The first question that was asked on the first day of internship was, "Why CONA?". Many things came to mind, some felt stupid while others well enough, but for most of the part, it was the intense curiosity that got me there. CONA was introduced to me through an elective at SEA which was mentored by Shreyas Karle. First as a group of ten, then three as the others left - we shared the space of the foundation, both professional and domestic, with Hemali Bhuta, Shreyas, their daughter, the family's two dogs and three cats. 

The foundation is a space for people from various backgrounds to come together to discuss, share, reflect, introspect and draw upon from their own practises and daily activities. They believe that art and design must not be separated from one's self to such an extent that we segregate them as 'work' versus 'home', but they should rather come through our own rituals of the everyday.

We were not expected to produce 'work' by the end of the internship, but to get ourselves accustomed and into the ways of the house, to understand the differences among the disciplines of both 'art' and 'architecture' before moving towards mixing the two of them, to at least attempt to get into a interest of our own that will not end up as something we did only for the sake of the one-month internship but as a part of our practise in our life ahead.

Preparation of a full meal:

To get into the act of making food, right from deciding what to make, searching for how to make it, getting the ingredients, choosing what vessels to cook and serve the food in and preparing the food, we did an activity in pairs of two where we made chapatis with paneer burji, rice and dal fry. A delicious late lunch it was! 

Working with wood:

Cake baking:

Butter, eggs, flour, milk, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and essence - these ingredients mixed together in correct proportions and baked at around 180 degrees for 45 minutes made wonderful cakes for many different occasions; be it birthdays, farewells, conversations or just the wish to make it. Though it might have started out with being an activity done just for the fun of it, after a point, the actions and processes became intuitive. Where we’d first started with strictly following a handwritten recipe to the letter, the understanding of each ingredient, being aware of what every action leads to, their order of being carried out and knowing the mechanics of heat in the oven came to us overtime, which allowed further experimentation of the recipe. 

Writing as a primary output:

We had gone for the internship at CONA with some sort of ideas of what we decided as ‘work’.  Once there, we were lost when there was no assigned work to do but to rather find a practise for ourselves through different mediums  as well as also getting involved in the activities in the house. Some found their ways through the activities performed within the space and others through the different workshops we went to.

For me, I tried making a practise out of writing. It started as paragraphs upon paragraphs with questions and thoughts about a phrase said during a dinner conversation among the students at CONA. The text was written as a starting point, with every stray thought that came to the mind. 

The idea of writing as a primary output was then put into question. “Why write? What does it really mean to write?” And if writing is what one really wants to do, how does one delve deeper into the practise and move beyond writing as just storytelling or description, but something that brings out emotions and wonder in a subtle manner.  

Discussions at CONA:

Upon the discussion of writing as a practice, a few books were recommended. Some were related to the topic of the text, while others explored the approach and method of writing.

Jean Baudrillard’s ‘The System of Objects’ talked about objects having their own individual identities. The books talks about  how the current global manufacturing of objects has now changed from extravagant, decorative pieces which were shaped by the patriarchal society it has emerged from, into today’s minimalist aesthetic has liberated it from its bonds of being a decoration.

Book references:

Upon the discussion of writing as a practice, a few books were recommended. Some were related to the topic of the text, while others explored the approach and method of writing.

Jean Baudrillard’s ‘The System of Objects’ talked about objects having their own individual identities. The books talks about  how the current global manufacturing of objects has now changed from extravagant, decorative pieces which were shaped by the patriarchal society it has emerged from, into today’s minimalist aesthetic has liberated it from its bonds of being a decoration.

Films watched:

Singing sessions:

We did regular singing sessions at CONA as a group - as a way to energize ourselves in the morning or after a meal, as a practise which allowed us to sing aloud without the fear of judgement and shame as singing in a group harmonised all our voices. It was also an interesting discipline, where we experimented with different scales and variations in the same song. 

CPP Manure Mixing:

We spent a day on gardening the aangan at CONA. Around 10 kgs of soil was bought for the potted plants and greens grown in the backyard. The organic waste generated in the household is used for composting. The first part of the day was to clear off the fallen leaves and removing the weeds from the garden. Then CPP Manure was brought and mixed with water, which was stirred continuously for an hour at least. The mixture was then sprinkled all around the garden with brooms made from the cut plants and weeds. 

Making cosmetics with natural materials:

To make cosmetics which are chemical-free and easily available around the house, we used rocks which gave a strong pinkish-red pigment. We first collected the rocks, barely more than a centimeter big, and crushed them to make very fine powder. The powder was then divided into two parts. One part was mixed with cream (face cream or sunscreen) and the other with water. 

De-weeding and broadcasting of seeds in paddy fields:

We went to a paddy field which was owned by a teacher at an agricultural school in Divar Island who does complete organic farming at the field. We were mostly engaged in de-weeding, in which we pulled out the overgrown weeds in the waterlogged field. The collected pile was used to build the small divisions on the edge of the land owned by the owner.

Broadcasting is done after the fields are cleared, which requires skilled labour. The seeds are thrown in the field in such a way that each seeds falls a bit away from each other.

Image references:

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

https://www.vintagemovieposters.co.uk/shop/the-cook-the-thief-his-wife-her-lover-movie-poster/ 

The Holy Mountain

https://www.cinemamonogatari.com/2021/07/02/thorough-analytical-dissection-of-the-surrealistic-picturesque-world-of-alejandro-jodorowskys-the-holy-mountain/ 

Esthappan

https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lws9miYjpr1qlzsfyo1_r1_1280.jpg 

Autumn Sonata

https://cinemafromthespectrum.com/2019/03/10/the-mother-and-daughter-dynamics-by-way-of-ingmar-bergmans-autumn-sonata-a-review/