design in search of roots an indian experience uday athavankar

8/13/2019 Design in Search of Roots an Indian Experience Uday Athavankar

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Design in Search of Roots: An Indian ExperienceAuthor(s): Uday AthavankarSource: Design Issues, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Summer, 2002), pp. 43-57Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1512065

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Design nSearchofRoots:AnIndianExperienceUday thavankarThis is a story of the struggle of a young design profession to estab-lish itself and search for a meaningful role in the post-colonial era.The story is based in India, but similarities with other developingnations which once were colonies cannot be ruled out. The last threedecades, from the seventies when the first industrial design gradu-ates entered the field, to the nineties, is a long enough period to lookback and reflect on these nascent years. As a teacher and a designconsultant in India, these three decades gave me ample opportuni-ties to witness the changing trends, and to share my optimistic, andsometimes pessimistic, reactions with my professional colleaguesand students. Looking back, it appears that, in responding to thechanging political thinking and policies in these decades, the youngprofession seems to be rediscovering itself continuously. In a way, Iam narrating the story of this process of discovery.

Recent political events that have aggressively pushed theremoval of the national trade barriers and globalization make thesereflections even more timely. The economic as well as the socio-cultural effects of the globalization process on the developing worldare too conspicuous to be missed. I plan to present this three-partstory of the struggle using the relationship between cultural diver-sities and economic disparities as a background.

In the first section, I will present an overview of the eventsup to, and immediately after, independence and reflect on theirimpact on the emergence of asymmetry in the cultural diversities. Ithen will look at the exciting beginning of the design profession inthe seventies and its search for roots during the first two decades. Inthe second section, I plan to focus on barrier-free trade and global-ization and how these international events in the nineties haveprompted Indian designers to develop their own business models tomeet the new challenges.

In the concluding section, I will shift to the nagging questionthat designers in most traditional societies have to face. In pursuingthe win-win economic scenario projected by the advocates of glob-alization, will the traditional culture sustain the onslaught of moder-nity? As a backdrop, the story uses the efforts of the designprofession to find its roots in the conflicts between the two keyissues. First, to promote rapid economic development to tackle theextreme economic disparities, and second, to minimize the effects ofdevelopment on the cultural diversities. Fortunately, in India, much

This apers a substantiallypdatedersionof the worecent apers1)"The hallengesof theDesperate xtremes"resentedn heplenaryession f the ICSID001,Seoul,SouthKorea nOctober,2001; nd 2)MeetingheChallengesf Globalization:SomePointersoDesignn heDevelopingWorld,"resentedsthe keynoteddressnthe"Importancef Designn heCreationfanAfrican enaissance,"onferencenDurban,outhAfrica,nNovember, 2001.

? Copyright002MassachusettsnstitutefTechnologyDesignssues:Volume8,NumberSummer002 43


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of the tradition and cultural practices remain visible even now, butI am not sure if we will be able to retain this rich cultural resourcefor long. As in the case of biodiversity, it would be sad if we wouldbe required to create campaigns and organize missions to conscious-ly sustain the remnants of cultural diversity.

The story ends with the lessons that this conflict has for theglobal design community. It is clear that, as the world globalizesfurther, responding to the multicultural and multi-ethnic diversitieswill be the important challenge most of the world design commu-nity will have to face in the new millennium.1.0 Emergence of a Nation-StateThe conflict between the import of new products and technologies,and the consequent effects on the cultural diversities, had startedlong before globalization, at least in the nations which were coloniesearlier. However, it did not become a topic of debate until thecolonies got their voices back after independence. Because of thesheer pace and intensity with which the concept of barrier-free tradeis being pushed now, this conflict has reached a critical level, but it'sroots are in the colonial era.

Colonial rule brought exposure to the Westem world, educa-tion, ideas, thinking and more important to us, the products, thetechnologies and the ideas of industrialization. Colonial architec-ture, products, dress, costumes and advertising added to the al-ready existing diverse cultural legacies left behind by the severalempires that had ruled India earlier. Some of it was a direct trans-plant; others attempted synthesis with the local traditions.' Thecolonial rule also planted the notions of superiority associated withcolonial ideas, objects, and cultural practices. People could aspire fora higher social status by adopting the British objects and followingtheir cultural practice. It created an asymmetry, in which the"progressive and superior (?)" colonial practices served as a stan-dard against which the "native" practices were compared. Figure 1shows a diagrammatic view of the asymmetry prevailing in thisscenario. Superimposing the economic dimension on the diagramprovides an overview of the divisions in the society. (See figure 2)

Asymmetry was really the first challenge to the prevailingcultural traditions and diversities, until the freedom movement tookroot. The nationalistic ideology challenged the colonial import ofproducts and technologies, as well as their cultural influences in thelater period of colonial rule. Though we were not part of the free-dom movement, most of my generation grew up coming to termswith the lingering conflict between the notions of "superior"Westem products and cultural practices and the nationalistic ideol-ogy of self-reliance.

In a way, the freedom movement and the idea of nationhoodalso were an indirect challenge to the cultural diversities. Nation-alism that supported a new dream of a nation-state had an implied

U.A.Athavankar,CulturaldentityndDesign: hallengeso DesignersnTraditionalultures,"ormdiskurs,Joumal f Design&DesignTheory3:1(1997):8-81;andalsoU.A.Athavankar,"ObjectsndCulturalotions"nProceedingsf the ThirdnternationalConferencenDesignEducationnDevelopingountriesPretoria,outhAfrica,March5-27, 1997).

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associationwith culturaluniformityand socialunity.The idea of thenation-statewas in conflictwith therichnessof diversity.Post-inde-pendencepoliticalauthorities ecognized his enormousdiversityasa resource and made it a part of the idea of the nation based on"unityin diversity,"but the inherent conflict could not be sweptunder the carpet.The geo-culturalboundaries conflicted with thenew politicalmap of the nation.The size of the nationwas too largeand the culturalpracticestoo diverse for the citizensto perceive itas a community o whichthey belonged.Should theexistingplural-ity of cultural raditionbe subordinated o the need formonolithicand homogeneousnational culture?Thequestionremainedunan-swered as newer issues such as economicdevelopmentand raisingof the standardsof living dominated hepost-independence oliciesandpolitics.

1.1 Design and Post-IndependenceIndiaColonial rulershad set up industriesand had starteddevelopinglocalmanufacturing apabilitiesmainlyto produce,sell,andexportproducts under licenses fromparentcompanies n their own coun-try.Withthe focuson manufacturing,uch issues as localdesign ortechnologydevelopmentcapabilitieswere not a high priority.Theseproductand technology developmentcapabilitygapsbecameglar-inglyvisibleafter ndependence.Governmental oliciesfavored hequickdevelopmentof coreindustriesand infrastructure,esultingin largegovernment nvestments n importing echnologies or coreeconomic sectors including steel, mining, shipping, and waterresources.The consumerproductsanddurableswere left to privateindustry to produce. Without an entrepreneurialhistory,privateIndiancompanies chose to collaboratewith foreign companiestocontinue to import products and technologies, and focused onproduction.Thedevelopmentof design capabilitiesremained owon their list of priorities.

In spite of the initial focus on infrastructure ndustriesanddevelopment issues, the post-independence political vision of amodem Indiadid havedesignon its agenda.It is significant hatthethen PrimeMinisterJavaharlalNehru had invited LeCorbusier odesign Chandigarh.Similarly,CharlesandRayEameswereinvitedto researchandwrite the "IndiaReport,"which led to the firststepsin initiating design, particularlyindustrial design, in the earlysixties. No developing nation could have conceived of a betterbeginning. Yet, ookingbacknow, the currentdesign landscapeinIndiaseems to be farremovedfromthe vision that the earlythink-ing projected.NascentDesign Professionand IntrospectiveSeventies:1970-80In the seventies, with graduates coming out of the two designschools, design had just begun to make inroads into the Indiancorporateworld. Interestingly,ndiawent through he political ead-

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FigureNGOsocusedheir fforts n hepoor, howeremarginallyffected y hegovemmentdevelopmentrojects.

ershipthatsupportedself-reliancen technology development,andseverely curbed mportsof technologywhile licensing for manufac-turingcontinued.This was a positive sign for establishingdesign asa profession. But there was very little to show by way of home-growntechnologies waiting to be converted nto products,nor wasthere a cutthroatcompetition to drive industries to innovation. Atthe corporate evel, the motivation to innovate and improve prod-ucts by systematicdesign inputs took a back seat.

Designers obviously had to struggleto get a footholdin thenot-so-receptivecorporateworld. As a result, most of us in designeducationcollectivelytook responsibilityfor "marketing"he ideaof design. Itwas unfortunate hatearlycorporatedesignershad tostruggle n a lukewarm,noncompetitivemarketeconomy.While thestruggle to establishdesign in the corporateworld continued, thedesign professionsurvived becauseit saw a meaningful role in thebroadernationalvision.It is importantto note that the nascent years of industrialdesign education and the profession in India happen to coincidewith a crisis n the ideas of economicdevelopment.Whatshook thedesign thinkingandeducationwas the debatethen on developmentissues. This ongoing debate made us question the validity ofWestern orientationin the education and practiceof design. Thebelief that development was both a desirable and an attainableobjectivewas increasinglyseen as an elusive phenomenon in theseventies.Thelarge development projects,which were metaphori-callyreferredas "Temples f ModernIndia"duringtheearlydevel-opment phase, now invited criticism leading to questioning thedefinition of developmentand its relationship o "social ustice."Itwas more than clear that the top-down government efforts onlymarginallyaffected the grass-root levels. The Western models ofdevelopmentcame undersevere criticism.The debate did affecttheintemationaldesigncommunity,prompting ts members o focus onthe "realworld" issues and appropriateechnologies.1.3 Design Inspired by the "Real World" ssuesThe importantchallengewas to find the relevance of design to thelives of the vast majorityof Indians,who had remaineduntouchedby the technological developments. (See figure 3) They not onlyneeded design help, but also would truly appreciate he differencethat it could make in their lives. Such an opportunity exciteddesigners in India, who were looking for a role in the nationaldevelopmentscenario.Designershad to cross their normalprofes-sionalboundariesas well as the barriers f social dass andlanguageto work at the grass-rootevel. "Barefoot esigner"a termthat cameinto commondesign parlance,referred o the noncommercialworkculture and unusual work environment.Grass-rootprioritieswerefood, shelter, transportation,a reasonable access to elementaryeducation and health services, and most important,a means of

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FigureDesign projects nspiredbythe "realworld."

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incomegeneration.Design opportunitiesexistedin creatingsimpleproducts,domesticaids,educationalaids,toolsandproductionaidswhich were eithervery cheap or which they could produce them-selves.Peopleneededinnovativetools,and gadgetsthat would addefficiency,and ensure qualityand consistencyin locally producedgoods. Direct contact with the grass roots influenced the designthinking,priorities and the projects n the design schools.Figure4shows somerepresentative tudentprojects: low-cost,hand-oper-ated nailingmachine for packaging(1);a hawkers cart madefromwaste packingwood (2);a shoeshine stand made fromwaste pack-ing wood (3); and as educational board game designed by theauthorto teachfarmersscientificagriculturalpractices.Our own assignments during the seventies also reflectedthese concerns.Lookingbacknow, it is not surprising hat,withoutany implementation prospects, I was motivated to develop aneducationalgame for farmers see (4)in figure4), to learnscientificagriculturalpractices.2Ourthinkingandactions were influencedasmuchby our directexposureto the grassroots,asby Schumacher'sSmall s Beautifuland VictorPapanek'sDesign or theRealWorld4As educators,we had startedquestioning he Westernorien-tation in design education, and had started searching for a newidentity in the contextof the developing world. Wesaw this as anopportunityto develop a more country-specificdesign approach,and treateddesign as a tool forcommunitydevelopmentandsocialchange. Designers who wanted to explorethese potentialsjoinedhands with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), that hadcarved out a more effective accessto the grass roots throughtheirdedication.A project o develop new leatherproductsandimprovetraditionaltanning technology at jawaja (a local village) by the

2 It s interestingonote hat he educa-tional ame eceivednternationalecog-nitionna competitionn 1973. treinforceshepointmade arlier boutthe hen ocusof the nternationalcommunitiesn hedevelopmentssue.3 E.FSchumacher,mall sBeautiful(London:lond ndBriggs, 973).

4 V.Papanek , 1971),Design or heRealWor/d(London:hames&Hudson,971).



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Figuresand6Concernsor ocial hangehroughesigninterventionominatedheprojects.Developmentf local apabilitieshroughdiscussions asthekeyactivityn hesocialagenda.5)Actualesigningf the eatherbags 6)was seenas oneof the nterventionactivityoachievehis arger oal.Courtesy:ationalnstitutefDesign,Ahmedabad.

FigureDesignfelectronicelephoneor ffice se.Theserojectsere artf henew echnol-ogydevelopmentissions,undedy hegovernment.

studentsand facultyof the National Instituteof Design (NID),alongwith a businessmanagement nstitute,clearlyreflects he designers'concernfor social change throughdesign intervention. See figures5 and 6)

Globalizationseems to have substantiallyaltered the inter-national concerns.We now are missing the motivation that alsocame from the debate on the development issues,nor have we, as adesign community in India,been able to keep this thinking andvigor alive. These directionshad the potential ofhelping designersdiscover a meaningful role and pioneering a new approach.Work-ing at a grass-root level, it would have firmly established thehumanist role of design, and demonstratedits effectiveness andrelevanceto a developing economy.Besides, the products wouldhave remainedclose to the local cultural practicesand thrived onthe diversities. Someof these efforts still continue in a small way,but the enthusiasmseems to have waned.1.4 The Emergenceof New Design Opportunities:1980-90Surprisingly, he seventies ended on a positive note for the designprofession,as this decadetelescoped into the eighties.Realizingthepossibilityof being denied the new technologies,the new politicalleadership n Indiasupportedsome extraordinaryechnologydevel-opment projects. twas a politically-backedeffortto catchup withthe technologically advanced countries in areas like telephoneexchanges,supercomputersandfighteraircraft.Someof the home-grown technologies requiredproductsto be built fromscratch.Wewere calledin to joina team developingnew electronic elephones.(See figure 7) It was an exciting experience to be part of the newvision that aspired to develop products and technologies, whilekeepinginternational tandardsand competition n mind.

Thispositive politicalclimate induced privatesectorindus-tries to develop new products. The role of design and designersnow was beginning to be recognized in the corporate sector.Western design norms and standards of aesthetics became thebenchmarks.Perhaps, t was the inevitable falloutof the aspirationto follow global trends. Much of the professionaldesign contribu-tions came during the laterhalf of this decade. The positive energyinfluenced the design education programs, with graduatingstudents looking forward to taking on creativeprofessionalchal-lenges.

Responding to the political thinking in the eighties, thedesign focus shifted from the grassrootsto the high-tech.Fromtheidealism of the seventies, the design education programsin Indiapartlymoved towardcreatingprofessionalswho could effectivelycontributeto the corporatedesign world. Projects n the eightiesbroughthome the factthat,forthe developmentof a nascentprofes-sion,thegovernment's avorablepolicyframework s as essential asa positive atmosphere and the feeling of being part of a bigger



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vision. But were the policies able to retain this positive environmentin the nineties?

With globalization and free trade in the nineties, the short-lived positive energy of the eighties seemed like a dream. In the partthat follows, I plan to turn to the main issue, i.e., the way globaliza-tion has affected and continues to affect the design profession, inturn forcing it to rediscover itself.2.0 Globalization and the Bittersweet NinetiesThe integration of the national economy with the global economyoften has been projected as a win-win situation, with the promise ofprosperity in the long run. However, its short-term fallout is a bitter-sweet experience for the Indian economy. At this point in time,developing nation such as India must face globalization as a realitythat cannot be wished away.2.1 The Sweeter Side of GlobalizationI plan to start the discussion with the sweeter side of the experiencefirst. In India, globalization has opened up professionally lucrativeopportunities in software development and virtual cyberspaceproducts. Newer sectors like these have showed enormous poten-tials for growth and economic prosperity. As a result, globalizationoften is projected as an antidote to the ailing economy. (See figure 8)

With national boundaries loosing their importance, it was abonanza for the Indian consumers. An abundance of foreign cars,two-wheelers, white goods, and access to international brandsensured many choices for consumers, at least for those who couldafford them. Indian products looked ridiculously outdated andtechnologically obsolete when consumers compared them with theirglobal counterparts. Consumers in India were now more than everconvinced that global competition has benefited them, except thatthe competition in the Indian market now was between foreignbrands or between products of foreign origin.

The new technologies that these products brought in madethe consumer aware of design issues such as no-nonsense efficiency,quality, and reliability. So overpowering was this experience, that itoften overshadowed normal buying logic. Most consumers werebuying appliances including microwaves and refrigerators, whichhave little to do with local foods or cooking and storing practices.There were new office building in the middle of the tropics with fullglass walls It appears incongruous that, Indians, with their typicalvalue-for-money attitude, were willing to sacrifice part of the func-tionality.2.2 The Bitter Side: The SelloutThe dreams of prosperity also were coupled with the bitter side, i.e.,the unhappy experience for Indian companies involved in themanufacture of conventional engineering goods and consumerDesignssues:Volume8,Number Summer002 49


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Figuresand 0Projectsuch s Gammahamber,researchinstrumentsedogivemeasuredadioactivedosageso aboratoryamples.heseypesfproductsadobedevelopedocallyecauseno oreignie-upsere ossiblen hesetechnologyreas.

durables. Grown in the economic patterns prevailing in the protec-tionist and not very competitive business environment of the seven-ties, a number of Indian companies suddenly had to face theonslaught of technologically advanced imported goods. It washoped that competition with global products would be an incentiveto the local companies to improve their products, but very fewcompanies could actually match the international design or tech-nology standards.5 Success stories were too few and far between. Itis interesting to note that, with so much competition in the marketto drive design and innovation, there was very little by way of localdesign available. The short-term fallout obviously was disastrousfor local design initiatives.

There were other reasons for the depressed market for localdesign services. Most of the developing world had a very poorrecord of development, as well as the conversion of homegrowntechnologies into new product ideas. Besides, consumers in Indiahad gradually started showing a preference for products with tech-nological superiority than excellence in industrial design. To add tothis, the local market lacked the numbers needed to make substan-tial investments in new product development and updates attrac-tive. With so many odds against them, the Indian companies werereluctant to invest time, money, and effort in the risky business ofnew product innovation.

These developments dampened the technology developmentaspirations of the eighties and severely restricted the local designinitiatives. Many companies chose to import the technologies andalso designs from technologically advanced countries for licensedproduction, and focused more on marketing issues. The short-termfallout was disastrous for Indianidesigners, forcing them to developsurvival strategies by repositioning their services in the new context.These strategies are pointers to the way the design profession inIndia may shape in the future.2.3 Survival StrategiesWith the changed scenario, in hardcore product areas, the marketfor "classical" product design assignments shrank in size. The focusnow shifted to product design needs that were too localized for aforeign company to respond to cost-effectively or to the redesign ofthe earlier imported products. Similarly, Indian companies had torely on local design initiatives where the tie-ups with foreigncompanies were not practical for other reasons. I was, myself,involved in two assignments that used radioactive sources for test-ing, where technology could not have been imported. (See figure 9and 10) In many ways, these projects were similar to those of theeighties, and required teaming up with technologists to developideas from scratch, except that the positive energy that drove designin the eighties was missing.5 A.Jha,BackgroundoGlobalization(Bombay:entreorEducationnd

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Figure1Becausef their isibilityn heroads,custom esigned ndbuilt arshaspopular-ized he deaofdesign.Courtesy:CDesigns.

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Figure2Hospitaleds, esignedndmanufacturedscustom-builturniture ith hedoctors'participationn hedevelopmentrocess.

2.3.1 Lateral Expansions of Design ServicesFaced with this challenging situation, design firms expanded thescope of their design services to tap the growing merchandisingmarket. This included lateral expansion to embrace designing retail-ing products, exhibitions, and Web-based services. With a numberof companies focusing on production and marketing, this was alogical shift. It paid handsome dividends, with much of the designservices income coming from these new areas.

In the last few years, some of the new design services haveassumed a more contemporary form. With depressed local econ-omic prospects, design firms have even started prospecting forwork from outside. They are networking with international teamsby giving part or full design services to clients from other countries.Limited design services start with creating virtual models based onrough sketches provided by the designers in other countries, todetailing for production. Larger design firms have started offering afull design service to companies abroad. The success of this businessmodel is as much based on the availability of a large talent pool andskill sets in design as on the low manpower cost of the computerliterates. Access to modem tools such as computers and networkingfurther supported this model. For effective online interaction withtheir client's abroad, some design firms are taking advantage of thelocal software design capabilities to develop special "industrial-design-centric" communication modules. It is nice to witness someof the recent computer savvy design graduates excitedly latching onto the new opportunities to integrate themselves with the emerging"corporate global village." If these are indicators of what is likely tocome in the near future, educators will have to prepare designstudents to speak the language of global design and to interact withtheir counterparts in the global village.2.3 2 Design-Based EntrepreneurshipThe second strategy was to initiate entrepreneurship largely basedon design expertise. Constrained by low-profile design activity thatdoes not give adequate opportunity to their passion and creativeinstincts, some designers have experimented with design pluslimited manufacturing, as well as the marketing of the custom builtproducts. The scope of their work ranges from signage, outdoorfurniture, and hospital furniture to custom designed cars. (Seefigures 11 and 12) Such enterprises obviously tend to be productcentered, with a designer choosing a product line that he continuesto develop, produce, and market.

These designer+entrepreneurs have constantly used theircreative design expertise to remain competitive and to develop aspecial design-intensive niche in their chosen product area. Theyhave not only evolved a new business model, but also have madetheir products locally visible, thus creating public awareness ofdesign. Strange as it may sound, this business model has maxi-Designssues:Volume8,Number Summer002 51


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Figure3Officeilesandmemo adsusingbambooframe ndbamboo eave nfill, esigned yProf. .G.Rao ndAvinashhinde.Otherindustriallyroducedomponentsremixedfreelywith hecraftechniques.he igsandfixturesnsuredualitynd onsistency.Courtesy:ambooab, ndustrialesignCentre.

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Figure4Leatherouchesorperiodicals. ith omedesign elp, rafts ancater otypical rbanrequirements.Courtesy:ashmi anade.

mum potential for survival as well as of establishing design as aprofession in the developing world. Considering its ultimate effec-tiveness, I am convinced that such an idea should be viewed as aviable alternative by the developing world.2.3.3 Back to the "Real-World" IssuesThe third strategy was to shift the focus on real-world challenges.Fortunately, the network of grass root NGOs, had grown over theyears, and it was possible for the designers to join hands with them.With NGOs now operating with greater professionalism, the returnson the design services offered were not bad, either. The "barefootdesigner," the pet idea of the seventies, could now cover his feetwith decent footwear

Lessons learned in the seventies gave the new designprojects operated through NGOs a greater clarity and focus. Real-izing the local priority for income generation schemes, the earlieremphasis on "products for the poor" now shifted to using the exist-ing local craft skills to develop products for urban and exportmarkets. Traditional craft products, made for local consumption,have not been able to face competition from cheap, factory-madeproducts. Designers, with their understanding of the urban andexport markets, have been able to get the craftsmen to move awayfrom the economic constraints of the local markets. These designershave been exploring the use of modern design principles and tech-niques to develop new value-added craft products, primarily basedon local skills. (See figures 13 and 14) It is worth noting that suchprojects not only have a very high socioeconomic significance, butalso are becoming an economically viable option for the designersto focus on.

In a way, the widely differing survival strategies reflect thedesperate differences in the cultural and economic scenarios. Thefirst strategy required the designers to match their talents and skillsets with their international counterparts and become team playersin the "global village." The third strategy is in total contrast to thefirst, and required that we radically redefine goals as well as thescope of the design activity to focus on the issues in the "realvillages" of India. These two strategies not only differ in the way thedesign projects are handled, the markets that they address, and theknowledge base that they demand, but also in the skill sets and thedesign tools they use. The second strategy, an emerging businessmodel of creating a design-based entrepreneurship, potentially candeal with both the extremes. Though it is difficult to judge its effi-cacy with limited data, the model shows new promise and a direc-tion that has an intuitive appeal.

Looking back, each of the three decades seems to have givena new direction to design ihinking. Creative responses to the rapidlychanging political policy frameworks and economic contexts haveallowed the profession to rediscover new potentials. In the next



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section, I plan to discuss the effects of the fast-trackglobalizationprocess on destroying the local ways of life, culturalpractices,andimposing uniformity.I also will show the way designers haveresponded to these developments.3.0 Development or CulturalContinuity?Globalization nd free tradehad effectsthat were more farreachingthan those listed in the previous section. It talked of a borderlessglobal economy but, in reality, he borderswere treatedas insignif-icant only for the purpose of trade and commerce. Its obsessivefocus on markets,economicgrowth,and GNP had obvious effectson theway "Design"was viewed. Designwas not seen anymoreasa tool for development,but more as a tool in the hands of business.3.1 Local Culturesas CasualtiesMost discussions on globalizationfocus on the economic issues,with the resultthat its effect on the noneconomicactivities, nclud-ing culture,often are left out. InIndia, globalizationand free tradeallowed people to get access to new technologiesandproducts,butthe way the productswere (andare) promoted, nvariablyplantedseeds of alienlifestyles. Thoughthe processstarted n the nineties,in its full force, it is only now beginning to be evident. It is likelythatits effectson traditional ulturesanddiversities,eventuallywillbe farmore severethan what is visiblenow.

Itis not justtheproducts hatcrosstheborder,but the mind-set and the new values that their promotions create, that havedevastating effects. Along with these products, it often is thewhole "culture"associated with the image of the productthat isdownloaded. It is the aggressiveprojectionof images and valueswhich more often conflict with local notions and imagery.Withaggressive promotionsand marketing, he global companieshavebeen projectinga profileof a "Globalmodern man"(readas a typi-cal executive from a technologically advanced country) as anapproachableand a desirable dream. Should a culture with somuch diversity look forward to a single role model and a dreamborn and nurturedin another culture?These aggressive promo-tions explain why most colonies have become more Westernizedafter ndependence,and thatby theirown choice Shouldglobaliza-tion and the economic prosperity always automaticallylead toWesternization?

Forglobal companies,linking "modernity"with "Westernlifestyle" always has made commercialand marketing sense. Byassociating he rolemodelsandimagesfromtheadvancedcountrieswith the idea of upward social mobility, they have successfullymanaged to manipulatethe preferencesof the trend-settingclass.Modernity implies cuttingthe umbilical cordto the tradition thatexisted before.The concept also always had undertones of blinduniformity, omogenization,andconflictswith the idea of diversity.Designssues:Volume8, Number Summer002 53


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}.s.. - .i....... .... ..... ......fs.. .... .: ::"i.^.'S:i:.. ..:'_i::m

..:,,..'''--........ j,....

'.Y. ... ....t,-.

^:i. ~ ,. , a3,e,>$:io.

Figure5Conflictetweenhe modern nd vernacu-lar"s accentuatedy hebipolarityn hesociety.

Unfortunatelyn India, t also is equatedwith products, mages andaestheticnormsthat did not evolve in local cultures.In a way, associating the ideas of upward social mobilitywith Westem culturerelegatedthe prevailing traditionalnotions,perceptions,and imagery associatedwith local cultures to a lowerstatus.It has succeededin repositioningthe productsof traditionalcultureas "vemacular,"with not very good connotations.Tradit-ional cultures have leamed to see a bipolar situation of Westemcultureas "modem"(or contemporary) uxtaposed with the localtradition as "vemacular."It is almost a recast of the colonial"Westemr/native"alue scaleassociatedwith culturaldiversity.

Perhapsthis reaction s typicalof my generation,which hasexperiencedthe conflict between the notions of superiorWestemculture and the nationalisticideology of self-reliance.Morerecentgenerationsmay not reactto this with the same intensity, but thefact remainsthatthere is a perceivable oss of pride in the creationsof the local cultures.Thereare plenty of examplesof Westem ideasgraduallyreplacing he existing culturalstereotypes.Westemdress,omaments, and food habits are just a few of them. A Gregoriancalendarhas replacedthe traditional ndian calendarthat reflectedthe local seasonsandregional estivals.Worstcasualtiesare the locallanguages,with new generations earning heirown mothertongueas a secondlanguage3.2 Bipolarity:Global Village vs. Real VillageThe economicas well as the socio-culturaleffectsof the globaliza-tionprocesson Indiansocietyare too conspicuous o be missed. It ispossible to view the social landscape as a stretchedrubber band.Figure15 shows thebipolarextremitieson the diagonalstretch,withthe top-left occupied by "trendsetters," small but prosperousandinfluential social class. They are more or less committed to theWestem ways of thinking, values, imagery, and also the way ofconductingbusiness. Theyareprofessionallyandpsychologically nsync with the "global village," speak English, dress in Westemoutfits, surround themselves with high-tech products, visit pubs,and also preferto listento PinkFloyd,Sting,and BrianAdams.

The people who belong to the "real village," occupy theotherextremeend of the bipolarscale. At this point in time, theyonly have limited or no access to new technologies and products,and have no place in the scheme of globalization.This is the vast,often not educated,vemacularclass that remainsrootedin traditionand is excluded from the revolution and prosperitypromised byglobalization.Yet heyhave learnedto sharethese dreamsand aspi-rations,hoping that they would be able to affordthe new lifestylesomeday.The contrastin the design services that we discussed atthe end of the previous section can be understoodbetterif seen inthe contextof thebipolarnatureof the societyin India.

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3.3 Political Fallout of the Stretched BipolarityThe conflict created by the stretched extremities has had politicalfallout. Relegated to the label of vernacular, the culturally rootedlocals have been aggressively reacting to certain modernist legaciesof Western mass culture. They view these legacies as a threat to thetraditions and values that they have cherished for generations. Theywant technological, but not cultural, modernity; and economic pros-perity through a free market, but not the commodity culture.

There are two visible reactions to this conflict. The first, andoften politically motivated reaction is intolerance to the extremitiesof cultural pluralism. This reaction manifests itself in the form ofmoral police, who have been successful in creating an organizedresistance to symbols of Western culture and modernity, such asfashion TV, music TV, and McDonalds outlets. A second reactioninvolves political balancing by marrying the cultural imperatives ofmodernity with the need to assert one's cultural identity. This hasled to synthetic search for inventing cultural markers that reflectmodernity as much as native identity. It is almost like syntheticallyfashioning and showcasing a new identity. Yet it has become politi-cally expedient to focus on expressions of regional and nationalidentity through visible cultural markers. They are manifested indresses that people wear, the objects that they surround themselveswith, and the interiors that they live in. Even though the culturalmarkers may be superficial, they serve to distinguish the ownerfrom others by visually communicating the differences.What does the superficiality of these efforts indicate? In fact,it can be viewed as a failure of contemporary designers in pioneer-ing new expressions of modernity that are rooted in local cultures.Can the designer, through his work, reverse the value scale andrecreate the pride in the local expressions of modernity?Design ChallengeThe real challenge is to evolve an approach that is not only sensitiveto local functional needs, but also to the shared cultural notions andimagery. If we agree that products speak their language throughform, then we must allow them to speak in their own mothertongue, and also permit local dialects to be established.6 We mustfirst accept modernity as a plural concept that changes from cultureto culture. Only then can we evolve expressions of modernity andits local dialects that would make the current as well as the futuregenerations feel a sense of belongingness and pride in local objects.

In India, small groups of independent designers are becom-ing conscious of their cultural roots, and are experimenting bydeveloping a new language in architecture, furniture, product, andfashion design. They are attempting to assimilate functional andvisual clues from the design practices prevalent in the local cultures.Their work is contemporary and yet makes references to the past. Ihave attempted to reflect these concerns in some of my own

6 K.K.Ashraf"Land, ater ndMan nBangal. hemesromheDeltaicArchitecture"nContemporaryArchitecturendCity orm, arrokAmeen, d., India:Marg ublications,1997), 5-39.



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.......?.

Figures....6..nd7....Design.of .hischai borowehe.....inclined.......seat principleo supportor hetraditional~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....Inia .quttn postureIt.borows.identitcle .fo othe precedentsuch..s.regionalfurniture~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.......

projects. The chair project I was involved in, supports the body inthe traditional squatting posture, and borrows other precedentsfrom the regional furniture as identity clues. (See figures 16 and 17)

There is a need to rediscover the roots in the traditions andtry to evolve new expressions of modernity rooted in the localcultural context. The task is difficult, but not impossible. Theseremarks by Mahatma Gandhi, best sums up such an approach:

I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides, and mywindows to be closed. Instead, I want the cultures of alllands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. ButI refuse to be blown off my feet by any.Such an approach was difficult to implement during the

modernist era of technological orientation and minimalism.Fortunately, post-modernism has given the designers enormousfreedom of expression. Cultural continuity is not new to post-modernism. This is an ideal opportunity for designers in India andthose in other developing countries to pioneer local versions ofpost-modernism.

I am aware of the fact that, at the moment, it may be difficultto propose this as a general approach. The freedom to explore rootsin tradition often is not available to designers working within thecorporate framework. They are fighting a loosing battle with themuch-hyped Western notions of modernity which these companiescontinuously bombard us through the media. People are facingdouble bombardment, from products as well as from advertise-ments, that is designed to directly change their notions and mind-set. However, it is still worth continuing the battle. My guess is thatthe corporate mindset, currently sold on Western notions and ideals,will change. It may not be out of awareness, but by realizing thatdifferences based on place-identity would give their products acompetitive edge in the global market.3.4 New Millennium Agenda for Design CommunityThe story of the struggle does not end here, but begins afresh withthe new millennium. The ever-increasing diversities in the stretchedbipolar landscape obviously will be reflected in the kind of projectsthat Indian designers will be expected to handle. Should not thismind-boggling variety then be reflected in the education of thosedesigners? We have to inject new thinking and develop new skillsets in design education to create a breed of extremely versatiledesign professionals, who can work on grass roots as well as oncyberspace projects. It is a challenge to function in the "global" aswell as the "realvillage" with equal ease. Besides the competence tohandle corporate projects, they have to explore the role of design intackling the "real world" issues, and learn to view design as a toolfor development. They have the responsibility for reestablishing thehumanist role of design and demonstrating its value in the devel-

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oping economy. The extremities n the Indian landscape will offerthe design profession varieties of new challenges to continuouslyrediscover its roots and to make meaningful contributions.It canlook forward to adulthood with an identity of its own. Will thepowerful pro-globalization orcesencouragethe processof redis-covery?Onlythe futurewill tell.

Interestingly,he culturaldiversity ssues are not restricted othe developing world, nor are they confined to the traditionalcultures anymore. There are several modern nations that havemulticultural and multi-ethnicsocieties, and areproud of it. Thenew generationof designersmust be sensitized to respectdiversityand to view it as a sourceof innovationrather han a problem. f wewant to retain his culturalresource,global designers, oo,will haveto develop a respectforthese diversities and address them in theirdesign approach.To the internationaldesign community,this ismajorchallengeofferedby the new millennium.Additional ReferenceU. A. Athavankar,"Globalizationand the Roots in the Culture,"Architecture+ Design XIII: (Nov-Dec,1996): 8-99.


design in search of roots an indian experience uday athavankar

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