| The Crossing Project presents a
vision of Indian creativity and interaction design combining
traditional and modern technology. As computing proliferates
in the world, retaining identity becomes an importantvalue
in the new millennium. Hence, the time-tested visions
of developing nations and ancient living cultures can
shape the form of future information technology.
The Crossing Project is a pioneering effort bringing
together futuristic, mobile, multimedia technology and
archetypal content. With respect to technology, it questions
the very form of a computing system and the Graphical
User Interface paradigm, which has served as the substrate
of modern computing systems for thirty years.
The Crossing technology presents alternate paradigms
of information access, integrating the hand and the
body in the act of computer-based communication and
learning. With respect to content, it brings to focus
a traditional society's notion of eco-cosmic connections.
With respect to design, it incorporates the expressions
of traditional arts and crafts in the design of expressive
information delivery devices.
The Crossing Project demonstrates futuristic forms of
information access in which the technology surrenders
to the human hand.In this information age, in which
our world has been progressively rendered abstract and
learning concepts invisible, the Crossing Project has
re-created forms that capture a civilization's primal
symbols animated thorough embedded technology.
Throughout the world, lakes, forests, mountains and
rivers have been seen as 'power spots' and concentrations
of nature's energies. Gradually mythologies grew around
these spots, and the union of myth and place created
a sacred geography. They became pilgrimage centers -
crossing points - providing people with the setting
to cross over into a world of learning and transformation.
Banaras, lying by the banks of the Ganges is the crossing
point that the Crossing Project examines. |