“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!” A statement as old as civilisation itself, reiterated through the history by writers, poets and artists. But is ‘beauty’, really in the eye of the beholder? How then, have we all conformed to the same standards of ‘beauty’? Are we emulating the ‘good’ because it was voiced by a stronger and louder personality with a sense of euphemism that cannot be denied. ... ... ... As design students, we are not taught to appreciate the importance of aesthetics, we are supposed to inherently possess the knowledge. However, each of us come from a different lifestyle with preconceived notions of how the surroundings should be. Just as curated knowledge cannot override the emotional biases completely, global exposure to standards cannot eliminate locally imbibed, culturally derived sense of aesthetics. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder… Only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees. — Marcel Proust
O nce upon a time, when I was young(er), the tiny world around me was religiously devoted towards the preparation for the rest of their lives. Plans, charts, objectives, desires and goals. They sought ‘stable’ and relatively popular educational options, following the trail of many ‘successful’ people. I, on the other hand, stood my ground, refusing to ride the bandwagon. I had my qualms about jumping into a world full of engineers and doctors, not that these professions are not alluring, but they did not intrigue ME at the time. As a child I never had one favourite subject. Each year heard me declare my love for one or more subjects. Science, language, mathematics, history, fine arts, performing arts, have all held me in rapture at one point or the other. For far too long, I had planted one foot on the ground, while the other on a boat, strongly threatening to float away. And then, I decided to dive. Letting the waves and current lap me up in their flow, I felt like Gu