"Riyaz":The confluence of Dynamism and Tranquility

When one says home, we always fall into the idea of four walls covered by a roof. But home could be a group of friends you feel free with, a gadget that you spend most of your day on, a space that you couldn't supposedly call a house but one that enlightens you, expands your horizons, gives you an escape from the plethora of reasons you're running from and has positive effects on your life. It could be a place that you’ve occupied quite often but haven't realized how much of an influence it has in your day-to-day life. Security, freedom, and privacy are ideas that convert a house into a home. That is when we started asking ourselves what home meant to us. After some introspection, a variety of locations turned up. For some, they were vantage points, and for some, corners and niches, spaces associated with a particular person, etc.

   However, ‘Home’ to me has always been a confluence of various factors, whether it be freedom or confinement in terms of space and mind, chaos and tranquillity, and much more. Having said that, I pondered upon the places I've been to and eventually realized that music plays a very important role in my life due to which spaces related to it are even more special to me. Then I raised the question of comfortability and it struck me - My Riyaz Space, which consists of a diwan in a corner surrounded by windows making it a semi-open space that connects the calm of the greenery outside and the chaos of the activities taking place inside. From waking up to the mellifluous birds to singing along with them is quite a connection with nature and beyond. While practicing music in that particular space I've always felt the confidence of experimentation surge in because of the absence of strangers, but along with that, I also subconsciously open up and react to the environment around me.

   I began with a basic pencil sketch of the diwan with cushions and the windows around it. To ease out of the stiffness and rigidity I started using charcoal and gradually started building up the details and delved into the various ways of drawing a space from different views. Eventually, it boiled down to a view from above as if opening a box and unraveling the interior of the house, which is the living room and also the trees and buildings outside, with the riyaz space acting as a threshold between them. Then I could actually see how both the sides balance out each other and how each and every object and action affect me and my routine sessions. This junction unfolds creativity-it being a nuanced space.

   Another aspect of this module was that we got a sneak peek of everybody’s house and could identify how their spaces influence them and understand them better. Digging deep into the idea of home changed how we perceive our life and our surroundings. This module catered to questions regarding many facets like social engagement, sensorial experiences, multiplicity, configurations, etc. and most importantly morphing the idea of home with numerous possibilities.