Saturday, August 4, 2018

4 weeks at Sandarbh : Nikhil

Let's get straight to Nikhil's experiences at Sandarbh!

Me: Hi Nikhil! Let's start off with a small introduction for our readers.
Nikhil: Hi I'm Nikhil. I come from simple family from a small village called Thankamani. Since childhood I've had an interest in drawing. Coincidentally my father's brother and my mother's brother both are painters, so I've grown up with an artistic influence around me. However, due to our financial background I always thought I'll get into a basic degree course. After my 12th I stumbled upon a great entrance institution that would train the underprivileged. Initially I started off thinking I'll do engineering but while I was there my faculty noticed my artistic inclination and suggested I go in for B.Arch. I gave the NATA entrance and actually scored the 53rd rank in all of Kerala!



Me: I'd definitely say that you're quite a talented artist. There's another hidden talent of yours that we came across. How did you get into micro art?
Nikhil: The first time I came across pencil carving was at a NASA convention in Jaipur. They had a small workshop there and that's where I started. It's a very interesting medium. Contrary to popular belief I find that it's  actually less time consuming than other arts like paintings or portraits.

Me: So, how has your experience at Sandarbh been so far?
Nikhil: I'd heard about Sandarbh from my friends. Most of them had already applied here and then I sent in my portfolio. Sai called me and we spoke about the sketches I'd added in my portfolio. It's part of my Saturday routine to go to the temples in Trivandrum and sketch them. I think that played a big role in my selection.
I like the kind of work we do in the office. A lot of my classmates are only drafting in office. I really like that we get to participate in the design process. It's quite exciting. We are getting to learn a lot from Sai and it's very inspiring. A lot of elements that we use often in the projects are very interesting in my opinion - like for instance the Mangalore glass tiles for roofing. Recently we were working on a farmhouse project and we were talking about luxurious spaces. In that conversation Sai started talking about luxury and how different people look at it. He explained that large and spacious are two completely different things - something that I really hadn't thought of before this. It's been a great experience so far and I'm really enjoying the work we're doing.

Me: Continuing from your current experiences, any expectations for the rest of the internship?
Nikhil: I really like how I'm able to bring together both art and architecture. I hope that I can continue to experience both the fields simultaneously and keep improving in both!


-Mannat

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