Old Delhi and Design
Today was another day in India, discovering new part of Delhi; the Old Delhi located in the northern part of the city. Looking back in another century in few minutes of travel starting New Delhi. We said that the time is flying, but in this place time seems to stand. That is the perfect area to feel all the Indians paradoxes and contrasts between wealth and poverty, architecture and slums, health and disease. Despite all of that, here I can feel that all is possible. Everything should be developed, and the present dynamic atmosphere of the youth population who is just trying to live or survive, seems to me a real potential of future creations and ingenuity to develop the New India, which is waiting for.
Just arriving to the metro station, I could feel that people interact with each other by a different way I had never seen before. All the city life is happening in the street, as a really social place or as a very big opening door. It seemed like all users could to contribute to the growing up of an idea, of constructions, of manufacture. That is it: seemed like a real manufactory of life. Every person has its function to make sure that the manufactory continued to make progress (or does not worsen). The employees are cookers, sellers, engineers, technicians, volunteers, doctors, drivers etc. And every body is working together all long the days and nights. People get together to inform of news or just to have a break.
All this city life is happening in a kind of visual architecture patchwork, or puzzle, where all pieces have different colors and are added to the final visual, at different times. The buildings are sometimes older, from another century, has been built with metal scrap, waste materials or salvage, to give a second life to everything. Sometimes, it can be more colorful and modern, with painted concrete etc. Because of that; it was like if we could to turn the clock back, trying to understand since the beginning. The product is not limited to be own original functionality, but is re thought to make another design to be useful in a new way. Re-made is a design solution using in developing countries, but never better used that is their places, as improvised art.
In the center of this incredible patchwork, as something not expected, you can discover a Hindu temple, or the most important mosque of the world, explaining indirectly a lot of reflects of a diverse population living together. The puzzle is growing up, and the manufactory has the stronger to found creativity inspiring by different religion, different methodologies, and different cultures. The religious cultural heritage allows mixing knowledge, and you may be surprised to be passionate in all of this. “Global design” starts probably with the richness of the culture experiences and simplicity, to well understand needs.
Developing countries looks like a very important learning place. Learning about culture, about people and traditions, and finally to learn about design and all its mechanisms.
Le Old-Delhi manufactory is about co-existence, is about salvage, and about life confronts to the reality. That where is the design takes place.
