An encounter with a thinker

It is not everyday that one gets to meet a prominent thinker. I got a chance to meet one such personality when I was asked to interview him for a magazine. I was obviously excited, as I wanted to know what he thought, & more importantly HOW he thought.

The person in question is one of the leading architect-planners of the country, having received awards from national & international spheres. The interview was for a landscape journal, which wanted a planner's viewpoint on the fast-spreading fad of township development & instant city creation.

It was comforting to know that the person being interviewed was a lateral thinker too. I was hardly a party to the discussion, owing to my lack of experience at conducting interviews or any discussion at higher level for that matter. So, I was listening to him while he reflected on a set of questions given to direct the session.

Instead of answering those directly, he laid down the history of the planning profession, and the country in general. He also outlined the history of urbanization. Only after he had created such ground, did he proceed to answer the questions presented to him. In that light, the discussion reached a different level, and holistic solutions were discussed.

i have been doing a lot of lateral studies, trying to obtain answers for my field of work by reading politics, sociology, technology & other such things. I was quickly fascinated by the discussion. I also had a chance to transcribe the recording of the interview, allowing me to absorb more of the subject.

While I am hardly discussing the subject, it is immaterial. The very fact that lateral thinking does lead to holistic and better solutions is a conclusion, although premature for me, that I wish to adhere to.