When I was asked, by
the interview panel for the selection of scholarship courses, why I am not
preferring Mathematics honor in third world, but rather the architecture course
in India, little did I know that saying being architect means being an independent
entrepreneur than depending on government job would mean that I had no idea
about what architecture is all about. Thinking that preparing drawings and
making money as architecture was my first sin. And that architecture is just
about building was another mistake. I was learning bricks, pencil thicknesses,
paper sizes, giving half cut to the paper, grinding the metal piece in
workshop, carrying a chain in the rose garden beside the college, sketching the
flower, and computer, before I even started drawing any building.
Photo courtesy; http://getawayisland.files.wordpress.com/ |
Many friends in the
class had already learnt few things about engineering drawings, read about
architecture and had coaching on architectural software. I was the dumbest in
the class because all I did during the pre-scholarship period was being excited
about going to India and do architecture. All I had was a foreign face
and big blank head. One day, a computer teacher asked why we chose
architecture, and many gave answers from having a dream to build their own name
to having sent by parents to having not qualified to IIT and therefore choosing
Architecture. I on the other hand, bluffed them that our government needs
architects as we have hardly 50 architects for the developing country and god
be great, we in fact needed architects then, but now I cannot say about that
anymore. With each passing day, I survived by copying what my friends did.
Sometimes, even though my submission was the copied one, I used to score better
grades, however, most of the times it made me think whether I chose the wrong
profession or not. I was not learning anything than copying other’s work. I was
wondering what the architecture is about? By the way about the mathematics
which availed the opportunity for me to get enrolled for the architecture
course formed a very small part of our course. And it was just a semester
course which finished by just studying about differential equation.
Hostel life was of
course more homely. With senior Bhutanese friends consoling us that they were
also clueless in the beginning and that with time, we would settle well into
the web and enjoy the course. Most of times, carrying a big parallel bar, and a
roll of A1 Sheet, like everyone, I drove on ring road in auto-rickshaw to the
college, come back to the hostel, visit a senior’s room for a friendly talk,
have dinner, then go around asking my friends about the home work and spend
half the night preparing the drawings by copying from my friends. By the way,
it wasn't the building drawings, but rather a brick bonding drawings,
arch patterns, basically all that was not about building which I dreamt(at
least I thought so then).