Bystander

Bystander

The other day around 8 in the evening after a heavy rain, I went down to Jalahalli Village to pick up thing . The shops were alive and people around shops busy buying, chatting, a few of them…while I was buying things from this lady, a kirana shop, there was this conversation between the shop owner the man and older gent friend sitting on the chair outside (like it is seen usually). The conversation which started on general welfare I guess and moved to re exams. The shop owner was talking about how his son came back after the science exam and said how tough it was and said only 10 out of 50 will clear it, though the lady added that he was good in science! Then about Maths, the father was explaining to this welfare uncle man: the evaluation of the Maths test was more on the Method of the arriving at the solution than the correct answer type. The teachers were looking at knowledge. How the student has approached the problem because according to him they could be many ways in solving a maths problem. Uncle added today they give 90/100 even if the final answer went wrong but the method/approach good and by-hearted outflow has less value, by the teachers. Both kept mentioning about ‘knowledge’ as a factor, essential today.

They were middle conventionally educated class, in a cosmo-urban minimal area settlements who are seeing and questioning the intellectual and seeking value. Knowledge is important. And in Mathematics one can come up with a solution by way of different methods. This 5 min spent there over hearing! them was a class for me.  The parallel was in design, process/method is very important for us to come up with informed and innovative solutions.

What I am coming to (re synthesis of the above).

Design research and the ways of capturing what is or maybe.

Listening to people – Stories (this constitute a large enough ‘diaspora’)

Regard their intelligence with a broad understanding, ‘knowing the background’ (context is too large a systemic word )

‘having landed in Columbo in transit, an auto rickshaw ride of 10 min with a friendly conversation with the auto man, I gathered the socio-economic status of Sri Lanka, though I am not a economics expert.”

The take a way – conversation with people.