talents of the college student s and staffs.

The highly qualified and dedicated members of staff have always stood shoulder to shoulder with the student.

This magazine has recorded achievements such as conferences attended by staff members and students, competition won by the highly talented students and innovative projects carried out by students with the guidance of staff among others. They stand as a witness to the monumental efforts taken by the management to provide best infrastructure facilities to the college. I wish the management, staffs and students of the college all success in their future endeavours.

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HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

Ar.Prof.Ganga Krishnan B.Arch, M.Arch, AIIA

I am pleased to know that our students of MCAP are successful in bringing the College magazine, “LIMINAL” for this academic year. Students with their contributions and the support of faculty members make our MCAP family proud to venture in bringing out an Architectural magazine. It displays the passion for architecture to inspire others .I congratulates the Editors and their dedicated committee for their valuable efforts in bringing out this issue. I wish them all the very best for releasing more such magazine in future.

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Former HOD CET (College of Engineering Trivandrum),

Ar.Vinoop P Stanley Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Arch

Ar.Devi Syam - Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Arch

(Advanced design)

Former Principal Govt.Engg.

College Wyanad & Senior Joint Director of Technical Education.

Prof.Suja Kumari L. Senior Professor B.Arch, M.Arch (Housing) Associate professor(Retd) College of Engineering,

Ar.Sheik Mohammed Yasen A Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Arch

Ar.J.Anupriya - Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Arch(Urban Design)

(Urban Design)

Ar.Levin Prabhu J Associate Professor B.Arch, M.Plan (Urban planning CEPT) , EM.UPD

Ar.Devika hemalatha Devi Assistant Professor B.Arch, MURP

(Master of Urban and regional

Ar.Arun Raj K.I - Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Arch (Urban Design)

FACULTIES

Ar.Prof.Binu Mangal Senior Professor B.Arch, M.Arch, AIIA, AIIID

Ar.Joseph James Alenchery Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Sc (Environmental .Des , University of Bath - UK)

Ar.Ankur Bardhan Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Plan (Housing)

planning)

Ar.Indugeetha.B Associate Professor B.Arch, M.Planning (Housing)

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Ar.Shinana Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Arch

(Landscape Architecture) SPA New Delhi

Ar.Vivek Prakasam - Assistant Professor B.Arch, PG (Construction Management)

Ar.Praseen Chandra Mohan - Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Plan

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Ar.Dona Thomas Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Arch (Digital Architecture)

Ar.Deepika padmanabhavan Assistant Professor B.Arch, Master in Urban design

Ar.Divya Varghese Assistant Professor B.Arch, M.Plan

Rishie John Kurien Assistant Professor B.Tech, M.Tech

Er.Reshma.P Assistant Professor B.Tech, M.Tech

Er.sherin Assistant Professor B.Tech, M.Tech

Ar.R Sairam BV Assistant Professor B.Arch, M. Plan (Urban Planning - SPA Delhi)

Alif Dinar

1st RANK in S3 CUSAT Semester exam 1st RANK in S5 CUSAT Semester exam

CUSAT Semester exam topper

Jincy Nelson

Jisna San Jose

1st RANK in S1S2 CUSAT Semester exam

S1S2 - 3rd rank S5 -1st rank S6 -2nd rank

Ammu Pradeep Kumar 1st RANK in S5 CUSAT Semester exam

Annathapadhmanabhan VS 1st RANK in S3 CUSAT Semester exam

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Aparna A P 2nd RANK in S5 CUSAT Semester

SEMESTER TOPPERS AWARD-2K19

Ar.Vivek VenuGopal Assistant Professor B.Arch, M. Arch (Urban Design - SPA Delhi)

Ann Marya Jose

Nikhila A 2nd RANK in S3 CUSAT Semester exam 15

Contents

Editors note,

I welcome you all to indulge in the very first edition of M.cap’s annual magazine. I am honoured and exuberant to provide the first issue of “LIMINAL”. LIMINAL is a medium to articulate one’s talents, to recapture memories and to relive achievements. I believe this to be informative, entertaining and sometimes contrary, but above all useful.

We, M.cap family belonging to different culture and tradition have witnessed an eventful couple of years of unity and cooperation throughout the curriculum. Each young spirit never failing to bring out their best, any event ever held has perpetually united M.cap as a family. I hope that this first edition be the start of an unceasing journal of the M.Cap domain.

I thank each and everyone for sharing their memories and for expressing their talents. I state my sincere gratitude to Ar. Vivek Venugopal for guiding us through the process of compilation.

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination But should finish in the readers” - Stephen King I aspire you find the essence of the words, and ponder on the perspective thoughts it creates as you sit back and enjoy the pages.

Ar.Vivek VenuGopal (Assistant Professor)

Ar.Ankur Bardhan (Assistant Professor)

FACE PAINTING AS A RETROSPECTIVE TO THE DEVASTATING MONSOON FLOODS IN KERALA. 19 AR.ANKUR SPEAKS : ‘LANGUAGE’ AND ‘COMMUNICATION’ 21 ARCHITECTURE 25 EDUCATION IN INDIA 25 NIRVANA 27 EUNOIA 28 THE ‘YOU’ IN ‘U’ IS ME 29 DEAR FRIEND 31 THE QUEENS OF MY LIFE 32 SELFLESSNESS IS A MYTH 35 THE FUTURE OF ARCHITECTURE 37 MONEY, WEALTH, CONTENT 38 LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN 40 SUNSET MUSINGS 44 DREAMS, GOALS, ASPIRATIONS 45 AGRAHARAM 46 THE LAMENT OF A JAL DURG 52 TRAVELOGUES 57 BALI : UNDOUBTEDLY CELEBRATING ARCHITECTURE AND ART 62 LOSING HERITAGE TO THE SANDS OF TIME 68 GOA: A MOTHER’S PERSPECTIVE 72 CULTURAL & SPORTS 74 EVENTS 2018-19 74 EXHIBITIONS 2018-19 74 ACHIEVEMENTS 2018-’19 94 ACHIEVEMENTS 2018-’19 94 BEGINNING 114

Thanking You. Chief Editor Ammu Pradeep

Ammu Pradeep ( Chief Editor )

EDITORIAL TEAM CHELSA JAMES A | BATCH 2016-’21

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ANISHMA AJITH B | BATCH 2016-’21

NEENA D WILLIAM B | BATCH 2016-’21

NEVIN GLADSON B | BATCH 2016-’21

APARNA A P B | BATCH 2016-’21

MERIN JAMES B | BATCH 2016-’21

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FACE PAINTING AS A RETROSPECTIVE TO THE DEVASTATING MONSOON FLOODS IN KERALA.

“Our face painting indicates the faith of the people even in such tough times and sufferings, didn’t lose faith instead it motivated them to help themselves and others from the flood. Blue symbolises water and white droplets shows faith which we have in us and in God. On the other side we tried to bring out the sufferings of people after flood - the aftermath of flood (Drought).”

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Face Painting as a Retrospective to the Devastating Monsoon Floods in Kerala Deluge in Kerala put strong marks on human minds and memories of the havoc stiil exist. The spirits of social engagement, sacrifice and voluntary participation of hundreds of thousands of youths were symbols of solidarity among Keralites. A retrospective to that was the intend of the exercise.

To reinstate the role of individual and community resilience as a response to various dimensions of flooding, first year students (2 batches of 40 students) were given an exercise.

Broad theme of the Face painting exercise was Disaster & Post disaster, based on the recent floods of Kerala. Students were asked to form a group of three and each group identified subthemes of their choice.

Remnants, Faith, Hope, Revival, Unity, Destruction, Mystery, Broken, Thunder, Illusion were some of the themes. They took one and half hours to complete the work, starting from conceptualisation, face painting and concluded with a brief presentation.

Team who worked on the theme Remnants, wrote about it as: “Remnants or Remanere is a Latin word that has the meaning ‘a part or a quantity left behind after a large part is taken ‘The horrible flood that hit our state has taken a lot of lives and property leaving behind sorrow and destruction on a large scale.

In our face painting we have shown a hand rising from a whirlpool with a plant The hand represents a strand of new hope that is always present and helps us overcome all adverse situations. This hope will save us from the whirlpool of sorrow and destruction and give us the plant of new life.

We always prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with unforeseeable and unpredictable .So we must set out a good example for our future generations teaching them to expect the unexpected.

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear .we must learn from our hardships and come back with a greater perspective of life After all ‘yesterday is today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream’”.

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AR.ANKUR SPEAKS : ‘LANGUAGE’ AND ‘COMMUNICATION’

[PHOTO: FLICKR USER MATTHEW G]

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[PHOTO: 2016 TLM Productions, LLC]

In light of the recent events, I was forced to think about a few things which I thought is worth sharing with all...

You know what makes us humans different from other animals? What do you think made us the apex predator that we are today in spite of not having any extra-ordinary natural benefits? Well if you think about it, the answer is pretty simple. It is the invention of ‘language’. That is to be able to transfer information from one individual to another through complex linguistic abilities. And if you are still thinking about it, just understand that you would not have been sitting and thinking about it, if it wasn’t for the same.

Language, both written and oral, of any type; helps us to communicate which is very important for a lot of things such as survival for instance. How if you ask? Well you can share experiences, knowledge, strategies etc. and it also brings us closer as a community. A fundamental tool invented mainly for communication. Nothing that we have today would have been possible if it wasn’t for the invention of language. Without language, the only way to pass on information from one generation to other would have been genetics which we all know is not very efficient. I mean if you just think about it, verbal language is just a mechanical vibration that would generate from my vocal cords, would exit my mouth and travel through the atmosphere and end up in your ears which will further be converted into electrical signals that would ultimately reach you brain. And that is not the end of it.

We all know today that brain is the central unit of our body that controls most of its function. So by default anything that affects the brain can affect our body too right? Like the endocrine system which might lead to take some actions and those actions can have consequences, good or bad. It’s like saying something hurtful to someone and you might witness some tears of sadness rolling down the cheeks of the person you just talked to, this is because of your words just altered the other person’s brain chemistry. Try giving them a compliment and they are bombarded with dopamine in their heads again changing their endocrine levels. But it doesn’t always only affect the person you are talking to; at times it affects you more than the other person.

Yeah! Say something foul to someone and see what happens. Chances are; you might induce changes in the cortisol levels of the other person and maybe (just maybe) that person ends up dislocating your Mandible permanently (means you piss someone

off and get your jaw broken). Pretty obvious if you think about it isn’t it?

But then how do these sound waves do that? Well that is the beauty of language. Our brains today have evolved so much that they process meaning out of each and every word said under each and every circumstances. Our brains are not only hardwired to give meanings to those words, they are also responsible for chronologically organize our invoked emotions and felt experiences episodically to synchronize with our memories, which can also be triggered on a later stage by the usage of correct words (or sounds). This is what makes language and communication the underlying foundation of our society. But again, it is also a serious problem, because our memories are also as flawed as our perception and our actions are based on these operations. We often tend to miscommunicate unintentionally; either due to overthinking or overreacting of certain thoughts and missing out others or even due to the failure in completely absorbing the semantics properly in the first place. Unlike any other tool proper ‘language’ and clear ‘communication’, has the potential to make immense difference in our society today. But unfortunately, so can improper language and miscommunication too, like we have witnessed in our history countless times before and still counting.

It is therefore our duty and responsibility to be very careful and cautious while using such a powerful tool which has allowed us to virtually conquer the whole planet but in the same time has the potential to destroy it many times over too. Such a thing should not be taken lightly, especially when the consequences can get so dire. Thus in the end all I have to say is “to communicate you have to speak, but to understand you have to listen”.

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Ar. Joseph James Alenchery: Proportions

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ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION IN INDIA

CHALLENGES AND OPPURUNITIES

Elina paulose S7 B Batch 2016-’21

[Photgraphy: Sibin Sabu] Architecture, as an action, has been in use since man started building shelter for himself for seeking protection from the inconsistency of the weather and security from wild animals. The nature and character of shelter went on modifying with the advent of technology, development of new materials, changing economic and social environment, growing trade & commerce and prevailing physical and political structure. Religion and culture made its contribution to extend the vocabulary of buildings. However, despite the fact architecture, which has expertise for number of decades in India, got its recognition as a profession only recently. Similarly, a course of criticism is fundamental to the young architecture graduates to call up the conscience that supervises their life which in future advices the architects to lift their capability in this solid field. The architectural education established with recognition that while the exercise of architecture has been expertise in India for centuries.

The present landscape of architecture and desWign education in India has reversed the previous scenario due to large number of institutions of architectural education has been prominently highlighted.

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The nation, in general, whether it is an architect or an aspiring architecture student, the recognition that is inclined from the client to the whole is the primary aspect. Until a couple of generations back, an architect or an interior designer was either a decorator or a contractor but with the former impending years, thoughts and understanding have alternated the clients to realise that architects are designers and are delegated for a reason.

In architectural education, one major objection is the language barrier, where a considerable number of students are coming from the remote and rural areas, where medium of education remains other than English, understanding the architectural terminologies and nitty, gritty of profession develops into a nightmare. The rapid expansion of architectural institutions and the large number of intakes also leads to the addition of inadequacy of appropriate faculty and in association drives to low exposure of ground reality. Similarly, the students will have to count on minimal industry, the employability, regulatory authorities, and the teaching methodologies and so on.

n general, most of the institutions run on the 3 holy myths of architectural education, firstly, architectural education which is also design educations firmly an iconic form-making. Secondly, one can fetch up moderate proficiency levels across the class by focusing on a few geniuses in the studio. Finally, distribution of knowledge can be fragmented.

Integration of knowledge happens systematically’ inside learners.

If we are still in hibernation on this, within five years we sitting here will all belong to a small minority of architects in a sea of screaming and yelling, uneducated and illiterate, yet qualified architects.

They will naturally manipulate their democratic majority to push all that we believe in aside.We have projected architecture as an artistic act of creation, rather than an act promoting the useful arts, through rational procedures and scientific methods. Hence, must move from artists to technologists.

We projected the architect as a person; a great man; a single individual who would become an immortal genius; we followed the western model of putting an individual in the center of the universe instead of our own great tradition of gharanas.

Hence, we must take a step from the create man theory to capable professionals. We have neglected objective reality in favor of romanticism. We never saw the slums mushrooming up all around us, and we rarely saw the villages that are the very fabric of this nation. We imaged the architect sitting in a colorful air-conditioned studio, designing beach houses, mountain retreats, iconic museums and monuments, instead of analyzing society’s problems and solving them through relevant built fabric. We architect can design systems of access to shelter, site and services townships, and self-help housing cities.

Therefore, we need to switch from the romanticism to objective reality. In the beginning year of architecture, we teach students sketching and sculpture techniques and we never teach the youngsters the “anatomy of a building”. We never put forth the consistent, holistic and systematic image of what actually a building is! Hence, we definitely must move from the fuzzy logic to system thinking.

As every student widely proposed, architectural education in India should be able to experience the interdisciplinary in its curriculum.

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NIRVANA

Structurally, to make architectural institutions in India more focused, objective, rational, relevant, efficient and effective it will be crucial that the entire spectrum of architectural education is objectively and critically inspected and rationed. At present entire education system, is teacher centric where the role of student is passive and marginalized.

Teaching has to be a two-way process where the student and the teacher is actively participating and benefits both. The architectural education pattern needs to be directed from input to output based so as to ensure that student has learnt what has been communicated to them. In the present era, the focus is on the end product rather than on the process, with the issue, students are always looking at the readymade solutions already available in books/ net. Within the system, to promote originality and creativity it will be crucial if the student is made to learn, appreciate and understand the entire process, principles, objectives, elements, determinants and strategies which go into making a sustainable design solution.

Kripa shraddha S5 A Batch 2017-’22 It wasn’t beautiful..

The drink itself wasn’t Nor the sight after that Gulping the thin liquid of sour and vile Bitter to the core and burning but not hot…

It did not leave a residue at the bottom But gulping down that cold steam was hard..

It turned fresh as mint in my gut With the gurgling sound only I can hear That told me I was dying That there were holes in my stomach And liver and kidneys And things I did not know I had…

That revolting smell Became inviting familiarity I knew I wanted more A quick glance at nirvana…

That poison in my belly Was now cotton Giving me hope of Leaving this life Without going to the next…

I’m on my bike again Realities too blur to be true A hum in my ear Loud enough to drown my sorrows.

As ancient philosophers have said, “If you are depressed you are living in the past; if you are anxious, you are living in the future; and if you are peaceful, you are living in the present.” But we must learn from the past, to draft actions in the present, changing the future. This is what architects must be educated to do and that is what architects must do!

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Before another cup Gush of fountains’ in my mind Now clear as crystal I see The disturbing run of red As my body burst through Like a balloon But filled with blood not mine But of the ones I forgot And the man I once was.

[This article secured Top 10th position in NASA’s Writing architecture competition (2018-’19)]

Hopeless alcoholic I haven’t drunk myself but I have close experience with such people. I’ve seen them stumble and fall in a way that all four of their legs couldn’t pull them up again.

This poem is a plea to my friends…

Say no to alcohol!

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EUNOIA Anakha Jayanthi S5 A Batch 2017-’22 She lay alone tonight, After all the battles And dreams gone by; She lay alone tonight.

Covered in linen, Her eyelids of lavender, With long black lashes and Cascades of curls framing her face.

She slept with her lips pale And cheeks hollow Ever beautiful to me Although none would want her again.

But I, Never wanted her more Than now, as I prepared To dress her up for the last time And make her worth a glance To the crowd that would never Know my desire.

But she would know tonight, Like all the other souls before her That lay beneath the stones here.

THE ‘YOU’ IN ‘U’ IS ME Vinila vincent S7 A Batch 2016-’21 I don’t know why i am saying this to you...

Me messing up each and everything, The solitary situation, i am caught into, When i thought ‘it’s not rocket science’, all though i knew i missed the boat, When i decided on pulling myself together...

All these times, only your presence was evident...

I witness the contentment in you, when i laugh When i cry, ignoring your agony is impossible Still i wonder...Why??

Why don’t you disappear like everyone else did?

Is it because of your care for me?

Or maybe you are my bestie...

Or because you love me...

The next one is really difficult for me, but is it just because...

You are my reflection?

[Photgraphy: Mohzin Khan N] 28

Once again i saw my pain in you...

I faked a smile just to watch you smile back...

And silently, i walked away from the mirror...

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DEAR FRIEND Kripa shraddha S5 A Batch 2017-’22 This is not an ideal love poem. But I wanted to create the picture that two people who support each other are happier than two people who stays in a relationship giving up what they had to. They have achieved their dreams by being pushed by each other.

The narrator dreams of an alternate lifetime where things turned out good and everything ended with them driving off to the sunset.

Romanticized idea of love over personal ambitions is not here but it awes the beauty of relationship between two people rather than rooting for the relationship itself.

I have not messed up my pronouns but I see the fantasized ideal people as different individuals themselves, living in another world, with an identity of their own.

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[Photgraphy: Alap Kishore]

Dear friend, With whom I used to dream Of dancing under the stars, Of our own libraries, Of our own little house We lived a lifetime, With our own albums of wonder, In our dreams.

But, They changed into us Nothing can turn Because we are happy That one day we meet again We will revisit these.

But for now It’s how it’s supposed to be.

She was pretty as the sun And he was the moon for her stars For all the days, we could have been In another world, we would have been Maybe successful even beautiful But we know What it’s supposed to be We know what it is…

In this world, We should be what we are My friend in the moonlight You know what we were One day maybe we will Laugh this out like Old friends watching a movie On that day, I’ll smile again for you.

Let them be…

You and I were good In that perfectly painted picture They were so pure and true But they aren’t in this world Love died and they died Let them live till love lives Right now in that world, They will be where we are But they will be holding hands…

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THE QUEENS OF MY LIFE Anushree S3 A Batch2018-’23 Mutter some says!

I say amma.

I have three of them, oh! god lucky me. the most precious gift, a child could ever get. the greatest person, who bears all the pain in the world, just to bring you and me to this world. ironic right!! i do have three mother!! it’s as simple as a lump of sugar! mother is definitely the person who brings you to this world, mother can also be that person who teaches you to love, laugh and live. in that case why can’t I have three?? my mother who brought me to this world my amma my first ever teacher, my best friend for ever. she taught me to walk talk and run! to read write and have fun! gave all the love and care of this world. then the next chapter of life began the entry of the next heroine schooling they say!! i with filled up eyes and rolling tears, stepped into the school with trembling steps and fear filled heart.

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there i saw her!!!! the pleasant lady with loving face both her hands open to welcome me to new world a new life.she made me think for a question, and discover for an answer her lessons were not only for any exams but for the entire life. tired and sick I came back home!! there she was “the sweetest and softest” lady I have ever seen “my grandma uff ammuma “ I call her....

The only two things she knew was to love and care. she taught me nothing but to love, love, and just love. all these super ladies taught me a lot, lot, lot, lot to love, to laugh, to fight, to smile most important of all “to live “ fear less and fear free. oh godd!!! how lucky am i to have them in my life.

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SELFLESSNESS IS A MYTH Anjana Abhi s3A Batch 2018-’23

[Art by:Anoop S Kumar] 34

They say peace is the state of perfect harmony with the self. The inner you is in complete truce of thoughts and principles with the world’s you. But is it really? Or in other words, with this definition of peace, is peace really an attainable state? To me it seems just an “ideal” statement, both literally and metaphorically. An ideal statement seemingly unattainable one in the practicalities of today’s life.

Today we are governed by imitation and faux fronts.

Nobody is or can free himself from this scenario as for the survival in this ravenous metropolitan life, this is the requirement. And to talk of being original is like making yourself vulnerable to all the malicious individuals out there ravenous to get you. To finish you.

Sounds dramatically terrible and pessimistic? Well then again, it’s the reality.

No one in the world would stoop down to help you climb up. I repeat no one in the entire world. You get help until the other person is superior to you, the moment that person feels competitive towards you, that well-wisher turns into the predator. If we aren’t sharp enough, we might end up as the victim of treachery.

So the question is can you blame the other guy for being selfish for his own benefits?

No. you cannot.

As the meaning of peace, relations, love and life eventually has changed, the meaning of treachery and the very well-known adjective “selfish” has also changed.

If you intend me to tell you what being selfish is….i got to say I don’t know either. A selfish act for one may not be that self-centered for other. So dissection of good ‘selfless’ deeds and the bad ‘selfish’ deeds cannot be done.

Well to quote Matt Le Blanc as he played Joey Tribiani in the popular series F.R.I.E.N.D.S. “There is no such thing as a selfless deed”.

Well the argument of this being true is very convincing I must say. Every act has a selfish motive behind it. Before I comment any further on this… maybe you should forget your definition of selfish for a moment because…face it…. ‘selfish’ is a word that brings on a cringe worthy repulsive reflex. So now as I was saying before I was interrupted by my craving for a disclaimer, “ no deed is selfless”. Every deed that one does has a hidden point of view that provides joy to the deed doer.

In simple words, if one claims to have done a selfless deed, by let’s say helping a needy, then that little

act of kindness is bound to have given the doer a sense of immense joy and satisfaction. And he knew he might get that pleasure, so he did it. He did that random act of kindness for the needy but also enjoyed the joy of humanity. So if you look through that glass, it seems selfish. Then whats the point?

Well, dear the point I think is the LEVEL of selfishness…..the acts that give you joy and heartfelt satisfaction are the ones that the world accepts as selfless, but the acts that you do inflicting significant distress to others is what selfish is in its repulsive meaning of the world.

They say that the universe is a constant loop….what we do or act comes back to us. Some may call it karma. Whatever you call it….or even if you don’t believe so…it doesn’t matter. Because the idea of karma….the loop theory…and such are what our minds have devised so that we deter from doing bad for the fear of bad happening to us. All of this is a means for our conscience to try get rid of the guilt…..that one will inexcusably feel after knowing that what you did was wrong to other guy.

One theory that fascinates me is the idea of the ripple effect……..

One random act of kindness that may on individual basis seem insignificant …creates a ripple effect of positivity….and wherever that ripple reaches ,the acts of kindness increase exponentially, thus causing a magnified effect of just one single act of kindness.

To understand it better, lets say someone helped me today…a random stranger who showed me kindness in my time distress and then vanishes in the multitude of anonymity that strangers in our lives possess. I will surely feel grateful to that one person and evidently I will assert my faith in human kindness. I would not have the way to repay that kind stranger but the next I see another stranger in distress, I will feel the urge to be the kind stranger to that person in distress. One by one this chain of “receivers of kindness becoming doers of kind acts” multiplies and magnifies exponentially…thus producing the ripple effect.

Interestingly the ripple effect also applies for the Bad acts too…a little act that ruins someone’s moment can have the same ripple effect that spread the negative vibes into the multitude.’

Every little act…good or bad have its effect it seems…so if you ask me...everything now seems philosophically twisted.

According to me….well maybe we should act in the way that we can tolerate being acted upon…meant that…..be selfish or selfless to the degree to which you can tolerate others selflessness or selfishness.

But did we define peace? No. cuz somethings oughta be felt not defined!!!

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Artificial Intelligence THE FUTURE OF ARCHITECTURE ?

Ammu Pradeep Kumar S7 B batch 2016-21 Artificial intelligence is the ability of a machine/ computer system to perform human intelligence through visual perceptions , speech recognition & translation and most vital-to take decisions that maximise the chance of success. Now AI becomes so integrated in our life, that it plays major roles in every fields very efficiently. Like wise Artificial intelligence is so infiltrated into the field of architecture that the word AI is transformed into Architectural intelligence.

In the current scenario, AI helps architects and engineers effectively throughout the project’s initial to it’s final stages and beyond it.

For example , during the stages of site analysis, architects and engineers uses 3D and 2D mapping systems such as Google earth pro ,NASAWorldwind, Bhuvan ISRO etc to learn about the site features and its context. Other softwares such as sunclac , meteoblue etc. also helps in collecting and analysing climatic, geographic and legal datas for designing.

In the stage of design, through the introduction of BIM-Building Information Modelling, AI can interconnect , self design and upgrade itself, by collaborating with a large number of crew members to create an efficient and productive movement of work from one department to other. Complex parametric from can be solved simply by AI within days, which would take years if done manually.

In the stage of approval of design, Architects can convince the design to the client through VRvirtual reality-(a computer generated program which replaces the real environment). The client can virtually take a walk through the spaces and experience it and suggest changes before the project is built so further changes after construction can be avoided. n the building phase, BIM helps in managing the implementation of the design project and its business phase. 3D cement printing , brick laying drones, brick laying machines etc are now replacing manual labour through its precision and efficiency.

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[Photgraphy: Mohzin Khan N]

In general , AI helps us in building aesthetically pleasing , functional and efficient building in its environment. It helps in compiling ,organising and automatically changing the amendments in all drawing and setting notification to all the crew members. Proposing better designs and material and construction practices for the project by referring to thousands of possible options.The job of architects is declining to a projeect brief maker. Is this dangerous to the profession?

But AI can never replace architects. Architects takes the role of a psychologist by understanding the emotions, memories etc to their design. Architects have social responsibility by creating better spaces making it more liveable and civilised affecting the quality of life. Only humans can bring new phases and philosophies to the world of architecture. AI should be the best tool for architects, its not a threat.

Its time to embrace AI rather than leaving it behind.

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MONEY, WEALTH, CONTENT A Life Worth A Penny Anjana

What is dream? An illusion conjured up by our subconscious while we indulge in the trance called sleep? Or is it an embodiment of our ambitions and aspirations that we want to bring into reality?

Well late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam said that “dreams are what doesn’t let you sleep Well then it seems that the goals that we so badly want to achieve is what dreams is all about. The parameters by which we judge our success is what a dream in a modern life means…right?

But what about those moments of oblivious bliss in which we measure our happiness by the content in our hearts and not the bank balance that we might have. Happiness measured by the wrinkles and crinkles by your shining eyes and not the digits displayed by the sum total of your sweated hard worked money. VWell once my best friend who is at times too practical just asked a question…”what is money?”

A few bucks that pay for the indulgences seemed like far too shallow answer to me….making me wonder what really is money?

Pieces of currency that govern our lifes? Or the motive of us surviving in this mad rat race to nothingness?

[art by: Shins Joy]

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The initial bliss of finding those coins is lost to the fDebatable isn’t it?

Well….it seems as if the the human race has almost entirely admitted itself to THE 99 CLUB!!!

WELL lets talk about the 99CLUB….. it’s the the true embodiment of the human’s mindset of wanting more.

To be more refined in the definition of the 99 Club, let’s give you the oldest and the kind of perfect example of being in the ninety nine club. A man if somehow acquires a sum total of 99 gold coins, he ironically is distressed by the fact that its 99 not a 100. act that on counting them, they add up to just a 99, the want of that one supposedly astray gold coin haunts him to the grave no matter how much he may acquire throughout his lifetime. This longing for the 100th gold coin is the symbolism of what human greed and dissatisfaction is.

And today almost all of us are in the 99 club, never content, may that be a billionaire or a BPL citizen. If you ask me, the only people who might as well be excluded would be the infants who yet doesn’t have the faintest idea of the race that awaits them once awareness sets in. And to be back to the question of ‘what is money?’ , I don’t have answers.

It might be considered a commodity. If we are content in our lives with what we have then money seems like a daily commodity. A poverty stricken man’s need is money but a multimillionaire’s want is money.

Why be grinded between the ideals of need and want, lets strive enough to turn the need to a commodity, still prevent greed from turning that sense of content into the want of it.

Money Defined……

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LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN Rachel Mamachan S10 batch 2014-’19 I never liked the rain. Ever since I could remember I always used rain as a synonym for mud, gloom and being stuck indoors. Maybe I had my parents to blame for raising me in a glass box but this time rain meant something more; it meant saying goodbye. I always considered the portrayal of rain in a movie during a funeral to be cliché as hell but going to a funeral in the rain made me feel else wise.

For starters there was the philosophical feeling that the sky was taking part in your grief and then it hid the fact that one couldn’t put a stop to their tears. But standing in the rain that day also felt like a part of me was being washed away but I still haven’t figured out if the person of interest was washed out of my life or if it was a part of me being washed out forever.

‘‘Aren’t yo Aren’t you going to shower?’, asked Reya, my roommate. ‘And catch a cold? No thank you’, I replied and sipped my tea. ‘Ah, the heater’s still broke’, she mused. Truth was, I just never liked taking a shower when it rained because of the fact that I always felt cold. Mom says I inherited this trait from my grandmother. ‘It’s like trying to get a cat to bathe’, she’d say when describing Grandma’s fuss to shower during the rains.

Reya had disappeared into the bathroom and I knew she wouldn’t emerge until a good 45 minutes later. I fell back into my bed and checked my phone for nonexistent texts; anything to keep me from thinking about the funeral. Another reason why I hated the rain, it made me feel depressed.

0 new messages.

I groaned as I slammed the phone on the bed and held my head with both hands as if it could stop my brain from making me remember him. With no avail, it started playing memories like a tape without sound and all I could do was feel my eyes brim up and trickle down my cheeks only to end up falling into my ears.

The tingling sensation of water made me jolt up and I quickly wiped my face hoping to get a hold of myself. It’s been a year , 2 months and 10 days. I still couldn’t spend a day without wishing that he was here. Or maybe it was the fact that I had a dream of him in the morning where he appeared saying that he knew what was going on in my life and that he was glad to see I was moving forwards.

Well, if moving forwards meant literally moving to a new town for a new job, I guess I was better off than last year. But it hurt to know how he was behaving like some guardian angel, watching over me and knowing what I was up to. I mean, he’s supposed to be here, not up there. If there was anyone who deserved to live, it was him; Alex, my best friend.

Just before another fresh cascade of tears evolved, a text appeared on my screen.

‘I just love this kind of weather’- Danny I rolled my eyes at the text.

‘I just despise this kind of weather’- Me Danny was a colleague at my office and we hit off because we had a mutual friend (don’t ask for details because I barely know the person, other than the fact that I was in the same advanced calculus class as him in high school).

Danny was the kind of person who could make even the grumpiest person laugh, he just emitted positive energy!. I swear, the first time I met him I felt like wearing sunglasses because of the amount of energy he radiated.

This was probably the reason why he was so fixated on always talking to me, because I was more like a dark cloud in office. Even my ‘keep away’ expression couldn’t protect me from his horrible jokes and puns until I threatened to drain the air out of his prized Ducati (again, don’t ask for details because I suck in the department of anything that runs on a motor. The only reason I knew it was a Ducati was because it was written on it) Anyways, at the end of the day, he was a nice guy and I could use his positivity once in a while.

Apparently my dislike for rain was ruining his mood and in a way it was keeping me entertained.

‘I take it you haven’t been out in the rain much’Danny ‘You’ve got skills, Sherlock’- Me ‘Alright then, come on out’-Danny I blinked at the text.

‘What?’- Me ‘Join me for a ride in the rain’- Danny ‘You’re crazy. I could get a cold and miss work’Me *chicken emoticon*- Danny ‘I apparently like chickens, so I’m not really offended’- Me ‘Fine, I’ll ask you once more, so if you want to come, stand outside your apartment and I’ll be there. Don’t take your phone if you’re coming’Danny He then went offline.

For a good five minutes my brain was like the scene in George of the Jungle, ‘George swing? Or George not swing?’ And somewhere in between that, I swear I heard Alex’s voice saying, ‘Go’.

Or in this case, swing.

Before I knew it, I had swapped my sweats for a pair of shorts and furry flip flops for a pair of sandals. ‘Reya, I’m going out. I’ll be back’, I said quickly and ran before she could say anything.

The decent downstairs in the elevator consisted of a battle in my head which went something

[art by: Anand P Joy] 40

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like, ‘GO BACK!’, ‘No!! Go! Have fun!’ ‘YOU’LL CATCH A COLD!’ ‘Oh who cares? take some medicine!’ ‘WHAT IF THE ROADS ARE TOO SLIPPERY?!’

That made me almost press my floor number again. A slippery road was what made me lose Alex.

‘Go, it’s okay’, said the voice once more and the elevator doors opened into the lobby. Well, I ain’t got anything to lose and I found myself in the pouring rain. For a minute I felt like I was under attack because I had never been out in the rain; at least not intentionally. My brain however was under the impression that it’s owner had developed a mild concussion to be operating as so .

The growl of a motorbike brought me back to my senses and I found myself staring at an equally drenched Danny. ‘Where’s your helmet?’, was the first thing I asked him and he shook his head. ‘I’m not going on the main road, just some shortcuts so we can enjoy it better’, he said and that did nothing to calm me down.

I eyed the motorbike. ‘What? You’ve never been on one?’, he asked curiously. Danny knew nothing of my past and I had no intention of letting him know either. Instead I got on with a bit of difficulty because it had been almost a year since I’d ever gone on a ride, the last being with Alex. Ever since then, I had stayed clear of motorbikes.

‘Hold on, I’m going to jump the divider’, he said as we got onto the road.

Okay.

Wait,WHAT?!

Before I knew it I was thrown against his back as he rode over the small divider on the road.

‘I told you’, he said with a laugh as I adjusted myself.

‘Please don’t kill me’, I said but he simply laughed again; how assuring.

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Danny was right, the short cuts were way better, mostly because they were deserted and then again they were outlined by rows of tall trees who’s foliage seemed to compliment the grey skies. He stopped at a bridge and I hopped off.

As he fixed his hair I took the moment to look up into the sky and gaze at the rain drops which were shimmering from the yellow street lights.

For once after a long year, I actually felt free. I

felt relieved . In short, I felt the opposite of what I usually feel when caught in a rainstorm. ‘And you say you’re introverted’, interrupted Danny and I looked at him. ‘What?’, I asked. ‘You once told me you were introverted. An introvert wouldn’t have agreed to this’, he said with an amused smile. ‘Well, we come in all shapes and sizes’,I replied and he chuckled.

‘I just can’t understand why you portray yourself that way when you’re really not’, he said leaning against the bridge with his arms crossed against his chest. ‘I guess it’s the way I am’, I said. ‘I disagree’, he said. ‘Why am I not surprised?’, I asked. ‘You know, once in a while it’s okay to live’, he said. I froze at what he said but he was too busy looking at the river below to notice my stunned expression.

Why was I stunned? Because Alex used to tell me the same thing almost every day. The rain now felt like a comforting hug to me and the water seemed to be washing away the sad memories I had of rain which surprisingly included his funeral day. Danny had unknowingly managed to replace a grieving memory with a happier one.

‘I think it’s time I get back. Reya must be worried’, I said and he frowned at me.

‘Ah well, I had fun and besides I won’t be responsible for you sneezing in office tomorrow’, he said with a smirk. ‘Oh you are so going to blamed if I even sniff’, I said and he laughed as he started the journey back.’I had a nice time’, he said as I got off. ‘Yeah me too, I guess needed it’, I said and he grinned. ‘Oh shut up’, I said and he chuckled. ‘See you tomorrow’, he said and held his hand out to me and as I took it, I noticed that something flashed through his eyes which caused his expression to change. Was Danny flustered?! Or was it the cold that made his face a shade of pink. It must have been the rain playing tricks with my vision because the next second he smiled as he let go of my hand and then took off into the night.

Weird but it didn’t stop me from grinning like a crazy woman. I felt amazing. The kind of amazing that could make me smile for years, a kind of amazing that warmed my heart and made me feel like I could get through this.

As I made my way through the lobby I got plenty of raised eyebrows and stunned expressions but I was oblivious to their thoughts even as I opened my apartment door and simply leaned back as I closed it.

‘You have no idea how amazing it feels to shower when it -’, started Reya as she came into the living room but she froze when she saw my drenched attire. ‘-rains’, she finally finished and I laughed out loud at her expression. ‘WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!’, she shrieked.

‘I guess I took your advice and took a shower’, I said with a shrug. ‘With all your clothes on?!’, she asked incredulously but I only grinned at her as I made my way into the bathroom, ignoring her as I made my way into the bathroom, ignoring her questions which followed me as well. ‘You’ll have to come out and face me sooner or later!’, she exclaimed and I heard her go out of the bedroom.

In the privacy of the bathroom, I looked at my reflection. My hair was stuck completely to my face which had turned remarkably pale while my eyes...My eyes were shining with excitement and I found a smile creeping up my face again. I had actually danced in the rain or in Alex’s words, I had finally learned to live. ***

Art by: Anoop S Kumar S7 A batch 2016-21 43

SUNSET MUSINGS

DREAMS, GOALS, ASPIRATIONS

Anjana Abi Jose S5 B

Gopika Mohan S4 A batch

The sun sets on a horizon far away Reminds of the long journey that lay But that worry is for another day Let me look around and back the view Let me stop for a while and think a new The sky has become a painters delight Splashed with colours,a canvas so bright It comes with the promise of dreams and a starry night.

The dawn sets me free in ways unknown It brings a calm, a soothe for aching soul.

All longing forebonding, this constant run.

Dissolve slowly in this golden ocean bowl.

Here I feel a connect very rarely felt Connect with universe as time slowly cease A sense of unity only nature can bring As all souls bask in nature’s shower of peace.

Here I am, An open book, Read me out loud, Or dare not to look.

I am proud, Of who I am, And I stand strong, For what I believe in.

I am unshakeable.

Unstoppable.

Strong – willed and positive to overcome any obstacle . school will be long, trials will be tough.

But here I stand, Not gonna give up, I want to become Someone worth remembering.

A name in a book, A name worth memorizing.

I want to change the world, So everyday I work.

I put myself harder, So one day I will Make a difference on the earth.

An architect is my dream To build up new buildings with new technology, To be ourselves as a product victim.

I will change the world, Its gonna take sometime.

But one day, my day will come.

Just watch and see me thrive.

[Photgraphy: Mohzin Khan N] 44

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AGRAHARAM

THE HERITAGE SETTLEMENT

Elina paulose S7 B Batch 2016-’21

(photgraphy by @aravindan_aravindan Arvind Bala) 46

The various spaces of agraharam are known as Puramthinna (the long corridor), Akamthinna (the next small room), Rezhi ( the central room acts like the living/ bedroom), Machil (the attic room), Adukkala ( the kitchen) etc.

The agraharam were introvert establishments, often open to the members of the certain caste group, however, within the introvert settlement, there were designed built and open spaces that indulge to the need of the dwellers. However, the culture of living together and sharing has also played an important role in the everyday life of the inhabitants of agraharam.

Agraharam is a heritage settlement which became the striking feature of certain cities in South India. Today, Agraharams are mostly fading due to the Brahmins migrating to the cities.

The one major reason why Agraharams are disappearing is primarily that the houses were not sold to Brahmin buyers when the owners sell in rush. They believe the moment it goes to another community, and then the whole setup breaks away.

Kerala architecture, the word that defines the uniqueness of God’s own country in India. The existence of Agraharam in Kerala which was anciently built by Cholas and Pallavas in most parts of South India makes the state more widely explorable.

Agraharam is etymological, in particular to Brahmins to maintain temples in that land or a pilgrimage site and to sustain their families.

Agraharam originates from the facts which have a linear settlement of houses on either side of the road culminated around the temple of their village god in concentric rings. It also exists with a Shiva temple at one end and a Vishnu temple at the other end.

Agraharams in Kerala exists in Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram. The lengthiest Agraharam exists in Thiruvanathapuram called Valiya Sala.

Brahmin Agraharams enhanced the peculiar charm of Thiruvananthapuram city. Karamana was the oldest Brahmin quarters of the city and perhaps had the largest number of streets, nearly counting to 18. The matriarchal system of family led to the joint family system, where we had the members of the family living under the same roof which led to the development of agrahams between the Brahmins.

There existed the Brahmins who belonged to the ancient Tamizhakom and had settled on the banks of Karamana River. Majority of the Brahmins were employed in the temple as staffs, in kitchen, as money lenders and accountants.

Brahmins being a priestly class were less familiar with farming techniques.

The streets where the Tamil Brahmins resided had kolams drawn in front of their houses. Another feature of these Agraharams was the decorative bands of ochre and white are seen in front of their houses and temples, which had symbolic representation such as the ochre and white meant the blood and milk. Walls painted in these colours also meant the surrender of the self to the paramatma. The planning and architecture of the Agraharam took place after over time consideration various parameters like the local climatic condition, availability of local materials and the skill employed in the construction. The Agraharam were constructed in such a way that each home shared a wall with the other. It was a kind of linear conglomeration of the Agraharam. The planning of Agraharam always followed a gridiron or concentric ring patterns, with the temple forming the main focus. The rows of houses are either single or double storied, with the traditional pitched roof form striking a significant profile against the sky. The streets were narrow and formed an structural extension of the living space.

The house has a verandah at the entrance for communal activities and a platform, slightly raised from the street, which runs the entire length of the row houses. It mainly acts as a transition from the street to the dwelling. Mostly, the houses seemed to be sharing a wall which had a long verandah in the front part of the house supported by stone and wooden pillars. Entering the dwelling, a passage which starts at the street face runs through the house ending at the backyard.

In the hot humid climatic condition of Kerala, courtyard houses of Agrahara show a direct response to the climatic condition of this place, ensuring easy ventilation. The opening in the roof also provides light to the windowless room. The courtyard is considered as the ‘devasthana’ the most sacred place assigned to the gods. The sacred tulsi is planted and worshipped at the centre of the courtyard.

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They called him a handful. Difficult to tame perhaps. He only had her. The only emotion he had control over was his love for her. It was a scared bond. And that day, in the suffocating crowd, he saw that light fade off into the distance. Her face was an abyss of no visible emotion. And his….well his tiny face had the mask he always wore. Theu took her away. The only thing that kept him sane, the only real thing in his life, he knows and heclose silence over violence for the first time. *** -AM Amritha Jayakumar S7 B 2016-21

You remind me of the veranda and conversations in the breeze., Of the tea and biscuits, Of the mangoes that lost their sweetness.

I remember the rains and you dozing off to the hum of my voice, The sugary words kept aside just for me.

The heart that carried the most amount of love for me.

How can I ever forget the softness of your handsand their warmth when you held my icy ones?

How can I ever forget your yellow tinged face and those tear filled grey eyes?

The sickness ate you up as we all painfully watched, And you left with an “unsaid” goodbye. *** -AM

[art by: Mohammed Hafiq]

[art by: Mohammed Hafiq]

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The last time i heard this song i was all alone in a bathroom, crying . Today when this song is on loop…I’m still alone…completely shut out from the crowd around me in the company of a balank page onto which I paint my thoughts.

Smiling faces, lost gazes, beautiful people, fathers holding their daughters , mothers feeding their babies, sibling fighting fot the last piece of KFC, people anticipating the arrival of someone special, lovers of various ages, entwined hands, foreigner taking exotic culture, flaunters, foodies, dreamers, liars, people looking for messy tables to clean probably to distract themselves from thinking of their life’s happeneings, people drawing in customers, tired eyes…maybe tired hearts too, some veiled…some transparent… we have all been one of thisat one point of our lives… all in the same play, the same roles at different times maybe. We maybe the same flesh and bones but all these ingredients vary in qualtity in each one of us… we all express love in different ways but we all love the same…hard and without limits. *** -AM

[art by: Mohammed Hafiq]

[art by: Mohammed Hafiq]

And at the stroke of midnight, let your heart speak to you, of the heaviness she feels, of the small broken hopes, of the stories she believed, of the nager she has been keeping at bay , of the act that’s falling apart, of those tiny little things. Listen to her, let her free. For you’re her only home. *** -AM

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IS’NT IT? Chelsa james S7 a BATCH 2016-21

“I think if everyone would write down the funny storiesfrom their own childhoods the world would be a better place.”

-jeff kinney What is life if you dont enjoy the beauty of being a naughty child, yes I was one of the kind .Being the youngest I had the previlege of getting things done my way.There were days when my mother literally learnt the subtle art of letting things go.My experiments with the world ranged from growing bats in mathchboxes to eating beetles, centipedes, and collecting weird stones.

All of those things could have come to rest if it not for this particular event. One fine evening I was roaming around looking for my next target when I noticed my neighbours goats. They had three of them, mother and its two kids. A well that was too short in height also caught my glimpse.

Days passed by I grew very fond of them and every evening I used to play with them.

Slowly I became comfortable and at peace with everything around me. Even my mother too enjoyed this sudden diversion. All of these were in harmony when I thought of a place to throw my weird stones,the well.

The big day arrived,I cross checked my every stones and I also made sure my beloved mother was nowhwere near the context. I threw my first stone,’’ oh the sound was wonderful” so I kept throwing it one by one, but all through this process the kid (baby goat) was near me, with its two legs on the stones at the base of the well and the other two resting on the rim of the well.

At each throw it too leaned, to look into the well, soon I was left with no stones. It was when I learnt the potential of using something bigger to throw in and in a flash I pushed the poor goat who was curiously looking into the well.

This time the sound was huge,the other goat came running to see what had happened, not thinking twice I pushed it too in the well. To everthing that happened the mother goat stood as a lone witness bleating in agony, realizing the depth of the action I began panicking so I ran to call my neighbour.

Sensing something wrong he followed me back only to find the goats in the well. After some struggles he got them back safely,even after so many years everybody remembers me with this incident. Nobody ever knows it was I who pushed them, except for my darling mother and it still remains a mystery.

[Photgraphy: Mohzin Khan N] 50

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2016 |

INDIAN HERITAGE CITIES NETWORK FOUNDATION

Fig 1.26. Jurisdiction of the Archaeological Survey of India and The Department of Archaeology Museums & Heritage over various monuments on the island

The Lament of a Jal Durg Ar Devika Hemalatha Devi

In July 2019, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced its list of World Heritage Sites.

Among the Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan, the Megalithic Jar Sites of Xiengkhuang (Laos), and the Bagan sites of Myanmar, India notched a win too – the Fort Town of Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Jaipur is the only desert fort (maru-durg) to be built on a plain, using a grid plan interpreted in the light of Vedic architecture. This description led me to wonder about another fort, tucked away neatly in southern Karnataka – a fort that was built similarly, upon a unique topography in unique conditions; a “living” fort (as most Indian forts continue to be) that had played a great role in recent history, but has remained largely out of the spotlight.

“With plum, jack, coconut, plantain, lime, orange, fig and other fruit trees, with houses as high as hills, was the city filled; and with cows and Bréhmans, with trees and plants, with temples, with

Source: © Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation

fine island elephants like Airévata, with horses neighing like the thunder of the role clouds, splendid chariots and foot-soldiers.”

The of Srirangapatna enjoys several heritage resources, owing to its central in thewith evolution of Mysore Kingdom.

The lack of a concerted effort in Source: Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation (2016)

developing economic growth centred around these heritage resources can be attributed to the jurisdictional overlap, as seen from Fig. 1.26. In several cases, within the Srirangapatna Fort, there is an overlap between the State and Central jurisdictions in terms of Restricted and Protected Boundaries. This has led to lack of enforcement by either management and, as indicated in Fig. 1.46, and the proliferation of technically illegal constructions.

There is also a lack of clarity and distinction between jurisdiction and maintenance of said heritage resources. In certain cases, such as Mir Sadiq’s Mosque and certain cavaliers, signage indicating State jurisdiction exists. However, these are vandalized, and the monuments themselves are devoid of regular maintenance.

tributes were used to improve and enlarge supported Mysuru at every turn – from building Fig 1.27. (Right) The present condition of Mir Sadiq’s mosque located within the Railway Colony behind Tipu’s Hospital the fortifications of Srirangapatna, and endow three moats around the Fort, to designing principal temples. Consequently, parts of the cannons, and training Tipu’s cavalry. During this mud fort were demolished to account for period, the Fort was considered the peak of Introduction the growing settlement. The Wodeyars later military warfare. It was the launch-site of several established several religious customs upon military prototypes, including pounders and the island, including the massive Dussehra explosion rockets. The Fort provides valuable celebrations that Mysuru continues to observe insight into the course, strategy and damages even today. suffered in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. The western ramparts are riddled with cannonth The 18 century came with the defeat of the ball impressions and broken walls marking the Breach of the British Army that crossed the Wodeyars by Haider Ali, and the insertion of a new religion – Islam. The decidedly antiebbing Kaveri. Following the Breach, the British razed the town to the ground, setting it afire British stand taken by Haider and, later, Tipu and leaving behind only the Fort ramparts as Sultan opened them up to attacks from the witness; excepting written record, no other British. As the Anglo-Mysore Wars (1766-1798) tangible proof of this event survives. rocked the region, the mud fort was upgraded to masonry. The Fort of Srirangapatna is thus Its brilliant engineering strategy utilised the a jal-durg indicative of the military prowess of flow of R.Kaveri and the contours of the the kingdoms of Southern Karnataka. Spread riverine island to its advantage. The role of over an area of approximately 13 sq. km, it is the Srirangapatna Fort in the furthering of an irregular pentagon in shape, and occupies technology, and in laying the foundations of almost one-third of the island. the early Indian freedom struggle - have been documented extensively in the works of early travelers and historians, such as Francois de Defensive Architecture Montaudevert and C. Hayavadana Rao. Famed to be impregnable, the Fort is a symbol The evolution of the Mysuru Kingdom, and of Indo-French collaboration. The French, who the development of its culture, was cradled were famous antagonists of the British in India, Source: © Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation

Ruled over different periods by the Ganga, Chola, Vijayanagara and Wodeyar kings, Mysuru (present-day Karnataka) stood at the frontiers of this constant change. It withstood onslaughts from the Pallavas, the Cholas of Tamil Nadu and, later, the Rashtrakutas. Thus, the Vijayanagara kingdom - primarily scholars that invested in religion, literature and arts - saw merit in protecting their assets from such frequent assaults. The Srirangapatna Fort is the result of such defensive measures.

It was the de facto ruler of 18th century Mysore, Hyder Ali, who developed the first prototypes of sturdier explosives-filled rockets. His innovation was further fine-tuned by his son Tipu who planned, designed and crafted cylindrical iron tubes that would allow for great compression of the filled gunpowder and consequently, greater range (nearly 2 km). Tipu Sultan organised his rocket artillery brigades known as Cushoon’s Brigades.

Source: A Mysorean soldier using his rocket as a flag-staff (Robert Home, 1793)

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The geography of Srirangapatna is a curiosity in itself - an island cut off by the bifurcation and confluence of the mighty Kaveri. The island’s predominant significance is religious – it is a Pancharanga Kshetra, one of five sacred Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Ranganatha on the banks of the Kaveri. Around this Ranganathaswamy Temple, grew a trading town. Under Vijayanagara reign (c. 1454 AD), the dannayaka (chieftain) oversaw much of this enlargement, and obtained permission to fortify the town with a mud wall.

The next reigning era was that of the Nayakas who imposed heavy tributes upon the gaudas (village heads) to keep them subservient. These

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at Srirangapatna. The cultural milieu of the Fort-town saw further changes with Tipu Sultan, who established his Palace opposite the Ranganathaswamy Temple, and a Masjide-Ala and numerous military structures within the Fort, in defiance of religious precedent. Srirangapatna bore these religious displacements with remarkable equanimity, and has remained an example of religious tolerance.

The Srirangapatna Fort is unique because it has been a constantly evolving monument throughout its history, both in terms of functionality and architecture. Today, within the confines of the Fort, there exist several monuments of religious, historical and military importance that provides much of the tourist interest on the island. However the Fort - its ramparts, gateways, and associated structures - competes for valuable space in a steadily urbanizing area; it stands in the precarious position of having to justify its existence in terms of revenue generation. The Fort is prone to wanton demolition, inaccurate reconstruction, misuse, inappropriate reuse and vandalism.

Despite its protected status, it stands at the crux of a larger question of development. Fort demolition, and the use of the Fort ramparts for open defecation, point out how the need for living space and infrastructure has outweighed considerations of heritage and history.

As the Srirangapatna Fort continues to languish on UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites since 2014, the silence surrounding the Fort in Indian discourse is, much like Tipu’s rockets, deafening.

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“So pestered were we, with the rocket boys, that there was no moving without danger from the destructive missiles. Every illumination of blue lights was accompanied by a shower of rockets, some of which entered the head of the column, passing through to the rear, causing death, wounds, and dreadful lacerations from the long bamboos of twenty or thirty feet, which are invariably attached to them.”

Congreve rockets, inspired by Tipu’s rockets, were later used by the British during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. Source: Congreve Rocket, from schematic by William Congreve (1814)

“Towards the end of my visit at NASA, I went to the Wallops Flights […] Here I saw a painting prominently displayed in the reception lobby. It depicted a battle scene with a few rockets flying in the background. A painting with this theme should be the most common place thing at a flight facility, but the painting caught my eye, because the soldiers on the side launching the rockets were not white, but were dark skinned, with racial features found in South Asia. It turned out to be Tipu Sultan’s army fighting the British. The painting depicted a fact forgotten in Tipu’s own country but commemorated here on the other side of the planet.”

Source: Wings of fire, An Autobiography of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

[Photgraphy: Ammu Pradeep Kumar]

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[Photgraphy: Mohzin Khan N]

HAPPY JOURNEY...

TRAVELOGUES

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“More DREAMS are realised and extinguished in Mumbai than any other place in India”

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“ When you leave a beautiful place, you carry it with you wherever you go .”

-Alexandera Stoddard

“ The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. ”

Our next stop was Aurangabad and the sights of those days don’t seize to amaze us even today. The centuries old Ajanta and Ellora Caves were nothing short of an architectural marvel. We also saw the intricately detailed Bibi ki Maqbara and the rock cut Kailasa temple.

After this enthralling walk through the history of India, we reached back in Mumbai, now already day 5 of our trip. We ended our Mumbai trip by a visit to the Haji ali dargah, the marine drive and street shopping.

In the next leg of our journey, we reached Kerala and visited the vibrant districts of Kozhikode and Wayanad.

On the 6th day we reached Kozhikode and proceeded with our case study. While in Kozhikode, we got to experience the colors and vibrancy of the district along with its wide variety of food options.

The next stop was Wayanad, where we continued on with our Case study trip. While in Wayanad, we stayed at Sulthan bathery, drove through a hair pin road and enjoyed our final nights of the tour with a camp fire.

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The next day, we returned to Kozhikode, and reached Trivandrum via train, thus successfully completing our 8 day trip- VIAGGIO.

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Bali : Undoubtedly Celebrating Architecture and Art Prof.Ar Suja

BALI, an island in Indonesia was always in my bucket list of must see destinations.The beautiful architecture,tropical Balinese houses always evoked a curiosity in me to see this place.

As I had to travel to Jakartha for presenting a paper in the World Planning Congress hosted By ISOCARP I immediately decided to connect via Bali. Time was INDEED short so it was three days in Bali before going over to Jakarta.

My family including my husband and my daughter took Melindo Airlines from Thiruvananthapuram and with a short transit in Kualalumpur reached Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar. Bali Airport is big and modern but terribly disappointed with the Immigration process which took nearly 2 hours. We were told by people who have travelled before that Bali is extremely slow so humbly requested us to raise our tolerance levels. Visa is on arrival and is a hassle free process still queuing up for a long time definetly wasn’t welcoming especially when you are putting in almost 16 hours of travel. Wish they could put more officials on duty because excepting two of the 25 odd counters none were operational.

Taxi was booked in advance for the complete three days including pick up from Airport and drop back. Our driver for the next three days kept messaging us from outside that he is there with a placard. Well … they know of the immigration delays so it was ok. We were greeted warmly by our attendant Mr.Nyomann. We were booked in a hotel in UBUD since most of the sight seeing places we were interested are in North Bali.

He said it is an hour long drive so we asked him if we could have lunch at some restaurant. He asked for our choices and headed straight to an Indian restaurant which are plenty in BalI. Most of the Indian restaurants serve typically north Indian food and as my family is ok with anything as long as it is Indian.

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We got the first feel of being millionaires since

Indonesian currency is of very low scale in the world currency market. The lunch bill was a cool 3 lakh Indonesian rupees which is something like 1500 Indian money. There was lot of confusion handling Indonesian currency as we felt the zeros had no value at all. They would say it as 25K for 25000 Indonesian rupees.

It was a pictersque drive to Ubud. Roads were single lane but disciplined traffic. Every nook and corner had sculptures of Arjun and Krishna who are heroes in the minds of Balinese people.

Once we were out of the city ... countryside looked so much like Kerala with paddy fields and beautiful houses strikingly similar to our traditional homes.I did notice that every house had a gateway like our padipura. They were simple to heavily decorated ones. I also noticed that every compound of the house had pavilion kind of structures. On enquiry our driver said those were housing the shrines guarding the house and every house would have it. Varied in numbers and decorations again. The compound walls too were so beautiful. During the travel to Ubud Mr.Nyomann tried to give us a picture of what Bali is all about and what one must see and not to miss. He was aware of our short stay and so gave us few intelligent practical options to choose from of course with due respect to our tastes and interests as well.

Bali with a perfect blend of Western and Asian.

Hindu temples springing out of nowhere and streets lined with swanky cafes and galleries.

Ubud city centre is mixed with commercial and cultural places. The main street was vibrant with tourists. Varieties of restaurants serving global to local cuisine, cultural centres with traditional dance shows, temples,a market filled with small local shops selling beautiful souvenirs etc are the higlights. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant and ended the day with Galeto icecream.

Weather was just fine, neither hot nor cold.

Day 2

We had a good sleep and were woken up by the waiter the next morning who was ready to serve us a simple Continental breakfast.

Mr Nyomann, our driver, was ready by 9.30 to start the day’s trip. First stop on Day 2 was Tegenungan waterfall. It is beautiful and is one among the few waterfalls in Bali that is not situated in highlands or mountainous territory.

The waterfalls depends heavily on rainfall for its full glory but has a picturesque area around the

waterfalls which actually enhances the beauty of this waterfalls.

The next stop was to taste the famous Luwak Koppi.Drive along the villages was simply breathtaking. The architecture was amazing, Traditional aspects untouched. I did peep into a compound to see the layout of houses. It was just like being in one of the compounds of our ancestral homes. But I would say it would soon be a rare sight in Kerala seeing the pace at which old houses are being pulled down and new modern concrete houses in its place. These Bali houses had small shrines mounted on a pedestal, Thulasi Thara etc in their compounds.

Every morning they do poojas. 98 percent of the population in Bali are Hindus. Even commercial places, offices had a small Prasad being kept in the main entrance step daily in the morning.

Bali has several coffee plantations making the famous and expensive Kopi Luwak, and some of these are in the Ubud area. We went to one of them named Alas Arum located in the village of Alas Arum and close to Tegalalang Rice Terraces,

Bali the small island has an incredible range of stay options from budget hotels to luxurious five star hotels and resorts.We reached our property Abhan Bungalows in Ubud around 4 pm booked through Booking.com which I would strongly advise for getting varied options of stay. This property has few independent bungalows swimming pool,beautiful gardens etc. All bungalows had covered wide verandahs with seating facilities. This accommodation was ideally located barely 5 minutes walk from the main street of Ubud.

Ubud is a beautiful village in the northern side of

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around 20 minutes from Central Ubud.

Here we learnt how the famous and expensive “poo” coffee Kopi Luwak is produced. The Kopi Luwak is made from the Asian palm civet droppings. Koppi means coffee. It’s made from civet cat’s poop (and is a must try). We got to see the coffee beans, what the Luwak poop looked like and then how it was ground and made into coffee. It was all quite interesting. Anyway the visit ended with sampling of various coffees and tea, and for a little extra, you could also taste the infamous Luwak coffee as well. It did taste good if I say so myself.

Alas Harum has included the popular Balinese swing which is one among the recent tourist attractions in Bali.This place had 3 different swing levels where you are strapped in and on the bigger one you wear a harness and the staff are very attentive and ensure your safety every times. These giant swings on the plantation soar over the rice paddies and forest greenery.

The next stop was Tegalalang rice fields. The Tegalalang Rice Terraces are famous for their beautiful scenes of rice paddies and their innovative irrigation system Known as the Subak.

Subak, is a unique Balinese rice farming culture rooted in the concept that human beings need to always maintain harmonious relationship between Man and God, Man and fellow humans, and between Man and Nature in one’s daily life. The Subak tradition of Bali has been named as a UNESCO world-heritage activity, The subak system of democratic and equitable farming practices has enabled the Balinese to become the most prolific rice growers. It is quite amazing to see the beauty of the thousands of hectares of lush green paddy fields that cascade in terraces.

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After spending some time exploring the terraced paddy fields we went to see the volcanic mountains. Kintamani is a beautiful village about 35 kms away from Ubud and offers a beautiful view of active volcano Mount Batur and Lake Batur. You can observe the sunrise from the ridges of this Bali volcano on early morning treks. Kintamani village is one of the top producer of fruits in Bali. We could see fresh oranges just being plucked from the orchards and being sold on the roadside.

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Prayer and Faith is so important to the people of Bali that it is no surprise that trip to Bali is incomplete without visiting Temples.Since our duration of stay was short we could visit only few temples. Few etiquettes are to be maintained while doing so. Dressing modestly is a pre requisite and men and women are required to wear sarongs that cover their legs below the knee too. Balinese temples are incredible works of architecture, but they’re also places of prayer.

This could be the reason why the inner sanctum of most temples were closed off to travellers.

The split gate is the gate used in the outer zone of the temple which is a unique element in Balinese temple architecture.It varies in size and grandeour. We visited Pura Tirta Empul, a Holy Water Hindu Temple built in 926 AD located at Tampak Siring. Tirta Empul is built on the site of a fresh water spring which is now a sacred pool.

People from all over the island visit the temple for purification and to collect holy spring water from the sacred pool. Frangipani is a flower that can easily be found everywhere around Bali. One can notice that in the house area or temples, there will be some trees of this flower, commonly known as Kamboja tree.

Retired for the day with a great feeling of seeing some amazing natural sights,waterfalls, temples with amazing sculptures of superior workmanship. The stone sculptures are simply mind-blowing and can see thousands of shops selling sculptures of various sizes and could see a range of diverse styles of sculpture.

Stone sculpture is actually a newer form of sculpture in Bali, flourishing in the 8th to 10th Century influenced by the religious traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Perhaps the most recognizable of all Indonesian sculptural art forms are the wooden sculptures. The most famous are the Asmat wood sculptures from Papua, characterized by intricate designs made with simple stone and bone tools.

Day 3

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We were to check out from hotel by 12 pm and our flight to Jakartha was only at 10.45 pm. Our driver suggested that we check out and keep the suitcases in the car and do whatever sightseeing is possible through the day. That made sense since Ubud was far from the airport and we had included Sunset at Tanah Lot which was closer

to airport.

Started with the visit to the Sacred Monkey forest which is very unique in its own ways.It is a home to the Balinese long tailed monkeys.

The Sacred Ubud Monkey Forest is known for its conservation efforts. Studies on observing the monkeys’ health, diet and breeding habits are being done regularly.No wonder we can see these playful primates in their natural habitat, swinging through canopies, and feeding on bananas and even snatching cleverly water bottles or small food packets tourists kept in the back packs. It also has several ancient temples with guardian statues mostly covered in moss.

Popular sites include the 14th-century Pura Dalem Agung Padangtegal and Pura Prajapati, which is dedicated to village funerals.

entire culture of Bali is built on the beautiful concept of Tri Hita Karana. The sense of one’s duty, relationship with God and the relationship with nature is seen and felt so strongly in what you see and experience. Truly a humble realization that a lot to be learnt from Balinese culture. I do realize that back home in India we fail to understand the strength of our assets and I do appreciate the efforts of Indonesian Government for promoting their country as a global destination in every sense. Took off from Bali to Jakartha our next destination with a great feeling of happiness and completely relaxed but with a strong decision to come back and explore more.

It was quite exciting to walk through the dense forest inhabited by around 700 plus monkeys.

The mission of The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is conserving the area based on the concept of Tri Hita Karana. Tri Hita Karana is one of the philosophy in Hnduism. Tri Hita Karana is derived from the word of Tri meaning three,Hita which means happiness, and Karana which means the cause or manner. Thus Tri Hita Karana means Three Ways to Reach Spiritual and Physical Well-being. Those three relationships comprise of harmonious relationships between humans and humans, humans and their environment, and humans with The Supreme God. The visit to Bali could not have ended in a much better way than visiting Tanah Lot. It is an extended Rock Island off the coast of Bali which also hosts an ancient Balinese temple as its main attraction. We headed straight to airport after watching the day come to its end behind the iconic temple in the ocean. It was suggested that we start soon after sunset since the drive back to city area is famous for its traffic jams.

This place is super crowded on a given day.

We bid good bye to our driver finally. A very patient professional driver cum guide, ready to share whatever he knew. I am sure I could hardly cover Bali in the fullest sense. We could relate so closely to Balinese culture. Epics like Mahabaratha and Ramayana are popular among the people of Bali said our driver. The

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Losing heritage to the sands of time Ar Devika Hemalatha Devi

Creating objects and spaces engendering community dialogue is a fundamental cornerstone of urban design. Urban disciplines were born from selfless needs to improve the quality of life and ensure equitable resource distribution. However, in these enlightened times, urban practitioners often face the irrational need to instate architectural symbolism and enforce design where it never existed. Increasingly, there is a tendency to exalt self-expression, at the expense of collective memory. While designers continued to find ‘iconic’ ways to express space, cultural rituals instating sanctioned symbols often fell by the wayside. In the process, urban practitioners often fail to see the lessons offered by the past.

Perhaps one of the more worrisome examples of forgetting cultural lessons is embodied at Jaisalmer’s Hillfort (giri durg) – that lone outpost of urban civilization in the Thar Desert.

Located along the north-western Indo-Pak border, Jaisalmer was a crucial stop along the ancient Silk Route. Jaisalmer’s harsh climate and strategic location afforded it only neglect on development fronts; while its infrastructure benefited from military investment, the population remained dependent on traditional custom. Community spaces, heritage systems and codes of conduct surrounding water were numerous, and knowledge of water harvesting was zealously guarded by native folk.

The Indira Gandhi Canal to ‘green’ the desert using Himalayan water was conceived as early as the 1940s. Construction began in 1970; today, India’s longest canal starts from the Harike Barrage in Punjab and terminates in irrigation facilities in the Thar Desert in Rajasthan.

Following its introduction, water is no longer a scarce resource at Jaisalmer. As a result, cultural heritage originally established to protect water was abandoned in favour of the economic benefits that a water-guzzling tourism industry 68

offered. In a Catch-22 of sorts, Jaisalmer’s tourism is dependent on the cultural heritage that was rooted in desert living. This includes heritage as large as the Jaisalmer Fort itself, to that as small as the kund (tank) structures that collect water by the wayside. However, this heritage – consisting largely of sandstone – is being steadily eroded by the influx of water to ‘green’ the desert.

At this crossroads, it becomes crucial to reiterate some the lessons proclaimed by Jaisalmer’s silent cultural heritage.

Heritage surrounding water Jaisalmer’s adaptations to limited water resources were largely cultural, manifesting as a series of man-made lakes, deep narrow wells, collecting tanks and courtyard channels. For an arid zone, the sheer number of Jaisalmer’s water tanks – or talabs – appears to be a hopeful aberration at first glance. However, large populations, including maharajahs, were involved in their creation, and a code of conduct (nij) was set up to prevent their misuse.

The biggest of these talabs is Gadsisar, with a three-mile long drainage basin of 11 sq. km area. A process called medbandhi was used to build a dike - 8 km long – to direct water into the lake. Three-fourths of collected water was made available for agriculture, while the remaining flowed into Gadsisar. After Gadsisar was filled, the excess water exited via a spillway and was directed to a series of nine interconnected lakes.

Designated paths (panghats) led down to Gadsisar from the Hillfort forming wellpopulated promenades. Stepping off these paths was taboo, since they were laid by the side of the lake’s catchment; dirtying the catchment by feet was punishable, as it potentially endangered the entire town’s water supply.

The Bada Bagh Tank is protected by a series of beautiful cenotaphs, epitomizing the erstwhile maharajahs. These structures provided the requisite buffer space between the lake and settlement, while functioning as a floodplain.

The waters of Gadsisar were also protected by a military outpost, where a battalion was permanently stationed. Several beautiful raised platforms were laid out on the banks, where colourful bazaars were organized and private gardens (bagechis) were instated. Practitioners will recognise the Jane Jacobs principle of Eyes on the Street at work here. This strategy of developing public areas around water sources has been repeated at several sites in Jaisalmer, including the Bada Bagh cenotaphs.

Striking fear into the hearts of a superstitious lot stand Jaisalmer’s most common (yet unnoticed) architectural feature – the gorbandh. A engraved stone column consecrated near all water sources, it was used to indicate the presence and sanctity of water bodies. Villagers, even today, remember that the presence of a gorbandh was a warning that the water body was being watched.

The abandonment of nij

In Jaisalmer, the recognition that water bodies were not just aesthetic has yet to shine through the glitter of the water canal. Blasé planning has resulted in flash floods, malaria outbreaks (in a desert) and loss of the integrity of local water sources. Today, urban slums proliferate in the lake catchment, where earlier even spitting was punishable by death .

Consecrated sites and markers are, perhaps, cultural artefacts that have suffered the most with the advent of water supply. Far from being a recurring reminder, two gorbandhs were found in the core city – only one is functional.

A cemetery lying adjacent to Gadsisar originally helped maintain a modicum of open space; today, it is littered with construction debris and waste. The cenotaphs of Bada Bagh remain protected due to the economic ‘value’ assigned to that heritage - but the lake isvv largely dry.

The sprawling town has removed sand, causing desert dunes to change their shifting patterns.

As the dunes go away from Jaisalmer, so do 69

the tourists. The fact that collective memory lapses in the absence of physical reminders of water is evident among the younger folk who often don’t communicate such aspects of their own heritage to tourists.

Cultural heritage we see today was established as a response to non-negotiable environmental responsibility. Losing heritage means the loss of time-tested contextual knowledge – one that cannot be substituted by architectural symbolism.

Often, as urban practitioners, we often fall short of contextual demands.

Today, urban design regulations in Jaisalmer have spawned a kind of sixinch architecture, where sandstone cladding is used to hide a concrete superstructure. The resulting urban heat island effect has seen the use of air conditioners and electricity skyrocketing. By extension, this renders an incomplete, misdirected empathy among tourists for the desert lifestyle Jaisalmer enjoyed. After all, as Noam Shpancer says, “You cannot understand the view, without the point of view.”

. Today, urban design regulations in Jaisalmer have spawned a kind of six-inch architecture, where sandstone cladding is used to hide a concrete superstructure.

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Goa: A mother’s perspective Ar. Vijaya Nhaloor

An April dawn broke with a sense of ageing. I realised that my son is going to complete his school years in another 2 months. It is time for him to explore life in a university. While I worried on one side, the husband looked cool and kept busy with his routine online shopping. I dove into my list of contacts and online resources.

International search spiralled down to national level when emotions of a parent took over the need. That further condensed to a college in Goa, satisfying all the multiple parameters we were looking for. Two more friends joined us with their families for a trip to Goa, to help us assess the college and share fun.

Goa, the place We started our journey in Rajdhani express to see Goa, a small State of 3700 m² total area, with a coastal line of 160 kms, and 50 beaches along the Konkan coast which made the onward journey in Konkan railway meaningful.

My geography enthusiast son introduced Goa to us with his terminologies and we learnt a new term namely, escarpment, which is a cliff like feature formed as a result of fault in rock due to probably erosion, and it can have a gentle slope on one side and steep slope on the other. He told us that Goa is an escarpment and has two busy rivers, Zuari and Mandovi, with more than 40 estuarine, eight marine, and about 90 riverine islands. When he told that Goan rivers has a navigable length of 250 kms, I remembered the mention of the region in Amish Tripathi’s book Ravan, when Ram and Sita navigated through the rivers in this region during their exile.

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We alighted at Madgaon station later to realise that is the station to be used for son’s travel home and back. Madgaon is near Marmagao harbour, a natural harbour on the mouth of River Zuari. On the way to Vasco in South Goa and also the headquarters of Marmagao Taluk, where we stayed, we saw plenty of cashew

trees which indicated the presence of laterite soil. Further close to Vasco, we saw acres of paddy fields indicating alluvial soil and active cultivation also. This was substantiated later when we saw soil samples at University of Goa.

Son, this is the perfect place to learn geography.

Goa, the phases Goa welcomed us with its heavy monsoon rains.

We spent the evening at a private beach in Vasco, cloud watching and later to get drenched in heavy rains. We started our Day 1 with a formal visit to Parvati Bhai Chowgule College, an autonomous institution where my son would join in 2020. The visit was through a prior appointment and was made very warm and welcome by the administration staff there. The day was continued by visiting Big foot Goa at Loutolim in South Goa, to experience the rural life and to have a total picture of the region. This trip gave the insight that we should divide our trip into two phases- South Goa and North Goa.

Day 1

We went along to see churches like Bom Jesus Basilica (with the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier), SE Cathedral, Church of Saint Cajetan in Old Goa appreciating Portuguese church architecture. Evening was well spent experiencing monsoon at the calm and serene beaches of South Goa namely Palolem, Colva and Vasco.

roti with xacuti and vindaloo, complete with a slice of soft layered sugar oozing bebenca, polished with a peg of Sula, Feni. Ros omelette and Chamukas satisfied day time cravings.

Day 3 we hired a cab and headed to Panjim in North Goa to see the old Latin Quarter Fontainhas and the church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. We could not leave Goa without visiting Kala Academy designed by Charles Correa at Panjim and Gerard De Cunha’s Houses of Goa consisting of the Architect’s house, his office, Nisha’s school, and Mario Miranda museum in a single neighbourhood at Bardez. In his office, the Architect has neatly laid out his collection of architectural drawings and samples of building materials narrating the traditional Goan architecture at Houses of Goa. The building itself is an eye catcher. Rest of the places in Goa was saved for the next trip.

Goa, the people We felt at home with the hospitality of the Goans, who celebrate Christmas and Easter the same way as they do Diwali and the Carnival. Theatre and music are part of their life, which we experienced during the dinner sessions. We even met an Architect who turned into a chef out his passion at Fishermen’s cove. The mom in me felt at ease knowing that my son will be well fed. I discarded that phrase I had carried in my mind till then that to retain Kerala traditions in Goan circumstances. I told him, Son, when in Goa be a Goan. [art by: Mohammed Hafiq ]

Day 2

Day 2 was purely an architectural tour to explore local, Ottoman and Portugese styles. The former one started with Mankueshi temple for local architecture and two Portugese style mansionsMenezes Breganza’s mansion at Chandor and The Figueiredo mansion at Loutolim. Evening was well spent with a pure Goan style dinner dominated by seafood. We savoured sannas or 73

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Glorifying the cutting edge of victory, Marian college of architecture and planning, Kazhakuttom organized its most awaited Annual Sports meet.

The Annual Sports meet was held on 2nd February 2019 before which preliminary events were organized on the previous day (football, cricket and dodge ball).

“Victory is in the quality of competition and not in the final score”.

For the success of any grand undertaking, God’s grace is of most importance. To that end, God’s grace were invoked with an opening prayer in the college ground, followed by the lighting of the torch ignited by the chief guest Cleofas Alex, an assistant coach of the Santhosh Trophy troupe and now the technical director of the Little Flower Football Academy (LIFFA). The occasion was also addressed by the manager, Rev. Msgr. Wilfred E, Bursar, Rev. Fr. Reni Rudolf, Principal, Prof. Ar. Baby K Paul and our Faculty troop.

The programme commenced in a patriotic mood with the national anthem. The annual sports day was declared open by the chief guest. We had 100 M and 200 M race for both girls and boys followed by long jump, shot put, discus throw and relay.

The major highlight of the programme was the faculty game which raised the heartbeat of the young audience. The Thug-O-War is an event which revolves around sheer strength and coordination of the teams. It had the audience enthralled as the first years pulled away to victory, engaging their muscular strength to the fullest.

Football finals were held where the third years leapt to glorious victory against the second years lastly followed by the cricket match with the first years on the ground with the fourth years where the first years pulled away to victory.

At the end of the sports day Individual Champions were Salman of S6 A and Shikha of S4 B. Third years was declared the overall champions. The one of the most spectacular events came to an end and the gathering dispersed after witnessing a closing ceremony that would give people reasons to return for the next Annual Sports Day.

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The arts serve a vital function in society and human history, one can easily overlook despite the presence of the arts in our everyday lives. We believe that the arts provide an essential means of gaining perspective. It is our obligation as an institution to ready our students for independent and successful living, and it is absolutely integral that the arts are recognized as an important part of this preparation process.

The purpose of the Celebration of the Arts Day is to highlight our students’ creative ambition and drive and to give them a chance to showcase their hard work and inspiration. Our showcase highlights student work from a diverse range of genres; including music, sculpturing, visual art and more at the Celebration of the Arts Day

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”

-Thomas Merton.

Arts Day was celebrated at our college from September 10 – 14 (off-stage items) and September 15 (on-stage items). The occasion was also addressed

by Principal, Prof. Ar. Baby K Paul and our Faculty troop.

A variety of programs were conducted during these five days. Competitions were conducted on group basis in which whole students were divided into three groups (Agni, Prithvi and Samudra).

In the 1st stage of the competitions (off-stage), we had programs like product designing, wall art, pencil drawing, collage and poster making, sculpture making. In the 2nd stage, we had competitions in extempore, mock interview, spot dance, folk dance, single dance, group dance, etc. These were the days during which the students were given the opportunity to showcase their talents.

The day ended with the announcement of the results of all the competitions to the applause of the students. At the end of the day the overall champions were team Agni.

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“AUMENTO- to rise the annual college day celebrated with equal excitement amongst every member of the M-CAP family. 2017 saw the first phase of Aumneto igniting the spirit of unity amongst diversity.”

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Celebration always brings in happiness and togetherness, It is when we celebrate we forget the difference , the barriers and acknowledge the diversity and culture.

Our first college day “AUMENTO” , meaning “to rise” , was celebrated in 2017, itbrought in a variety of spectacular performances and talented faces. It was never the less this time, on January 2019 we celebrated our third Aumento. It was inaugurated by our beloved Manager and Principal. The event began with a prayer song followed by inauguration speech

by Principal Prof. Baby K Paul. During the event meritorious awards were given to students for their excellence in academics also the overall champion for sports and arts was awarded to Agni and Samudra respectively.

The celebration continued with music , dance performances and skit from various batches. The Aumento also took a moment of remembrance for Mr.Hafiq and Mr.Fawaz.

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Anson Anto

Workshop coordinator

Clay Grid, is an umbrella term for all the academic events held at Marian College of Architecture and Planning. Clay Grid symbolizes a guided flexibility , much like the architecture studios and academic philosophy practiced in campus. Clay-as a material and Grid-as the thought mechanism, are employed in education, to help students find their feet in architecture. Clay Grid is a salute to these founding devices which inherently being a unique building element within the MCAP campus. Clay Grid 2019 is only the second un many more editions that Marian College of Architecture and Planning aspires to conduct.

The ‘clay Grid’ was held at Marian College Of Architecture and Planning from the 29th to 30th of march 2019. A variety of programmes were conducted during these two days. The students were grouped for various workshops which were conducted at different parts of the college premises.

Day 1 started off with the Inaugural ceremony and the principal of the college Ar. Prof Baby Paul welcomed the gathering, followed by the lighting of the lamp. The technical session started at 9:30 and the keynote speaker Dr. B.S. Bhushan, a very renowed architect and urban planner, started his lecture with an energetic talk on ( topic introduction and summary).Architects and professionals in private practice and government departments from various parts of the state were present, at the end of the lecture he wished the college to success in the course of time by conducting similar programmes in the future. It was ever memorable for the students and the session came to an end at 11:30.

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After the formal session , students were led to their workshops and guided by the respective resource persons.Intractive Design Workshops, led by Ar. Goutham of KAAV, Ar. Vishnu K of Design Commune, Ar. Jayakrishnan and Ar. Levin P Joy of Finder Studio, in which the students were given a design problem and were guided by the respective architects in the design process, followed by a presentation at the end of the program. The workshop provided a unique experience of working with some of the renowed practicing architects in the district.

Software Workshop, led by Ar. Padmajan Rajiv and Ar. Malavika S Retna of AUM, Softwares like Photoshop, Sketchup and Lumion were practiced in detail.

Installation and Wall Painting Workshops, led

by Mr. Ebin and Mr. Arun Ram of the Fine Arts College,Trivandrum, guided the students in creating good wall paintings and installations.

Sketching Workshop, led by Ar. Alok Dinesh, provided a basic knowledge on the sketching techniques, followed by an outdoor sketching exercise at Shankmukam.

The Model Making Workshop, led by Mr. K Mohan, a really talented and a professional model maker, started 1 week prior to the Clay Grid as it was a time consuming workshop. Hence the students stood back till 8 in the evening so as to complete the model.

Thesis Presentations, by Ar. Rishie John Kurien and Ar. Alok Dinesh gave a basic knowledge and idea of making thesis presentations and the detail of study in it.

Day 2 was the continuation of the previous day’s workshop.The Valedictory function was held, where the thesis presentation by 83

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Marian college of architecture and planning @

Olam Festival is a melting pot of Art, Music, Fashion, and Food. A creatively curated marketplace that seeks to empower passionate entrepreneurs, a place to meet like-minded people and a place to inspire and seek out inspiration.

The Archies Collective (Ar.Collective) was founded by a group of 13 students of the 2015-20 batch. The students formed the collective to put up their art works to be sold off at the flea market- Olam festival 2.0. The artworks included hyper realistic paintings, oil paintings, canvas and water color paintings, rendered artworks, handmade cards and designer t-shirts.

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Marian college of architecture and planning @

The enigma is something of a mysterious quality, so intense, it has the power to keep one wondering in awe. At the 3rd stall at Kochi on flea.k. are the amateur artists and and architecture students of mcap on their journey to reimagine beauty with an eye for the crude. The artworks set out are a translation of contemporary ideas and concepts into intense human emotions. The medium and materials chosen, are to depict the raw feelings.

Recycled materials are chosen, like old newspapers and scrap textbook papers with a monochrome theme, giving an enigmatic vibe.

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Dwellings on trial Exhibition 2K18

The S3 batch of 2017-2022 eagerly waited for November to showcase their story till date.

Months of work, laughter and tear made up our residential project exhibition aptly named DWELLINGS ON TRIAL. 72 models & sheets were all ready to be showcased all things thrown out-broken glass, coconut shells, tyres, ropes were all collected and reworked to ornament the class. Ceiling light hanged, windows covered in glass paper, desks and stools with paper, walled with hanging artworks was all set up in a day’s time.

Soon the D- day arrived. The principal Baby K Paul sir and all the family and students turned up in support to be welcomed by a small installation at the doorway.

Soon the management arrived and they applauded our work. Months of effort showcased in 3 days,gives a glance into all the memories we made.

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In the era to redifine the concept of library from “a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals for use or borrowing by the public or the members of an institution”, to a new innovative concept as community space ,with more interaction, functional and spacial flexiblity .The S5 B batch of 2016-21 showcase their ideas, concepts and models (an outcome from Model making workshop conducted

by Ar, Vivek venugopal). Made up aN aweinspiring library project exhibition named BIBLIOTECA MODE_29 LIBRARY DESIGN EXHIBITION 2K17-18

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ACHIEVEMENTS

2018-’19

ACHIEVEMENTS

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ANDC 60th year Hyperlocal- Rebuilding Mumbai within IRSDCIDC Poketseat- Product design 2018 Narigandhi Design competition Mohammed Shameer Landscape Trophy Bob the builder-model making competition Rebuid Kerala Zonasal sports meet 2016-17 Anand’s Artistic journey ANDC 61th year Battle of bands-60th ANC ANC Dance trophy -60th ANC Zonasa Dance trophy-61th ANC Bharathanatyam -Sargam CUSAT fest 2018 Space tvm fest- valent nes day writing contest Modelling at Fashion blitz show 2019 Takshitha-fashion show 2018-19

1.ANDC 60th YEAR Position: TOP 67 As a part of Annual NASA design competition hosted by NASA (National Association of Student Architects),we have transformed a space at “Thampuranmukku” into community gathering space.This space was an abandoned place where anti-social activities like public urination and garbage disposal takes place.The main objective of this project was to design for a large community with a little intervention. There were wall paintings that depicted the inter linking of cultures in the locality. The materials used were mostly from the site, (after clearing and cleaning the site a lot of bottles were found). By using Pet bottles to define a boundary, planting plants and making seating space out of used materials.

The tables were made using the windows from the bus,the seating made from used tyres and paint buckets.

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2.HYPERLOCAL — REBUILDING MUMBAI WITHIN Position: Runnersup Date of announcement: 17 Aug 2018 Team members: Aparna Lakshmy Krishnan, Aravind S,Aswins Kumar,Radhika Suresh, Sibin Sabu [S8] Competition “Hyperlocal—RebuildingMumbaiWithin” was presented by Commun. The challenge was to propose a new system ‘Hyper Local’ for the commuters, and express the vision of how the city of Mumbai might appear in 2030. It would be a network that catersto existing and up coming issues of Mumbai.

4.POCKETSEAT–

PRODUCT DESIGN COMPETITION 2018

BY VOLUME ZERO COMPETITIONS

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Deriving inspiration from thelunch-box delivery and returnservice called the“Dabbawalla” system, this project proposal depicts a new system altogether — that of a radial network, revolving around a main loci which gets networked into tributaries to reach the masses.

The commuter starts from a sub node, travels to the main node from where they are redirected to their location at a sub node. The significance of the proposal name is in their concept inspiration itself, spelled backwards; as “in a dabbawala system man carries box and in the new system the box(container) carries the man, thus the dabbawala got mirrored to alawabbad.”

3.IRSDCIDC Position: Rank3-Baiyappanhalli Station Date of announcement: 28 March 2018 Teammembers: Aparna Lakshmy, Aravind S, Aswin s Kumar,Radhika Suresh, Sibin Sabu [S8].

IRSDC organized competition for award of consultancy services towards Preparation of Station Development Plans for three(3) identified railway stations at Nagpur, Gwalior and Baiyappanhalli (Bengaluru) across India. Stage1 of the Competition was open for -Students. The main aim was to redevelop Baiyyappanhalli station to international standards.A traffic oriented development was proposed along with design of a state of art building.

5.NARIGANDHI Date of announcement: 15June2018 Position: TOP 50 ENTRY AchievedBy: Milu Mary Paul [S8] DESCRIPTION:Pocket seat product design competition is an international competition which was held in the year 2018 by volume zero competition. It invites us to create that one seat that can be carried and used anywhere and everywhere. The designed product has to be innovative and easy to use for all age groups, adaptable to different ergonomic needs experienced by the user in daily routine.

Position: in top 6 TeamMembers: Aparna Lakshmy Krishnan,Jisna S Jose,Rehna Fasiludeen,Sumayya S [S8} The Nari Gandhi trophy is a competition on low cost architecture conducted by NASA. The trophy aimed at the documentation, observation, analysis and understanding of low cost Architecture.

The concept of choosing a house boat as a low

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6.MOHAMMED SHAHEER LANDSCAPE TROPHY

8.REBUILD KERALA

Entry 1 Position:intop27 TeamMembers: Aleesh Ahammed, Aswin S Kumar, Radhika Suresh, Sibin Sabu [ S8 ]

Entry 2 Position: in top 27 TeamMembers: Sharon M A, Sruthi Jaffin [S8]

Position: 2nd prize :SIBIN SABU 5th position :ASHWIN S. KUMAR . :ARAVIND S.

“Life can only be understood backward, butlived forward” Valiyashala is an area where the present space is an evolutionary trace of the glorious past. From a famous knowledge centre Kantalloor Valiyashala university (Nalanda of south) to what it is at present, Valiyashala has layers of history. Valiyashala was an educational hub, and was a place known for its educational centres.From past to present the change can be observed, from university to Vedic centre and later one of the first place to establish school education. Combining the ancient and the fresh essence of education to understand rather commemorate the glorified past of the educational paradigm in Valiyasala is coined as the concept. The concept of the design revolves around the main three niches in the site that can be assigned as nodes which are in turn brought together by pathways or streets. This can be accomplished by inculcating the “Valiyasala temple”, the” Chala school”, and “Killi river front as internode”. Each of these three nodes act as a focus point to honour the forgotten culture of the premises.

The cyclone Ockhi created havoc and total loss of livelihood in the costal regions of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The need of an effective system to alert the people during the detection of such a storm, the availability an efficient shelter that could protect and preserve the balance of daily life even after the after effects of a calamity,the awareness that should be given to the common people in the time of need, the proper response and unity to be displayed when the time arrisess.

The designed pavilion is a hub that combines all these pivotal roles that will with stand a disaster.

7.BOB THE BUILDERMODEL MAKING -COMETITION

Organised by: Mar Basalious College Position:FirstPrice TeamMembers:Sibin Sabu, Aparna Lakshmy Krishnan, Radhika Suresh [S8]

A Kerala State Government initiative in consultation with KPMG, for crowd funding of projects envisaged for rebuilding Kerala.As part of this, a competition was called for students to submit proposals of the housing typologies with competitive innovative concepts.

9.ZONAL SPORTE MEET 2016 Position: 2nd prize Category:Chess competition Zonal sports meet conducted by NASA Horizon 2016 held at School of architecture ( Coimbatore institute of engineering and technology)

10.ANAND’S ARTISTIC JOURNEY Anand’s Artistic journey began by charting silhouettes , an article about the blooming artist Anand P Joy from batch 2015-2020 was featured in Indian Express and The week online Magazine.

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“In the ceasless abyss of needs and wants the ‘inbetween’ thrived, only to witness the falling of an ancient hamlet deeply rooted to its culture and tradition.”

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(This entry secured a position in top 81 Annual NASA Design competition 2018-19)

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“Trust the wait, embraces the uncertainity , enjoy the beauty of becoming ,when nothing is certain, anything is possible.”

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12.BATTLE OF BANDS 60th ANC Position: Second Organised by: Annual Nasa Convention The theme was Augmented euphyony.Music is perfect to reminisce over old memories and time of our lives.They presented a beatifully mixed melody that reflects ones soul and way of life.

13.ANC DANCE TROPHY Position: First The dance group portrayed the theme Spotlight frolic , as a movement against man’s greed and irresponsible use of power, resulting in rise of rebellion.

16.SPACES TVM FEST WRITING CONTEST Position:1st prize achieved by: Kripa shraddha (S5 A Batch 2017-’22)

Conducted regarding valentines day celebration.A poem written by Kripa shraddah -” Dear friend” won the first price.

17.TIMES OF INDIA- FASHIO BLITZ Vrinda Pradeep, an aspiring architect and model walked the rampway of fashion blitz show conducted by times of India in July 20th 2019. A lifetime reward which helped to gain confidence and hope in life.

Miss Kerala 2018 Position : Top 21

14.ZoNASA DANCE TROPHY Position: Second Social stigma thrives in the heart of the only crime in which the victim becomes the accused.

Rape;gradually deteriorating the spirit of the virtuous.The dance transports the viewers through the life of a rape victim before and after the unfortunate event.

15.SARGAM CUSAT FEST Bharathanatyam Position: Second Mohiniyattom Position: Second Achieved by : B Bhagyalakshmy (s10, 2015-20 Batch).

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18.TAKSHITHA FASHION SHOW Position : 1st prize achived by :Kripa shraddha :Shilpa Thomas (S5 A Batch 2017-’22) Ordanised by: Rajadhani institute of engineering . and technology They achieved first prize in the Event TAKSHITHA held as a part of the National level inter Rajadhani institute of engineering and technology, Attingal ITIHA 2K19 on march 1st.

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REBUILDING LIFE International Human Rights Law recognizes everyone’s rights to an adequate standard of living including adequate housing. Are we adequately housed?

The recent flood in Kerala resulted in a huge loss of lives, many lost their homes, houses partially destructed, landslides occurred, many animals died, etc. And the overall effect was devastating.

What they immediately need is a shelter and livelihood to maintain the rest of their lives and for not losing their last hope to sustain.

The proposal is a competition entry hosted by the Government of Kerala inviting low-cost housing strategy for affected people.

The proposal is mainly aimed for economically weaker sections. The plans could be incremented according to improvement in their financial status. Many people became homeless due to the disaster and many were homeless even before the disaster. The immediate solution is to provide them with adequate housing for their security. The housing should be affordable, consume less time for construction and must be ready to occupy. GFRG construction technique is the solution for all the above problems. “ He has lost EVERYTHING, but his SMILE. The message is loud and clear...

I can stitch back my LIFE...”

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The construction using GFRG panels helps in reducing the cost, construction time, superstructure load above; enhances ease in construction, is resistant to water, could withstand earthquakes and this material has got many more advantages. GFRG is now locally available in various parts of Kerala. They are produced on a large scale in industries of Kochi, Kerala. The material is produced from gypsum industrial waste and glass fiber, and hence raw materials are easily available. This makes the product sustainable in all manners. Within a few years, Kerala will witness massive construction using this material.

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The proposed typology follows the standards of a habitable house and is provided with adequate spaces for all the necessary functions.

The typologies are designed in such a way that it promotes social interaction with the immediate neighbourhood (In some way or other it helps in regaining the mental stability of the affected person). Socialization and interaction between people could be promoted with help of good design. These typologies are designed without compromising the needs of the present and also helps in accommodating the needs of the future.

Let’s join our hands together to build a good future for the generation to come. ***

This entry was recognized as the second best design proposal for post flood housing -Kerala

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Beginning

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“What the heart has once known, it shall never forget...”

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