We went to Vishwanath's house today. It was one of those unique experiences that are so commonplace at Arghyam :-). His (and his wife's!) house is chock-a-bloc with every kind of ecological innovation you could think of. And its coupled with excellent aesthetic sensibility and broad awareness. Its quite overwhelming if you are attuned to these things. I'll start with one photo of what you see as you're entering the house -- a simple reuse of a discarded potty.
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I thought I would occasionally point out some of the cool things on the Water Portal. We have a talk by a chap called Anupam Mishra about traditional ways in which people dealt with water scarcity and how we have neglected our historical wisdom. It may sound dry but I urge you to check it out. The chap talks with conviction and clarity and the visuals he uses are stunning. The talk is in Hindi.
I can't point you to a direct link to the course (a serious shortcoming in the Portal at this point), but you can click here and go to the "Movies" tab and go to the first entry in the list "The wisdom that was ..."
I'm going to Hyderabad early next week.
5 comments:
there it is just a recycled potty. here it would be warholian art.
It could be just me but somehow I find that not very aesthetically appealing. Plants and flowers are such a fresh, beautiful thing; somehow that does not go well with a discarded toilet.
Although - I do appreciate their idea of trying to recycle.
Sajini:
Your reaction is interesting. I suspect the following:
The reason you are unable to find it appealing is that you are unable to let go of your association of the potty with other than with its normal function. Thats why you think it does not go well with a plant. Its a bit of a childish mental block. If you let go of this mental block, like despo has, you may be able to appreciate this.
Others who find it interesting might do so because they are able to appreciate the fact that something has been used out of context.
Personally, I find this neither appealing nor interesting - I think it is bad art because it evokes no response in me what so ever. For me, its like reading a George Will column or like listening to Rahul Dravid speak in his monotone voice.
So, I am saying that if you let go of your hang up there is potential for you to like this, but there is absolutely no potential for me to like this piece of work.
Arvind
Palls -- I think you're being condescending as usual. I think Sajini's reaction is quite valid and comes from a particular perspective.
I found the photo not very appealing myself. Its because the potty has been sitting out for a long time, and become encrusted with mud etc. And also the seat is sitting around not serving any purpose and off at an odd angle.
But -- I have the excellent counterpoint ! A photo of another potty this time impeccably maintained and sitting in the living room. Lets have another round of reactions to it !
Actually, I didn't find Arvind's post condescending, I thought it was a rather astute observation :-) which got me thinking on some other parallel situations.
If you bought a brand new potty at Home depot and put it in the living room and planted something in it, I still would find it distasteful. On the other hand, if I came from a country where the people never saw a western toilet I might find it interestng!!
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