//DETOUR
Ready? Not set? JUST Go Go Go!
The thrill (and chill) of being the first roll number in class
“Oi…who’s the juror? Did you see him?”
“All prepared for the review? Did they call you in yet?”
“Duuude! How many views and elevations could you complete? Are you giving all four of them? I only have two!”
“Do you have a physical model? I didn’t have the time to finish mine…ah well…do you think they’ll mark it?”
“All the best! You’ll do great! You got it, man. Just…tell us how it went after you’re done okay? Tell us what they asked you, alright? We’re waiting right down the corridor.”
And lately:
“Did you get the link? Did they admit you inside? Can all of us join, or do we wait our turn? Can’t we watch?…Oh okay, do you know who the juror is? Last question…will you show the presentation or the paper?…Right. Okay, all the best!”
For the uninitiated, design juries are the last of the tortures students have to face every semester in design schools, wearing their toughest skins. They’re essentially a test of your endurance and resolve to make the hard work of the semester worth it all.
And these are just some of the many questions I get asked by my classmates before any jury or viva.
There is nothing new about these questions. The curious, often panic-stricken and anxious tones of the voices feel warmly familiar, even if different people ask me these questions. Because I can already gauge what they are going to ask and how. And they’re usually the same questions.
This little pre-jury exercise has come to be an essential part of ‘community-building’ within the class- for it is one of those few times every semester that we do all seem to agree on the same things. If anything, these questions have come to make my final architectural reviews that much more amusing.
I would have written this in my final year in Architecture school as a parting note to my design professor from first year, if it weren’t for a ridiculous conversation with a friend, Pranjal Maheshwari. He suggested I write my experience as the “first one” in every jury- now that there had been two lockdown editions to it. So, what does it feel like?
Well, just as it did in first year.
It was our first ever design jury. The hype had been real, after all. The studio was re-arranged to accommodate rows of large panels boards- one for each student. All our work for the year was displayed on the Panel- and the several hundred models we’d made were littered neatly on the floor. I distinctly remember tripping over mine in all the nervousness. I was the first student to face the jury. I could see my professor talking to the smartly dressed jurors. The click-clack of the high heels of one of the jurors made her appear all the more intimidating, as she took a look at all the panels, eyes narrowed. The anxious glances of my classmates from across the room weren’t helping. The tension in the studio was palpable. That’s when my professor, Saurabh Tewari walked up to tell me something I’d remember fondly through my five years:
“ Excited? You’re the opening batsman of the class. You are going to be, for the next four years. Be proud, you get to open the innings however you like.”
Well, ever since, going in blindly for a jury and getting to set the tone for the day’s agenda sure has been fun. It’s got its share of thrills and chills that unfold in the following stages, from preparation to completion. Here’s an (entertaining) account of my thoughts as they occur in each stage, just before that wretched review, dreaded pre-final and surely, the exhilarating final jury.
1. Preparing the night before
Always be prepared. Extra even. Don’t listen to anyone- they won’t face half of what you’ll face. Go through all your projects and presentations with a microscopic lens. Nit-pick keywords, blurry concepts and names if you have to. If you come across terms you read in first year and then conveniently forgot about (because who needs to remember that the indentation in a brick is actually called a ‘frog’, right?), brush them up. From experience, you know that the juror’s biggest playing card is bringing up some concept or term from first year, just to test your basics.
Be proud when you find out that in these four years of Architecture school, you’ve built yourself a pretty strong foundation.
2. Anticipation.
This can be real fun. And there’s a lot to anticipate! From the kind of questions you could be asked to the kind of answers you’d give to leave the juror impressed, to the likely duration of your jury versus that of the subsequent students (yours is definitely going to be longer!), and the most thrilling of them all: figuring out who can’t possibly be the juror so you can better anticipate who can be.
Leave the rest to your (restless) mind, which- in anticipation of tomorrow- is making the most of this sleepless night already.
3. Que sera, sera!
It’s jury day, and you’re feeling the good butterflies. Until your sub-conscious chooses the worst possible time to tease you about your design project. All of a sudden, you’re shrouded in doubt. You remember in a flash of panic all that you should have included in the design, but didn’t because you’d already thought of an alternate option. But what was the alternative? And why didn’t you incorporate it earlier?
Deep breathing doesn’t help enough, you know it. Finish all regrets here and now, this is the time to love your work- the last before you dive into the not-so-known.
Whatever will be, will be.
4. Just do it.
Make the entrance. Well dressed. Or in case of the online edition, start smiling before you switch on the camera. Your heart may come out of your mouth once, but let it be. It’s a good sign. Now you’re ready.
5. Auto-pilot
Two minutes in, and you’re comfortably on auto-pilot. Every detail comes naturally to you now. Speak and radiate confidence. Answer the questions with style. With experience, you’ve more or less learnt to gauge the personality of the jurors and watch your words.
The proud smile.
6. The occasional rumble-strip
This is the situation where you ought to manoeuvre a nasty question set to topple your smooth drive. For all you know, this is the impressed juror’s little ego getting in the way- he’s just having some fun. Why else would he randomly ask you, still a student, what instructions would you give the contractor and the engineer on-site?
If you’ve made a genuine mistake though, accept it and carry on. After four years of practice, you’ve found your mantra: you drive the course of your viva.
7. Move on
The juror has given his comments and you’ve come out in one piece. The adrenaline makes up for all the things you may still be confused about- what did he mean when he asked me that? Was my answer to that question really satisfactory?
The good butterflies return- whatever’s happened has happened. Another one down, ‘x’ more to go. What more do you want?
8. Aftermath
This is your time.
You walk down the corridor- to where your classmates are- basking in the glory of being through. The sadist in you likes to watch the misery of your classmates, the anxiety apparent on their questioning faces: How did it go? What’s the juror like? What’s he asking? You took long enough! Tell us!
The sadistic pleasure doesn’t last too long. Their panicking faces and pleading eyes make you comply. You spill the beans on what was asked. You don’t want to tell everyone because after all, how is it fair? You went in without knowing the answers to the same questions, didn’t you? But the word spreads like wild fire, and pages are flipped frantically, definitions asked and cryptic summaries of concepts yelled across the room, as the next person in line prepares to go in.
Sometimes, just to have some fun, you over-exaggerate your experience. At least the lockdown edition skips this bitter-sweet step.
9. Unwind
Sit back, relax, let the relief sink in. Your tensions are done and dusted. Have a hearty lunch to seal the deal. Maybe take a nap, while the others wait their turn.
You really like being the first roll number.
10. Rewind
Scoff and repeat step one the same evening for the next subject.
