International Day of Light
Viraf Pocha
Look Up and into the Light. It may look dim and distant. But reassure yourself that it still burns. We must go closer to it, kindle it and be warmed and illuminated by it.
The surroundings look bleak. There is much to be disheartened about, But only if you let it get to you.
We are surrounded by Guru’s who beam at us from screens and ask us to use this time wisely and better ourselves. Sell inspiration by the Kilo.
All of you are smart and energetic. That’s not hard sell. Nobody in their right minds can last in our crazy events world because it’s comfortable and easy. I’m sure that all of us know kids who get drawn into our world, chasing glamour and glory. A few days of being yelled at for absolutely no fault of theirs will put an end to those dreams.
Only the tough will survive. Most will run home shaken by the total lack of glamour and celebrity. The ones who stay will be those stubborn ones – filled with equal portions of foolish pride and stupid defiance. The only thought in their brains – Who the hell does he think he is. I’m better than him. I’ll show him.
Aha – now the devil is calling you to the dark side, where no light is allowed to spill backstage.
You have a choice. Take a short cut. Stay Hollow and fool everybody on how clever you are. OR dig in your heels. Look for -
- Mates who will stand with you, through thick and thin.
- A Boss who will let your ambitions thrive and compensate you somewhat fairly.
The short cut seeking fellows will initially rise very fast. But it’s only a matter of time until they are forced to look down. By then it’s too late to do anything but collapse. How they react to this failure will form habits. Get Up and decide to go back to their initial instinct to fool even more people OR realise their lack of a foundation and set about acquiring one.
But then they are competing against the other quiet fellow who has had his head down. Nobody is noticing how he is gathering wisdom and bettering himself. One day an opportunity will surely arrive when he is called up to fill a function. AND he does it so well and so efficiently – that everybody is totally surprised at this amazing discovery of a NEW talent.
May 16 is the International day of Light. A Huge opportunity for everybody who has anything to do with light. I see the sound guys getting up to leave. Please stay a moment and recollect. When was the last time you did a concert without Light? Good Light, Bad Light – whatever. You could see the musician right. Did you not wish at some point you had a great lighting guy whose stage visual was so fantastic that nobody notices when you pushed the wrong fader?
So grab a cold something and listen up.
Our Government has asked us to be self-sufficient. A Lot of people hear that as every man for themselves. If that works for you great – Good Luck to You.
It seems clear that LED’s inability to replicate natural light has led to a huge appreciation of the properties of natural light. That has sparked studies and data gathering, which in turn has enabled LED technology to be refined. I see this as an opportunity here to explore.
I personally see this as an incentive for small communities to form around each other and protect ourselves as a unit. We will have days when we are strong and can protect others. Just as inevitably we will have days on which we will need to draw on the strengths of those around us. That is the law and balance of nature.
Let me try to kick-start some ideas on the International Day of Light.
Light is everywhere. We take it for granted. That attitude continued in Indoor spaces that needed artificial light. For Centuries man struggled with getting any light into indoor spaces.
Before electricity it was impossible to get a steady source of light. The maintenance of light with the burning of some fuel caused huge by-products of both smell and suffocation.
And for years we were just grateful to get any light in the dark. Only very recently did people question how light was being delivered and the huge use (Wastage?) of energy to deliver light. We only got concerned when we realised the dangers to the environment. LED seemed the perfect answer.
Today in Hindsight – It seems clear that LED’s inability to replicate natural light has led to a huge appreciation of the properties of natural light. That has sparked studies and data gathering, which in turn has enabled LED technology to be refined.
I see an opportunity here to explore.
So much attention is now being paid (and naturally investment will follow) in using lighting to shade public spaces.
Today the tools and principals that we used to use to light performance spaces can be multiplied and scaled up to create artificial light systems in huge public spaces.
In India let’s start with simple stadium lighting. I urge you to be a bit light sensitive and see the quality of flood lighting over cricket stadiums across India. How the newer ones are so much gentler and pleasing than the older ones. Of Course it is difficult to see on TV, as cameras can compensate – But one tiny indication is the quality and sharpness of the shadows cast. When you play in the day and have the shadows of the stands creeping over the pitch – see how the artificial light takes over from the natural light. It calls for a lot of patience. But if you sensitive to it – It opens a huge career opportunity if you can monetise your skills.
Moving away from stadiums see how architectural lighting seems to be showing up everywhere, particularly in the smaller cities. I personally have not seen exterior lighting being used effectively in any large township project in Mumbai or Delhi. I have seen architects and builders in the smaller cities first blindly importing lighting equipment copied from other projects. Once installed, they express dissatisfaction but can’t find answers in the traditional Indian centres. No worry – The net has brought all the wisdom of the world to them and so I have seen projects in remote areas that can be envied. They have also amassed awards, both national and international. But still don’t get the attention they deserve.
But I believe it is critical mass theory. It’s just a matter of time until the body of good work will catch the nation’s attention and then the field will explode. In my view the Covid crisis will only accelerate this change.
This pandemic has already set our minds to accept the new normal. But nobody knows what the new normal will be. The world is re setting. We expect and anticipate this change.
Yes the focus is on the terrible things that are happening around us. But I urge you to look deeply into our own community for ideas that are boiling and whose time may have come just as soon as we exit this crisis.
I hope for all our sakes that the International Light day on May 16, 2021 opens our eyes on how to adapt our skill sets into the world opening.
Designers and Idea people should lead with ideas and I hope a whole eco system builds around the engineers who work to realise the ideas and truly make the world a better place to live in.