#projectinterpret was kicked off on 1st January, 2018, by VarnikaDesigns. In the first 3 months, it has gathered its first few pilots and travelled back in time with them. Here’s a quick recap below:
1st #projectinterpretpilot is Manju Ramanan, the Editor of the newly relauched Filmfare Middle East, Dubai.
She visited Mumbai early this year and was whisked off to the fantastic ‘India and the World’ exhibition at the CSMVS. On the way, she was astounded to “see” her India through the eyes of a foreigner as she doesn’t reside here anymore. Sites and sights that she had accepted as part of daily life during her earlier Mumbai stint now presented themselves differently before her.
The biggest surprise was for her to see the amount of attention being given to the ‘Dabbawallas’ while they were busy doing their routine. 6 big busloads of foreigners were unloaded on the pavements of CST and they minutely captured every possible movement of these busy men, who carried on with their methodical and highly documented work unperturbed by the buzz around them.
A student of English Literature, Manju experienced the meaning of Lacan’s ‘The Gaze’ in an unusual format!
With that as the first right chord, #projectinterpret went to its next journey. Thank you Manju – you have always been the first inspiration! Look forward to many more travels…
Second #projectinterpretpilot is Jabarati. With her sister Janashruti and their mother Ruma Chandra, this was a trip down memory lane. While Kakima (Bengali for aunt) was trying to retrace her steps when she had visited the city with Kaku (Bengali for uncle), Gateway of India held special interest for her.
There was much excitement when Kakima found Swami Vivekanada’s statue commemorating his trip from this shore for his unforgettable Chicago conference. Having a closer look at the carvings on the Gateway, she was taken to get an even closer view of the majestic M F Hussain mural at the Taj Heritage Hotel reception. The group shared more memories over flavours of KalaGhoda Cafe. Jabarati was specially excited to discover flowers that reminded her of her childhood…a true time travel tour this was!
The third #projectinterpretpilot is Praneti Kulkarni. She is one of the main reasons for the creation of the project and refining its aspects from tour routes to marketing to Boomerang. A fellow conspirator from London to Mumbai, Praneti, a spatial designer, is also a time travel guide. She uncovers the multiple layers of the digital and physical spaces very interestingly! The discussion over KalaGhoda Festival, the Shailan Parker exhibition and a multi course lunch, Praneti is one of the most challenging #projectinterpretpilot… hope to live up to her questions in the next tours…
The fourth #projectinterpretpilot Kunal Sawant was not at all surprised at the zig zag traverses through time, space, history, stories, objects and discussions…he’s still busy gathering his wits before the next tours falls upon his destiny! His cinematic view and frames are unmistakably worth a dekko…
The fifth #projectinterpretpilot Priti Doshi is a partner-in-design…she is a strong motivation for these tours… Her questions can throw one off the radar, so when she asked if I believed in myths I fumbled for an answer… Priti is eager for more tours through history, heritage and museums… A lot of myths will be made and broken…
The sixth #projectinterpretpilot Shreyas More, architect, sustainability explorer, is an old confidant through architectural history and sustainability lessons from it. He literally ran into the future… The q & a’s hurled at each other before, during and after our classes… Endless game it has become…
The seventh #projectinterpretpilot turned to be the most surprising winner – the 7 year old Kiaara Suri, who along with her mother Solange, came looking for the aquarium and fishes. Together, we went fishing and found many fishy stories … Kiaara was found swishing swords in her home since empires and their stories clearly left an impression on her young mind… With her reaction, the #projectinterpret venture scored a 100% success – thank you Solange 🙂
The eight #projectinterpretpilot is Sonam Parvani, designer, lover of colours, fashion and happiness, her eyes started shining a few minutes into the tour… Sonam has promised to be a part of many more tours, where she will bring in her enthusiasm and sparkling eyes hunting for more forays into the past …
The ninth #projectinterpretpilot is Vishal Shastri. Designer, former colleague on the massive and scintillating Bihar Museum project, Vishal is a complete history buff! So many historical misunderstandings got shattered and new perspectives formed…to many more such discoveries together…
Jabarati again went into a time-capsule-journey mode at the Byculla Botanical Gardens and Zoo explaining her childhood mischief with flowers in the scorching summer sun at Delhi… For her these tours startle her into memory corners of her life her hectic work schedule had hidden from her!
The tenth #projectinterpretpilot is Janashruti – the sibling who visits the Land of the Rising Sun… not one to miss out on details, ten is the lucky number… pink flowers, fragrances and so many stories over years… Jaipur, Delhi, Santiniketan, Kolkata, Mumbai… places to relate to and endless new ones to add up…
The NGO ‘Hamaara Sapna’ is full of #projectinterpretpilots who have umpteen expressions, laughter, stories to unravel every time we meet… with them each journey is full of excitement and discoveries…
Keep watching this space for the save-your-skin-from-summer-heat tours 🙂
All photo credits rest with VarnikaDesigns.
VarnikaDesigns 
It was wonderful to view the exhibit through a guided explanation from you. It made the past come alive!
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Thank you Solange – more tours coming up…maybe Kiaara would like to come for the 29th April one…
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