Instinct and Intellect in design...

I am listening to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi[1] sing Raag Brindabani Sarang[2]. I am mesmerized, to say the least, and the effect of this rendition seems to be permeating deep within me...
I stop my multitasking attempts in work and drench myself to the rain of musical notes...
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I am a student of music, and a student of design too, and I attempt to understand the design of a music rendition...
As a design student, initially I was tempted to think of design as a field of pure intellect and rationale. perhaps with a clear depart from art. But when I hear the masters of music, I know that there is something beyond just calculation. When one learns to calculate time divisions in music, and place notes on these calculations,one is making music, yes. But masters make magic.How do they do it? Its probably years of practice which makes the rendition instinctive, and each note breathtaking...
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I am increasingly of the opinion that there exists art in design, and also design in art.The system design of Indian music is laid on strict parameters of numbers and relations of notes,rejoicing on a calculated divisioning of time grid. But through these strict constraints, emerges a unique rendition everytime. The people who made the system design for India music must have been really amazing.
I remember a class in Visual Design where Professor 'Kirti Trivedi' showed us graphic design layouts made by his guru 'Kohei Sugiura'. It was inspiring for us graphic design students to see the range possible through a common grid. I also clearly remember thinking, that is this just positioning graphic elements on a visual grid?..
What has he done, that makes looking at these layouts an unforgettable experience?
How one uses grid is possibly the reason what makes a master a master...
Here seeps in fragrance of art, 'instinct' holding hands with 'intellect and rationale'.
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As a student, I have realized that this is possible...I hope that someday I reach closer to connecting instinct and intellect..
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Panditji ends his rendition with a drut composition[3] ...the trail of the tanpura[4] lingers on further...
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Glossary:
[1]pandit bhimsen joshi: A living legend of Indian classical vocal music.
[2]raag brindabani sarang: Raag is an Indian term for a combination of specific musical notes with defined structures for ascent and descent. Brindabani Sarang is one such combination of notes.
[3]drut composition: A fast tempo musical composition, usually presented as the last part of a rendition.
[4]tanpura: A vital musical instrument for Indian classical music, it has just four notes in it, but emanates a drone that tends to form a complete octave. This helps the artiste to stay in perfect tune throughout.

Face of a new childhood?

Yesterday as I walked home, a couple with two small kids about 4 yrs old, walked behind me, the husband asked the kids, how was karate class today?...one kid replied, "no papa, today the class got cancelled"...the wife said,"yep, only the dance and the personality class happened.."...
i was wondering about the changing face of childhood...
Pressures to make the child good, and better than the other child, has caught the parents...
yes, the same ambition to make the child sing poems in front of visitors has always been there...but perhaps the frenzy has increased...
perhaps the face of childhood is changing...
Thats why perhaps in design, social studies need to be a pertinent inclusion (?). Ergonomic studies, Ethnographic studies and now social studies to be aware about how the user profiles are going to drastically change...
a child image conjours itself in front of me and says,"I have changed...already."

Paints and a blank canvas...

I remember a child I knew 26 years ago,with a tray of paint tubes and blank paper in front...
the child without thinking just plunged into paint and with abandon,filled the paper in streaks of colour, without a real intent or plan as to what to paint...

I just met the same child, but now it is caught in an anticipation, lined with hope and even a bit of apprehension as to what will come on the canvas...

I wonder where will I find the same abandon again? Because now I have grown up, and with age comes a free ad-on of societal standards, the responsibility of behaving rightly...infact in profession, the responsibility extends to even behaving intelligently !

I hope to help the child find its own abandon of thoughts on this blog-canvas, because sometimes out of ramblings of a child...
one just might hear an unthought of way of looking at life...