وہ کاغذ کی کشتی وہ بارش کا پانی

دیو،کرشنا اور رام تین دوست تھے جو انجینرنگ یونیورسٹی کے طالب ٰعلم تھے۔ تینو کا تعلق متوسط گھرانو س تھا ۔ یے تینوں جے پورا کے رھائشی تھے۔ تعلیم ک سلسلے میں تینوں دوست ، زندہ دلوں کی جان، روشنیوں کے شھر دہلی کے چھوٹے سے ھاسٹل میں رھائش پذیر تھے۔ شروع شروع میں تو تینو پرھائی میں اچھے تھے۔ لیکن کچھ عرصے بعد وہ تینو ہر کام میں بے احتیا ٹی اور لاپرواھی برتنے لگے۔پرھائی سے تو ان کا دل اچاٹ ھو چکا تھا ۔دل لگتا تھا تو صرف فٹبال کھیلنے ، سنیما گھروں میں فلؐمیں دیکھنے ،سڑکوں پر گشت کرنے میں اور دوسروں کو تنگ کرنا تو ان کا پسندیدہ مشغلہ بن چکا تھا۔ امتحانات کے دن قریب تھے۔ تینوں کے کامیاب ھونے کا دور دور تک کوئی امکان نا تھا۔

یہ سردیوں کی ایک لمبی رات تھی ۔ شام سے بارش پورے زوروں شور سے برس رہی تھی۔دیو کرشنا اور رام خلاف توقع ھاتھوں میں کتابیں لیے گرما گرم چائے کے ساتھ پکوڑے کھانے میں مصروف تھے۔ کے اچانک کرشنا کی نظر داھنی جانب گلی میں کھلی کھڑکی میں پڑٰی ایک کاغذ کی کشتی اپنا نازک وجود سنبھالے بڑی دور سے آرھی تھی،،وہ ڈگمگا رھی تھی۔ لیکن نہ جانے کیوں ڈوبتی نہ تھی ۔ یوں لگتا تھا جیسے اس سے کسی معصوم کی امیدیں وابستا ہوں۔ ابھی چند لمحوں کی دیر تھی کے اچانک بارش کے پانی کی ایک تیز لہر آئی جس نے اس کاغذ کی کشتی کو کہیں دور دے مارا یکلخت گلی سے کسی کے شدت سے رونے کی آواز آئی کرشنا نے گلی میں جھانک کر دیکھا ،وھاں ایک سات ،آٹھ برس کی بچی تھی۔ جو نیلا رین کوٹ اور شوز میں ملبوس چھتری تانے کھڑی تھی ۔

وہ اس شدت سے رو رہئ تھی ۔ کہ ھاتھ میں پکڑی سنہری چھتری دور جا گری کرشنا نے جلدی سے ایک کاغذ لیا اور کشتی بنا کر کھڑکی سے باہر پھینک دی۔ اور اونچی آواز سے کہا "واہ گڑیا تنھاری کشتی تو بڑی تیز چلتی ھے"

بچی نے نظر اٹھا کر دیکھا تو وہاں کوئی نہ تھا ۔ لیکن ھاں ایک کشتی تھی جو پوری رفتار سے بہ رھی تھی ۔ بچی جیسے رونا بھول گیئ۔ یہ منظر دیکھ کر کرشنا اپنے ماضی مٰیں کھو گیا۔

"چلو کرشنا گیم کلب چلتے ہیں" "گییم کلب "وہاں کیوں؟

تم چلو تو سہی

یہ چند بچے گیم کلب کے پاس آ کر رکے۔ سب نے ٹوکن خرید لیے اور گیمز کی طرف بڑھے۔

چند لمحوں بعد پورے شہر کو بارش نے اپنی لپیٹ میں لے لیا۔ سب دوست سامنے والے سائیکل سٹور جس پر بڑے بڑے سنہری حروف میں لکھا تھا ۔"سائیکل کرائے پر دستیاب ھے۔ وھاں سے سائیکلیں کراے پر لے کر باغ والی نہر کی طرف روانہ ہوے۔

ہر طرف بہار کا سماں تھا۔ جہاں نظر دہراٰؤ رونقیں ہی رونقیں تھٰیںٰ۔ یوں لگتا تھا جیسے ھولی کا دن ہو۔ کالے بادلوں نے آسمان پر شامیانہ تان رکھا تھا۔ پھول پتے جومتے ، ناچتے نظر آرہۓ تھے۔ بارش برسنے سے نہر پانی سے کناروں تک بھر چکی تھی۔ سب بچے نہر میں کودنے لگے۔

کرشنا اٹھو صبح ہوگی"آج پیپر ہے کیا؟؟

لیکن میری تو تیاری بھی نہیں ہے تم لوگوں نے مجھے جگایا کیوں نہیں ؟؟

تم فکر نہ کرو ہم نے انتظام کر لیا ہےتم بس چلو۔

کمرہ امتحان میں پیپر شروع ہو چکا تھا۔ اس نے ایک پرچہ پتلون کی جیب سے نکال کر کرشنا کی طرف اچھالا ابھی کرشنا پرچہ کھلنے کی کوششں میں ہی تھا کہ اچانک انسپکشن ٹیم آ پہنچی۔ کرشنا پرچے کو امتحان کے پرچوں میں چھپانے میں مصروف تھا کہ اتنے مٰیں عملے کے ایک شخص کی نظر کرشنا پر پڑی۔ تلاشی کے بعد تینوں دوستوں نے تصدیق کر دی ۔ یہ پرچہ وہ تینوں ہی گھر سے لاے تھے۔ تینوں دوست تین سال کیلے امتحان میں نہیں بیٹھ سکتے تھے۔ کرشنا آنکھوں میں آنسو لیے یہ سوچنے لگا میں یہ تو نہ تھا ۔ میں تو وہ بچہ تھا جو کنچے کھیلتا تھا ، جو ڈرتا تھا کہ امتحان کا وقت ختم نا ہو جاے اور کہیں میرا پرچہ نہ رہ جائے، جوپرندوں کو آزاد اور مچھلیوں کو تیرتا دیکھ کر خوش ہوتا تھا ۔ "میں تو وہ تھا " کرشنا نے آنکھوں سے آنسو پونچھتے ہوے کہا":

"مجھے لوٹا دو وہ میرا بچپن

وہ کاغذ کی کشی وہ بارش کا پانی

مجھے لو ٹا دو وہ میرا بچپن"

( ختم شدہ)

Are you an architect? 

The first picture everyone has about architecture is a high building in New York. Of course, I like a lot of skyscrapers, and especially those of America. However, architecture is not only about that. Architecture is about designing spaces, no matters if those spaces are small or big. They are just spaces. But everyone can do that, right? Well, the difference between an architect and another person is that the architect has learned the historic styles and know which kind of values it is representing when he designs a space. But not only that, architects have the ability of using that space to make the best space. What is a good space? 

It is not just a nice space (this conception is not neutral and everyone has a different point of view of what is beautiful). A good space is the one which people live very good. If you are an architect and you want to design a house, it will be so, if the citizens who live in that house, not only like that house, they feel comfortable, they feel very good. A practical house it is also a good house. A House with the correct orientations. A house where the light that has not too much light, but no it doesn't lack either. 

A good house is the one where there is diversity of rooms. That is to say, it is not a house with a lot of bedrooms, with the same designs, the same furniture. I diverse house is the one which has diversity of rooms, a big bedroom with some classical furniture, small bedroom with some modern furniture, while it has a bathroom with a nice design. I diverse house, the one who has a balcony but also a little garden. That is to say a good house it is the one, where its elements are diverse, which each one of these spaces are nice and comfortable for the residents of the house. Not only that, each room has a different use, so if you are a good architect, you won’t necessarily design an expensive or luxurious room, you will make a room where the design, the furniture, the light and the orientation, are the best for the use of that space. This is architecture. Architects not only design houses, they design all kinds of spaces, they design offices, gardens, halls, factories, hotels, hospitals, different kinds of rooms, between other kinds of spaces. So, architects have the mission of designing a good space, a comfortable one and appropriate for the use of it. Not only that, it should be bright and well connected with the other spaces attached to the use of the space. 

So, a good architect, should understand first what are the feelings and the desires of each persona in a certain space. The architect should understand and know which are the necessities of each person on each space. Or, Attention! the necessities of each group of people. For example, it is not the same to design a tiny office than the design of a group of offices. Of course, it is not the same, it is not about to repeat the same office several times. Perhaps, if those spaces are joined together, it will be perfect to design a community space for those offices. And are we going to introduce a shop or a restaurant? It depends on several aspects. It depends on the number of offices there are on that floor or building. There are some other aspects. For example, if you go to an office it is to work, so you won’t like to be on a noisy space, you won’t have the possibility of being concentrated on those activities you are developing. Not only the noise, perhaps you dislike to work on a place where there is a lot of people, perhaps you need a lot of privacy. Or perhaps, not. Perhaps you like to be able to talk with a lot of people which have the same ambitions as you. So, you will like a common space, but perhaps not a restaurant, perhaps you will prefer a conference room or some halls where you can discuss with other people with similar objectives as you, but keeping your privacy with people from other fields. 

It is just an example, but we can debate which can be the best garden or the best pub or the best factory. Architects don’t have a catalogue of the best places. An architect needs to have the capacity to understand the uses, the location of a project, the people who will be there, the economic and social situation of that place, should understand which can be the best design, understand how to orientate and lay out each space with the aim of reaching the objectives of the customer. Architects should also have some technical skills. I am not talking only about designing and using Cad or BIM programs to make their drawings or 3D’s. What I am referring to is that architects, need to have some building technical skills, they should be able to understand how to build a space, which are the different strategies, they should know about concepts like thermal insulation, they should understand how ventilation works, they should have installation skills. Architects should know also about building regulations. Architects need to find the best solution for each regulation. Regulations are very boring and unfair, but they should be respected because the consequences of not doing so, can provoke an economic disaster for the architects, the building company and the owner of the house or space. Architects should find the best way of doing architecture, respecting the regulations, the requirements of the customers and always applying the best solutions for technical issues. Architects need also to make very dynamic drawings for their customers to understand, not only for their customers, also for the people who work in the construction company. 

So, as you can see, being an architect, involves so many things. One of them is to have the capacity of analyzing each situation, the other one is to have the technical skills involved on the construction of a space and to represent the design through plans, sections and perspectives. The last one is the knowledge about regulations and the capacity of stablishing strategies to maximize the possibilities that the regulations gives us, to make good architecture and to reach the requirements of our customer, always controlling the budget. Architecture is to make people happy and comfortable in a space following the regulations and all the aspects involved on the construction of that space. 

EDUARD PAGÈS RIBERAYGUA 

Photo by Charles 🇵🇭 on Unsplash

Classical architecture, an expression of history 

Everyone relates architecture with money, with construction, with amazing buildings. But architecture is more than that. Along history, we can find several cultural movements. But, why does this movements existed? Well, history has a big relationship with the way of thinking of citizens. This is why we can find very diverse cultural movements. Each one of the cultural movements wants to express something. We can find for example the classics. Classics are related to power. When we see a bureaucratic building, like an embassy, a mayor, a government building, a palace, we will see that this kind of buildings are classical or neoclassical. The classical movement represents power, hierarchy, order, greatness. This is why all these buildings are very big and hierarchical. These buildings are symmetric, they always have one floor very different from the others, to empower that floor, while the rest of floors are equal, are exactly the same. 

Classical buildings use to have also several ornaments, it is another symbol of power. Almost all palaces have this kind of architecture. Well in fact, if we look at the government offices or embassies, we will see that they also have this kind of architecture. And it is normal, because a lot of today's bureaucratic buildings were palaces or houses of rich people in the past. In the case of the United States, which is a country that has not been influenced by the several European cultural styles, it has been influenced a lot by the classical one. When Europeans arrived to the American Continent, that tried to implant their culture and they reach the power in the American Continent. We can see that today. For example, in Washington D.C., we can see The White House, where the President lives and make its work. The White House was based on the project of the Villa Rotonda de Palladio. It is neo-classical or neoclassical Renaissance style of America, which was designed by George Washington and was built in 1790. 

Well, The White House is a very different building with those we can see in New York. However, there are not as different buildings as we can think. In fact, skyscrapers are hierarchical buildings, with a lot of order, they are a symbol of power. In this case, not a symbol of nobility power, but a symbol of economic and political power. Skyscrapers have a lot of classical elements and they are also huge buildings, like the palaces. 

But in the United States, there is a City very related to history, it is Boston. It is an amazing city, because we can see tall skyscrapers, located next to low historical buildings. Those buildings were big manors in the past. These kinds of buildings represent not only the history of the United States, also the relation of Boston, with the creation of this new country. 

There we can see several neo-classical buildings. In 1630, Puritan settlers from England founded the city on the Shawmut Peninsula. During the late 18th century, Boston was the place where several important events occurred during the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre and the Tea Mutiny. Several battles at the beginning of the Revolution, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Boston Site, occurred in the city and surrounding areas. Through the recovery of land and municipal annexations, Boston has expanded beyond the peninsula. After the independence of the United States, Boston became an important seaport and manufacturing center, and its rich history now attracts 16.3 million visitors a year. 

In conclusion, classicism is an expression of power. The Romans used that, all the European aristocracy used that on the architecture of their buildings and houses. And today, big enterprises are using classical elements on the construction of their skyscrapers and office buildings. So, in the XXI Century, classicism, still, is an expression of power. So even if we can see very different buildings between today’s ones and those built in the past. We always see that buildings related to power are built on a classical sense. This is why Neoclassicism was born. 

Neoclassical architecture rejects the ornamentation of the Rococo and is inspired by the Greek, Etruscan, Roman and even Egyptian arts. The religious architecture progressively disappears and civil buildings are built: libraries, museums, porticos, etc. Neoclassical architects know that a new social order demands a new order of the city, and all their projects are part of a plan for urban reform. The new city will have to have, like the old one, its monuments; but the architect will also have to worry about social and functional development. Churches are built in the form of classical temples, but also schools, hospitals, markets, customs, ports, streets, squares. 

So, there are not many differences between classical architecture and neoclassical ones, both movements try to represent the same, with the only difference, that each of the movements has a relation with the time. Today, it won’t be normal to build a Palace in the Center of a big City, but it is normal to build a skyscraper, with a very hierarchic geometry and with a huge and symmetric geometry. The power is always represented by the same ways, but their materials and ornaments are different according to the time, it is represented. 

EDUARD PAGES RIBERAYGUA 

Photo by Caleb Perez on Unsplash

Father of Indian nation Mahatma Gandhi lives forever in the hearts of every Indian and remembering him on the occasion of his 150^th birthday. Jai Hind