On a cold, wintry morning in Kupwara, the sun rises over a sleepy village settlement. Nusrat is awakened by tiny slivers of sunbeams streaming through the rickety windows in her house. A couple of hours later, she and a group of four women are seated at a hand loom, weaving together fabric and silk, with Nusrat singing aloud the Talim — a special coded language that tells the weavers which thread needs to be used, and in what order. There is a rhythm to this practice, the expert movements of the women work in perfect tandem with the talim being called out aloud as they work, it almost feels like a dance between the hands and the loom. An exquisite kaleen (carpet) is slowly taking shape, testament to the passion and handwork of the expert hands that work on it. An age old tradition that has been passed down from generations in the form of Ustaad-Shagrid system. Nusrat herself learnt the ropes from her uncle when she was just a kid,and as time went on,figured she had a knack for it. Lack of other opportunities and poverty meant that she wasn’t left with manyalternatives to pursue. Her main education was honing her weaving skills and the experience of living life itself. Formal education is not something Nusrat is familiar with. However,decades later she does feel some content within the many discontents that come with the craft. The process of making exquisite carpets involves not only skill but also a sense of responsibility that comes with creating a thing of beauty,deeply rooted in the local culture. And thus,life goes on for Kael Baafs(Kaleen weavers) such as Nusrat,and many more like her.

High above the village,at 20,000 feet,a spacecraft hovers noiselessly. Two men,dressed in black suits and horn rimmed glasses,observe the surroundings below them carefully. The craft itself is sleek,inconspicuous in its appearance. Along the sides,a logo is inscribed in big block letters that say DT Labs,superimposed on a cube. Three words — Design is difficult are written below the logo,as if to reinforce the idea that DT Labs must be important. Stretching himself on his seat,Mr. Brown lets out a big sigh. He and Tim have been lab agents for years now,and they are all too familiar with draping a life changing cloth of design thinking over any business that doesn’t seem ‘intellectual’ enough.”Let’s go get this over with,eh? “ says Mr. Tim,sensing his partner’s frustration.

As the plane lands on a field near the village,the weavers look on intently.”Is it another delegation from overseas ? “,asks Fauzia teeming with excitement. In the past such visits to the village have been profitable for the weavers,as the visitor’s will pay good prices for the carpets that will ‘look good next to their vinyl collection.’Nusrat’s smile disappears as she sees two men in black suits alighting from the spacecraft. They’re from abroad,for sure,but these two don’t strike her as the tourist type. She,along with Fauzia and a few others leave their places on the hand loom and begin to walk towards the men in black,with their expressions a careful balance of warmth and suspicion.

Before the women can say anything,Mr. Tim walks up to them and places a small device on the ground.”It’s a imagination drone”,he says. The drone suddenly rises above ground and flies around the village,slowing down near the hand looms,and then flying back to where it started. Two short beeps,and a holographic projection shrouds the village,and in it the women see an alternate vision of their lives. While everyone else is agape with wonder,Nusrat notices that the hologram shows a number of machines weaving carpets,at an astonishingly fast rate. The talim is gone,for the machines have no need of singing it aloud anymore.

“So yeah,this is what your business could look like,if you let us,DT Labs introduce our well-proven methods. More carpets,cheaper material costs,and better turnover for you all. You don’t have to do the weaving yourselves anymore,just monitor the process on a large screen. No more hazardous hard work and long periods of preparation for every carpet. Just sit back and relax,and let the machines do the rest. And if you’re worried about quality,be rest assured that the new materials we provide will be almost as good as the original. What’s more,there’s a variety of per-loaded patterns that can be woven,from customer’s names to faces of their pet cats,or even company logos for that matter.”Mr. Brown had a triumphant look on his face. This pitch was sure to bowl them over. His partner,beaming with pride,seemed to think so as well. A long silence followed.”Well,when can we begin?”,said Mr. Tim expectantly.

The women discussed among themselves,and after a couple of minutes of debate,Nusrat spoke up.”We have thought over your offer,and we have a consensus”,she said.“This practice of weaving kaleen is something we have been doing for centuries, passing the skill down from one generation to the next. This involves a skill set that can only be grasped by human hands and not robotic ones.”

“But that’s not an efficient method. Your love for things past can serve a nostalgic purpose at best”,said Mr. Tim.

“My fondness,our fondness for things in the past is our deep rooted connection with our culture,history and Kashmir’s culture. The act of weaving is not just a commercial pursuit for us,but also an art form that we engage with,everyday.”,said Fauzia.Nusrat and the others nodded in agreement.

“You could lead better lives,have more money to provide for your family,and make a name for yourself in the business ! You can practice your art on the side,if you feel like. It’s a win-win situation!”,said Mr. Tim,now growing more exasperated. He didn’t expect this sort of response.

“Mister,with all due respect,I beg to differ. Your approach seems to be a one-size fits all type. I don’t disagree with the benefits the design approach could give us,however it would be futile to merge craft under the same umbrella. They are similar,and yet very different things in their own right. The experience a crafts person,artisan goes through cannot be duplicated at will. One needs to work with all their bodily senses to even begin to make something with their hands. Come to think of it,I feel your machines could be better suited in assisting young artisans learn and practice their craft,thereby not replacing the weaver,but working alongside her. What do you think about that ?”,said Nusrat,suddenly aware of her argument.

Where had this thought come from ? And what made her say what she did ? Perhaps it came from a place of honesty.

The year is 2040.K sits in the conference room, exhausted.This is the fifth meeting he’s been a part of in the day.Whatever important matter has to be discussed,holds no value to him.It simply cannot be more important than him getting back home and relaxing a bit.He suddenly feels a wave of loneliness wash through him.Living alone isn’t as fun as it used to be.An extended period of freedom can give way to a routine melancholy. ‘I shouldn’t complain.I have HAL for the company…So what if he’s an AI neural network ? Most people out there don’t even have that.They just make do with their imaginary friends..’, K thinks,as he stares out from the glass wall behind him. “Good afternoon everyone !”,says The Chief, his voice booming as he strode into the room.K and the others get up from their seats immediately to greet him. “Please,sit down.Now let us get right to it,shall we ?

We have a very important matter in front of us at the moment.As you all very well know,District -9 elections are just around the corner and we need to come up with a foolproof plan for the manifesto.I know there’s a pandemic going on,but I don’t care.Get them votes in,and then we can continue to worry about the public.Okay,so..ideas ! come on,what have you guys got ?” ,The Chief says,scanning the room intently.

Several hands go up-six,to be precise,notes K.Everyone is eager to impress the Chief,they know there are benefits. “Sir,we could promise free vaccines and medicines if you win the election !”,the guy left of K says excitedly.The Chief is not impressed. “And why in the world would I want to do that ?!”,he growls angrily, slamming his fists on the table. “Sir,if I may..the isolation pods seem to be quite a hit.We could distribute a few in the low-income areas,and promise higher subsidies if you win.”, suggests another.The Chief shakes his head. “We need to think big guys. We have the money.The people are too smart to be taken in by these tactics.This is District-9 for heaven’s sake.You really think free vaccines and isolation pods are going to help us ?”,the Chief says,exasperated.The room falls silent.Everyone seems to have run out of ideas completely.Looks like this is going to go on forever,K thinks.A good thing to do would be just suggest something for the sake of it and get moving home.It won’t matter if his idea is stupid or brilliant,he just needs to say something.What would be even better,is to suggest something so absurd that The Chief has no idea how to respond.Now that will be a sight to see,K chuckles,thinking. “You.Is something funny ?”,The Chief asks pointing at K,irritation growing on his face.

K looks at him,startled. “Oh, it’s nothing, sir.I’m sorry” ,he says sheepishly. “So do you have any ideas? Or do you just sit around and chuckle to yourself ?”,asked the Chief. “No sir.I was in fact thinking of a great idea.What if we introduced a new virus to District-9 and create a vaccine that we have complete control over.That way we have a total monopoly over the population.We let them think the virus came from overseas,and when the situation gets really worse we jump in with our vaccine and save the day.That way we look like the saviours and the whole public is on our side.”,K blurts out,with an honesty that could fool anyone.Surely no one’s going to go with this idea.There’s a look of shock on the Chief’s face,which slowly turns into a look of contemplation.A few people around K snigger,muttering under their breath.The Chief is no fool,but he’s known to go all the way once his mind is made up.K’s ridiculous suggestion actually has got the Chief thinking.K never meant it,it was an idea as insane as they come.But as he sees a smile beginning to form on the Chief’s face,he realizes that he may have made a terrible mistake.

Or has he ?