Altering Our Course.

In these memoirs of daily life that we put up on our blog, we often forget to mention half of our story: the half of the story that depicts the realization of the work that is done within the four walls of our office. What I’m talking about, is the substantial chunk of behind the scenes action that unfurls on our various sites- slowly, but steadily.

As students, we are often told that architects are ‘the creative folk’; the people who design but don’t necessarily need to get into the nitty-gritty details of the actual construction. But that is so untrue! I don’t pretend to know how other places work, but that is definitely not how we work. There are an equal number of people on site, as they are in office- scheduling, helping, directing and facilitating the work that needs to be done. When I tell you that I hadn’t seen one or two people from our office till yesterday but knew about them and the projects they were working on, I’m not joking. This can be attributed to the constant stream of messages that pour in on our office chat, day in and day out, from 8am to even 9pm, detailing the progress, and addressing the issues that inadvertently arise on site.

The reason I am writing about this today is because, as an office, we strive towards learning and growing to the best of our abilities and that can only happen, when we learn from our each other and the people around us. And so, starting from now, we will try to split the focus of these blogs between both our office lives- the indoor and outdoor ones.

Hope you’re as excited about this as I am,
So long,
Namitha.

Static Without Static.

What do you do when the electricity fails and you watch your old laptop that has been overworked ever since you laid your architectural hands on it, die a losing battle to its rapidly dying battery?

What do you do, when after a panicked attempt at switching from laptop to phone as your medium of work, you realise that there is no way you can efficiently detail out and finish all the mails you were supposed to send out while typing on the tiny screen in your hand?

What do you do when the electricity hasn’t returned in 2 hours and you are now knee deep in work that hasn’t been done- starting from documentations to presentations; all of which that, of course, need to go out that very day?

I’ll tell you what you’ll do.
You’ll head out for an early lunch.

And while there, you will mentally prepare yourself to beat flash with the pace at which you cover ground the moment the dim light on your laptop flickers; simultaneously bringing your device and you, back to life.

You will prioritize and make a mental note of the order in which you will handle files and, unquestionably, have to multi task.

And finally, you will wrap everything up, look at the clock with surprise and file this in your head as a relaxed day at work; quietly happy that you weren’t the one on site when the electricity went out.

Hoping to see you tomorrow,
Namitha.

Fitting into the Venn Diagram of Shopping.

In a venn diagram of shopping enthusiasts and non-fans, there is a small intersection of people who don’t mind shopping for others. As a designer, it is almost necessary to fall into that category (even if you do so begrudgingly); because there are days where you spend all your time hauling yourself and your client across the town on various, undecided modes of transportation from one shop to the next- picking, sorting, rejecting and finalizing all the different elements that come together to form a cohesive, tangible space.

If the thought of that drains you, just imagine the lethargy you will be faced with when you factor in the notorious Bangalore traffic, the subsequent pollution, dust and a constant cacophony of noises. But let me take a step back to tell you that it wasn’t bad at all. Bangalore decided to be nice to us by maintaining a pleasant temperament in terms of both weather and traffic; and our client helped us a great deal by being precise, practical and to be very honest, tirelessly sprightly. Within 7 hours, we had built a comprehensive itinerary of everything from granite to geysers, along with a fair idea of the menu we spent quite some time perusing during lunch.

It would be quite deceptive to say that there were no snags at all and that we were left as energetic at the end as we were at the beginning of this day-long quest for home-building materials; but it would be equally false to declare that it was as tiring and arduous as we anticipated it to be. In the end, I guess, it should suffice to say that my first shopping trip as a part of this office was quite the success, especially since it ended with some crunchy, cheesy fries!

Until tomorrow,
Namitha.

The Home Office.

Oxymora are my thing. I’ve always been amused by the clear contradictions that govern our lives. So, when Sai sat us down and explained the implicitly explicit house rules, I couldn’t help but spend some time thinking about the stark contrast between the offices I’ve seen and heard of and the one I’m in right now.

Yes, most of it probably stems from the attitude with which Sai and Leena deal with everyone around them; but it also has to do with the biggest oxymoron of them all- ‘the home office’.

The home office takes one look at the cliché that asks you never to take your work home, and chucks it right out the window. Irrespective of whether or not you have worked in another office, this idea of doubling your house as a home and an office can either make you slip right into the thick of things or completely unnerve you; not just because of the difference in the way things work but also because you’re slammed with a realization that you are accountable for what happens within someone else’ home, let alone the fact that it is your boss’ home.

But then again, maintaining a ‘professional’ demeanour when you’re literally at home is difficult.  You do end up being more ‘yourself’ and that is where quirks start to show. And quirks are important; they not only help you understand the people you work with faster but also teach you to adapt and learn how to align yourself with the varied personalities that are now entangled in your web of day-to-day life.

The point I’m trying to make is that this home office of ours seems to be well on its way to prove that work doesn’t always have to be a dreadful affair. It can sometimes, maybe even occasionally, be a cackling mess of productivity. How? That is something I hope to figure out over the course of my time here.

So long,
Namitha.   

Every Six Months

Its that time of the year for us .... the time when Harshita refuses to go to the studio because it is too empty and not buzzing with voices and activity as always. All our interns from the last batch have left and only 3 of the new ones have started thus far. With most of us busy at sites and the workshop the whole day and the studio feels super empty.

But it is a new beginning for the new interns and we are hoping they keep up the seasons cheer. A new beginning for our blog as well. Mannat hands over the Project 365 to Namita.

Namita has taken over very enthusiastically from day 1! And I am not just talking about the blog! She fits in quite well with the rest of the team and that realisation I think is helping her unleash all her prowess with words.

If the blogs she has started with are anything to go by, this season promises to be a really good one! So follow us and stay tuned folks!

All the best Namita!

Square One

Real life first days don’t start with melodious background scores in a magical land surrounded by luscious greenery and friends you’ve known for ages. Instead, they often begin with bedheads, infuriating alarm clocks, ridiculously long car rides and a numbing pain in your head telling you that picking up a call from your best friend in the middle of the night might not have been the best idea when you already haven’t slept the previous couple of days.

But that’s okay. I’ve learnt today that even the most initially unsettling first days can often take a sharp turn for the better; especially when greeted by two beautiful dogs and a little girl who kindly informed me that she  prefers to be called strong over cute and says that she’d rather eat chocolates than ‘actual breakfast’. They get even better when you are told, to your face, that you’re not expected to know a whole lot. In fact, you’re expected to know nothing so that you can skip the part when you try to play it cool and impress the people around you and instead, get to put all that energy into working and learning things the right way rather than going through the whole tedious process of unlearning. And the icing on the cake is, sometimes, the fact that people around you don’t always comply with the socially accepted laws of normalcy, hierarchy or even, for that matter, personal boundaries.

The sarcasm, the eye rolls and even the nit-picking and the leg-pulling that I’ve seen around me today seems to be the basis of a camaraderie that forms the fabric of this office- a place that could be well on its way to creating a new word that combines casual and professionalism ( like athleisure, but unrelated to clothing).

I had an inkling on the day I got my first mail that I would like this place, today confirmed those feelings and hopefully, the next few months here will only add to it.

Signing off for the first time,
Namitha

End of an Era

Time as it stands today is warped in my view. The day I joined Sandarbh feels like a lifetime ago and yet it also feels like it was just yesterday. Time has moved both too slow and too fast. The roller coaster ride that was my internship has come to an end and like all good roller coaster rides, I wish it didn't have to. If you ask me personally, I can define my adult life in 2 phases - Pre Sandarbh and Post Sandarbh. For someone who doesn't know me, it may seem like a gross exaggeration. I mean how much can a 6 month internship change, right? But this experience has been life-changing. The work, the opportunities, the challenges, the responsibility have helped me mature so much. I could never have imagined that I could have done all this, after all I was just an 'intern'. The people, the conversations, the experiences have helped me become my own person - to find my truth in a manner of speaking.
For days I've been wondering what my farewell blog would be like, not knowing how to compress these past 6 months into a singular blog - I could if I tried but compressing all of my emotions into these words is the harder part. All I can say is at this point I'm a bag of mixed emotions with lots to say but not enough words to say it. I'm melancholic to be heading back, excited for the opportunities that await me, relieved to be done with certain aspects of the job, content to be heading back home, but most of all I'm glad and grateful that Sandarbh happened to me. I'm leaving a part of myself behind but I'm also taking a part of Sandarbh with me. And as I've said before, goodbyes are not forever - you never know, I might just be back sooner than you know it. Until then...

-Mannat