From Space to Order : A Tale

July 4, 2018 by Guest WriterHome Connect 1 Essays, Personal Stories, Urban Insights

A “Home Connect” Essay by Amit Kumar:

“For me, it was the amalgamation of my passion towards teaching that probably I inherited from my father and the change we wanted to make in the education system. And while I express these feelings, it would be unfair not to thank the spaces that I’ve grown into.”

The “Home” are located in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand in India. The Writer is Amit Kumar.

His expectation from a ‘smart city’ is – “Serving for the wellness of its citizens and adjustable to the changing manifestations of the city for coming future. “

Image Source(s) – A School Website

Read the story of Amit’s home here…

From Space to Order : A Tale

16th January 2013, Jamshedpur.

*Nokia 1600 rings, ringtone Soulful*

“Hey, Hi”, Shubham said.

“Hi, tell me” “Registration at the old court tomorrow at 10 am. Be there. I will come with Mangal and Abhishek. You bring Sarvesh along.”

“Ok, great! I will pick him up on the way. Bring all the documents that you require, I have checked mine.”

“Ok sure”

“Chalo, Bye! See you tomorrow”

Our new venture was going to be officially recognized the next day. This venture was nothing but an assimilation of the thousands of emotions and observations I had in the first 19 years of my life. There were 3 key learning from my past that helped evolve this venture – RESPONSIVENESS, GRATITUDE & PERSEVERANCE.

I have lived in Jamshedpur since my birth. My father shifted to this place in 1980 in search of better job prospects and later joined TATA STEEL Education department as a High school teacher in Science and Mathematics. We have shifted 3 houses till now – but there are a whole lot of things that have stayed common between all the 3 dwellings.

Being an architect, we have been conditioned to call spaces and dignify them with a name. For instance, ‘bedroom’, ‘dining room’, ‘drawing room’ and so on. But none of the residences I have lived in had those names. They were simply called – Hall, Bada Room (the larger room), the Chhota room (the smaller room) and Majhila room (the in-between space). Of course a kitchen and a bathroom would follow. I personally derive a big learning from the spaces we have in our homes – Rigidity kills scope of adjustment. Simply as it sounds, it is equally difficult to practice. RESPONSE TO CONTEXT.

Another point I used to ponder was why don’t we have maids as other classmates of mine used to talk of their maids making them breakfast and cleaning their beds and house. I asked my parents about this, and what I got back was a lesson to be kept forever. They could put it in such simple words – “Ghar bhi to family hain na, family member ko thank you bolne ke liye bahar se kyu chahiye koi”. (Our home is like our family member, why should we pay someone to express my gratitude to this house of ours). GRATITUDE.

There was a small lawn some 5 feet wide and 35 feet long on the road side of my plot within our property line. We used to sow some leaf vegetables in it and Lauki (Gourd) at one end, which would spiral up and spread on the terrace. I would wonder whether this much effort we put in daily was even worth it, as it would at the maximum provide us with 2 days of meal for a family of 4 (the lauki or gourd ofcourse blossomed for a full season). But those lessons of small gardening and micro-agriculture have help us make decisions, stick to it, have patience and persevere. PATIENCE & HARD WORK.

After the registration was done, a few months later our venture idea, El Cubus, was already hitting the market winning accolades across the business plan events in India. In one of the interviews I was asked to briefly enumerate the idea behind the venture. I said – the idea is to bridge the gap between the faculty and the students, the best and the worst student and the holistic improvement of the student with the inculcation of 3 major values in them – RESPONSIVENESS, GRATITUDE & PERSEVERANCE.

11 Amit Kumar — A School in Jharkhand (School Website)

Already counselled more than 2000 students directly and indirectly and interacted with more than a dozen schools across Jharkhand – We knew what we were up to. We had to be responsive to the context of the issue of educational and academic differences. For me, it was the amalgamation of my passion towards teaching that probably I inherited from my father and the change we wanted to make in the education system, making it more student-centric and more holistic.

And while I express these feelings, it would be unfair not to thank the spaces that I’ve grown into. The spaces, the people around and the environment it created.

3rd September 2013, IIT Guwahati. “Hello, Papa?” “Haan Beta, bolo” (Yes son, tell me) “We won the 2nd prize in the B-plan event here, they commended us and our idea and told that this was not just a venture but a revolution if handled well” “Waah beta, Well done! I was sure this was something big, keep working hard” “Haan papa, thanks, will call you once I board the train back to Jamshedpur. Rakhta hoon phone, bye” (will cut the call now, bye).

RESPONSIVENESS, GRATITUDE & PERSEVERANCE.

FROM SPACE TO ORDER : A TALE!