The Making of an Architect

It starts from the early days of preparation for an entrance examination during 10+2 level. It was a kind of romance period, during which I was more than sure to get into good engineering college. Unfortunately, during this romance, preparations did not meet expectations. So the result was obvious, a very poor rank in entrance examination. I had realised that it was next to impossible to get into good branch (Good meant anything other than Architecture). As expected, I got a letter from the institute for counselling to get admission in architecture branch. At that time, I never knew what architecture was and there was nobody to guide me on the subject. I got some idea that it was something related to buildings.

Anyway, took admission under various pressures, thinking that I will prepare once again to change my branch as it was almost an established fact that architecture was not a good branch in the booming period of computers. Some of my friends even suggested that I should opt out of the course and take admission in computers in some private college, for architecture had no future.

Amid all these mind boggling influences, I started going to classes. We had a dynamic Prof. who assured that architecture is different, dynamic, creative …….and…..what not field to help brighten most of the gloomy faces. You do find people like that at all places. I must thank that Prof., for, at least giving a try; otherwise, I would have left during first few days if he were not there. Though, now, I have developed a very strong understanding that not only a person but sometimes a group, a community, a state and even a country can be absolutely wrong in its perception of the reality.

Soon, I discovered that architecture was actually what we used to do in our junior high school in drawing and painting classes. I used to wonder, why the hell we need five years to waste like this. Moreover, I was very upset to compare what I was doing at that time and what I used to do in my 10+2 level. That favorite Physics was no more there, chemicals of chemistry went away never to come back again, charm of mathematics was completely out of life. Truly speaking it was like, where I was heading to…….??? …….a big question.

Above all, ours was a first batch. You can understand, no seniors to help, no ready made sheets to topo and no reports to copy-paste job (the greatest gift of the computer age to young generation). Further, the classrooms which were given to us initially to run a new course were literally like go downs. Never looked like studios or lecture theaters in spite of our all efforts to make them look like.
So it was completely a hell of life. And whatever little charm was left in our life was gone due to demanding back-breaking drafting work.

By then it was very much clear that I was not going to stay there for long and decided to try again to change my branch. Sometimes later I realised that already two years had lapsed. Now, considering no option available, I thought, why not it do properly, if in any case you have to do it. At that time as always, one Prof. motivated us by fuelling us with the notion that hard work would be only till 3rd year. All architecture students know that it’s a pleasant discovery after third year that you become habitual to slogging.

After sometime a stage came when I started liking architecture. May be no field is less or inferior to other. Only thing is to identify whether the field is for you or not and then give little sincere effort to gain something from the field. I started liking concepts of proportion, symmetry rhythm balance and harmony.
Some body has rightly said that sometimes things which happen by chance and against your will may prove to be rewarding for you in long run. But the fact could not be appreciated by us even in final year. Students from other branches were being placed for very high packages and we were fighting to get a job with a survival salary.

This was high time to realize that I had played a great blunder in my career. We tried our best to get a good job, only to realize that there were none. Finally, I decided to do masters in field which will eventually take me out of architecture and will be able to give me a good job. After deciding this, I took admission in planning hearing that this field has a great scope and there are opportunities for government jobs as well.

But, by the time I graduated in planning, scenario had started to change. Once again, I was in a great dilemma after two years in planning. There were very less jobs in planning but there was a huge demand for architects.
Constant high economic growth rate coupled with opening up of 100% FDI in construction sector had started to give dividends. At present we have no shortage for jobs in architecture with a descent salary. Further, it has been estimated that we may fall short of requirement for architects in coming years considering the growth trend.


So …finally not bad to be an architect…..

What do you say?