'VANN SANSHAY'

This is the game which i made for my open elective"toys from tales" . Its called vann sanshay which means confusion in the forest....

For this assignment i was suppose to take a story (indian) and make a game based on it . So i selected vikram-betaal . The problem with stories that i had liked was that they were all series of stories (e.g.arabian nights , akbar-birbel)so even this one was something like that .

This is just a maze in which you put the ball from one end and then remove from the other end . in this game three players who represent "vikraam" will catch the player in the middle who represents "betaal" .all the players play individually so that the map does not remain constant & no1 can make a long term plan.

I was suppose to make a game which wont be easy and the end depend on the players gameplay. and i didn't want this game to be completely luck based . Due to time constraints i could not finish the game as i wanted it to be . including the graphics of the game. The walls were suppose to trees and i was also suppose to add a 3d tree in the center as the start. make a dice of my own and also the players which i could not do because of time constraints.

This game is layers (rings). each layer rotates due to which the map is constantly changing. So one of the die tells you how many units you can move the rings .

I would like to thank Ruttikorn and Sajith for helping me on every step of this game and would also like to thank Anish , Siddharth, Prashasti and Smruti for helping me make and put up this game.

toy

PROJECT 1
TOYS FROM TALES
Faculty: Sajith Gopinath
Ruttikorn Vuttikorn

Some story or a tale that inspired me when I was kid....!!!!

Small plum girl with 2 little ponies, running here and there, loves to play with nature and stuff around. Stones, leaves, wood, old bottles, papers, toys……..collecting scraps …. Breaking toys and joining different toys and scraps around together so that it looks like a dog or tree. Looking into clouds and see different forms in it elephant, flowers etc. Imagination, fascination… and loves Cinderella... Used to dress up Cinderella… and act like as if she is the fairy with magic sticks in her and…. She can convert any toy into new toy…

-nancy kumar

Lac-luck!

I grew up listening to tales of the Mahabharata, and even as a child, I always used to feel that it was one of the most wonderfully real stories I had ever heard. Full of human frailties, problems, treachery- it depicted a very real picture of the world to me. Although I recognized this to a very minimal extent back then, as a child; I only realize how relevant the Mahabharata continues till date.

B.R.Chopra’s televised serial Mahabharata was part of my weekend diet of TV programmes. With its wonderful cast and some riveting performances, it had me glued. I found the Lac palace incident one of the most interesting parts of the Mahabharata and this game was inspired from the same.

The idea of trapping the Pandavas unawares and burning them alive along with the lac palace was brutally brilliant. The counter plan devised by the Pandavas, to build the tunnel of escape due to Vidura’s timely warning was also a life-saving idea.

These concepts of device, conceive, trap, counter device and escape seemed interesting to work on, when asked to devise a game based on a story. I’ve tried to use these concepts in my design of the game too. The route is devised; the game with its open floorboards is devised. The traps can be opened and counter-closed to escape.

The game went through many peaks and lows and was revised many a time. What has emerged is the most feasible idea of the lot.

The board, inspired by the Manipuri and Meghalaya bamboo dance and the foosball, could be used to play other interesting games that could be devised.

For the story of The House of Lac, click here

Sandhya Ramachandran
sandhya.r@nid.edu

PROJECT 1

Think of a tale or experience from the past which narrates myself...!!

This course of open elective took me back to my childhood days...my fascinations,likings and dislikings as well.Though I vaguely remember how I happened to be......except for one cause which led my life in a differnt way. It's hard to say about my dislikings but one my fascination was "COLOUR",which became part and parcel of myself. Why i collected colours and why did I keep it as a treasure , I still dont realise.who knew that these colours would be forever mine.
Then ,it was only a fascination to stack it one after the other and not using it at all,later fascination changed to hobby as I started to paint.Never thought that I would be a painter but my interest in colours and painting reached its destination when I joined my art college in Santiniketan.
So I documented a series of sketches in a flip book where I could represent some pictures which remind me of those days . It might not have a clear picture as it does not move with an active motion .But the intention was just to narrate the journey of my life with COLOURS.




a simple flower which has been always there in my copies and sketch books....urge to paint was from then !

my fantasy life consisting clouds of colours!!








this is one sketch where I find myself to be as simple as possible!








VIBGYOR.........rainbow........vibration......What are these words related to?









my attachment with colours....






My treasure box where I used to keep and save colours .....used to open everyday and look at them for a while.....!






my days in art college .....canvas and palette!!







the enjoyment of filling the canvas .....when imagination transforms to a visual language!









my last hostel in santiniketan.....where i could finally see colours all around........

PROJECT 1- Sai

Brief: Think of a tale or an experience from the past and relate it to yourself as a toy.

After a lot of thinking and jotting down points I realized that I relate too many stories.

One Indian tale that I have heard over and over again is of the 6 Blind Men and the Elephant.

The Tale: 6 Blind Men and the Elephant

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

MORAL.
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

So that was that.

My Concept:
...was to reverse the story and say that there is not one thing that can define me.
So had the basic parts that constitute the face to be the characters. I personalized them according to how each of these parts is on my face.
They think they are ‘Sai’. Now each of these parts has a hobby.
They are interrupted by each other each time they try to introduce themselves due to the identity crises.
A strange force pulls them together and makes them realize that they are meant to be for each other and with each other and form one entity called ‘SAI’.


My Story:
There were two eyes, some fizzy hair and a pair of lips. They were in the process of introducing themselves to each other.











The conversation:

Eye 1: Hello! I’m Sai. I think the world is a beautiful place. I just want to look around and see as much as I can and....





Eye 2: .....Ahem.....I think there is a lil’ mistake here. Wont’ Blame you....’coz maybe we look alike or whatever....but I am Sai. And I don’t just see things, I observe, I watch....



Lip: Ok...ok...Wait a minute. I have a lot of friends. I can get anyone to vouch for me....I am the real Sai!






Hair: Now I am more confused than I ever was. If you and you and you are Sai then who am I?
WHO AM I?????






(....Some strange force pulled everything together......)

Eye 1: WOW! What just happend?

Hair: I don’t know but I feel I belong somewhere. I feel connected. A little saner.

Lip: I feel like I’m not just a voice. I have a face now.

Eye 2: Hey! Look ahead.

All the parts face ahead. “WE ARE SAI!”

Project One: Ollikuchchi Octopus by Sandhya Ramachandran

It is with a sense of secret hope of getting back to playing with toys and games that I took up the elective of Toys from Tales. Wanting to reconnect with all those hours of unadulterated fun, stitching little doll dresses and playing innumerable board games, I was hoping for two weeks of absolute fun.

Although life is meant to make you regret hoping for things, for once, it didn't disappoint me at all! In fact, this elective has turned out to be even more fun than I had imagined.

Classes with Rutti and Sajith and a whole bunch of similarly excited classmates are extremely interesting and enjoyable.

The very first day, we were asked to make a toy that best described an incident from childhood or ourselves. It was such a delightful experience-and also nice and self-absorbed- to sit and think about oneself and recreate the flashes of childhood memories that sifted though our mind.

Everyone came up with a toy by the next morning. The toy I made was called the 'Ollikuchchi Octopus'(Eng:Stick-Thin Octopus); a dig at the stick figures my sister used to draw as a kid.

The Octopus represented the extreme anxiety I had in me from childhood(it continues, till date) of trying to do many things at the same time. A juggler of activities, I needed 4 pairs of hands to finish whatever I had undertaken. Also, as per Animal Symbolism, the Octopus is a sign of creativity and insatiability. What better a way to represent it than using the Octopus?!

As a child, I was too full of myself and in all arrogance, I used to boss around the people in my class. Later, this 'higher than thou' attitude lead to a fall and a whole reanalysis and reformation began! Stick-Thin Octopus); a dig at the stick figures my sister used to draw as a kid.

I shaped the OO out of a thin bamboo branch over which a cloth octopus was strung. The bamboo branch resembled stilts and was signaling at the fact that I never had my foot on the ground. To represent my flighty attitude, I made four rotor blades by crossing two ice-cream sticks in the centre and keeping them in place with a board tack. These blades, I stuck to the bamboo branch octopus with adhesive. I strung little ghungroos(bells) at the tips of the rotor blades to provide some sound every once used- a dig at my talkative nature.

I used bright primary colours to paint OO, to attract kids. The stick , tack and ghungroos were painted bright blue, the rotor blades were poster red in colour and had some intricate hatching patterns on their top side. The head of the Octopus was a moss green with white polka dots and had a happy expression painted. The hands were made of multi-coloured cut cloth. A small white band held the head and the body together.

In all enthusiasm, I decided I'd develop the merchandising also for the OO. Hence emerged the pamphlets that go with it, and the poem that it has.

As my original doodling brought forth a gingerbread woman, I decided to explain my toy in the form of an act. I covered my toy with another piece of cloth and as sense strikes the OO, it sheds its cloth skin and emerges to fly off into the sky.

OO can be used for two things- one as a rattle for babies, and another as a fly-away toy. You need to spin the bamboo stick between your palms- almost in a churning movement- and then let it go. It spins in flight and then crashes down, unless you catch hold of it in a while.

However, OO was a parody toy- meant for me to laugh at the person I was and be thankful for the improvements that have happened, and hopefully get working on the parts that still remain.

The Poem that went with the toy is as follows:

A gingerbread woman

feeling fragile

acting all snooty

hiding all the while

Stilts shoot out

like horns on head

high and mighty

ego well-fed!

A constant quest

and arrogance too!

Little kid happy

goody two shoes

Pretty little frocks

bunch of bangles

a mop of curls

always in tangles.

Life eats her up

slowly chews her ego

with no choice left

she must let go.

shedding her skin

once sense did hit

a power hungry pair dies

where eight hands fit.

Octopus woman

grinning wide

flying off to the sky

a purpose beside.

Setting off instantly

the world to conquer

exploring searching seeking

with enthusiastic fervour

New one emerged

trying to be good

genuine to people

helping as much as she could

Trying flying

sometimes falling flat

feeling good, feeling bad

feeling pretty, feeling fat

A swirl of emotions

continue to haunt

as the world applauds

also while it taunts

Little Octopus toy

reflecting little me

growing up still

trying to BE

The flight continues

and so does the fall

But good and bad

make life afterall!

Sandhya Ramachandran

sandhya.r@nid.edu

Project 1

TOYS FROM TALES
Faculty- Sajith Gopinath
              Ruttikorn Vuttikorn

And then there was plight.
It was the first day of the open elective,and the project posed was to come up with a model or toy which best reflected myself and the stories I've been bared to in my childhood.Completely clueless,I plunged at the sketchbook.And through a series of planning and muddling up,which best reflected myself,the model was created.

 

It started with this.The rough sketch,the original plan-To have a few boxes with a magnet each attached to its lid which would swoop up when another magnet attached to the girl's hand would come over it.
Goof ups-weak magnets.

 The final model about me.
It has four boxes(or what I call boxes),each containing a drawing of childhood story associations.And a cut-out of a girl(me) who would open these boxes and let out the stories.

The first box has a picture of a magnifying glass.
As a result of the numerous 'Secret Seven's and the 'Famous Five's I read during childhood,I started to fiercely believe I had it in me to become a great detective or a case solver.So even if the neighbour carried out anything as routine as taking his car our of the garage to drive to work,I would think aloud,"That is queer.Why would he do that.I must find out"

The second box has a picture of a wand and a lamp.
I also had a thing for fantasy.I would listen rapt at stories my grandfather told me about mythical creatures and traditional tales.There was one about how he surpassed the tests flung at him by an Ekshi or Yakshi, in his village in Kerala,while returning home one dark night.He recollected a million oil lamps flared up as he approached safely at his front yard telling of the yakshi's fury.
Yakshis are reputed to waylay men with their beauty and drink their blood. The Yakshi theme is the subject of popular Kerala tales, like the legend of the Yakshi of Trivandrum, as well as of certain movies in modern Malayalam cinema.(That was straight off wiki,in my words-they are more or less like banshees)

 

The third box has a picture of alphabets.
The stories I used to read away to glory were mostly Enid Blytons and Amar Chitra Kathas.They highly influenced the way I spoke.So instead of saying,"She is going to be angry" I'l say "She is going to be very cross".Or there was a constant repeating of ,"Oh bother!"And many a times my mother's call would be retaliated with a pro-pah "Yes mother."After the Amar Chitra Kathas of Hindu mythology it would be,"Who goes there?!" or "I take this vow,O patient mother,to finish my brinjal before the sun sets."

 

The fourth box has a picture of a plate with food.
The stories also used to intrigue me with the names of various dishes,and the one which used to slightly confuse me was 'brownie'.It took looking up to realize that it was a magical creature as well as a form of cake.And how I pestered my mom to make 'porridge',because it sounded so good.Which I realized was also called 'oats in milk' which she used to thrust down our throats much too often.

The girl has a straw on her head,thereby trying to symbolize my ever-curious self.The boxes drastically dissimilar but symbolic to the ones in Grandmother's attic which I have always wanted to open thinking there might be hidden treasures.But now they have stories.

  Anoodha Kunnath