portfolio 73

Picture from Google Scientists, Mathematicians and especially Edmond Kirsch from Dan Brown’s latest book, “Origin” is addressing the possibility of a new kingdom in our taxonomical hierarchy. Technium : An Ecosystem of various technologies, a society of technological species that may operate even without human interference! I was unable to process my thoughts when I first learned about this- not just because of fear but realizing how there is a depth to this clichéd, otherwise overlooked statement: Technology will replace humanity.  This puts a danger sign on the various technologies serving various purposes in our lives today, that one day these might chip off our existence as a dominating race. Was the creation of technology a mistake? Should we curse the invention of wheels, should we forget the countless inventions that not only defined science but made human survival against all forces a possibility?  The word “Technology” was invented only in the year 182...

If you have, even the slightest bit of expectation that I am going to tell you about how hospitals are temples where illness is cured and priests walk around in white coats, then you may be reading the wrong article. Just kidding. You might already know more than me. But don’t worry. I have no intention to say anything demeaning about this great place billions of people depend on-to survive. I am only surprised how much I don’t know about hospitals even after having been visiting it since forever. My design project for this semester is design of a general hospital in Phuntsholing and the faculty thought we needed to do a project this huge for having stepped up into third year. It’s a really big challenge but I am strangely enjoying this stress and I tell you there is no hospital to cure this disease we get due to procrastination. So I’m trying to stay put, so is everyone in my class. A hospital needs the standpoints of various patients, their relatives and friends who c...

Another astonishing book by Dan Brown you shouldn’t miss reading is Inferno - Everything from history to future and science to religion, this book has taught me a lot of things. Here are three things I learned from this book: 1. Over Population The current world population has by far exceeded the capacity the earth is actually designed to host. So the impacts of overpopulation we are assuming that we might experience in future, are actually just on our doorstep. Overcrowding, poverty and shortage of resources are already prominent in some parts of the world and yet we are unsure of what measures to take. While there are numerous methods like family planning, use of contraceptives and education to control overpopulation, it is still impossible to bring the number to the actual earth’s capacity. May be it’s late. As much as this truth is hard to face, mathematics is indisputable and it says that we might not survive another century with this exponential growth of populat...

Part III- The story of cold soaked feet The cover of the Booklet The smile on everybody’s face when we saw the draft print of the Ura documentation was incredible. It was all the frowns and stresses that finally found a way to stretch into the long lost smile. It was the kind of smile that had many reasons. It was the smile of relief, the smile of completeness, the smile of satisfaction, the smile of pride, and the smile that our hardworks finally paid off and that we’re finally going to get some sleep. It was happiness. And when we finally saw the hundred and sixty-one pages booklet in a glossy cover picturing Ura Village, the smile multiplied even more. After documenting fourty-five houses of Ura, we spend the last day studying the general aspects of the village: Settlement pattern, connectivity, infrastructure, drainage, waste management and water supply (Which is included in the booklet). What made the study so unique was a heavy snowfall during the last t...

Part II- Store Rooms, Windows and Cold Picture from Divya The first house we documented was about fifty years old and it still stood new on its thick enormous walls. The owner said that her house overcame earthquakes or any other disasters without a crack. Her amusing trust on her own house was undeniable as the house spoke for itself too. Its massive walls could stand hundreds of angry men punching on it hundreds of times though it was just mud and stone. It was three-storied and the wide ground floor where they used to keep cattle in olden days now were left empty. Although, some of the corners hosted families of mice and spiders.  The stone masonry walls plastered with mud extended up to the first floor where this house had three different store rooms. Only if modern buildings in Thimphu had this luxury, one wouldn’t have to pay five thousand ngultrum for just a bedroom and a kitchen.  A stair case of nine steps laddered up to the top most floor where s...

 Part I-Remembering Dawa the stray dog Picture Courtesy: Sonam Dorji A story of a stray dog in Bhutan by Kuenzang Choden narrates his journey to Bumthang, east from Thimphu, which is now twelve hours of bus ride accompanied by backache and dusty air due to the road extension work. In that story, Dawa, the dog travels to Bumthang upon hearing of a place where he can cure his mange. His gift of understanding human language directs him to his destination where he explores places on the way. Such was the experience of my travel to Bumthang last week. Travelling with eighteen other friends who were new to Bumthang made me feel new in the place I grew up. I realized there was so much I didn’t know, so much of amazing things I missed even though I lived there. So for one week, I was a tourist in my own home. It started right from our departure from the college. I could feel the air in the bus growing thicker with excitement as it accelerated up the gentle slope towards Sorc...

I don’t know if falling in love with a mountain more than with any person is weird. Two years ago I wrote about this beautiful mountain in Bumthang, Kitiphu. No evil seems to have kissed this magnificent giant and its grandeur stands as beautiful as ever. It still fills me with positive feelings and gives me all the reasons to fall in love with it. My visit this time promised bigger things. It was like meeting an old friend after long years of distance. It was like that friend had all the answers to my questions I was never able to get a way to. More prayer flags have been stringed and hoisted.  The older ones were faded and overlapped by the new ones with fresh prayers. The weight of the flags on the strings made it difficult to flutter lightly but it looked beautiful just the same. all the flags were somehow connected to eachother(It looked like all selfish prayers that were hung together) and it made me realise how we belonged to the same web even though our prayers sa...