Fish in the Sea

~Atul Saraff, Vl Semester

  Fish. Strange creatures. They say that’s where we came from. Some people (like that crazy Frank O’Gehry) even take inspiration from them. Personally, I’m not a fan, but when you are gifted two gold fish as pets, you can’t help but stare at them in some desperate hope that inspiration may strike you too.



  It doesn’t work. All the good ideas you had are shot down- "won’t work", "not practical", "How do you justify that?" they say. They tell you that architecture is a client driven market. You give them what they want and then and only then will they be satisfied. This will later hold good for the clients too apparently.

  Looking at those fish I think, ‘Man, they have the life. They don’t have to think, rake their minds over a creative solution to every little problem, don’t have to figure out how to stay ahead of the class. They get fed, cleaned and the only real danger is the neighbour's cat. A five second memory span means every time they are bored of the scenery, all they have to do is turn around. It’s not their fault they are that way. They say animals evolve based on their surroundings. They don’t need to be bigger, or better in any way. They do what is required of them. Just survive long enough. But wait a minute; it’s not the fish that I’m talking about. It’s us! 

  I am an architect. I am what I design! I have been living in this little puddle my whole architectural life, and the only real threat I have ever seen, is the weird silent kid who always does the assignments on time! Every time I want a change, I try something dramatic and new - change my plan to something a bit more circular - rather than the normal boring boxes. I do what is required of me, make safe and practical design, and pass. Survive. Hopefully long enough for the council to be able to say I’m an architect too. With this environment, I don’t need to do better. Don’t need crazy ‘out of the box’ approach to design, don’t NEED a concept that could blow your mind, don’t NEED to push myself everyday to do better than what I did yesterday. No, I don’t need to. I want to, I choose to!

  It’s because I’m not here to be a pet fish in some kid’s tank. I’m here to be the great white, the one that makes people gasp at his very sight. This is because unfortunately, I have been ruined by outside waters. I have tasted the freedom of that limitless sea of ideas. I know what’s out there. And I’ll tell you this; it’s not safe, it’s not easy, and I might not make it. But as a good friend once put it, ‘Do you want to survive or do you want to live?’ As for me, I want to live! 

  Looking back at our mythology I see a connection. We are like the Matsya. We grow to the size of what contains us. Basically, the bigger the pool of ideas, the more we grow. Some turn out like the bottom dwellers - never to be seen. But you know they are there; in the depths, in the darkness, somewhere. Some turn into sharks - pouncing at every opportunity, and some into those irritating pilot fish - that benefit of the prior. So, where do we stand in this vast expanse? I believe the day our job is reduced to drafting someone else’s plans - an architect has died. Bowing down, falling in line, swimming with the current. That’s easy for some. But it’s getting harder and harder for me every day. Not that the alternate is any easier, (guess no one told Robert Frost that the road not taken, is not taken for a reason), but I will say this, every time I look at one of my sheets, I smile. And for me, that’s worth the fight. 

  As I stand here today, I feel a little scared (of what’s to come), a little overwhelmed (by what I’m up against), a little in awe (of what’s out there). But above all, I’m happy because this little fish has just jumped from the pond to the big blue sea, and hopefully one day, I’ll learn to swim with the greats.