Kaiwan Mehta 21
then how do those per-
around us? These que-
for ever, but especial-
ded and heard about 31
of nine days on design
a changing India, and
conservation, tenancy
and coolers. Mind after
lars, architects, and de-
raised many questions
and practice. The com-
mented layers of land
gles to build what the
and mind trust — pro-
ged in objects and land-
Conversations centred around desi-
gn — when not restricted to explaining
the form and function and process but
the discussions and more encouraged
to extend within a contextual framework
— produce for us a ‘thick description’ of
the worlds we inhabit. Objects — buil-
dings, toilets, processes of research or
conservation, narratives, teapots, and
typewriters — are the measure of the
civilisation we have accumulated for
ourselves. The intention to measure
this civilisation or its moment of birth
and death, or asking where it is and why
is it there, is not enough. One has to in-
tellectually constantly develop ways of
addressing and living with these
questions, and process them in structu-
red and consistent formulations to
arrive at some form of clarity through
discourse. What shapes a discourse?
And how does a discourse shape the
perception of things? This meandering
but essentially completing circle
between perception, objects, and di-
scourse is essential for the shape of our
practices and our self-perception, self-
projection, and the future of practice,
the life of design, the rejuvenation of
the architectural imagination.