Experiences at Anant Fellowship — The Onset of LAP and the modules
- Lokesh Ghiya
- Apr 7, 2021
- 5 min read
In earlier posts, I talked about The Orientation. It was a trailer of the fellowship movie. The usual nights turned to all-nighters completing assignments, getting up early in the morning and hopping on the bus on time. This routine included waking up my roommate and other fellows. To be honest, I am personally scared of waking up anyone. The fear of someone shouting back makes me feel terrified of this act. I got away out by doing my part of ringing the doorbell and running away to get a cold bath to awaken myself. My favourite dish for a while became methi ke theple, the puri and Chole that we were served for breakfast. The leftovers used to be a part of my lunch box or snack that I munched whenever I felt like.

I am not sure whether I should call myself fortunate or unfortunate for being one of the bus coordinators. I and Rutuja had the responsibility to get the bus moving to reach the college on time. This would bring in the situation of fellows running behind the bus to stop or meeting us at the next stop by taking a ride from a passer-by. It wasn’t an easy job, dude.

I am sure I and Rutuja got our share of badmouthing for this act. Initially, the bus journey was packed with lots of discussions ranging from the fellowship schedule, hostel issues, two inches layer of oil in the food to making plans for the evenings(rarely happened). Some participated actively in these discussions while some disappeared in their own thoughts to a few dozing off for length only to wake up when we reached or just to have a sutta/beedi break. All this while, I was busy absorbing and learning about others’ ways of thinking. The patterns in their decision-making skills offered me a variety of perspectives. Nevertheless, this didn’t happen easily. The discussion would turn into debates, long conversations, arguments and so on. I was getting introduced to this for the first time, and to be frank I sometimes felt it mentally exhausting as well enriching. It took time to understand each side but this helped me become more empathetic.
The fellowship was structured in such a way that each fellow gets to work with other co-fellows. The modules and Live Action Project (LAP) do constitute the major part of the fellowship but peer learning formed the core.
It was fun to work on different assignments, ranging from redesigning a product to exhibiting a display of ideas. This became possible as there were no restrictions on the presentation format for any of the assignments. The format could range from performing a play to a self-reflection essay which allowed everyone to show exemplary work. In between, I enjoyed the process of getting to know the fellows and their life experiences.
Each faculty engaged differently with us, putting in their best efforts to choose a different way of explaining which was spectacular. I had not been accustomed to any of these methods during my undergrad. In the first few months, we got introduced to the basics of design thinking, stories of women at the time of partition to feminist movements in the module of society and culture (Have a look at the Exhibition- Paradigm Shift). The communication module, which was thankfully not a repeat telecast of past years of education, was introduced by interesting elements of play, poems, games, etc. The way our faculty helped us in thinking our thoughts in the form of poems, dialogues, games were magical. We somehow felt that in addition to the fellowship we also enrolled ourselves in a literature program, that a class it was! Listen to what I wrote during the module: The poem- How I felt like a waterfall
In my childhood, I enjoyed making mud mounds, tombs, and pillars. I relived my childhood in the clay workshop. We learned the art of rolling and pinning the clay. The two days were filled with playing in clay and getting perfect shapes for our pieces. It’s then I released the labour of a sculptor. Well, we had some sculptors too as fellows which made it more interesting.

Alongside, the Live Action Project (LAP) was building up through discussions on what problems we are seeing in the built environment. The issues which were close to our heart. Now, this was putting me at unease. I couldn’t choose one topic. I felt all topics proposed by the other fellows were interrelated. My mind was running in all directions and I was unable to concentrate on one thought. It’s one of the reasons I came to the fellowship to work on my decision-making abilities, to think critically, logically, and reasonably. I doubt this would have been possible with other degree courses. I was all over the place during the initial LAP period and was having a tough time. All projects sounded like the ones I want to work on. Starting from different education practices, community engagement spaces, studying Heritage spaces, waste segregation projects, food security, mental health, etc. sounded like something I would love to study and work on. But unfortunately, I had to work on a single topic. I juggled with this for a month. Later I realized it’s better I chose one as each topic has a wider scope and way of approach

After hopping for almost one and a half month, I decided to work on the project of Urban Agriculture. I had little experience working on this. It was a loose group formation as many were unsure about the project they had chosen. After the initial research, we went on to meet the actors of the built environment in the context of the project. The project aimed at growing food in urban spaces in catering to the production of quality food.
The concept and idea were interesting and involved in physical labour. We initiated by studying a few research papers followed up by the theory of change. None of this was an easy task to work on. A tremendous amount of mental brainstorming and discussions went in to arrive at a consensus.
Anyways being in Ahmedabad has its own perk especially when Navratri is around the corner. The spirit of Garba was high here! The neighbouring gym to our hostel had turned into a Garba practice area. Largely all the huge spaces were full of Garba nights.

(L to R): Saurya Pratap Singh, Shivani Shah, S.R Aaditya, Dishunee Pandya and I
Even I also got to give a shake to my legs at Garba fest in the university. We danced as if that day won’t come back. There were circles of groups and people prancing from one group to another. The sound of claps, laughter and music filled that night nicely. Ah! I will cherish those moments of joy and togetherness. The night fell upon and we were back to our hostels getting ready for the journey towards home for a week-long Diwali break.
Stay Connected for the after Diwali break Journey.
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