Daak Nam by Nayonika Ghosh

PRE - THESIS PROJECT DOCUMENTATION

NAYONIKA GHOSH Pre Thesis Project 2017 (Undergraduate Professional Programme) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka

PRE - THESIS PROJECT 2017 DAAK NAM

A series of flip books STUDENT:

NAYONIKA GHOSH

PROJECT:

Looking London, Talking Tagore

SPONSOR:

Self initiated

PROGRAM:

Undergraduate Professional Programme

AWARD:

Visual Communication and Strategic Branding

GUIDES:

Manasee Jog

Copyrights 2017-2018 Student Document Publication (for private circulation only) All Rights Reserved Pre Thesis Project (Undergraduate Professional Programme) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, scanning, photography and video recording without written permission from the publishers namely NAYONIKA GHOSH and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. Written, edited and designed by Nayonika Ghosh Printed at Srishti Institute of Art,Design and Technology, Bangalore

PROJECT ABSTRACT “Images should have a history that is different from the situations they depict.” – unknown. The idea of this project is to identify texts, fiction or otherwise, and art & design (visual culture) precedents of the vernacular kind and explore the many layers of meanings and contexts these forms can open up to. These explorations will be further translated into new visual forms which are NOT summaries but rich, evocative, complex and lateral expressions of text and image to create new interpretations. The vernacular here means the local, the regional - not exotic, but the earthy, the organic. It is in the everyday, the language people use – whether textual or visual (rephrase); from the language we use in texting to the dialects of our regions; from truckart & auto-art to old market signboards, to the mandalas & rangolis in front of homes. The literary texts here could be locally authored work in either a local language the student is comfortable in or translated into English. All these and more elements form a part of experiencing the vernacular. Visual communication is closely associated with storytelling. The narratives in pieces of literary texts and visual culture can fire up ideas to create visual, textualexplorations and experimentations of their own. It will also help students understand and identify the gaps that emerge whilst translating the verbal into thevisual and viz-a-viz. 6

PROJECT PROPOSAL

OVERVIEW OF CONTEXT

The first step towards understanding “the vernacular” was putting forward what I know and what I would like to know. Mind mapping and brainstorming was an essential tool, which helped in bringing about some clarity. Through this technique, I listed down all my ideas about the vernacular and divided them into two parts, green and red. Green words being the topics or aspects I thought were a part of the vernacular which I was familiar with v/s red words being the part of the vernacular I wanted to discover . After that, I further went onto make links between all these words I had listed down and it formed a web of sorts. Everything was connected. The vernacular was this entire web of themes which intermingled with each other. It could not be confined within a few words, it had more character and connections than I had ever expected it to have!

PREVIOUS DEVELOPMENT

During the first phase of this project, the discovery for the context of vernacular began with building a context and line of enquiry around the subject of vernacular. My line of enquiry was based on the following : - To understand the socio – cultural aspect of the society, which created the norms for the code of conduct for both men as well as women through the exploration of the concept of gender within one Indian language. - As a personal inquiry, I would like to look at the involuntary choices I make with language, as a polyglot and try to decipher the reason behind doing so.

BACKGROUND

Taking these two pointers and further combining it with the feedback from the previous seminar to make it concise, I began with the explorations in the second phase of this project. I further explored two languages – Tamil and Bengali to further contextualize my line of enquiry. Tamil as a language had rules within its grammar like Tolkaappiyam , an ancient form of Tamil grammar written 2000 years, imposed restrictions of women’s speech. But with changes in the social structure caused by the freedom of the country led to the changes in the social set up of women. Bengali is a primarily a gender-neutral language and I wanted to explore this aspect of the language to understand it. I was drawn to both these subjects equally and did not know which path I should venture. During this dilemma, we were introduced to the technique of “thinking through making”. This process helped me primarily through decision-making and has also guided the direction of my path to arrive at my current outcomes. During Arzu Mistry’s master class of book making, I created a flag book addressing my dilemma and further extended it to the context I could work with in both the subjects. Another book that I worked on were around the trigger statements of “visual representation of the line of enquiry” and “mapping”. As I completed the book I found myself working around the identity. 1

This discovery was a stepping-stone and further probed me to think about the concept of identity. The word ‘identity’ then led me to introspect and question certain aspects of my identity, which were a part of my vernacular.

OBJECTIVE

Being born into a bi-cultural family, I have often questioned my identity and wondered which culture do I fit into. Through the years I inferred, that even though both the cultures were a part of my life one was dominant as compared to the other. The two cultures, which have shaped my life, have been Marathi and Bengali. My residence has always been in the cities of Maharashtra, thus besides growing up in this culture; this language has constantly surrounded me both, verbally and academically. Bengali was constantly spoken within my house as I lived with my paternal grandparents, but I only experienced it in the form of speech. Though Bengali seemed like a dominant language in the culture within my home, I did experience some disconnect with it as I was never able to interact with the culture as a whole. All these personal inquiries came together to form the context of my final enquiry, which was to understand the Bengali language and further strengthen my association with it.

CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT

Gender formed an integral part in my line of inquiry and to explore the concept of gender in a gender neutral seemed challenging. To support my exploration, I started looking at different aspects of the culture I could identify with. For example, the objects used within the household, common rituals and some texts. The focus of my enquiry had shifted from a macro aspect socio-economical structure of the society to a micro aspect of the culture within my house. While going through this process, I decided to use short stories written by Ashapurna Debi, a renowned Bengali author and wrote many stories situating the women as her protagonists and then asking different members of my family to review it such that I could infer different perspectives through the generations and trace back to their ideas of gender. The major shortcoming with this concept was that my inability to read the language I would have to read the text in English which would defeat the aspect of the gender neutrality of the language. This shortcoming of an inability of reading and writing the Bengali language further developed into a core aspect of my project and further developed into my intent. A few elements that have helped me to associate myself as a Bengali through the years are certain objects and rituals. A ritual that is common and nearly compulsory in every Bengali household is the concept of assigning a “daak nam”, i.e, nickname to every child. Names can either give out a lot about one’s gender or be ambiguous as well. Bengali as a language is gender neutral, i.e, pronouns and objects are never associated with a gender. This Daak Nam is often so characteristic and different from the name itself. As it is derived from an emotion they are often phonetic and ambiguous to a gender. Thus, I want to explore the concept of a “daak nam” as a gender-neutral aspect within the Bengali language. My primary target audience would include people from the Bengali culture, as I am working with a very prominent aspect of this culture. My secondary audience would include people experiencing disconnect or loss from their inherent culture and are making an attempt to reorient themselves to it.

EXPERIMENTATION

“Thinking through Making” was a primary module we worked with to explore form and content together. We practiced various exercises like letterform design, bookmaking and photography through different mediums. Reflections and observations were made on the technique, materiality as well as the form of the outcomes that were produced. The constant practice of making and reflection also led to connections that were formed through the process and were guided to aide our concept. The outcomes I have derived at during the process are based on the concept of transition, metaphoric to the journey of the language from an extremely formal form of “sadhu bhasha” to a reasonably colloquial form “chalit bhasha” .

The form of transitioning or transforming also explains the relationship with the two names more smoothly and fluently as well. Thus, my three possible outcomes include – clips of motion graphics, a typographically inspired flipbook and type interventions using different materials, mediums and forms.

RESEARCH

For primary research, I had conversations with my family to understand the true essence of a daak nam and their relationship with their respective daak nams. Secondary research sources include various papers and books based on phonetics and grammar in Bengali language like Grammar of the Bengali language, literary and colloquial by John Beams, Bengali by Hanne – Ruth Thompson. The Emotionary by Eden Sher and Julia Wertz had an interesting concept of give meaning to meaningless words through emotions served as an inspiration for this project.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

- How can names be used as elements to portray gender neutrality? - How does one’s name affect their identity? - Can one establish a connection with their inherent culture even if they are in a different space?

INTENT

To explore the concept of “daak nam”, I would like to make the unfamiliar familiar and work with the concept of meaninglessness and meaning. “Daak nams” are formed on the context of emotion and are often meaningless as compared to “bhaalo nams” which are well thought out and finally given to child in the naming ceremony called “Naamkaran”. Thus, connecting the meaninglessness of the “daak nam” to my unfamiliarity with the Bengali script and the meaningfulness in the “bhaalo nam” to the Latin script which lies within my familiarity. Metaphorically, I am attempting to juxtapose the two emotions behind these two identities. Building content from stories, I would like to convey the journey of these two identities linked to these two names and the transitions they have gone through in one’s life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thompson, Hanne - Ruth. Bengali. Amsterdam: John Benjamins B.V., 2012. Sankaranarayanan, G. “GENDER BIAS IN AN INDIAN LANGUAGE,” www. languageinindia.com, September 5, 2001, accessed August 25, 2017, http://www. languageinindia.com/sep2001/genderandlang.html Sher, Eden. The Emotionary. United States of America: Penguin Random House, 2016. Beames, John. The Grammar of the Bengali Language. N.p.: The Clarendon Press, 1891.

VERNACULAR noun multifaceted object/space/tradition which belongs to multiple cultures and constantly evolves with time* (subjectivity)its definition is different for every individual

*This definition has been created to describe my exploration and journey of understanding the vernacular which still continues. 5

CRITICAL THINKING LEADS TO CREATIVE THINKING

CONTENTS PRE - CONCEIVED NOTIONS

ARTEFACT ANALYSIS

MIND MAPPING & BRAINSTORMING

INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN AESTHETICS

ARTWORK INSPIRED BY THE RASAS

INTRODUCTION TO TEXT ANALYSIS(with Biswamit Dwibedy)

MASTERCLASSES WITH THE EXPERTS

UNDERSTANDING APPROPRIATION (Pecha-Kucha Session)

RE-INVENTING THE DEFINITION OF VERNACULAR

ABSTRACTIONS OF LETTERFORMS AND DAILY OBJECTS

JOURNAL REFLECTIONS

THINKING TOOL I (CLASSROOM EXERCISE) : MORPHOLOGICAL MATRIX

THINKING TOOL II (CLASSROOM EXERCISE): ROSE TINTED KEYWORDS

18 -19

THINKING TOOL III (CLASSROOM EXERCISE) : SCAMPER

PROPOSAL WRITING AND ITERATIONS

INITIAL LINE OF INQUIRY

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

FEEDBACK FROM SEMINAR 1

REFLECTION ON FEEDBACK

PRE - CONCEIVED NOTIONS This project introduced me to the concept of vernacular. Initially, my idea about the vernacular was no more than languages and handicrafts. It was a term set in the past, associated with myths, stories and history.

ARTEFACT ANALYSIS These pre concieved notions further were reflected upon the choices of artefacts I made for the assignment of Artefact Analysis. Handicrafts, blocks and antiques seemed to fit the criteria. But when I saw my peers bring in objects like incense sticks and swastika stickers. It questioned my notion of vernacular and the boundaries I had placed it within. That is when my journey for the true defination of vernacular began. 8

MIND MAPPING & BRAINSTORMING The first step towards understanding â&#x20AC;&#x153;the vernacularâ&#x20AC;? was putting forward what I know and what I would like to know. Mind mapping and brainstorming was an essential tool, which helped in bringing about some clarity. Through this technique, I listed down all my ideas about the vernacular and divided them into two parts, green and red. Green words being the topics or aspects I thought were a part of the vernacular which I was familiar with v/s red words being the part of the vernacular I wanted to discover . After that, I further went onto make links between all these words I had listed down and it formed a web of sorts. Everything was connected. The vernacular was this entire web of themes which intermingled with each other. It could not be confined within a few words, it had more character and connections than I had ever expected it to have!

Bhayanak

Karuna

Hasya

INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN AESTHETICS Bibhatsa

Adbhuta

Sringara

Veera

Shanta

Raudra

In the process of discovering the Indian Vernacular, we were breifly introduced to the Natyashastras by Naini Arora. We were further introduced to the Indian aesthetics and the Rasa Theory. The concept of Rasas, which is the emotion that is experienced by the audience after viewing a work of art was fascinating. After further research, I discovered that each of these Rasas had colours attributed to them.

ARTWORK INSPIRED BY THE RASAS This piece is a an artist piece designed for the story Shobhika's lover from the Shukasaptati. The plot of the story is based on Shobhika's infidelity.

he saw a naked man on the tree

This art piece reflects upon the rasas I experienced once I read the story, which were Adbhuta and Hasya. The form of the art piece is inspired by a phallus which represents nudity. I have used elements from an acai tree for the visuals as it is an integral component in the story.

INTRODUCTION TO TEXT ANALYSIS (with Biswamit Dwibedy)

During this course, we were encouraged to read texts written by various Indian authors. Some authors that I discovered and was introduced to were Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, Manoj Kumar Pandya, Shankar, Ashapurnadebi. The pieces I read were very informative and had many attributes which reflected upon the society of that time.

Masterclasses with Biswameet Dwibedi were extremely helpful in further unravelling the hidden clues within the chapters and further analysing the text to understand the text efficiently. The chapters often had many metaphorical elements and were often filled with poetry in between, which sort of mimicked the style in which the verses of our ancient texts were written.

MASTERCLASSES WITH THE EXPERTS A variety of masterclasses with the artists like B. Jaishree and Paul Fernandes were extremely beneficial and insightful. B. Jaishree is a renowned theatre artist is also the grand-daughter of the father of the Kannada theatre, Gubbi Veerana. Her stories threw light on theatre and it's capability to send messages through metaphors. She also spoke about how the context and content and even the portrayal of same characters constantly change. Paul Fernandes, a renowned illustrator, through his work took us through his memory lane into a Bangalore during the 1970's and 80's. Both these talks contributed to the understanding that the vernacular of a space, person or a character keeps changing with time and it cannot remain constant or stagnant.

UNDERSTANDING APPROPRIATION (A Pecha-Kucha Session)

We tried to understand the concept of appropriation through a "Pecha Kucha" session. Pecha Kucha is a form of presenting where one presents 20 slides within a period of 6 minutes. The entire class brought forward multiple examples of for explaining the concept of appropriation which by definition means addition of a new element into an artform which brings about little or no change into it.

The example is that of SIDR crafts by the Khatri brothers in Bhuj, Gujarat. They work with the textile artform called bandhini which they have successfully appropriated, thus making it relevant for the contemporary times. By doing so not only have they manged to add their own unique touvh to the artform but have also helped in rejuvinating it and guaranteeing its survival.

RE-INVENTING THE DEFINITION OF VERNACULAR

What was the vernacular? Is it only in the past? Is it even relevant? Why do I need to identify it? These were some questions I was constantly asking during this phase of the project. Multiple masterclasses, introduction to the Indian texts and principles and research facilitated my understanding of the subject.

The vernacular was a part of the local, the regional and the everyday. It is situated in the present and constantly changes and evolves.

before leaving home for protection or safety. It is a belief which has been passed down through generations but forms as daily ritual in my house.

The above images include some images from my hometown, Mumbai, which has been a part of my local and everyday. The box of red powder is called the "anagara", which one applies

Thus, the defination of vernacular changes with both, time as well as the subject.

ABSTRACTIONS OF LETTERFORMS AND DAILY OBJECTS

The activity of abstraction of a letterform and an object was an activity that we did every week in the first two phases of this project. This activity was essential in studying form and understanding it. Initially we worked with substracting from

the form but eventually it lead to addition or the creation of different interpretations of the form itself. In this activity, we treated both text and objects as images and worked on abstracting forms.

transitions I was able to achieve a new form which also looks like a letter from another language. Besides the process of transition, this activity also helped in focussing on detail and facilitated in creative thinking through making.

In the example below, through various

JOURNAL REFLECTIONS Journalling has been an essential part of this project. Through the journal, I have maintained a constant documentation of my experiences, reflections, ideas and learnings from this project. It has helped me to document my struggles and work on them further. Often, it has guided me to make connections by relooking at the work I had done before. Thus, it has been the most beneficial document throughout this process of learning and unlearning about the vernacular. This documentation has also been a good way of projecting my growth and learning through the project. This practice has constantly guided and aided my journey.

THINKING TOOL I: MORPHOLOGICAL MATRIX (classroom exercise)

AUDIENCE

RASAS

The morphological matrix is a thinking tool, in which one lists down different options within a category and allows his/her peer to use the technique of random selection and selecting a variety of topics under each category. The morphological matrix was the first thinking tool which broke our boundaries. It resulted in some unconventional options and combinations and challenged our

VISUAL CULTURE

capabilities of making connections and thinking laterally. It was a good tool, to drive us out of our comfort zones. The table below represents one example of the morphological matrix. All the words in the same colour are the combinations that were generated as a part of this process.

TEXT

OUTCOME

GENRE

Senior Citizen

Adbhuta

Clothes

1000 days in a Refrigerator

Installation

Digital

Artists and Designers

Shanta

Food

Chowringhee

Book

Typography

Teenagers

Veera

Typography

One Part Woman

Infograph

Photography

Children

Karuna

Architecture

Masti Venkatashmi

Paintings

Mixed Media

Women

Hasya

Music

Kamasutra

Posters

Printmaking

EVER CHANGING CONTEXT OF THE VERNACULAR

APPROPRIATION OF ELEMENTS OF THE ELEMENTS OUTSIDE VISUAL CULTURE THE REALM OF DESIGN

The three sentences mentioned above, are the three topics informing my inquiries. These topics were generated during Kalpana Tanwar's masterclass. During this session, we participated in

two minute exercises which facilitated our decision making process. These sentences have been arranged inaccordance to their difficulty in my opinion. This activity helped me to

evaluate myself and understanding my learning. These ideas further behaved as triggers for the activity of Rosetinted keywords.

THINKING TOOL II : ROSE - TINTED KEYWORDS (classroom exercise)

The image below displays my first attempt at the thinking tool called the rosetinted keywords. This exercise was directly towards creating unconventional connections with the central subject inorder to generate new ideas.

I decided to choose words like Evolution, Gender, Text and Power as my primary subjects. These words were generated as a result of the previous exercise with Kalpana, to look at these matters more critically to contextualize my inquiry.

In this attempt, I was unable to establish the desired connections. Thus, I took this exercise forward and made a second attempt at it, which is represent on the next page.

ROSE - TINTED KEYWORDS (SECOND ATTEMPT)

During my first attempt of the rose tinted keywords, I was unable to stretch myself to think divergently. The adjacent images are my second attempt at this exercise. I decided to use words such as Gender, Text and Gestures as my keywords.

The images are the connections I made with each keyword. Through these connections I came up with two ideas which I applied to the next thinking tool called SCAMPER. Gender as Names Names can often give a lot about one's gender, but can often be ambiguous.

1 - pexels 2 - N Parks Flora & Fauna Web 3 - Rice-https-//www.revealnews.org 4 - ak2.picdn.net 5 - http-//maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com 6 - https-//www.ganeshaspeaks.com 7 - www.wikipedia.org 8 - www.sapromo.com 9 - https-//www.goodtherapy.org 10 - http-//study.com

Gestures as Revolution of the Earth Looking at the elements of nature which could also be associated with gestures and symbols.

TEXT

3 4

GENDER

GESTURES 19

THINKING TOOL III : SCAMPER (classroom exercise)

This thinking tool proved as a milestone in process. The connections I made through this project further culminated into my two initial concepts which I further took further as the sources for the first draft of my proposal. The SCAMPER tool is an extremely challenging technique but equally rewarding. It really pushed me to think laterally and further contextualize it.

The two concepts that I generated as a part of this process were the following: Concept 1 - Using gender and language as a lens to understand the socio-culture of India. Concept 2 - Understanding the dynamics of the micro-cultures within the country to understand "gestures of a culture" at a macro level.

S C A M P E R

Substitute

Adapt

Modify

Put to another use

Eliminate

Reverse

GENDER AS A NAME

EARTHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S REVOLUTION AS A GESTURE

Appearance

Indian culture

Gender, Names and Appearance.

Idea of macro and micro gestures in the context of the Indian culture.

Associate language with them

Into a modern day narrative

What if we do not associate names with a gender?

Use humour, sarcasm to support the narratives.

Devoid of gender, can names be used as new norms for identification.

Use these narratives in the context of gender.

Eliminate association of gender and name, instead link gender only to language.

The idea of macro as a whole, focus on the micro - cultures in India.

Associate language to gender and then gender to names.

Can the micro cultures tell us more about

Combine

the macro culture of the entire country.

PROPOSAL WRITING AND ITERATIONS

Once the concepts of the projects were developed, the process of proposal writing began. The process of proposal writing was rather intensive. Some techniques I worked with were free writing and precise writing. This really helped me to develop a flow and also arrange my ideas. Before arriving at

my final concept, I evaluated both my areas of interest and rated their relevance to my vernacular. The final topic I decided to base my project on, has been mentioned on the following page.

“Gender and Language” as a lens to understand the socio-culture of India

INITIAL LINE OF INQUIRY : My inquiry is to understand the socio-cultural aspects of the society, which created the norms for the code of conduct for both men as well as women. Thus, I want to explore the concept of gender with language in the Indian culture. As a personal inquiry, I would like to look at the involuntary choices I make with language, as a polyglot and try to decipher the reason behind doing so.

FEEDBACK FROM SEMINAR 1 : After presenting the former points in Seminar 1 as my idea, the following was the feedback I recieved from the panel :- To take a stand on what you are proposing and to what end.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS Can socio-linguistics be used as a tool to study the gender hierarchy within the cultures in India? Can language and gender, as tools facilitate my exploration into the socio – culture in India? Can elements from history of gender in India be used to create links with the concept of gender fluidity in the contemporary? Phrases like “mother tongue”, “Bharat Mata”, “Tamilttay” associated themselves to a gender, can the root of associating these phrases with a gender explain the social construct of our times? 22

- The necessity of taking help from a linguist to define the boundaries – are you looking at language in the home? Across generations? - How do/did partners address each other. Code of dressing in the private and public space in different cultures. - To weigh the topic carefully through your own tendencies as the vast code of conduct of society is very intimidating. Interview linguists or translator who could direct you to limited set of ideas for this project. - Find sites where gender and linguistics play itself out –there needs t o be some conversation between research and form – some amount of lucidity with which you are approaching the challenge.

REFLECTION ON FEEDBACK The feedback I recieved from the panel was effective and I was able to look at my concept critically. They brought forward the challenges that came with my concept and I was able to reevaluate it. I took forward the feedback of narrowing down my project to the prospect of working around one particular language and culture. The challenge of understanding linguistics of a language was very difficult. Thus, I decided to re-evaluate the aspect of linguistics for my project.

PECULIAR VERNACULAR noun an object/space/tradition which belongs to only a particular culture and constantly evolves with time* (subjectivity)its definition is different for every individual

*This definition has been created to describe my exploration and journey of understanding the vernacular which still continues.

THINKING THROUGH MAKING

CONTENTS BENGALI V/S TAMIL

LETTERS WITH SOUND AND FORM (with Zenab Bastawalla)

BOOK MAKING WITH FORM AND CONTENT(with Arzu Mistry)

COLOUR, FORM, TEXTURE AND PROCESS (with Meera Curam)

PHOTOGRAPHY AND MIXED MEDIA (with Mahesh Bhatt)

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT & ITERATIONS

DAAK NAM

EXPLORATION I : TYPOGRAPHICAL INTERVENTIONS

EXPLORATION II : KINECTIC TYPOGRAPHY

EXPLORATION III : FLAG BOOK AND FLIP BOOK

INTENT

FEEDBACK ON SEMINAR 2

REFLECTION ON FEEDBACK

BENGALI V/S TAMIL

From the feedback from Seminar 1, I was advised by the faculty to further streamline my inquiry from the sociopolitical culture of India to that of a particular culture or language. During my research, two languages that had fascinated me were Tamil and Bengali.

1 - pexels 2 - N Parks Flora & Fauna Web

Tamil as a language has been strongly affected by the socio-culture of the time and has transitioned accordingly. The language in it's grammar has three kinds, male, female and gender -neutral. Initally the language was highly biased

towards men but as the society started reforming the rules of the language changed. This aspect of the language really intrigued me. Bengali is a gender- neutral language. This neutral aspect of the language is something that has always fascinated me. This language has been a predominant part of my upbringing as my father is a Bengali. I often compare the language with Hindi and wonder why does this language refrain from giving a gender to objects. Thus, I wanted to explore the neutrality of the language and understand it better.

LETTERS WITH SOUND AND FORM (with Zenab Bastawalla)

During this session, we looked at the process of generating a letterform in a completely different chronology. The starting point of creating the glyph, was based on the position of three pencils in a random position(image3). Then we worked on creating new strokes using some tools we created out of simple found objects(image1&2).

Thus, taking inspiration from things and materials around us, we were able to create something unique and further explore these elements in other assignments and activities. This assignment (image 4,5 & 6) was based on Zenab Bastawala's masterclass about letterforms. By the end of the session, we all developed a heiroglyph from a glyph, in this

case, a hand gesture. Using the hand gesture as a starting point and further subjecting it to abstractions, I developed a new letterform and translated it into multiple mediums. The first being a cutout technique followed by that using textile.

6 27

BOOK MAKING WITH FORM AND CONTENT (with Arzu Mistry) These images belong to a flag book made during Arzu's masterclass on book making and book structures. During this session an attempt was made to inform our inquiry through a form. At this point of the project, I was caught in between two ideas and concepts, so I used this never and flowy form to depict my train of thoughts. In this book, I portrayed my ideas about both the cultures through symbolic references and metaphors which was then supported by minimal text and information. Another aspect of the form that was interesting was that it could be utilised from both sides. Thus I worked with the other face of this book as textual page which expressed my thoughts and conflicts which transitioned durng the making of this book.

These images belong to another book I created during this work shop. The two triggers I kept in mind during the making were, mapping my journey and creating a visual representation of my inquiry. During the process, I tried to layer the book with different imagery and found myself mapping it towards to a Bengali letterform in the end. As I reflected on my practice, I realized Bengali was the langauge I would want to explore as I experienced many contradictory emotions around the language and wanted to discover it. Another factor driving this inquiry was that Bengali had always been a part of my local and my everyday, thus it was a strong element of my vernacular culture. 28

COLOUR, FORM, TEXTURE AND PROCESS (with Meera Curam)

This session of thinking through making using colour, form and texture was conducted by Meera Curam. During this workshop, a number of exercises were conducted. For the first exercise, we gave anonymous feedbacks to our peers on their line of inquiry based on the trigger card given to us. The trigger card consisted of words from the SCAMPER tool. This exercise helped us to get multiple feedbacks on our line of inquiry but through lateral thinking. Thus, these feedbacks reflected a new character for our line of inquiry and also challenged our notions of our set ideas.

The next exercise was to use keywords from our first exercise and depict them through colour and form. The first few instructions for this exercise was to use only two colours and then it further extended on to using two colours that we despise. After that we used line as a form to translate our thoughts onto paper. This part of the process was purely based on making. The last exercise of this session was to work to create eight new keywords and then further generate examples for each word by using triggers like layers,form,colour,etc. This exercise was referred to as the Lotus Bloom.

These activities did not seem to have an direct influence of my project. But at this time during the project I was extremely hasled and worried about my direction. After reflecting, I observed that these activities had proved to be therapeutic and had also established, rather re-established the importance of colour as an integral element of expression. This was one lesson which stayed with me as I progressed into the next aspect of the project.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND MIXED MEDIA(with Mahesh Bhatt)

This masterclass was photography and mixed media technique masterclass which was conducted by Mahesh Bhatt. In this session, we explored various methods like illustration, collage, assemblage, decopage, all using images that we had clicked as part of this workshop. An idea which stayed with me from the beginning of the project was the use of names, exploring its nature of either giving away one's gender or leaving it ambiguous. Thus, I used my name and my nickname and explored various compositions using theme of interaction and isolation. The first image consists of both my names in the Bengali script. I have tried to merge both these names through the form of the text such that it represents two aspects of the same collective form. The last three images belong to the experiment I carried out as a part of this workshop. Image 2 is a composition of my nickname in Bengali in a broken form which depicts my emotion of embarrassment around it. I wanted to experiment with this peice by putting it out in the space where I photographed it's background to observe how the people react to it or interact with it,i.e., I could generate some ideas from this. Image 3 shows its position in the outdoor space. Image 4 is the documented image of the next day. To my disappoinment, my art piece had disappeared and I was unable to find it again. But through this entire process I was able to establish a strong connection between my name and my nickname and the Bengali culture.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT & ITERATIONS

After a variety of masterclasses on thinking through making, we stepped into the next step in our journey of creating an outcome. This was the most challenging aspect of the project for me. I had decided to work with the Bengali culture and language but what aspect of the culture could I use to highlight its gender neutrality? Thus, I went through an intensive process of mind mapping and decided to base my project on the different generations within my family. For

this topic, I wanted to analyse the responses on stories based on gender by my grandmother, father, mother and myslef, such that I would be able to compare the ideologies which changed through generations and thus have a clearer understanding about the culture. But this concept had many loopholes. Firstly, my mother and I cannot read in Bangla, thus, we would have to resort to translated texts which would then nullify the gender neutral aspect of the language.

the Bengali culture. After introspection, I realised that the most effective way in which I was able to identify with the culture was through the rituals. Thus, I decided to work with the concept of Daak Nams. A very common phenomenon in the Bengali culture, the Daak Nam or the nickname is often ambiguous and devoid of gender and completely springs out of emotion. Thus taking this as my central theme I decided to work on creating content.

To find a solution, I started off by listing down all the knowledge I had about

DAAK NAM noun the unofficial name ( or nickname) given to every child born to a Bengali family

adjective the name often describes the emotion an individual associates with the person

KEYWORDS

(for exploring Daak Nam) : Identity that revolves around a Daak Nam. Does one's behaviour change when identified by their Daak Nam? Is it a part of you that you share only with a particular group of individuals? Relationships with the people who are aware about this part of your identity. Would the group of people who are aware about this aspect of your identity be different from the people who don't? Emotions that are governed around this aspect of your identity. Have these emotions evolved or have they remained the same? Tangibility based on the system of the naming. Why is this name given to an individual? Is it governed by an emotion or a necessity?

These were the few sites for my inquiry into the subject called "Daak Nam". I wanted to understand the relevance of this tradition in the Bengali culture. As an individual with a Daak Nam, these questions were also a part of my personal inquiry. Setting a parameters for my inquiry was quite effective as I was able to streamline the information in a direction. As I thought about the 32

possible outcomes, I decided to work with narratives primarily, as Daak Nam is a subject which built out of and around stories. Deciding the visual elements was challenging and thus I decided to experiment with different techniques to achieve optimum results

EXPLORATION I : TYPOGRAPHICAL INTERVENTIONS

First exploration was using type interventions through material and medium. The following examples illustrate these experiments. Images 1-3, are two kinds of explorations I attempted using clothes as my material. I used my childhood clothes to create Tinku, my Daak nam, in the Bengali alphabet and Nayonika

using my current set of clothes. To maintain the neutrality I worked with non-feminine colours or clothes. Image 4, displays a Tinku as a hidden form within Nayonika(both in Bengali script) in grey, to depict the emotion of embarassment but also maintain the neutrality.

4 33

EXPLORATION II : KINECTIC TYPOGRAPHY

Second exploration was using kinetic typographical transitions. This form was a new exploration for me as I have not worked with this form earlier. It was fascinating to work with motion graphics and was also successful in displaying transitions.

Most of them were experiments with the names of two individuals. Firstly, my mother's Bhaalo nam (real name), Kshipra and her Daak nam, Rinku. Secondly, my Bhaalo nam, Nayonika and my Daak nam, Tinku. For this experiment, I worked with various

techniques to explore transition. Some techniques include effects like morphing, card swipe, trimming.

EXPLORATION III : FLAG BOOK AND FLIP BOOK

The third exploration included two different book forms. The first form, the flag book, mapped the transition of the letterforms from Latin to Bengali script in detail. While the second form, the flipbook, mapped the similar transition but the effect of motion and moving images,

made it a smoother form for depicting transition. Both these books were based on a narrative on my childhood experience around my Daak nam, which were primarily filled with the emotions like embarassement, anger and confusion.

"Daak Nam" as a symbol of gender neutrality in the Bengali language* Also, a significant element of my vernacular culture.

INTENT :

FEEDBACK FROM SEMINAR 2 :

“Daak nams” are formed on the context of emotion and are often meaningless as compared to “bhaalo nams” which are well thought out and finally given to child in the naming ceremony called “Naamkaran”. Thus, connecting the meaninglessness of the “daak nam” to my unfamiliarity with the Bengali script and the meaningfulness in the “bhaalo nam” to the Latin script which lies within my familiarity.

The following was the feedback I recieved from the panel during Seminar 2 :-

Metaphorically, I am attempting to juxtapose the two emotions behind these two identities. Building content from stories, I would like to convey the journey of these two identities linked to these two names and the transitions they have gone through in one’s life.

- Look at other nicknames? - How do daak names affect identity? Think about that some more. Will it be valid when pushed to a larger geo identity? Now think of mapping it into a larger research question as to what these names do as cultural phenomena. - Flag and flipbooks are interesting explorations. Reconsider kinetic typographical expriment. Is it a logical step forward as an outcome? - It maybe interesting to spread your net out further among other Bengalis and explore other daak nams. Help you to move from a micro to macro level. - Look at different kinds of paper and background explorations in the flagbook.

REFLECTION ON FEEDBACK The feedback given by the panel was helpful in providing a new direction. Until now, I had only experimented with the stories within my family, without evaluating their relevance to the Bengali society. Thus, I decided to take it further and hold a survey to determine concrete results. I decided to work on creating a connection between the Daak Nam and Bhaalo Nam through emotions, i.e., they would represent the certain aspects, which govern these identities.

MY PECULIAR VERNACULAR noun an object/space/tradition which belongs to my culture and constantly evolves with time* (subjectivity)its definition is different for every individual

*This definition has been created to describe my exploration and journey of understanding the vernacular which still continues. 37

MAKING, MAKING AND MORE MAKING

CONTENTS SURVEY ON DAAK NAMS

40-41

EXPLORATION

INTERVIEWS AND STORIES

TINKU'S STORY : COLOUR PALETTE

TINKU'S STORY : NARRATIVE (DRAFT 1)

TINKU'S STORY : FLIP BOOKS

SAURABH'S STORY : COLOUR PALETTE

SAURABH'S STORY : NARRATIVE (DRAFT 1)

SAURABH'S STORY : FLIP BOOKS

SURVEY ON DAAK NAMS

This survey was extremely effective in bringing forward the relevance of the Daak Nam and the awareness around

it. This survey has been answered by 20 individuals, primarily Bengalis. The following charts include the

questions asked in the survey and a pie-diagram representing the ratio of the answers.

The question above , was integral in shaping the context of my project. Through the result of this question, I

was able to connect to more people from the culture and understand the emotions they identify around their

Daak Nams. As per the chart the three most prominent emotions that people associated with the subject of Daak

Nam were happiness, embarrassment and indifference. These three emotions were triggers for my process, thereafter.

EXPLORATIONS

The following images are my explorations with various styles. My decision to work with emotions led me to explore various techniques

and styles using facial expressions. I further explored the form of the flipbook and the flagbook using visuals. As I tested them, I realized

the form of the flipbook was more effective in portraying transitions and thus would be appropriate for depicting the transitions of emotions.

INTERVIEWS AND STORIES

To create content for this project, I decided to collect stories around the emotions of hapiness, embarrassement and indifference. Initially, I interviewed various members of my family and then further my friends.

Most of these stories reflected on memories from their childhood, which had a profound impact on shaping their relationship and association with their Daak Nam.

Finally, I was able to collect one story on each emotion and I decided to fictionalise them a little to stress on the emotions.

TINKU'S STORY COLOUR PALETTE

NARRATIVE (DRAFT 1)

“Tinku, go get your friends some water!” “Mamma, why do you have to embarrass me in front of my friends everytime?”. "What, dear?" asked mother. Tinku left the room with tears in her eyes, leaving her mother and her friends. She sat alone in her room wondering, “How is Tinku even related to Nayonika? Why would anyone name their child, Tinku!” she thought to her herself. She was angry and frustated with her mother’s casuality of addressing her with

her embarrassing nickname over her real name. She wished for it to disappear from her life. "Why do I need a nickname at all! Besides, my friend's have given me a nice alternative, Nayo, an abbreviation for Nayonika." The emotions of embarrassement and anger had clouded her memories. She could not look at Tinku as an emotion, a memory from her childhood or a reflection of her culture. At the age of 12, it was nothing else except a pure form of embarrassment.

FLIPBOOKS

The following images belong to the pages of the flipbooks that I'm working on for this project.

The images(1-8) belong to the typographic edition of the flipbook.

Whereas, images (9 - 18) belong to the illustrated version of the flipbook.

SAURABH'S STORY COLOUR PALETTE

NARRATIVE (DRAFT 1)

In progress

FLIPBOOKS

The following images belong to the pages of the flipbooks that I'm working on for this project.

The images(1-8) belong to the typographic edition of the flipbook.

Whereas, images (9 - 18) belong to the illustrated version of the flipbook.

WORK IN PROGRESS By seminar 3, I hope to finish two more books on the emotion of "indifference" and further work on a cohesive packaging form for all a set of 2 books each.

REFLECTIVE STATEMENT

Looking London, Talking Tagore was an experience as opposed to a project. Throughout the project, I felt as though I was on a learning curve. As a part of this project, I was able to explore multiple aspects of the vernacular and then redefine it in my own context.

manner, but after a while, I was able to break out of this shell and work with these techniques. These techniques were essential for generating a new concept as they introduced me to a pool of new ideas, which I used as a skeleton for my writing my proposal.

further into an aspect within that culture was extremely difficult for me. I was able to identify Bengali as the culture for the inquiry as the gender neutrality of the language was fascinating. Also having a personal connection with the language made it a part of my vernacular but I struggled with finding a subject, which The first part of the project The second part of the process would connect to its gender focussed on critical thinking included thinking through neutrality and also focus on leads to creative thinking. This making which helped me the socio – cultural aspect time was an essential period materialise my concept into an of the language. Eventually of unlearning. I dropped my outcome. We were introduced I scaled it down to a micro pre conceived notions and to multiple master classes and level of the concept of the ideas around the vernacular techniques of making which Daak Nams which are often and started all over again with helped us to create outcomes, neutral and the emotions a fresh perspective. We were which informed our concept. around them as they form also introduced to various This phase of the project was another part of one’s identity. lateral thinking techniques extremely challenging for me. After this, I started working in class like morphological My line of inquiry at the time on generating new outcomes matrix, rose tinted keywords was ““Gender and Language on this concept. Initially, I and scamper. These exercises as a lens to understand he had a few problems with seemed extremely challenging socio-culture of India”. Thus, that as well but eventually at first as we so conditioned narrowing this inquiry into I was able to form four towards thinking in a linear one particular culture and essential explorations –

type interventions, kinetic typography, flag book and flip books. After the feedback from seminar 2, I decided to take forward the element of flipbooks as informed my concept of transitioning emotions. After, I fixated on my outcome came the phase of making, making and more making. This has been the most challenging yet most enjoyable period for me. I have had to work hard on generating the outcome but I have been enjoying and learning a lot. This being my first attempt at making a flipbook I was able to explore that form and furthee even improve on my skills.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chaudhury, Pravas Jivan. “The Theory of Rasa,” in “The Aesthetic Attitude in Indian Aesthetics.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 24, no. 1 (Autumn, 1965): 145-49. Shah, Purnima. “Transcending Gender in the Performance of Kathak.” Dance Research Journal 30, no. 2 (Autumn, 1998): 2-17. Shankar. Chowringhee. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2007. Chughtai, Ismat. Lifting the Veil. Gurgaon: Penguin Books, 2009. Arjunwadkar, K.S. “The Rasa Theory and the Darsanas.” Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 65, no. 1 (1984): 81-100. Sharma, J.C. “LANGUAGE AND SCRIPT IN INDIA: SOME CHALLENGES.” www. languageinindia.com. September 5, 2001. Accessed August 20, 2017. http:// www.languageinindia.com/sep2001/jcscript.html. Pollock,Sheldon. “India in the Vernacular Millennium: Literary Culture and Polity, 1000-1500,” Daedalus127, no. 3 (Summer 1998): 41-74. Sankaranarayanan, G. “GENDER BIAS IN AN INDIAN LANGUAGE,” www. languageinindia.com, September 5, 2001, accessed August 25, 2017, http://www. languageinindia.com/sep2001/genderandlang.html. Ramaswamy, Sumathi. “Language and Gender,” Passions of the Tongue : Language Devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970 Studies On the History of Society and Culture (1997): 15-17. Dutta, Hemanga. “Language, power and gender: A critical appraisal of Assamese, an Indo Aryan language.” MAI Review 3, no. 2 (2008): 1-5. Sarshar,Mubashshir. “INDIAN PATRIARCHY- A PRACTICAL EXEMPLIFICATION,” PATRIARCHY- THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE (2010): 11-13 Dowling, Marysa. “The Movement of an Object | Blue Bag.” /www.marysadowling. co.uk. Accessed August 3, 2017. http://www.marysadowling.co.uk/albums/themovement-of-an-object/. Thompson, Hanne - Ruth. Bengali. Amsterdam: John Benjamins B.V., 2012. Sher, Eden. The Emotionary. United States of America: Penguin Random House, 2016. Beames, John. The Grammar of the Bengali Language. N.p.: The Clarendon Press, 1891. 50