Then and Now

As you join architecture school to train to become an architect, there are a lot of concepts that the professors teaching Design would teach you. They tell you that perfection is key, that one section you are doing needs to be the perfect section. The plan you draw needs to be the best plan you ever draw. 

So we would learn to skip the submissions, find our ways around deadlines and beg professors to extend dates. 

"If you were an architect and your client sees this drawing, what would they think?", they would ask.

And therefore, we picture the client, strict and serious, with a basic need for perfection.

Cut to today's scenario, when a meeting was scheduled at 5 pm, for us to showcase our best designing skills to a client with a great project we were really interested in. As the clocked ticked moving towards 5pm, I found myself freaking out - where were the perfect plans and sections? What are we supposed to show him? At college, I would have began to think of excuses, of headaches that don't exist, of stomach upsets that appeared out of nowhere, of bad food could have had the previous night.

An hour into the meeting, after we discuss about ideas, concepts and images that match the client's and our Vision, we say, "so that gives us an idea about how to proceed" and pack our bags and leave a client, who definitely didn't get mind blowing plans, but extremely happy about the meeting.

And that, led to another learning - perfection doesn't matter as much as commitment does. It didn't matter if we had an amazing plan or not, it didn't matter if the work was complete or not - it mattered that we care.

Like Sai keeps telling me, half the job is done, when you just show up!!

So the unlearning continues at Sandarbh.