A Visit to NID – National Institute of Design
Binu gestured for me to get on the back of his motorbike. I blurted, “I am not riding side-saddle, my mom would kill me.” “No problem” he replied, “ride however you like.” I had taken notice of many women in India riding side-saddle due to the constraints of their saris and modesty, but even the idea of me on a motorbike would make my mom queasy. We arrived safely to NID in two nerdy minutes
I had met Binu through a friend of a friend of yet another friend, my typical way of meeting people in India, and he was going to show me around NID. I hopped off his bike and he led me through the lush green outdoor campus, straight into Praveen Nahar’s office, a professor of Industrial Design. “You must be Jane.” I thought, ‘Wow, he’s good,’ forgetting I had sent Praveen an email just 30 minutes earlier alerting him I would be on campus. We sat in his office and discussed the work ahead of me as well as his work at the school. It was thrilling to be finally speaking to my mentor at NID, turning thousands of miles into feet.
The campus was buzzing with the excitement of Convocation, to be held only a few days later. Students were busy installing their works, gathered in groups with their hands on their hips, taking a step back to look at their fruits, calling out for the lost duct tape, and hoisting intricate installations high up into the air. Initially I figured I stood out on this small campus, but after a few days of visiting the library and working in a studio, I grew friendly with a number of the students. I joined them for chai breaks, walks around campus, and meals out in Ahmedabad. I also struck animal-lover gold: there were 5 puppies running amok around the canteen.
During my week at NID, there were endless people to discuss with my ideas about the worth of waste. While walking down an outdoor corridor with two students, I bumped into Praveen Nahar, as well as M.P. Ranjan, a long-time professor at NID. What followed was an impromptu discussion about milk bottles as an industrial design product and subsequent waste product. We, of course, discussed this while having milk; I believe my bottle was Lychee flavored. It was moments like these, sharing design ideas and dreams with people who designed with their hearts, that made my time at NID so inspirational