Category Career Queries

What is the career in the Sustainable architecture?

Imagine a wall mounted with a vertical garden, harboring different species of plants that act as a natural air filter, counter tops made from recycled made from recycled glass; solar and wind-powered heating and cooling systems. These are the houses of the future. I the face climate change, architects are coming up with creative designs that minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings. This is known as sustainable or green architecture. Modern buildings are responsible for around 19% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Designing sustainable buildings helps reduce emissions, and mitigate the effects of climate change. So if you are interested in making the world a better place, sustainable architecture could be your calling.

How it works

Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of buildings and cities. This is to ensure that our actions and decisions do not have a negative impact on our beloved planet. The role of sustainable architects is to reduce the impact on environment at every stage of building. They make moderate use of materials and energy, and reduce waste. They look for greener alternatives to raw materials that harm the environment, and opt for clean energy to reduce the carbon footprint of the structures.

Required skills

** Understanding of environmental sustainability

** Knowledge of construction and building technology

** Adopting sustainable design to climate change and other environmental challenges

** Expertise in CAD (computer-aided design)

Scope

The field of sustainable building design has gained global importance in the last two decades. Most countries in the world have developed a green rating system for buildings. In some countries sustainable architecture has become mandatory. And so, sustainable architects are in demands in both public and private sectors. The U.S. Green Building Council developed the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) programme that certifies qualified individuals as LEED) Green associates. As a LEED Green Associate, you can find job opportunity in architecture firms, consulting services, educational services, engineering services, building, developing and general contracting across the world.

What to study?

Master of Architecture (M.Arch)-Sustainable Architecture is a pre-requisite to work in this field.

Where

India

** College of Architecture, Bhratiya Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune: One of the oldest institutes to offer a two-year M.Arch (Sustainable Architecture).

** School of architecture and Planning Vijayawada: Tagged as an institute of national importance by the Ministry of Human Resource Development it offers M.Arch (Sustainable Architecture).

** National Institute of Technology. Hamirpur, Himchal Pradesh: It is one of the few institutes in the country to offer both B.Arch as well as M.Arch in Sustainable Architecture.

Abroad

** Norwegian University of Science and technology M.Sc in sustainable Architecture

** Sheffield University, the U.K: M.Sc in sustainable Architecture Studies

** Yale School of Architecture, the U.S: a specialization in Environmental Design is available under M.Arch.

 

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What is the story of our Indian scripts?

The Phonetic Phoenicians

When early forms of writing first developed in different parts of the works humans drew picture symbols to show what they observed in real life. So each symbol represented one object. The Egyptian Hieroglyphs, the Mesopotamian Cuneiform, and the Indus Valley script were all ‘pictorial’ scripts. This meant that to read or write, people had to learn lots and lots of symbols, which was very difficult and took a lot of time.

Around 1500 BC, the ancient Phoenicians, an ancient sea-faring, trading civilization based around what is now Lebanon, came up with a system of writing that would change the world! Symbols were now used for sounds rather than actual words. These sounds became alphabets, which didn’t mean anything by themselves, but could be used as building blocks to form an unlimited number of words. Even unknown words could be spelled out as people now knew how to pronounce them. All cultures which came in contact with this immediately adopted this revolutionary concept, and created their own ‘phonetic’ alphabets.

However, the Chinese alphabet remains pictorial. So while writers of most languages of the world have to learn, and focus only on building their vocabulary, the average Chinese person today has to learn, by heart, between 3,000 and 50,000 characters just to be able to read her language!

The Greeks and Roman scripts became the base for the European language scripts used today. The Hebrews* and Arabs modified Phoenician differently and created their own scripts, including the Aramaic script, which was adopted as the official script of the Persian Empire. With the Persian conquests of the Indus area in the 6th century BC, the Aramaic script came to India.

Origin of Indian scripts

In India, the Harappan script was by then a long forgotten mystery. After a gap of thousands of years, the earliest inscriptions are from the Mauryan period, in the Hathigumpha in Orissa, and the Ashokan edicts in the 3rd century in a script called Brahmi. Interestingly, Emperor Ashoka’s very first edict, carved into a rock near Kandahar around 260 BC, was written exclusively in Aramaic and Greek!

However, Brahmi and other scripts had probably been gradually evolving for a long time in India and it is just that the oldest ones we have found are from the Maurayan period, as they started carving things into durable stone, rather than writing on wood or paper.

Brahmi would become the mother of all South Asian and most South-East Asian scripts – around 15 of them – from Hindi to Punjabi to Bengali to Tamil to Burmese, Thai and Tibetan!

Variations in Brahmi

Like languages, scripts also change across different regions. Brahmi quickly started getting regional variations. Around the 1st century, there was a distinct split between Northern Brahmi and Southern Brahmi , which diverged more and more over time. Northern Brahmi evolved into all the north Indian scripts we have today, like Gurmukhi, Devanagari, Marathi, Bengali and so on. Southern Brahmi gradually morphed into the Old Kannada, Pallava grantha and Vattelutu scripts, which gave rise to modern Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

The South-East Asian Connection

The Pallava dynasty ruled a large swathe of southern India around the 3rd-9th centuries AD. In their time, a script called Pallava Grantha was used. The Pallavas developed strong trading ties with many countries in South-East Asia, and not just goods, but Indian culture, religion, mythology and even the script spread to countries like modern Burma, Indonesia, Thailand Cambodia and Vietnam. All of their scripts come from Pallava Grantha!

Vowels and Consonants

Have you ever wondered why, in English, vowels are written as separate letters, but in Indian scripts, the vowels are added to the top, bottom or side of the consonants> this is special feature of all Brahmic scripts. While it makes learning to write a bit more complicated, it is at least less complicated than Semitic languages like Arabic and Hebrew…which simply don’t have vowel sounds! Readers of those languages have to guess what the word is while reading the paragraph!

 

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What is the career in photography?

With the boom in advertising, media and fashion industry, photography, from a mere hobby, is emerging as a lucrative career choice. Travel and travel documentary photography is one of the most thrilling forms of photography. It offers a chance to travel to less-known places, meet indigenous people, and document their historical and cultural significance.

A pretty picture

 To begin with, you must pick a niche or an area of interest. However, if your interest is not commercially viable, you may have to take an other assignments to pay the bills. Most travel photographers like to strike a balance between assignments that align with their interests and those that are financially lucrative. Once your networks are in place and you ave developed a name for yourself, you may find it necessary to work on assignments that do not interest you.

What are the job prospects?

Careers in photography branch out in different directions. Travel and travel documentary photography hold a plethora of opportunities, as people are interested in travel, especially to less-explored places. This particular branch of photography is similar to photo journalism and focusses on telling stories through images.

Travel magazines, channels and photo-sharing websites recruit travel photographers on a freelance or full-time basis. Most photographers prefer to work as freelancers so that they can take or multiple assignments.

Travel photographers can also freelance for resorts and government tourism departments.

While the world has come to a halt currently because of the coronavirus pandemic, the interest in travel and photography is expected to revive after normalcy returns.

What to study?

One doesn’t need a specific degree to work as a photographer. However, many photography schools in India and abroad offer short-term courses and diplomas in different areas of photography.

Where:

  • Uddan School of Photography in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata: One-year and two-year diploma programmes in Commercial Photography.
  • Light and Life Academy in Udhagamandalam Tamil Nadu: Diploma in Travel and Nature Photography.
  • Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication, Delhi: Foundation in Photography (two months) and PG Diploma in Professional Photography (16 months).

Abroad:

  • New York Institute of Photography, the U.S.: Online courses – The Complete Course in Professional Photography, Digital Photography: Photoshop for Photographers, Marketing for Photographers, and the Video Making and Storytelling and The Fundamentals of Digital Photography.
  • Goldsmiths University, the U.K.: Master of Arts (M.A.) Photography and Urban Cultures; and M.A. Photography: The Image and Electronic Arts.
  • Speos International Photo School, Paris and London: Courses in Studio Photography and CGI, Sports photography, Photojournalism, and Fashion Photography.

Required skills

  • Passion for photography
  • Knowledge of cameras and angles
  • Creativity of come up with different camera angles and photo ideas
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Ability to tell a story through the photos
  • Patience to wait for the perfect shot
  • Stamina to cope with hectic schedules, travel to remote places and long days
  • Familiarity with digital editing tools
  • Interpersonal and marketing skills
  • Editing skills

 

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Which are the important artefacts of Mohenjo Daro?

Several artefacts and relics were unearthed during the excavation of Mohenjo Daro by archaeologists. Most of these are preserved and on display at the National Museum, New Delhi. Some of the notable artefacts discovered are:

The Dancing Girl

Dating back to 2,500 BC, this is one of the rarest artefacts found the world-over. The artifact depicts a woman who looks like she is dancing. Hence, the name ‘Dancing Girl’. The bronze statue suggests two important facts about the Indus Valley Civilisation – the artists knew metal blending and casting, and the civilisation had dance and other performing arts as modes of entertainment.

Mother Goddess idol

Discovered in 1931 by Hohn Marshall, this terracotta idol was made between 2700 and 2100 BC. According to archaeologists, the figurine suggests the Mother Goddess cult was wide-spread during the days of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

The Priest King

Discovered in 1927, and sculpted around 2,500 BC, this is a statue of a seated male with a neat beard, pierced ears, and a fillet around his head. He also wears a clock and an armband. The statue, which is 17.5 cm tall, is made of soapstone.

Though there is no evidence of a king or a priest having ruled Mohenjo Daro, archeologists dubbed this figure the ‘Priest King’.

Pashupati Seal

Engraved between 2500-2400 BC, this artefacts is considered one of the most significant Indus finds. It is a seal which bears the image of Shiva, suggesting the existence of a Shiva-cult during the Indus civilization. The seal is engraved on a chip of steatite, a soft stone which is decay-resistant.

Present state

Many archaeologists believe that not must is being done to protect the ruins. The faces challenges from rising temperatures, which sometimes soar over 46 degrees Celsius. Salt from the underground water table is also said to be damaging the ruins.

More than the weather and time, archaeologists believe that it is fight against militancy and neglect by people that will lead to the eventual disappearance of the ruins.

 

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What is the history of Mohenjo Daro?

The ancient city

Situated in the modern-day Larkana district of Sindh province in Pakistan, Mohenjo Daro was ince a thriving city of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Built around 2,500 BC Mohenjo Daro meaning mound of the dead, is considered one of the world’s earliest well-planned cities. It was abandoned in the 19th Century BC with the decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation. It was rediscovered in the 1920s by an officer at the Archaeological Survey of India.

Following its discovery, several excavations have been carried out at the site, with only-third of the city’s area of 240 hectares excavated so far. The excavations have revealed evidence of art, religion, customs and administrative abilities of the Indus Valley Civilisation, along with the city’s excellent drainage system.

The site was added to the World Heritage Site list in 1980 by UNESCO for being the most ancient and best-preserved urban ruin in the Indus Valley and bearing testimony to the Indus civilization.

Architecture and layout

The city of Mohenjo Daro had been carefully planned. Spread across 240 acres, it is believed that the city once housed nearly 40,000 people. Its layout has rectilinear buildings on a grid plan and an elaborate drainage system. Most of the buildings in Mohenjo Daro were build of fired and mortared brick, with some incorporating sun-dried mud-brick and wooden superstructures.

The site consists of several mounds, which archaeologists believe grew organically over the centuries as platforms and walls were constantly built for the houses. The Great Bath, water light pool, and one of the major constructions in Mohenjo Daro, sites on the tallest mound in the city. Many believe that the Great Bath is the closest structure that Mohenjo Daro has to a temple. Next to the Great bath is the Great Hall or Great Granary, with wall divisions and air ducts.

The city had a central marketplace with a large central well. Most of the houses contained a bathing area with a drainage system. They also had inner courtyards and some were two-storeyed.

 

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What is the history of the Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino?

A serial property on the Pacific Coast of the central part of Mexico Baja California Peninsula, the Whale Sanctuary of EL Vizcaino comprises two coastal lagoons – Laguna Ojo de Liebre and Laguna San Ignacio. The site includes the wetlands, marshes, dunes, halophytes, mangroves and desert habitats surrounding the lagoons. Spanning nearly 400,000 hectares, the World Heritage Site is part of the much larger El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, Mexico’s largest protected area. The lagoons of El Vizcaino are recognised as the world’s moat important place for the breeding and reproduction of the once endangered Eastern subpopulation of the North Pacific Grey Whale.

The ideal spot

Every year between December and March, many Grey whales come to the sanctuary from the oceans of Alaska to breed. Nearly half the population of gray whales found in the world today is believed to have been born in this sanctuary.

One of the major reasons for the whales making their way here is the high temperature and saline concentration of the lagoon waters, which make it ideal for newborn calves to learn how to float and swim. The shallow waters of the lagoon also help the calves learn how to feed themselves. This is why the sanctuary is known as “The Whales’ Cradle”.

The return of the grey whales

While the current population of the grey whale is estimated to be about 20,000, there was a time when the species was on the verge of extinction. The population had come down to just 200 in the beginning of the 20th Century due to overhunting, including in this very sanctuary. However, due to the local government’s strict protection policy as well as the accreditation of El Vizcaino as a biosphere reserve and later as a World Heritage Site, the grey whales have returned and improved in numbers.

A sanctuary to many others

The lagoons of the sanctuary are home to numerous other marine mammals such as the bottlenose dolphin, California sea lion, blue whale and the harbor seal. Four species of endangered marine turtles can also be found in the lagoon. These are the leatherback, green, hawksbill, and olive ridley turtles. The shallow waters of the lagoon serve as an important habitat and nursery for a large number of fish, crustaceans, and other forms of life. Many breeding as well as migratory bird species such as the brant goose depend on the lagoons and their surrounding habitats.

 

Picture Credit : Google