#I personally would never leave. Access to those resources in an academic environment along with otherworldly knowledge?

[neshabeingchildish]

This is the longest chapter of the fic, I think! We have some Jasper history and his dad and such. Idk if I’ll leave the reasons at that, or if y’all would have wanted the entire story of what happened between Jasper’s parents. At any rate - let me know what you think! It’s a long chapter, so no rush. But, I’d love to know how and if I pulled this off...

The Perfect Ring

Jasper had a committee meeting for his activism group Athlivists right after his last class of the day, so he knew that he wouldn’t see Charlotte again until he got off from work in the middle of the night and by then, she’d be asleep. Which was sometimes nice, because he’d just get to wash up and cuddle up to her and fall right to sleep in her hair. She had satin covers so she wouldn’t need bonnets, so he got to be draped in the softness of that and draped around the softness of her. It was amazing. He slept like he was in an angel’s bosom every night that he was with her, which was now every night, now that her apartment was so close by and of course he had a key.

Both of their schedules were filling up fast and he wanted to see more of her, but he also considered it a sacrifice right now for them to be able to have better chances later. People called his name whenever he was moving around on campus and he’d usually be sure to acknowledge them, even when he didn’t know who they were. Sometimes, people just came up to him and started talking, either about their interest in alternative sports or their interest in activism, or his vlog, the radio show… “I’m so sorry, I have an Athlivists meeting, but my email is on my website, where I post the videos…” He had to eventually tell this woman who he couldn’t figure out what she wanted him to know, at the moment. 

Jasper began Athlivists with some of his brothers who were stars on their sports teams. They started out just him getting his friends to do him a solid… Charlotte was the project manager for one of her business courses, which she turned into a project for an environmental sciences purpose, but underestimated how much her peers cared about the environment. She was organizing meetings to move forward with her initiative to create community gardens in or near food deserts. Jasper didn’t know what a food desert was, but she seemed very passionate about stopping them and she was very stressed out that not too many people were even interested. Her big event was coming up and she didn’t even get a quarter of the people to sign her petition that she needed to help with the proposal. Jasper wasn’t sure why she hadn’t just asked him, if all she needed was people. When she called him to vent and cry a little before she had to put on her game face and push through the turnout, he got his sports friends to get their sports friends. Whenever she was about to move forward with what she feared was going to have to be a failing grade and also a let down to Mother Earth, he came to the signup event before with four times the people to show interest than she had initially been seeking. They were listening to the proposal, too, and some of them knew some of the business people invited, through their parents or whatever and in addition to it being a huge success for her, a lot of them were networking too. And more importantly a lot of them got information about the environment that they hadn’t really been paying a huge amount of attention to. Like, they knew a lot of this stuff and heard about a lot - who doesn’t know about climate change? - But, they also didn’t know the degree of trouble that their world was in, or ways that they might help. They now wanted to know more and do more. 

Jasper decided maybe they should start a group to focus on that type of thing, and other issues that they might come across, along the way. He was already in the Athletes Union and President of the Alternative Sports Sector. He’d already gotten funding for alternative sports whenever there is a big following and a fully functional team on campus. He had shown up to various rallies and protests about campus policy, laws, and social justice over the past year or so. So, starting a group of his own was in his ballpark, and he thought it was good to show the rest of them that the academics weren’t the only ones who cared about relevant things.

They mostly focused on the environment, animal rights and sexual education. Jasper had other causes outside of the group that he was involved with for other stuff. But, Athlivists’ claim to fame on campus (in the entire institution, actually, as it spread through the college and its affiliates) was what they called “Jock Block.” Jasper will tell you in a heartbeat that although he was doing most of the leg work and liaison dealing, Charlotte inspired the idea. What is Jock Block, you ask? Resources and assistance for athletes via STD testing and treatment, birth control, protection, prevention and education. 

Jasper was a championship wrestler, and headed up just about every alternative sport, as well as backed up some of the track and field events and having just one girlfriend had been paying for condoms that kept getting stolen by his frat brothers, up until he just asked Charlotte if she was interested in getting on birth control and offered to pay for it. He didn’t want to use them anymore anyway. He enjoyed the feel better without them and loved the finish.

For a while, Jasper PREPAID for her birth control, just because he was that serious about making sure that he took care of her while getting what he wanted and she honestly felt like the school should provide that kind of thing. He just began to talk about it at first and found that a lot of the athletes felt like it would be super helpful if the school DID try to at least help a little. 

What happens if you can’t get the protection right away and decide to just go for it, then BOOM - you’ve spread crabs in the locker room… (Which happened before, but fortunately, Jasper had not been affected) BUT, of those who were affected, they didn’t feel like they should have had to pay for treatment. They were exposed and didn’t realize this was an issue. Some of them had never even thought about crabs before that happened. They thought that you had to have unprotected sex with someone infected to get them. Jasper figured that was a huge and terrifying problem, and began discussing what might be done to avoid things like that in the future and help some of their hardworking students to have access to more resources. Sometimes, they were going to be irresponsible, as was a part of life. So, they could put their bodies on the line and their physical wellbeing and sometimes mental, because sports and academics and other things altogether was stressful and sexual health was a beneficial release. An oopsie here and there shouldn’t put them on the line like it sometimes did.

Jock Block was born to help with sexual education and health, but most of the athletes and beneficiaries thought of it as the “birth control plan.” It's how they got their free condoms, their testing, treatment, and in cases like Jasper and Charlotte’s reimbursed for birth control when the relationship was ongoing and the students were in good academic standing and athletic standing. Basically, Char was able to get free birth control because her boyfriend was a jock with good grades. (She got it free anyway, because he’d always paid for condoms, the morning after pill, and her birth control), but now he didn’t have to anymore. There were other programs for assistance on campus, but those didn’t have much to do with them. Jock Block also was helpful a time or two with remedial assistance, which was their fancy words for supplying Plan B. The athletes were encouraged to behave responsibly, but in certain situations, Jock Block would still bail them out, as long as it wasn’t an ongoing practice. Jasper was a hero for helping it get established, among all of his familiars. The quarterback, who was extremely paranoid that women were trying to “trap” him, called Jasper “a god.” Charlotte pulled Jasper away, and shook her head, “Please, don’t ever say that.” Jasper’s head was big enough.

“I’m adding “god” to my list of accomplishments,” he said.

Charlotte’s circles gave her some crap about it sometimes. “You think it’s good for the school to pay for the jocks to stick their penises wherever they want to?” That was a gross misrepresentation of what the program did and instead of explaining it from start to finish to every critic, she began handing out literature about it when someone had something slick to say. She was Jasper’s #1 supporter and protector. Nobody was about to come to her with some mess just because they couldn’t get close enough to him to bitch and moan.

.

Whenever they came back from visiting his dad, something shifted in him. She didn’t know what, but he suddenly seemed more serious than before. She loved that. A serious Jasper was hot and that was the person that initially drew her in deeper than friendship, but also, it seemed like a switch had been flipped and she was uncertain what to make of it. She really worried whenever she came into the frat house and he was sitting at his desk in his room, staring at his computer while Lady and Tramp were barking at him. Jasper never ignored them, so she figured that he was in a daze. She took the dogs out to go potty, then came back and he was still there. “Heyyy, Jasper…” 

He blinked and turned to look at her with a tired smile, “I didn’t hear you come in,” he said.

“I took the dogs for a walk,” she closed the door and released them. “You okay?” she wondered, heading to wash her hands.

“Just thinking,” he said and got up to greet her.

“About?” He leaned near the sink and was quiet again. “You don’t have to tell me,” she said.

“No, I...I am.” He looked up at her in the mirror, then got closer and wrapped his arms around her, smiling. “I love seeing us in a mirror.”

“Oh yeah?” She asked, looking up at the two of them and she thought that did look good together.

“I get to look at you all the time, and I certainly do every chance that I get, but in the mirror, I get to see myself with you. I get to see this person who I used to think was pretty damned broken, but he’s complete, and he’s complete because he’s got this goddess in his life that makes him better, smarter, stronger… I don’t know that I ever would have been this kind of me without your support.”

“You definitely would have, because I don’t support half of your shenanigans,” she joked. 

He kissed her neck,  sighed, and shrugged his shoulders, “I got an offer for an internship at a brokerage firm.” He folded his arms and said, “That is within my scope and could possibly be a pretty good job if I get put on afterwards, There’s not a lot of undergrads being considered for it, so to turn it down might be taken the wrong way, but to accept it might affect some of the stuff that I’m doing right now. I like right now, but I’ve got a woman and two dogs and I’m a grown man…” He went back to his seat and asked, “How was your day?” then started typing his reply.

Her eyes were wide. She dried her hands and came up behind him to wrap him in a hug and kiss him on his hair. She read as she did. He was replying. He was accepting. “My day was good, but… Are you sure that you want to do this, Jasper? You function and flourish when you’re happy and something tells me that this might not make you happy. You’ll be unhappy and unpaid.”

“I did that apprenticeship for a year with no pay. The internship will be similar to that, except boring, but whenever you become an adult, things get boring, don’t they?”

She didn’t know if that was true or not. She’d always been seen as kinda boring. The sciences that she was currently working on in the lab was her “fun,” and a lot of her peers told her that was sad. “I don’t think so,” she answered and stroked his hair. “Just… Make sure that you want it. It’ll be hard to get yourself out of a career path once you start heading down one.” 

But, Jasper sent the message, anyway and turned in his chair with a smile. She knew that smile. It was one that he put on when he was done focusing on the negatives of something. He’d made his decision and that was that for him. “Who knows? Maybe I’m multi talented and can make a bunch of stuff work at once, like you Miss STEAM Extraordinaire!” She blushed and tried to walk away but he pulled her closer and said, “Uh uh… I haven’t gotten kisses yet and I get to kiss an… what was it Academic Superstar?”

“That story was lip service, and you know it!” She said.

“Blasphemy! I grew up with Charlotte Page and the story ran on her in a NATIONAL publication about her intelligence and accomplishments was 100% truth!” She smiled and gave him the kisses he was trying to earn. 

But, she got up quickly too. “It puts a lot of stress on me, though. Now, I have to see a National STEAM Today’s Scientists to Follow tacked on to my name everywhere, and I keep getting calls for interviews that I can’t turn down because not only could it affect what people think of me, but it could affect what they think of every Black woman fortunate enough to be involved and recognized.” He looked confused and she explained, “Since Black people, Black women especially, are so stereotyped and misrepresented, under-represented, unappreciated, etc, whenever one of us does get the attention that we deserve, we sort of have to take on this role of model minority and be the change that our people want to see in the world. We have the task of breaking stereotypes and showing the world that WE can do this too, see this example, but we also have to still go into work spaces and battle the stereotypes from the others, who often don’t think we deserve the recognition that we got or want us to perform and prove ourselves in ways that less marginalized people would never be expected to.”

He frowned and clenched his fist, “Is somebody giving you shit at work?”

She laughed and rubbed his fists, making him release them, “Uh, no more than usual and if I want to try to keep it that way, I’ve gotta play my politics. I have to show that I can do everything that was said of me and more, and still look cute while I do it, because if I have even one hair out of place, at least a thousand people will focus in on it and ask, “Is THIS the chick that thinks we’re gonna get drug therapy from her when she can’t even manage to get her hair treatment right?” He was seething now and she laughed it off, “Jasper. I’m used to it. It’s just annoying.”

“It sounds infuriating and I don’t understand why you have to take it!”

“I have to take it because I don’t have the power or position to change the world. I just have to do my best with my fraction of society.” She sighed. It was exhausting, but she knew since she was little that she’d have to do twice the work to get half the credit and work twice as long to get a quarter of a break. That was why casual racism triggered her far more than blatant hatred did. Because it was so subtle and ominous that people could get away with it, even while it was hurting her little by little. The brash, bold types, anybody with reason, would disagree with and take her side. She needed backup whenever it was lowkey microaggressions that affected her on a daily basis and kept the strong institution of racism flowing smoothly. “I appreciate that you’re upset by it, though.” Upset by it? Jasper wanted to punch someone in the face for it. 

Since the whole thing with Casper, he’d become hypersensitive to casual racism. It was to the point where people kept telling him that it was hard to be around him because he always “found something racist.” He would in turn let them know that it was hard for him to be around stuff that he found racist and that’s why they were having a conversation in the first place. 

Mid junior year, he was under review for a fight that he “escalated” whenever he heard one of the frat brothers describe him as a (N word in disguise) to tell someone not to say anything that seems even remotely racist around him. He didn’t care that somebody was saying that about him. He liked that people wanted to watch their mouths around him and wished that they kept that energy around anybody, because if it was just around him, then that meant that’s who they were inside, but they just didn’t want any smoke from him. It was the fact that the person used the N word, which is NEVER acceptable. Charlotte told him that. NEVER and he was now adamant about that.

So, whenever he confronted them about the matter and not saying that word in any capacity, even if it was in a song, an argument broke out and Charlotte’s existence was invoked, but referred to in a way that Jasper didn’t appreciate. “Just because you stick your ---- in the Help-” Jasper expressed that with his fist. He was under investigation because he “hit him first,” but whenever he told his version of the story, he couldn’t even bring himself to repeat what was said. Instead, he wrote it down and just showed the camera during his storytime. He got a lot of support and love and fans wrote the school about it and emailed them and flooded their social media with their support for him and their call for action to be taken with that “racist bitch in the frat.” The guy wound up transferring and no action was taken against Jasper, but the dean had a talk with him about how he couldn’t just punch people because he disagreed with them and that next time there might be consequences. There wasn’t. He’d punched another guy for groping her a few weeks later. 

Even if he had gotten consequences, he didn’t care. He knew so many guys who were just as defensive of their women and just as active and aggressive to protect him. None of them got the same pushback that he did whenever he was defending Charlotte. Sometimes, even the Black dudes that were around didn’t seem to have his back when he’d be speaking up for her in some example or another.

He’d gotten a little bit of opposition for making some statements on the radio show that he wished that people were as supportive of Black women whenever things happened as they were to the Black men. A lot of people didn’t like that. Charlotte explained to him that while she agreed, it wasn’t his place to say that in a space created by and for Black people. “Say that kind of stuff to YOUR people,” she’d told him. “They really need to hear things from people like them.” But, it grew his Black women demographic. A few Black owned companies sent him free shirts with messages like “Support Black Women” and “Love Black Women,” and he wore TF out of them. He wasn’t even really a huge advocate. He didn’t do a bunch of rallies for them and stuff, even with all of the rallies that he did. But, they saw that he had a Black girlfriend and heard that he was vocal about appreciating Black women and they were on board. She even finally appeared in one of his videos. He was showing people how he helped her with her hair care. Not really a tutorial, but just a demonstration, with him talking about how relaxing it was for him to know that she trusted him in her hair, and to be so intimate with someone that you know how to take care of them the way that they would take care of them.

Charlotte had to admit that version of him was the hottest yet. It was refreshing to change from being surrounded by people and hear what would have once been a dog whistle for her and having to evaluate whether she would call them out and look like an irrational Black bitch or suffer in silence, to having a bulky, hot, popular dude ask them, “I’m sorry, what did you say?” with an expression on his face that let a bitch know that they better think of a way to paraphrase real quick if this was gonna be a smooth conversation. She always had to try to fight the urge to smirk at the person. Sometimes, she just went ahead and did it.

She also explained to Jasper that this too was part of his privilege, because Black men could be just as defensive of their Black woman and be met with aggression and fear that could get police involved, which could turn out horribly. “The fact that you get to straighten these people out and they apologize is something that my dad didn’t often get whenever he had to do the same thing,” she’d told him. He’d never sleep on that power again. 

When they were out in public, he'd always wrapped his arm around her and kept her close to his side because she was small and he was protective. However, knowing how hostile the world could be towards her for no good reason, he not only kept her close whenever possible, but if they got separated or split to mingle, he tried to keep an eye on her and/or send her check in texts. "You good, Babe?" He'd ask, then watch her smile to herself and look around for him to make eye contact that she was. It was… something to get used to for her, but she supposed that was much better than being ignored. She sometimes gave him space because she knew that he was likely doing all of this for her benefit, because of how she felt before, so she saw that effort and attempted to reward it with some breathing room. Honestly, he was probably more relaxed whenever she didn’t make it to parties and gatherings, which was fine for her. 

She much preferred to be laying in bed, in a fuzzy blanket with the doggies warming her feet or in her lap while she attempted to watch joint replacement videos and tell them how she would have done it differently, like they knew what she was talking about. She’d rather light some frankincense candles, put a sheet mask on, pour a glass of wine and read a stack of books, for fun for a change, not for class or work. In fact,” she checked the time on her phone. It was right around Midnight and she was on a “Cinderella Schedule” this semester. She left places at Midnight, regardless of where she was or what was going on. She wasn’t staying past Midnight, because she usually had 12-14 hour school/work days and that 4-6 hours of sleep that she got nightly was imperative for her brain to continue functioning. 

On her way to the door, texting Jasper the golden carriage icon that she had saved to her phone for when it was time for her to dip out and they weren’t next to each other, she accidentally bumped into someone. “Excuse me,” she said politely and looked up to see Casper. She hadn’t seen that woman in months. She forced a smile and moved around, but Casper followed her.

“Hey, can I please talk to you for a moment?”

“I gotta go home, Girl. It’s past my curfew,” Charlotte said, continuing to walk.

“Well, I’ll walk with you to your vehicle. It’s not safe out here by yourself, anyway,” she said. 

Charlotte’s nostrils flared, and she texted Jasper about it, but she shrugged her shoulders, “I can’t tell you where to walk.”

“I just wanted to apologize to you for everything. I genuinely apologize. Like, I honestly didn’t realize that I was as much of a trash person as I was. People told me that these are the years that we do all this figuring ourselves out stuff and I guess I thought I was someone else. I’m realizing my own flaws and I hate how things were left off between us. Jasper was my best friend, and I always loved you! We talked about you all the time and I never would have wanted to hurt you or him or make either of you mad. I just wanted you to know that. From my heart.”

She seemed genuine. Charlotte had to admit that she didn’t radiate the same vibes as before. There was no reason to be mad at her or hate her when she didn’t really affect Charlotte’s life. But, there was no reason to make room for her either. “Casper, I…”

“Dohn,” Casper corrected.

“Dawn…”

“No, not Dawn, Dohn. Like John, but with a “D.” D.O.H.N.”

Charlotte stared at her for a moment with furrowed eyebrows that seemed to say Girl, I don’t care, but she didn’t bring the phrase to her lips. “Dohn.” She corrected herself. “I’m not worried about what happened between us, nor do I care. It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize or anything else. It’s forgotten. Don’t worry about it. Goodnight.”

“Is it okay if I call you?” Casper… Dohn asked.

“For what purpose?” Charlotte wondered.

“You just always seemed like a really cool person, but you often seemed lonely. I didn’t know if you could use a friend, but I sure could..”

“I don’t know about that…”

“Okay. I’m sorry. Well, thank you for hearing me out. Have a beautiful night.” Dohn hugged her, which was on brand for her. She used to hug Charlotte all the time, and every time, it caught her off guard, even though she knew the girl was a hugger. She had a firm hug that seemed like she read about a hug in a book, but never mastered it and it always hit Charlotte’s little body like an attack. But, this one was softer. She was gentler. She touched Charlotte’s hair and smiled down at her, and Charlotte shrank back, confused and a little bit bothered.

“You too,” she said and Jasper suddenly appeared out of nowhere and got up into Dohn’s face asking, “Why are you all up on her?”

Charlotte and Dohn both looked shocked and tried to explain to him that they were just talking and it was fine. Charlotte hated that look in Jasper. It was his “pre-violence” look. “Heyyy, everything’s cool, My Dude. Why are you getting all up in her face like this?” She hated that he was making her intercede for Casper. “Something that I need to know?”

“Unfortunately, Jasper isn’t as forgiving as you. He thinks the worst of me. Good night to you both,” she said and left.

“F Sized, you okay?” He nodded his head. She raised her eyebrows. He drew her into his side and started walking towards her apartment. “I really want you to explain to me what just happened there. I know she’s taller than you and tough or whatever, but you were really on her like she was some dude at a bar starting crap. What was that about?”

“You said that she was following you.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t expect THAT to be your reaction.”

“She’s a foot taller and 100 more pounds of muscle than you. She shouldn’t be following you.”

“So, that was it? Just the text that I sent. ‘Ya girl Casper is out here following me tryin’ to talk’ made you want to get in her face like that?” He sighed. “I know you’re holding back something from me and if I’m at risk of being hurt, I should know. I just told that woman that I basically forgive her and let her hug me!”

“She had a thing for you!” He said and shook his head. “Whenever we first met, she was all friendly to us and inviting us to the kite disc events and stuff, she was trying to get closer to you, not me. That’s something that she eventually admitted when we became friends, but I thought that because she was seeing someone at the time that she admitted that, it was no big deal and she was over it or whatever.” Charlotte’s eyes were just hella confused, tbh. “But, I did start to notice that she was kinda too friendly with you, and realized that she had always been. She was always hugging you and rubbing your back and stuff like that and whenever I asked her about it, she said that was just how she was. Which… I didn’t recall her being that way before, but then she was all over me like that, so I thought that maybe I just hadn’t noticed it before. This is all stuff that I thought about after the fact, by the way. I’m kinda… slow at times, you know?”

“I don’t think that you’re slow. I think that you’re just such a nice and well-meaning person that you aren’t suspicious about things, or you’re naive about people’s motives because you don’t have a manipulative bone in your body. Because, she totally did start being way more affectionate towards you after a while and I presumed it was because she had developed a crush on you from hanging out so much.”

“Yeah, well, whenever we fell out, someone “leaked” this video of her and her friend… I swear, if I didn’t know every inch of you, it’d be frightening.”

“Her girlfriend looked like me?”

“That’s the thing. This wasn’t her girlfriend. It was someone she was seeing and after this video leaked, and people were asking her about this person, she told them that she didn’t want to out her, because she was involved with someone and she didn’t want to damage her reputation.”

“So, it looks like her girlfriend IS me???”

“A lot of our mutuals certainly thought so!”

“When was this???”

“Months ago. I just kept assuring people that it wasn’t you, but with her being vague and with everyone knowing that she and I weren’t friends anymore, I mean, come on.”

“Ugh. What did she say to you about that?”

“She said that she didn’t want people to think it was you either but she didn’t want to grant them the power of process of elimination when there are so few people to fit that description in the area.”

Charlotte winced, “That’s… considerate of her friend…”

“Uhhh, at best her friend is involved with someone who she has an open relationship with but they don’t want people to know that she’s been with girls. At worst, she’s cheating on whoever she’s involved with and Dohn’s willing to sacrifice your reputation to protect hers. But, I don’t think it was an accident at all. I think she leaked it herself to make people think that about you because whenever I thought back to our relationship, she was always way more interested in you than she should be and I have a very bad habit of talking about you passionately for hours, if someone will let me!”

“Well, this is all surprising, troubling, mildly flattering, because I didn’t even know that there were girls who like me. But, I do feel a way that you think she’s capable of what you just accused her of.”

“What are you on? More girls like you than dudes, from what I hear.”

“What?”

“Multiple times, I’ve heard that people think I’m your beard.”

“Awwww,” she said, touched.

“But, that could also be because of her!” He fussed.

“Don’t ruin my lesbian sex symbol status headcanon. Big Dog.”

“I’m gonna ruin you,” he joked. “Why are you so into this?”

She shrugged her shoulders, “I feel WAY more comfortable with the thought of women wanting me than I do with the thought of them wanting YOU. Because, THAT’S when Crazy Charlotte shows up!”

And it was, and Jasper loved it. He did his best to try not to make her jealous, but sometimes, like she said, he really wasn’t suspicious enough to peep flirting. Charlotte would come over and observe the woman very closely, right in her face and her space until she was acknowledged, then apologize and introduce herself as Jasper’s girlfriend. Jasper would always bite his lip and look her over, when she finally had run off whatever flirting girl was in his space and she made eye contact at her, he’d wink or blow her a kiss and she’d realize that she probably had just showed out.

.

Henry liked the photo of Jasper’s The Fool tattoo on his right shoulder blade. It had been being worked on whenever Adanna did his reading for him because it had been drawn in the future position. She explained something like, it meant, like new beginnings and was good in the future position because it could mean that like, something good was gonna happen with a new life thing or something? Henry was bad at remembering, because she’d said so much, but it was apparently enough for Jasper to get that permanently put on his body. Henry couldn’t help but wonder if he was gonna regret these decisions one day. Like… Everybody doesn’t know the meaning of The Fool or whatever. She explained it and Henry was still confused. Now, this dude had a The Fool on his damn body… “THIS JUST HAPPENED!!!” He saw the caption of a video with his handle tagged to it and went to watch it.

Charlotte was near Jasper while his friend was finishing up his The Fool Tarot Card tattoo, and talking about possible tattoos that she might consider, tiny ones of course and Jasper asked her what she thought of his new one, so she went to look at it (she doesn’t seem to notice the camera) and she said, “Yeah, Babe. It looks awesome. It’s beautiful. That’s a good way to celebrate your good future stuff or whatever,” she told him. Now, she had thought that maybe Adanna’s reading was in reference to his internship, because she’d mention that it could be a new move or new job etc, but then (in the tattoo shop, Jasper told her).

“I thought a lot about how to do this or say this, or whatever.” Charlotte looked confused as he got out of the seat, still shirtless. “I know that you don’t like huge surprises and stuff, so I didn’t want to do that, but I wanted to do something significant, too.”

“For what?” she asked, laughing nervously. 

“The Fool in romance can mean that your existing relationship can take a turn for the better. So, I wanted to ask you, since I have the confidence that my future and my fortune is with you…” He got on his goddamned knee and grabbed a ring box from underneath the tattoo seat he’d just gotten his tat finished in… She screamed and dropped the tattoo book that she’d been holding to rush to him and hug and kiss him.

Henry was in tears! He wanted to be a part of this! But… Jasper also had been trying to see when he could make it into town and he’d said, “If all else fails, just tag me first when you announce the news.” And, Jasper did. Henry was tagged, then his mom, then Charlotte’s parents, Uncle Roscoe, Adanna, his dad, Aunt Cohort, Piper, Ray, Schwoz, the fraternity page, his sports teams…

Jasper told her, “I was actually gonna hide the ring in the tattoo book and be like, “What do you think of this one,” but that seemed awkward and like I’d have to explain too much…” 

She looked at the ring and shook her head, “It’s SO pretty! I love it! It’s perfect!!” 

Whenever Jasper’s dad popped the question to his mom, she was just about visibly pregnant, embarrassed about it and desperate to do this the right way. Jack Leigh was desperate to “fix his mistakes” and “make an honest woman out of her.” Oh, and also drunk. So drunk, that he didn’t know if he was coming or going. He needed the liquid courage to go back to her after she’d told him that if she had to do this on her own, she would. She didn’t have to do it on her own! At least, he didn’t want her to. He couldn’t figure out where he’d get a ring at this time of night, but came across one of those Bilsky brothers. The whole family was a bag of rotten apples. One of them had to know a guy… Hell, one of them WAS the guy. “A ring? Yeah, I got rings. What’s your budget?” Jack Leigh emptied his pockets and had maybe a few hundred bucks, and a punch card. He shook his head and called, “Jeff! Get Daddy that box of rings! The cheap ones!” A teenage boy rushed to… of all places… the BBQ pit and lifted the lid and grabbed a box. Daddy Bilsky gave it to his old buddy and said, “I’ll letcha grab two of ‘em. I hear you gotta get two. My old lady and I got hitched on the run, so we never even got one of them, but I’ve collected her plenty over the years. She don’t notice when the cheap ones go missing.” Jack Leigh didn’t even shift through the box. He grabbed a couple, waved to them and went on his way.

Jeff came back to his father and asked, “Dad, how mad would you be if I think I gave you the good stuff?” Jack Leigh heard Daddy Bilsky fussing at his kid, but he was too out of it to hear what he was saying.

Whenever Pansy left, Jack Leigh got one of those rings back. She threw the wedding ring right at his head and slammed the door as hard as she could with a baby on her waist. He was too drunk to care about whatever she’d said, too. He was often that way, but he did come across that ring again when he was clearing out of that little place. He tossed it in his pocket, in case he ever wanted to pawn it. Might be cheap, but he could probably get a few beers for it. It stayed in his wallet most of the time, though. He couldn’t see Jasper back then… legal stuff that he totally understood at the time, but whenever he would look at the ring and think about hocking it, he’d think about his baby boy, out there… The one that he’d even bought the stupid thing for. He couldn't seem to part with it. Not because he missed his wife, but because he took a wife because he was going to be a father, and nobody but him messed that up. It was a reminder that he needed to get clean and needed to straighten up. Maybe some day, he could see Jasper again. Maybe someday, he'd give him this stupid ring. He got it appraised, just to see if it was worth anything. Because he was curious if the sentimental value of it would even mean anything to the kid… this was maybe 3 years later. The damn thing was worth more than his crummy life. He could literally sell it and probably wind up getting himself out of his debt! But… looking at the thing, listening to the guy talk to him, very suspicious that this shady character probably stole this from some place, and was likely gonna put out an alert about it… Jack Leigh thanked him for his time and put it back into his wallet. He hadn’t gotten completely clean, but that was sobering. He knew he had to keep it together, carrying something worth that much with him, especially considering that it was worth even more in sentimental value.

He met Jasper when he was four. Adorable chubby kid with dimples and curly hair. He was excited to meet him and told him everything that he could possibly tell him. Jack Leigh came to a realization whenever Pansy told him that he could come to see him… He’d messed up. He should have had a room FULL of gifts and cards and money that he never got a chance to deliver over the past four years. He should have had candy and cookies and really… fanfare. All he had was that ring and he certainly couldn’t hand him that at age 4. He stopped at one of those weird gas station gift shops and said, “Anything for like a 4 year old kid… I don’t even know what he likes!”

“We got grab buckets,” she said and pointed towards a display. It was like a grab bag, but in a bucket. All kinds of little toys and stuff that would most likely break and stuff if it wasn’t a choke hazard. Hopefully, Pansy wouldn’t kill him. He went over there with a bucket of junk and threw in a hundred dollar bill that he got back after this purchase. Pansy was judging him from the moment that he handed that garbage to her son. But, the kid was excited, “WOW! A BUCKET!”

“Uhhh… there’s stuff in it. Toys and stuff,” Jack Leigh said. Jasper got onto his tiptoes, but Jack kneeled in front of him, seeing his features for the first time since he was an infant. Seeing how much like his own childhood photos he looked. Pansy must’ve seen it too. There was something about the way that she looked at the kid. Jack Leigh didn’t like it, but who was he to judge? He hadn’t even been around.

“Jasper, I don’t think that any of that stuff is safe to play with!” She said and snatched the bucket from his little hands. He jumped, frightened and Jack Leigh noticed and reached for his hand, to try to give him some comfort. He was about to cry. She was taking away the only thing his daddy had given him…

“Well, can’t he at least have the bucket?” Jack Leigh asked.

She looked at him like he was an idiot. “He’s four. Why would he want this ugly big bucket?”

“I do want the bucket, Mom! I love it. It’s a nice bucket, Daddy.” She looked bothered. She dumped the toys in the garbage and handed him the bucket back, then went to sit down, and glare at them. Jasper didn’t really look in her direction during the visit, but Jack Leigh wondered if he couldn’t feel the same… whatever it was that she had radiating for him that he felt from her. He was allowed a few more visits, until he showed up with Adanna one day. Pansy stepped outside and interrogated her, then said that Jasper wouldn’t be coming for any more of these “disappointing little visits,” and sprinkled on at the end, “And I WILL be contacting you about child support!” That was that.

Adanna convinced him to fight for custody, at least shared. He had gotten his life together and he shouldn’t have to be punished forever. There were disputes, but after a while, he ran out of money for that fight and her husband didn’t. So, not only could he still not see Jasper, and had legal fees, but… child support. He couldn’t do it. He’d already gotten so low, that he went back to some of his old ways. He was lucky to have Adanna around. Eventually thought about giving her the ring, but explained to her why he didn’t think that he could. “Can I at least see it?” she wondered.

He pulled it out and she was already uneasy. He handed it to her and she cried, “I’m glad that you don’t want to give this to me, because it’s full of negative energy. Guilt, despair, regret, heartache… This isn’t something that you give to someone that you care about.”

“Should I get rid of it? Sell it? I’m probably never going to see my son again…”

“Even if you see him, he can’t have this, Jack Leigh. It’s got a signature on it.”

“Is there a way to fix it?” 

She cleansed the ring and once she was done, she smiled at it and said, “This ring has new hope. It wants to find someone to love, but it feels like it belongs to someone.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know, but I sense that this ring wouldn’t be at home with me.” She reached out to give it to him, but he shook his head.

“If you hand it to me, it’ll just absorb my negative energy again. You hold on to it for me. If I don’t give it to Jasper, I guess it’ll find its way to whoever. I want it to find them in peace.”

Jasper, Charlotte, and Henry were sitting on the floor, talking about their readings. Henry was shaken up by his, but Jasper kept staring at the Fool. Adanna said, “Jasper, can I show you something?” He got up and followed her through some crystal beaded curtains to a cute little room, where she climbed up a step ladder and got a ring box off of her bookshelf. “Jack Leigh told you about this, right? When you two talked?” She stepped down and opened the box to show him a ring and his heart leaped in his chest.

“Is this my mom’s wedding ring that she threw at his head? I’ve heard about it from her! She’d say, if I’d been more smart than mad, I’d have pawned that for the child support! Can I touch it?” She handed it to him and told him the story, because obviously, Jack Leigh had been more focused on the drinking, the fighting and the accident. Jasper gasped and said, “You think that this ring belongs with me?”

“I think that it belongs with her,” she said and glanced at Charlotte through the beads. Charlotte was laughing a melodious laugh at a story that Uncle Roscoe was telling on speaker phone, while catching up with Jack Leigh. “I think that she’ll love it, when you’re ready.” She cupped his chin and lovingly said, “Fool.”

“I had a feeling that you would love it. It was my dad’s…” 

She held her heart and shook her head, “I love it even more!” 

They kissed, a lot, and he held her close and began to tell his friends that they were going to head out to go celebrate, but Charlotte said, “I need to get a tattoo!” He stared at her. “You got one on the date that we get engaged, so I want one too!” 

“What do you want. You’ve literally been thinking about this for years and can never decide a place or a tattoo!” He teased. 

She pointed right behind her ear and said, “Here.” He knew that spot well. He was always kissing her there. He loved it and she loved it. But, he was thinking about how she was about to make him have to get into the habit of not kissing her there until it healed.

He took her to his chair and nodded, “Okay, and what do you want there Chef’s Kiss?” he wondered.

“The word “Yes.” She looked into the mirror at him and the smile on his face, she hoped he smiled at her like that for the rest of their lives..

[doodledialogue]

Interview series - What after B.arch? #9

Interviewee: Soujanya Krishnappa Post-graduation: M.S. Architecture, Urban and Regional Design (MAURD) | New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), New York, USA

How did you hear about the University/program? Why did you decide to take it up?

I decided to pursue a Masters during my internship days. I was exposed to the practice and the roles that Architects/contractors/clients and engineers played in shaping a project during that time. This helped me get a better understanding of how I wanted to contribute and most importantly what nature of projects I wanted to contribute to. Once this was clear to me, I started researching on courses that would feed my interest. I carefully studied the curriculum to make sure I knew what I was getting into because the way I looked at it, this was an investment I was making for my career and a lot of my time and money was going to be at stake.

What about the University/program appealed to you?

During my undergrad, I enjoyed working on the Urban Design Housing project; the scale of the project, the ability to define your own scope and design along with other disciplines excited me, the following year I chose to explore more in this realm with my thesis. When I graduated, I knew I was all about UD and was considering studying further.

I chose the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) for a Master’s program in Architecture, Urban and Regional Design (MAURD) in 2015. I was impressed by what the curriculum had to offer but when I had a phone interview with the Dean of the program I was sure I was making the right choice. The premise of the program was to use New York as an urban laboratory to test the theories of Urban Design and develop new ones for today’s day and age. How exciting is that! And in a city like New York where opportunities are endless, it seemed like a good deal to me.

How was the experience at the University?

The program was intense from Day 1 of school, but it was the good kind of intense. The kind of intensity needed to push my boundaries and explore more. Along with regular studios, we were constantly attending meetings all over the city, networking with influential people, taking our proposals to the city authorities and endless panel discussions with eminent Architects was the drill. It was nothing like undergrad, no exams to study for, but reading was constant, no design submissions, but presenting design was the routine. To add to all this, I was also working part-time as a Store manager to cover for my living expenses. The hustle was hard but the rewards were worth it.

How was your program/University different from the others?

My program had faculty teaching in Columbia, NYU and Pratt and because of that, we had access to seminars and workshops in their universities too. This got me understanding their programs and in my opinion, the experience of a similar program in any university is not very different. What course you take, makes the difference along with certain benefits from the university, size of campus etc.

To give you an example, a person studying the same course as mine in Pratt, had same visiting faculty, attended same events as I did and worked on similar projects because the core of the program was same. But if it was somebody studying Architecture and green energy, they would have different faculty, attend different events and work on different projects. Although I think this happened because it was in a city like New York. I’m sure, this is not the case with every city.

Which semester did you attend? How did you plan the entrance exams?

I started school in the Fall of 2015. The first thing I did was to prepare for TOEFL and GRE, which took about 4-5 months. After that, I started preparing my portfolio and resume which took another month or so. I applied in December of 2014 and received my acceptance in April I think. From then on, it was all about visa, arranging documents, finance etc. I quit my job the following month and spent the next two months making sure I had everything I needed. A month later I left for New York and started school that same week.

How did you manage the finances? Did you acquire a scholarship/fee waiver?

I did receive an academic scholarship from NYIT which was a little less than half of my tuition fee per semester. I had an education loan that covered the rest and part of my living expenses until I found an on-campus job.

How is teaching at your university?

There was no teaching per se. A typical studio would begin with an agenda for the day/week, setting goals for the studio for that particular task/week. We would then have 2-3 hour roundtable/presentation/panel discussion about the topic which we would further split into teams and tackle parts of a topic. End of the day/week we gather again and put the parts together just like solving a puzzle. During this whole time, there is so much production, be it research, coming up with a design solution, modelling a mock-up, making a movie or whichever media you choose to communicate your idea with. The point is to develop a strong narrative for your case. Each studio was different though, electives were lighter and never on campus. One time, our elective was about art and it was in the MoMa and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Can it really get any better? Another compelling factor was the studio environment, both physically and intellectually. Physically because, my studio was on the 11th floor on Columbus circle looking straight down into Central Park thinning into Manhattan madness, so often we would walk the studio from class into the park and finish the day at the Beer Garden. Intellectually because my batch count was 14 and very diverse. My colleagues came from different educational and cultural backgrounds, making discussions all the more interesting. In my opinion, the understanding of culture and context is the key to great and successful projects.

Tell us about the mentors at NYIT.

Jeffery Raven is the Dean of the program and a graduate from Columbia University who also taught there for a good number of years before starting MAURD at NYIT. He is very passionate about Urban Design. He is also the Head of Planning committee and board of directors at AIA (American Institute of Architects) and has many awards and publications to his name. Because of him, I got involved in the AIA and I am now, an Associate. We attended the United Nations Settlement Programme -Cities for all: inclusive implementation & monitoring at the UN headquarters, where I first met Ar. Daniel Libeskind. This was all a huge deal for me, but then on, I was constantly meeting and dining with eminent architects who we learnt about in undergrad or in our own research. Jeffery has inspired me immensely and continues to do so. The other professors were equally strong and supportive. In total the environment at school was truly inventive.

Is there any particular incident/anecdote of your time abroad that you wish to share?

There was one time before my final jury, I was making a model in the lab at 3 in the morning living off on just coffee that whole night because I hadn’t slept in two days, I wasn’t sure if I really was awake at all because otherwise, I would have seen the fire that caught on the CNC machine next to my model. The details of what happened next are faintly registered in my head and the lab was burnt down in the next 20 mins even before the fire crew came on board! The next afternoon, my team and I pinned up the sheets and our interview with the local newspaper about last night with pictures of my school on fire! We didn’t have a model, but that might have been my best jury ever. Something about the line of events in those past 48 hours changed us as a team and we were nailing the jury’s questions and I was determined not to leave the stage until my project was thoroughly vetted. Not sure if this is what you wanted, but looking back, this incident stands out when it comes to school.

Did your program have any research opportunities?

NYIT has 4 campuses around the world and there were research opportunities in all except mine because our campus was in the heart of Manhattan focused on courses that could use studio space for classes. I think they focused on developing state of art infrastructure for those kinds of courses. Research needs extensive use of all kinds of laboratories, which the midtown campus did not have the space for. The main campus was in Long Island occupying half a city and I’m pretty sure they had the supporting infrastructure.

Did you work a part-time job while studying?

I worked as an on-campus research assistant at the Laser machine lab which did not pay but reimbursed in tuition fee, but I needed money to pay my bills and rent, so I took up an Off-Campus job as a Store Manager at a Boutique for handicrafts in downtown Manhattan. It was good money and on the weekends, it was raining bills because of tourists.

Did you have post-masters plans in mind when you went to do masters? Or did you go with the flow?

When I was doing my masters, I was starting to feel positive about continuing my stay in the US. I was not ready to come back to India for two reasons. One, I had invested a lot of money in my program and it was time I started getting the returns, plus the kind of work I was getting here was very lucrative. If at that time, I had to move back to India, I had to start all over again in a junior position and work my way to Urban Design and it was going to take forever to repay my student loans that way. I don’t know what the future holds, but if I have to go back to India, I will be happy to do so.

Did you travel while/after studying?

Because my program was very intense, I seldom had time to travel and most importantly resources. I was mostly homesick and visited India a lot. But with what I had, I did visit a few places where I had friends. I got familiar with the east coast for sure but never made it to the west coast. It’s very different now, my job requires me to travel all over the country and I have been able to see a lot many places since my school years.

What message would you like to give to future students of Post-graduate studies/B.arch students?

Everybody’s journey is different, but the opportunities available are similar. My advice is

1.        Make sure you know what you want – keep your end goal clear and work backwards from where you are now.

2.        Choose wisely – no school or university can make you an Einstein if you are not committed to it. Know what your best and worst skills are and find a school that can provide a platform to tune your best skills. Everybody is not a design genius, you know who you are, so pick what will help you in your field of interest and not just because somebody said it’s a good university.

3.        Plan ahead of Masters – I know I didn’t. I had clarity only towards the end of the program. What I mean is that, if you know you want to stay back and build your career here or whatever it is that you want, think of ways you can work towards it while still in school. For example, getting an internship or working on a paper that might help you beyond master’s. If you know you want to go back to your hometown, then work on getting things in order for you to start there.

How is your master’s degree helping you in what you are doing right now?

I am currently working with AECOM as an Architectural and Urban Designer on Airports and transit hub facilities and I attribute this to an internship I did over the summer which I got because of the program that I was enrolled in. I am basically putting all the theories we were testing in studios to practice at work and I am extremely fortunate that I can do so. With the program, I have learnt to curate my research better, communicate across disciplines efficiently and approach design problems differently. Today I am able to think critically about design beyond sketches. I find myself asking decisive questions to stakeholders and constantly improving the narrative of the project.

How different was it(/will it be) coming back to India and working here in Indian scenario? What difficulties did you face(/do you foresee)?

I think coming back to India will open doors to interesting opportunities and the challenges of projects will shift drastically on so many levels which is something I have to learn to cope with but the good thing is the familiarity of practice. I follow the work of some people and firms that I admire and that helps me to be in touch with the scene in India.

Tell us more about your current work and future plans.

I am currently working on a very important project for the US National railroad passenger corporation, also known as Amtrak. We won the bid last year to revision their headquarters in Washington D.C, the project evolves in many phases, the first being redesigning their historic station that was built in 1907 and is a very significant architectural establishment in the U.S, next is developing the rail yards next to the station. The air rights were sold a few years ago for $10 Million to accommodate business, leisure and other facilities including Amtrak’s expansion towards high speed rail connecting some of the most important cities of the country in the northeast corridor from Boston to Washington D.C, via New York and Philadelphia among others, which now takes about close to 7 hours is estimated to reduce to 2.5 hours with the high speed rail. The project is very ambitious and is estimated close to $3 Billion. Because of the scale of the project, there is a constant partnership with other design firms and by this way, I have been able to network quite a lot with folks from Grimshaw, HOK, SOM among many others.

This aside, because my domain is transit hubs, most projects that come my way are airports, unfortunately, I cannot provide more details on that front because of my confidentiality contract with the client. Lastly, I also play the role of a contractor for Amtrak for their federal grant program to make all train stations in the country accessible for physically handicapped.

Outside Harvard, Massachusetts during the second winter break. The campus of Harvard and MIT felt like shrines of knowledge.

At Met Museum before our meeting with Kurt Behrendt, the curator of ancient art who was giving the studio a tour of Met for an elective research.  Kurt is always updating the latest additions to his department on Instagram, you can find him with the name, Kurt.behrendt

Bjarke Ingles lecture presentation after the completion of his project West 57.

This is a meeting our studio had with Bruce Fowle, the founder of FX FOWLE inside the Crystal Palace designed by James Ingo Freed of I.M Pei. Our studio was working on the same project as Bruce’s firm and the media had gotten the attention of this over months, so we arranged for a press meet discussion.

This was a stakeholder meeting Jeffery had organised with a community board to talk about our project.

At the UN headquarters for the Global meet on ‘Cities for all’. I was amazed to have made it inside the UN despite all the security craze which is 3 fold more than an airport screening amidst all the protestors right outside. This was also where I first met my celebrity Architect – Daniel Libeskind.

My team at an outreach program on reimagining safe public spaces. We had interviewed at least 50 people that night.

Model prototypes

Studio picnic on the first day of spring

The day of the final jury, last day at school

My jury panel

Finally, Thank you for this opportunity to share my story with everyone, I wish I had access to a forum like this 5 years back. I appreciate all the work you guys are doing in putting together stories of people who choose to do masters. This apart, I see you guys are doing so well, going places and following your passion, my best to you and your team.

[doodledialogue]

Interview series - What after B.arch? #5

Interviewee: Vedalaxmi Naik Post-graduation: M.Arch in Urban Design | CEPT, Ahmedabad, India

What prompted you to take up M.Arch in Urban Design at CEPT?

It was two things. First being, the moment I had stepped into CEPT during our B.Arch study tours, I felt an ambience I knew I wanted to be a part of, something like a‘Gurukul’ kind of environment back then.

Secondly, it was my field of interest - Urban Design, which grew on me as we took up our planning studio and urban design studio during B.Arch. These studios ignited that first spark of interest. I researched more about it, took it up as an experiment through my thesis as well as pursued work in reputed organisations/NGOs like Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), Mumbai where I learnt a lot about the practicalities of a field like Urban Design. This exposure along with my spirit of inquiry for the subject, gave me a good base work and perspective. It developed to be my core area of interest and helped make up my mind to take it up as my Master’s course.The deciding factor for the choice of University was the ideologies of CEPT as a school and how it looked into the Indian contexts. The Urban Design course at CEPT as well as other faculties were all focused on Indian living ensuring awareness of global practices, yet always centred around Indian society, systems, practices and culture. This intrigued me best as I have always been curious about what our nation needed -designwise! Hence, it never occurred to me to take up a course abroad and was determined about pursuing it at CEPT University itself. If we pay attention to matters that earn our curiosity, try and enquire, experiment and experience and end up feeling more curious – I think that’s how we figure out our true calling!

What about the university/program appealed to you?

The learning culture and environment … It reflected an essence of the gurukul culture back when we toured it. We saw that the lawns, the canteen, and the sit outs were all equally considered classrooms and it awed me the most. I personally had a great experience being a part of CEPT’s learning culture. It was beyond walls, probably how design schools should be. Moving away from family and cut off from your social circle for those two years seemed like an additive to the experience of it!

The exposure at CEPT has been tremendously influential in grooming my thought process. People from a multitude of arenas have held seminars, workshops, juries, etc and helped not just academic but extra-curricular development on a creative front. It helped in evolving our thought processes to be more conscious and to nurture our creative instincts helping design attempts to be more intentional, aware, feasible yet radical and unique.

How was the experience at the university?

It was great and definitely opened new doors for me. New exposures to varying kinds of courses and workshops and not to forget the wide spectrum of enthusiasts was a thrilling experience. Interacting and experiencing expertise of people from across the globe surely opens up your mind. I sometimes still want to go back and have those intense design / philosophical / life discussions over chais / tiffins or simply over music in studios. Oh yes! Also not to forget, studios of all fields had access to other studios. You could just pop into another studio if the topic interested you and you didn’t need permission to learn more than your chosen fields. I found this really great unlike the typical protocol of Indian education institutions. Also, the studios used to be open 24 X 7 and it was a good thing because you require that kind of time and academic resources for an intense course as Urban Design. Sometimes it did bog us down to not be able to participate in on-campus events unlike your friends from other faculties. Urban Design as a course was pretty intense with design juries itself scheduled at two ends of the week (Mondays and Fridays). The other courses/lectures/electives etc,.took up the rest of the week. This rarely gave us time to do anything else as the rest of the hours, we got busy into team discussions and trying to speed up conclusions and get going for the next jury of the week.

How was the teaching at your university?

It was definitely a lot of discussion sessions. Our course ensured emphasis on a panel of jurors from varying backgrounds like environmentalists, conservationists, journalists, artists, researchers and eminent architects from other cities and countries. This enabled us to argue and ponder over matters that may not be directly related to what we had done, to firstly be able to comprehend and then debate the repercussions our design may have on these varying fields, directly or indirectly. I am lucky to have shared discussions with some eminent minds like Prof. Neelkanth Chaya, Prof. Yatin Pandya and Prof. Riyaz Tayyabji to name a few. It was these people who kept us at the edge in our design quests.

A lot of group works and presentations involving a lot of library time in studio free hours helped us to explore beyond academics and faculties. The CEPT Library was my favourite, with access to genuine research works and a treasure telling tales of Indian cities.

Tell us more about the mentors.

The mentors we had were from a diverse range of expertise and specialisation. The experiences they shared, varying approaches to the same design enquiries, styles of imparting knowledge across the table, did do us a lot of opening up of our minds. Besides studio hours, they have been more than approachable. Some were always there even for midnight discussions with a cup of Chai. Design schools need such informal interactions in order to exchange ideas, sometimes question and sometimes develop them to extremes and discover new possibilities. Some mentors even invited us over to their homes for group discussions, etc and they have always been accessible to students. My favourite time again was when all these mentors sat across for juries and you could instantly experience their varying approaches to what you had done. All valuable inputs at once – what a crash course for the brain!

The mentors who took up electives were great in terms of exposing you to new dimensions given the short duration allotted to them within the course.

What lessons/insights did you gain from the experience?

Since I had some practical work experience prior to joining CEPT, I somehow had learnt to try and relate academia to practicality. But yes, CEPT taught me the depths, extents and multi-disciplinary relevance to projects. It definitely made us all leave with a strong quiver of multiple dimensions and approaches to our fields as a profession as well as a discipline. The course developed a deep sense of inquiry, informed design decisions and coming out as responsive and reflective of the world around. My approach has definitely been versatile and clearer ever since.

Which semester did you attend?

It was a two year long course, split in four semesters back then. I guess it now follows the Fall and Spring system as updated recently.

How did you plan the entrance exams?

Oh yes! I did prepare for GATE Exams; missed it by one mark. But no regrets as I still managed a merit seat. To my surprise, there was nothing and literally nothing you could find online or books on it back then. I had a tough time planning out the study matter. But I ensured I gather the past question papers and learnt about the kinds of questions, the ways and lengths you are expected to answer, etc. I also attempted CEED prior to GATE exams and I would say that preparation did help me in the background. There were books available for that too!

How did you manage the finances?

It was totally financed by my mother who believed in me pursuing it more than anything else. I owe a lot to her definitely. Financially, what goes unseen during the course is the expense through the course besides the fees. For people interested in pursuing Master’s, I would like to point out that being in a design field, do ensure financial arrangements for expenses besides the tuition fees on paper. That would include expenses like printing, buying stationary and sheets, copying of entire books, model making materials, etc. The course being so extensive, it requires a lot more expenditure and at least a bi-weekly frequency as your design studios.

Did you work a part-time job while studying?

Well no. I wish I could, but nope! There is no time for anything else in the Urban Design Studio. Infact, it was unsaid yet agreed upon across the university that UD students have no life beyond the studio. We were known to not be proactive about extracurricular activities. I remember how we used to sacrifice lunch hours etc sometimes to just catch a glimpse of workshops, or the popular garbha nights, etc that CEPT had to offer. That’s one thing about the UD course I wish changed. Workshops at CEPT were amazing and so were guest lectures from varying fields. I regret not having utilised these opportunities to full potential only because my course was so rigorous that there was no time for these.

Were you involved in research work/competitions while studying?

Yes and No. The research was at a personal level. I would say my thesis was a result of it and I am still looking to take it forward. Competitions were a strict no-no given the exhaustive course Urban Design had to offer.

Did you travel while/after studying? (Ex: Where? For what purpose? How did it help you?)

Yes, I did. We were a group of friends who loved impromptu outings with our DSLRs and sketchbooks.  We called ourselves ‘the joyriders’ (giggles). We went around the city and sometimes beyond. It kind of broadened our design abilities as they lead to quite a many discussions/arguments, relating to what we were doing and reflecting on insights.

Could you tell us in brief what your thesis was about?

My M.Arch thesis was my quest for informal spaces, especially in an Indian context – informal street vending in particular. It was about seeking a balance in urbanising cities and yet maintaining the inherent beauty of street vending in an Indian context. The National Law for Street Vendors had just been passed then and my thesis was an exploration of whether this is what Indian streets really needed! A lot of inquiries on the “Indian”ness of spaces in our public places kept me on the thinking edge. The Dadar Flower Market, Mumbai was my site of interest where I visited quite often during my thesis semester trying to understand the nitty-gritties of such informal systems and relating it to a newly laid out law trying to formalise such systems.

Do you think the country/city one studies in, matters? Does the city one studies in, play a major role in master’s experience?

It depends on the individual. Any experience is good experience as long as you are open to ideas from any side of the world. Personally speaking, I always intended to do my Masters in India, especially with CEPT on my mind. I thought it would chisel our minds for an Indian context of practice. It is very important to consider the context! As for Ahmedabad, it is a vibrant city in itself. I swear by it for it seems to have caught up with the balance in urbanising vs. culture that I seem to chase through my experiments in design.

Are there any notable incidents/ anecdotes from post-grad studies that you wish to share?

Oh yes! I cannot forget how we assembled at 10 pm once post dinner on short notice for a lecture!! We sure thought life’s hell was here (laughs). But it turned out just fine! All the GATE students used to be gathered up weekly to make contributions to the UD Journals and publications at CEPT. Some envied it and some found it to be a burden.

Please tell us about your current work and future plans.

I currently run my own design firm - The Indian Freelance Creative and Design Studio (tifCDS). It’s still in the start-up phase being only established this year. We aim to be an Urban Design Consultancy primarily, especially encouraging women to freelance. I also pursue a wide array of creative and design ventures that you would eventually see in my social posts soon.

What message would you like to give to future students of Post-graduate studies/B.Arch students?

B.Arch is definitely the backbone but M.Arch gives you that extra edge and opens new possibilities. Do ensure as many interactions and exposures to ideas and venture into multi-disciplinary learnings. Learn up digital aids / softwares. That’s sure to boom and expand as a practice in the near future. Be open to varied approaches, experiment as much as you can before you define your own ideology and enjoy the two years. It’s always going to be the last bunch of school life (unless you want to pursue higher education).

Thank you very much for sharing your experience at CEPT with us. We, at Doodle Dialogue, wish you all the luck in your future endeavours!

On finally graduating and the joys of fulfilment and of completions. We loved the Shawls with the old CEPT logo back then but unfortunately, it was from our batch onwards, the logo changed.

A panoramic view of the Urban Design Studio (2012-2014)

Juries after three sleepless nights were still a joyride for all the adrenaline rush you have upon meeting your classified panel of jury members and to share your work amongst them, arguing as well as agreeing with them. It is definitely missed!!

Creating one design solution as a group with creative minds from across the country and abroad. Well, that’s a learning in itself ! Cheers to groupie times with my CEPT besties Arati Chandrashekhar, Mumbai and Tara Pandala, Kollam.

A class picture upon graduating! A memorable day indeed!

  On one of the many site visits, interviewing, surveying, mapping and analysing the urban issues.

Festivals at CEPT were a multidisciplinary get together with traditional celebrations and very much awaited for through the year.

A thesis site visit at 2am in Mumbai – The M.Arch Thesis was a rigorous exercise personally too, involving travelling and exploring your sites at odd hours.

Model making was an extensive practice for all design juries, involving a lot of time, effort and resources.

A view from the balcony of the Urban Design Studio overlooking the campus ambience

Some significant impromptu detours (joyrides as we called them) in and around the city of Ahmedabad

About the interviewee:

Vedalaxmi Naik is an Urban Designer and Architect. She completed her B.Arch degree from K.L.S.G.I.T, Belgaum and M.Arch degree in Urban Design from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. She is currently the Founder and Principal Designer at her own freelance design firm – The Indian Freelance Creative and Design Studio (tifCDS) and currently shuttles between Belgaum and Agra post marriage as she pursues her startup. She has previously worked at Jana Urban Space Foundation (JUSP), Bengaluru; Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), Mumbai; Kham Design, Bengaluru and Thirdspace Architectural Studio, Belgaum. She is soon to be an Associate of the Institute of Urban Designers India (IUDI) as well as a member of  INTACH. Besides a passion for good design, her other interests lie in oil painting, photography, sketching, travelling, reading and cooking.