Legacy of Imagination: Fostering Slow, Sustainable Change through Dialogue and Reflection
Understanding how people collectively imagine the future has been a central curiosity throughout my design career. Since graduating with a Master’s degree in Design Research from The Ohio State University, my professional work has focused on meeting the research needs of companies. As I traveled the world, studying people, cultures, and change, my fascination with human nature and the evolution of a society’s collective imagination deepened. The COVID-19 pandemic provided time and space to consider how I could apply my expertise in design research, participatory design, and co-creation to bring about long-term societal change.
Years of listening and observing have helped me understand the limitations of my designer ego and the belief that designers can single-handedly enact disruptive change. I’ve come to realize that lasting change occurs slowly and may be imperceptible to those focused on the near term. Astronomers study change occurring over millions of years, anthropologists and historians examine change across hundreds or thousands of years, social scientists may investigate changes over decades, and clinical psychologists study changes over a person’s lifespan. One’s specific interests determine the timescale on which they study and influence change.
I have been intrigued by literature on change from various authors, such as Rupert Sheldrake’s work on morphic resonance, David M. Buss’s research on evolutionary psychology, George Lakoff’s insights on conceptual metaphor, embodied cognition, and the interplay between language, thought, and politics, as well as Ganesh Devy’s contributions to linguistics. Exploring these works has fueled my interest in social imagination — a way of thinking that allows individuals to connect their personal identities, situations, and aspirations to the state of the world, or what we might call society.
The tension between the need to earn a living by serving the research needs of corporate clients and my growing curiosity for exploring the relationship between social imagination and change found an outlet in a personal project I undertook in 2023–24. I initiated an oral history project called “The Legacy of India’s Imagination.”
This project brings together eminent personalities and grassroots activists from various fields who have contributed to shaping ideas, ideologies, and initiatives in the past 75 years of the post-independence era. The dialogue series includes individuals from diverse backgrounds such as rural development, art, architecture, theater, puppetry, cinema, women’s and Dalit emancipation, linguistics, education, journalism, communal harmony, critical thinking, and democracy training.
A shared characteristic among all participants is their dedication to fostering slow, sustainable, and long-lasting change through innovative ideas and actions. Moreover, they collectively demonstrate an ideological commitment to participatory democracy, with their intellectual pursuits guided by both tangible societal transformation goals and a spiritual or humanitarian curiosity for serving society with a higher purpose.
Working on this project required a lot of preparations. First I had to tap into my network to identify and contact individuals who have made exemplary contribution to shaping India’s imagination through rigorous research, extensive community outreach and persistent activism at grassroots level. I then did my research by reading their articles, books and watching videos of their lectures and activism. I typically had one planning session with them where we asked each other any questions to create curiosity for a more engaged dialogue. I asked them to provide me photos and videos of their journey. I also asked them which two songs or music numbers deeply resonates with them. I used all of these materials to guide the dialogue and to edit the video recording to come up with an engaging 1 1/2 hour long oral history recording. The participants were always delighted to see the outcome because the photos and music created in them a deep connection to their own memories and ideas. I have completed about 58 edited videos and posted them on YouTube. My goal is to complete 100 recordings.
The reactions of participants after recording the dialogues were remarkable. Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and an esteemed author, editor, and biographer, shared his thoughts with me: “Uday, I have written numerous biographies in my life, but no one has prompted me to reflect on my thought process as you have.” Another participant, educationist Dr. Anil Sadgopal, was so engaged in our conversation that we extended our dialogue, resulting in six edited hours of insightful discussion. Renowned classical dancer and artist Mallika Sarabhai expressed her appreciation in a text message: “Uday, you encouraged me to share aspects of my personal life that I would not typically discuss publicly.”
I view this project as my modest contribution to creating an archive for future generations. In today’s world, where violence and hatred are rampant, and the very principles of secularism and democracy are under immense pressure, I aspire for this archive to endure beyond my lifetime as a reference resource and a source of inspiration for imagination. During my life, I have witnessed the rise and fall of numerous revolutions and the introduction of disruptive innovations that have brought convenience to people. Yet, my hope is that this collection of videos will serve as a testament to the power of imagination in fostering slow, sustainable, and long-lasting change.
