All Noisy on the Creative Front

Alexander and I live in a two-bedroom flat. One room has our bed, a clothesline, and an assortment of books. The other has been designated a sacred creative space. We have dubbed it the “sancta sanctorum.”

The sancta sanctorum is virtually empty. Thick auburn curtains adorn the windows and a hand woven purple carpet decorates the floor. We keep the door closed to prevent dust from entering.

The space is incredibly useful in our creative pursuits. After a month of research, Alexander has narrowed his project to focus on three methods of textile production. He will concentrate on one handmade craft that is disappearing (mashru or patola weaving), one craft that has modernized in order to survive changes in the market (mata ni pachedi) and one fully mechanized product. It is his hope that by looking at the individuals involved in production he will be able to address larger trends in Indian textile industries and explore aspects of global trade. The project will culminate in a three-part film, each examining one craft, and will be accompanied by a booklet that will include historical background and interviews.

In addition, Alexander and I have started a project examining Rajasthani turban design. We are both designing books. One concentrates on a single turban, looking at the details of its 20-meter design. The other considers the range of turban designs coming from Rajasthan, comparing colors, patterns and tie-and-dye methods.
Meanwhile I am continuing to grapple with the analytical importance of hope, which was central to the thesis I completed last spring. Eager to examine the dynamics of optimistic thinking in a completely new social context, my interest is in the ways youth envision their futures in India. I focus on the ideas that inform positive outlooks and consider how a shared sense of hopefulness influences attitudes towards and participation in emerging political and social projects. Depending on how much time and luck I have, I will focus on three individual youth. One will be Jay.

In our free time Alexander is teaching me design programs, we are taking pictures of the old city and breaking into a new box of watercolors. It is such so nice to be able to indulge in creative endeavors after being so constricted by our academic responsibilities in college.