"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” - Alan Watts

Principal Investigators:

Dr. Srisrividhiya Kalyanasundaram
Dr. Keya Chakraborty

Research Scholar:

Divyarajsinh Rana

About

The Centre for Reimagining Transitions (CRT) situates itself in a context of the Global South to include, but not be limited to, discourses and practices of post-development, alternatives to development, the crisis of civilization, the rights of nature, and post-extractivism.

Focused on Indian and Asian contexts we immerse in and investigate existing transition discourses as well as emerge new transition discourses and practices that link together cultural, politico-economic, ecological, spiritual and consciousness aspects to design societal transitions towards building an ecological civilization.

Siddhesh Gupte conducts a PLA activity at Anegundi, Karnataka to discuss the role of women and significance and transition of cultural traditions in the community. Courtesy: Ajay Puthran

We believe that earth is a single sacred community bound together in interdependent relationships. By recognizing the rights for all humans and living beings, our transdisciplinary inquiries are grounded in places, bioregions, historic cultures, civilizations as well as the self.

Vision

Our vision is to investigate, reimagine and collaborate to define new transitions and transitional frameworks in Indian, Asian and Global South contexts to design and move towards more pluriversal futures and building an ecological civilization.

Flux, dynamic change and uncertainty are what we are designing for by researching through civilizational, ecological and geological time frames for macroshifts and deep transitions.

Students conducting a PLA activity with the villagers at Anegundi, Karnataka. Courtesy: Shree Sauparnika

Our work is centered in convivial and relationship-centric approaches to build autonomy and agency in diverse communities, as well as bring the more-than-human world into focus. In the era of climate change and eco-cultural crisis, we are keen to build theoretical and practice frameworks as well as philosophical positions on transitions.

Research Areas

We have six key areas of research inquiry that diverse faculty will build on within the centre. Our six big ideas intersect in diverse ways allowing for transdisciplinary ways of research and practice.

1. Equity and Justice
2. Systems and Sustainable Futures
3. Consciousness
4. Decolonization and Reframing/ regenerative cultures
5. Education and Pedagogy
6. Technology in a transitioning world

Current Projects

Resilience within community in transition

Principal Investigator: Dr. Keya Chakraborty

Research Scholar: Divyarajsinh Rana

Transitions are long term continuous process at societal level which leads radical and structural changes. Transitions perspective conceives society as a complex structure wherein various systems connect and collaborate. We investigate the issues of socio-cultural-technical systems in transition within a community and how we can address those by looking at the question of-

What does it mean to identify, map and document resilience within community due to development-induced and climate induced transition?

Lisha Thimmaiah develops a board game that brings about awareness of the material change of the irrigation systems of the village of Anegundi, Karnataka. Courtesy: Divyarajsinh Rana

This research and design project looks into the impact of the change in material pertaining to the irrigation systems of the village of Anegundi, Karnataka. Owing to being the first capital of the expansive Vijayanagara Empire, this space possesses irrigation systems that date back to the 14th century, that are to this day, still functional. With the advent of modernization, these structures find themselves being reconstructed with materials that have both a direct and indirect impact on the overall ecology of the landscape. The research integrates these aspects into the design of a board game in an effort to educate and raise awareness of this transition among the village's younger inhabitants.

Togetherness in Transitions: Reflective Healing Through Art & Design

Principal Investigator: Dr. Srivi Kalyan

Akth, an ongoing project is envisioned as a space of togetherness to build hope and resilience through art and design. Front line responders are witnesses and often pay emotional and physical prices that are seldom understood, they sometimes sacrifice their own lives and represent all that is brave and best of the human spirit.

Through climate change crisis, the pandemic and other natural and man-made disasters, how can we respond to the transitions that frontline workers and volunteers go through? How can we use art and design to inquire into subtle, tacit and intangible worlds of emotion, experience and consciousness for healing?

The Akth- Art & Design project is web portal under construction and draws upon art, poetry, education, and visual design to create interactive, participative and tacit spaces of friendship, listening, and care acknowledging the lives of front line workers. The project looks at how healing can be explored afresh by asking what is togetherness in the journeys of our subtle beings.

Previous Projects & Events

29th International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS)  conference on Half way through Agenda 2030, July 2023, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Nithya Chettiar presenting her research (in-person) on analyzing the cultural heritage conservation to attain cultural sustainability at 29th ISDRS Conference. Courtesy: Abhigna B

Presenters and topics of presentation from CRT at 29th ISDRS Conference.

8th Network of Early Career Researchers in Sustainability Transitions (NEST) conference on Re-imagining transitions, June 2023, Dresden, Germany

Lisha Thimmaiah presenting her research on Irrigation Systems in the face of Modernization Induced Transitions at 8th NEST Conference.

Presenters and topics of presentation from CRT at 8th NEST Conference.

Capstone Project: Transitions in Rural Tourism: Introducing Agrotourism to Anegundi

Ajay Puthran explains his research for designing agrotourism in the rural area of Anegundi, Hampi, to visitors at SMI open house. Courtesy: Keya Chakraborty.

This research-based design project examines Agrotourism for the development of new economies in the transitioning touristic rural region of Hampi (Village-Anegundi), Karnataka. It aims to incorporate existing agricultural practices, guided tours, local cuisine practices, and cultural practices in the village as major components in the design of tourism project. It proposes the development of Agrotourism as a space for both- education and entertainment, to attract tourists to this rural environment and to provide new revenue streams for the inhabitants of the village.

Framework for a new avenue of urban sustainability transition in Global South – Case study India: 13th International Sustainability Conference, November 2022

Dr. Keya Chakraborty addressed the need of building a framework for analyzing sustainability strategies from the Global south perspective. She has built a framework based on archetype analysis which is equally useful for practitioners and researchers to assess sustainability strategies. She further mentioned this framework would guide to determine how far the entire governance system of a city is competent enough to go through sustainability transition process to accomplish higher level of sustainability.

Sustainability transitions in the context of COVID-19: 2nd Webinar, Transitions in Global South, July 2020

Dr. Keya Chakraborty in this session talks about how pandemic, as enforced new normal is creating inequality, what should be the probable initiatives to reduce socio-economic inequality and how the entire system would be sustainable based on multi-sectoral and cross-sectoral linking and comprehensive partnership of government and stakeholders. Watch the video:

https://youtu.be/KpirUPmTN6M

Green “Evolution_Revolution_In-Between”

Divyarajsinh Rana investigates the human-wheat relationship and designs an app that serves as a space of negotiation between various stakeholders in today's seed transition culture. Courtesy: Divyarajsinh Rana

This research project examined two different agricultural paradigms: industrial agriculture, which was created and developed by the "poison cartel" of chemical manufacturers that emerged after World War II, and the agro-ecological system, which has been around for 10,000 years and operates in accordance with ecological principles with the rest of nature. It aims to highlight the complex relationships, concepts of authenticity and current transitions that come into play between various stakeholders and wheat while also presenting the more general inquiry, how authentic is the human-nature relationship in terms of transitions at the intersection of humans, food preferences, and food acquisition/production methods?

Togetherness: Reflective Healing Through Art & Design

Humanising Medical Practices, Online International Symposium,
NIAS - Consciousness Studies Program, 29th July 2022

In this symposium Dr. Srivi Kalyan shared Akth - an ongoing online project, which is envisioned as a a space that is part tribute, and part healing; a space that gives tools for reflection, and gently unfolds the tapestry of life in crisis in all its complex beauty and terribleness so people can find moments of pause, that will enable them to move forward, and care for themselves.

Opportunities

1. Collaborations and Partnerships

This centre invites collaborations and partnerships with organizations and individuals interested in exploring transition discourses and practices together with us.

2. Academic Opportunities

CRT provides research and design opportunities to students enrolled with Srishti Manipal Institute's Postgraduate, Integrated Doctoral program, and Doctoral programs as well as faculties. We welcome students from all programs who are interested in macroshifts, deep transitions, and practice research to explore this space together with us.

Enquiries