Living Dying and Transformation in Banaras : The Crossing Project

Contents: Foreword. 1. Crossing a vision. 2. Kashi city of faith. 3. Cycle Jhalla. 4. Mauj and Masti. 5. Shiva. 6. Sacred geography. 7. Ganga. 8. Intellectual traditions. 9. Death. Bibliography. The crossing winning team.

"We present a vision of Indian creativity and interaction design, combining traditional and modern technology. As computing technology proliferates in the world, retaining identity becomes an important value in the new millennium. Hence, the time-tested visions of developing nations and ancient living cultures can shape the form of modern 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 design, it in corporates the expressions of traditional arts and crafts in the design of expressive information delivery devices.

The crossing project demonstrates alternative forms of information access in which 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 through embedded technology." (jacket)