NID convocation held

Thirty-five of the National Institute of Design (NID) walked proud on Thursday evening on the occasion of the institute’s 21st convocation. The students seemed ready for the world even as they received the diploma from Chairman of the governing council Hasmukh Shah, cheered on by the entire institute and their families. The mementos were presented after M.G.D. Nair placed the register containing the names of the recipients of the Diploma.

Chairman and CEO of Broadcast Worldwide, Mumbai, Rathikant Basu delivered the convocation address this year. "Two features have dominated the global media scene ever since mankind was exposed to the power of the printed word. One has been the relentless and inexorable march of technology and the other has been the fickleness and the unpredictable behaviour of audiences the world over," he began.

Talking on the immense power of the visuals which can stir the conscience of millions people and destroy the same, Basu added, "While powerful visuals of disasters spurred governments and the conscience of the international community, the same medium has been held responsible for thousands of death in Mumbai and elsewhere after the destruction of the mosque at Ayodhya." He also stated that the acceptance of new technologies universally is taking less time than it used to in the past. "This is partly due to technology itself and partly because the social behaviour is changing," said Basu while citing the example of consumer response to technology in the automobile industry.

Basu recalled his earliest associations with NID when he had approached Dashrath Patel as the Deputy Municipal Commissioner to design public conveniences for Ahmedabad.

Darlie O Koshy, Executive Director of NID thanked Basu for his continuing support and co-operation. He also informed that NID has entered the 44th year of innovation in education and design consultancy. He paid homage on behalf of NID to those associated with the institution like Adrian Frutiger, Charles and Ray Eames and others. He also informed that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has conferred a National Award on NID on December 3 for its design contributions in creating a barrier-free environment for the disabled. Koshy also informed of the forthcoming millennium celebrations as well as the ICSID regional meeting in 2002.

The students’ works were put up for exhibition. From animation to textile and product designing, the innovative experiments by the students are worth a visit.

Republished from Asian Age