If 'Brain-Drain' was a situation when India was loosing great load of skilled labor to the west, then 'Drain-Brain' is loss of knowledge -and hence,perhaps, skill- itself in India.
Architect Rem Koolhaas admits that it would have been almost impossible for OMA to be able to build CCTV headquarters today. Not because the gravity defining technology vanished but because the amount of knowledge transfer that has taken place since the beginning of the century from west to east is unbelievably tremendous and he acknowledges the fact that there would have been a possibility of a better design by some Asian architect. On an average an Asian architect gets and builds more projects as compared to an architect from the western nations of the world (European and American.) But if a graph is to be drawn for the implication of the innovative and progressive knowledge of architecture the graph will show a huge convex curve dipping in India. But sadly more and more Indian Students are learning in the most creative schools of the European nations and when they return back to India, the knowledge seems obsolete as they are caught up in spur of understanding the alien architectural system of the nation and the need to survive. All the knowledge acquired from the greatest of schools start to fade away. Only if the architect becomes quite successful then he revives the urge to “do something different” forgetting that all his money, time and intellectual workouts were carried for a better architecture and for the progress of the architecture, not simply for a second act of doing different stuff.
Then what’s the point studying at such great architectural schools and be literally paralysed when it comes to the implication and growth of that knowledge? One of the architects replied “they make us learn to ask the right question at the right time.” Fair enough! But imagine the amount of knowledge that goes un-attended, un-utilised –not even under-utilised- There was once a crisis of Brain Drain in India where best of the talents were fleeing to the USA for better pay and better jobs. But in architecture there’s a reverse situation. People get nurtured in amazing pool of knowledge and return to India and let their intelligence be drained away. In either cases India loses but worst with architects is they too loose tremendously in this Drain Game.
Who is to be blamed? Is it the client? Is the government? Is it the market? Is it the economic condition of the state? Is the non-appreciation of Architecture? Is the lack of architectural events? Lack of commissions? Or is simply plain apathy of everybody.
I’m just a new graduate (perhaps yearning for some change, not exactly knowing what, with a known enthusiasm and cynicism) who has a lot of questions to ask to hundreds of them and to myself.
I may sound easily cynical, but the condition, I fear, is really horrifying.
P.S: I really don’t believe that creative acts have anything to do with nationality or race. But considering the huge number of creative professionals serving one of the biggest populations of the world makes me think about their role in my bustling and yearning nation of India.
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2 comments:
First you have brought up a very interesting and relevant issue, though as you have confessed yourself, with a cynical outpouring.
There are many things at play here and not necessarily these are 'bad'.
First, learning can also be approached as an evolutionary process, extending beyond the design school environment, into practice, into everyday negotiations that an architect goes through with the clients, with contractors, with engineers, etc. You can say that learning is a life long process. In this sense, what I learn depends on my openness to new ideas, to being surprised and being curious. While most of us see our daily negotiations to get a building erected as a means to an end - either to earn money, fame, build 'good' architecture' or all of the above. But I believe this itself is a process of learning, which keeps molding the architect student in us.
From my own experience, studying in 'Western' schools just throws us in a totally different cultural settings. And this is one of the best way to open up our minds. In fact a lot of learning happens here beyond the classrooms... when we are 'hanging-out' with people from different corners of the world. And when I look at what role I will play when I come back to India, I am concerned with keeping this open attitude towards learning from new settings, rather than being scared of not able to 'apply' my Western school design knowledge.
One can also argue that for an opening of mind, it is not necessary for paying huge amounts of money and studying at these fancy schools. Agree, one can be open to new ideas and be critical of ones own practice - the two essential qualities of learning - in India also.
Hence I believe, from my own personal experience that this shift of cultural context is not necessarily a bad thing for learning and for more evolved designs.
The only catch is we need to keep constantly re-orienting ourselves to the changing cultural frame-works and get away from the 'Hoard Roarke' syndrome towards a more sensitive and 'humble' approach.
Sorry for this long post in comment section- its one of the 'occupational hazard' :)
Thanks naveen for putting forth the counter point... It's always good to see the flip side.
well... to keep the discussion goin.. . even I have an aspiration to study at one of those prestigious western schools... But the only issue I have is it's a lot of knowledge that we gather from these schools and new people and their culture- believe, tht's the reason Y a person like me would like to study in such a school- however the practical zones show a bizarre architectural scenario through out the nation with a several great exceptions of course...and in some of these exceptions lies an important lesson. Lesson of the continuum in knowledge and implication of it as well. schools are only workshops of refining skills and enhancing knowledge and the world a canvas that we paint with both our skill and knowledge. this is a recycling process and somewhere here in India that cycle is not yet complete.
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