Vessel of Memory

Mantaka Junnurain Adrito

Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology

Bangladesh

Project Description

I never got to visit my ancestors’ village, but I was brought up as I was amidst the hues and sounds of urban life. I never actually met my grandmother or grandfather either, but I know their stories from my mother, and these have built many images in my mind. I see a serene village in Barishal, where my grandfather would sit and savor a hot cup of tea over the gentle flow of a river. The serene ambiance of the location gives the feeling of a healing balm from the city’s hustle and bustle. This precious memory is a treasure to me, an access to a past that is distant yet near. My curious mind longs for a ride into the past. Can a simple tea stall serve as a doorway to the past? Amazingly, yes! This whimsical time travel can be called up through the careful integration of physical site design and its natural surroundings. 

The wooden, rough-hewn character of the stall is a Palki, an epithet for a vehicle which is carried through time. Every part of the handiwork, from the decor to the crooked beams, tells me about the draw of the Barishal wood homes of times long past, summoning me back into a world that both feels close to me and enchanting.