NASA Convention in Town
The 48th Annual convention of the National Association of Students of Architecture is going on in town. Hosted by the Academy of Architecture, it is the largest gathering for students of architecture. Held very year, the convention returned to Bombay City after 8 years. The last time Bombay was the host city was in 1997 when my alma mater Rizvi College of Architecture hosted it at the Andheri Sports Complex.
4000 students of architecture from over 108 colleges around the country are gathered here for a four day event. All of them work extensively on four major trophies before they come to the onvention, and while here compete in other competitions, workshops et al.
Personally having been involved with NASA for over 6 years during my student life, it holds some of the best memories of a lifetime. And thus walking into a NASA convention was a very special moment.
If you have time and are in the Prabhdevi area, stop by tomorrow, the last day and check out the works displayed by the students from all over the nation. Its worth the visit
NASA was formed in 1952 and held its first convention in 1953. It’s American namesake, the space agency, started in 1958. Talk about originality in names.
As you point out, the Indian NASA is an acronym. So too is its American counterpart (North American Space Agency). To suggest that the Americans plagerized the name (as you do in the last sentence of your post) is a bit silly.
> North American Space Agency
Cracked me up!
Arzan, unfortunately I heard about the convention only on the last day. Having worked for 3 National NASAs and one ZoNASA, it would have been great to visit it.
Shak…
Maybe I should have elaborated on that last point.
In the early 60’s the student body of architecture students in the US was also called NASA and was asked to change their acronym. This despite the fact that they were in place much before the space agency.
Thank god that nothing of the sort was forced down the Indian associations throat.
Arzan,
Thanks for the clarification.
NASA is not being held in Mumbai after 8 years. It was held in 2003 at D Y Patil Vidyanagar.
Navi Mumbai.
So it is being held after a gap of 4 years.
That Rizvi Nasa was quite a forgettable event.
Well Navi Mumbai….is not Mumbai. For all practical reasons its a completely different city.
Even technically its another city. It does not fall within the Greater Bombay limits.
And if the Rizvi NASA was such a forgettable event, why was it that 30 students of D Y Patil College were caught color xeroxing the entry passes and trying to get in ??
I was the Convention Coordinator and NASA Advisor at that convention and know this for a fact.
Participation of students ..be it from D Y Patil or any other college and their interest to attend NASA(all the conventions) ..does not imply it was a memorable one.It a bitter truth to digest but its a fact!!
As for colour xeroxing…It was one of the biggest lopholes in admit cards and exhorbitant entries. SPA Delhi booed Rizvi in front of student across India.
About NASA being held in Mumbai…. DY Patil and so does three more college of architecture is listed among “Colleges of Mumbai”.
Municipality differences in admninistration in greater mumbai isn’t reflected in the workings of NASA yet.Since, you were the co-ordinator you should know this. 13 colleges in Bombay region vie and compete to bag the annual NASA convention and this is for a fact also.!!!
Ooooo…touchy !:)
Toolkoo
As much as i dont want to get drawn into banal discussion, I will clarify your misconceptions.
When colleges are listed in Bombay Zone, it is the larger region. However as i mentioned in the post, I was talking about conventions in the “city” as in city proper, not New Bombay. However difficult it may be to face the fact, CBD belapur or whereabouts where RAIT is located is nowhere in Bombay City.
As regards SPA students booing Rizvi, it shows more upon the character of SPA and specially a few anti-social elements that were present in the convention.
SPA had hosted the previous convention and did not want to be outdone by a new fledgeling college hosting the next one. They had come with a plan to disrupt the activities from Day 1. Mind you it was not the entire college but a few people whose names I will not mention here.
There was also a lot of politics involved which I am sure you are not privy too. That year 1997 was my sixth year in NASA council and I knew the shenanigans inside out.
It took a lot of persuasion and diplomacy on my part to make sure that my college authorities did not call in the police and hand over the SPA louts to them for disrupting activities every single opportunity they could.
It looks like you were present at one or both the conventions mentioned, but since you use are using a blog handle I dont know who you are. And therefore dont know what axe you have to grind.
Rizvi NASA was handled and hosted ably by Rizvi and considering they were a fledgeling college makes it even more commendable. I enjoyed my experience immensely. Also, it must be borne in mind that organizing a national NASA convention is a tremendous challenge and not everything will go as clockwork.
But Arzan, I beg to differ on Navi Mumbai being distinct from Bombay. Even according to MMRDA, Navi Mumbai is very much a part of Greater Bombay. So on that count, I would support Toolkoo’s claim.
Just to make reference correction, US NASA means National Aeronotics and Space Administration. (check http://www.nasa.gov) Not North American Space Agency
If I respond to any queries it would be beating a dead horse.But Nevertheless, for the record I attended both the Rizvi and SPA NASA.
SPA hosted a NASA which was intellectually more stimulating and definately had its many high points. It reflected the diversity and the strength of Delhi school system. While SPA had a hard time organising a New Years party( they asked for music from the crowd ..but the Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt concert made up for the lacking) the Rizvi Nasa was just the opposite.
It had all the sound noise and colour of a bombay wedding, but no real substance. It almost reflected the ethos of a Bollywood potboiler. The Delhi NASA was like a indy flick.
I thought I share that because we all learn from criticisms.Every organisation has politics and if you decided to chart those water you have to manage to keep your head above high water. It seems you school barely managed to keep afloat.
Toolkoo
From your reply and diatribe its apparent that you are either an SPA Alumni….for which you are forgiven, or you are talking from the point of a mere attendee at these two conventions.
“mere attendees”.what does that mean?..there are more than 80% of students who are mere attendes..
Opinons expressed does not necessarily have to come for a reason of “mines and yours”.I pity your sense of perpective of things.
A “mere attendee” is someone who comes along to a convention as a tag-along. And there are lotsa them. At most conventions in the late 90’s there were only about 60% of people occupied sat any time in official events, workshops, on the spots etc. Rest are the audience.
Your second sentence, I could not understand, however hard I try.
And finally, the post was about the NASA convention of this year. Unnecessarily side tracking it to a SPA _ Rizvi contest was unnecessary.
As I mentioned earlier, I have the highest regards for SPA as a school. Sadly, there were some years in the late 90’s where they had an abhorable batch of students who put their own interests before that of the school and of NASA. The repercussions are felt even today. The current advisor for NASA is an ex_SPAite and in a long discussion with him, he made it amply clear how NASA has slipped and slid because of these same set of students.
And lastly, Toolkoo, which school did you study in and represent NASA from ?
You seem to be avoiding that question and hence all your arguements however valid they MAY BE, lack credibility.
Ugh!..
mines -my college so I support it..
yours-your college so I hate it.
Every opinion is not so black and white.
“You seem to be avoiding that question and hence all your arguements however valid they MAY BE, lack credibility”..
and the logic…( crack logic)
I saw this blog searching the metblogs site and mumbai.your answers and conclusions has stench of adoloscence written all over.Really!! is your opinions the best mumbai can put forward. Its partly keepin the dead horse alive.I am glad in whatever college i may have been I wasn’t around your twisted sense of logic.
maybe I will tell you more about myself…If you are… “NICE”
my message is to the gorgeous lady who was on the food counter.
i am sorry that i took the breakfast earlier than the allowed time.but that was deliberately done so that u could notice me.
any way u could contact me at my ID.
HEY,
WELL D ACCOMDATION ARRANGED BY AOA WAS PATHETIC.I’M A 2nd YEAR SUDENT N IT WAS MY TIME TO NASA.NEVER MIND I ENJOYED THOROUGHLY.I MISS IT.N SPLY D SPEC STUBBLE GUY OF HOST COLL WHO WAS BUSY MAKIN ARRANGEMEMTS.GOSH!!!