In-person

Aucitya Bangalore Edition

A One-Day Lab for Product Designers, Creators and Cultural Entrepreneurs

The workshop brings together scholars, creators and practitioners who have translated cultural knowledge into living frameworks, products, visual systems and emotional experiences.

28 Jun 2026 - 28 Jun 2026 Completed

Overview Key Features Know your Instructors FAQ

Registration Open

Course Fees

Overview

Introduction

In the Indian knowledge tradition, creation is not merely an act of production. The creator is expected to hold together satya, saundarya and dharma in a state of alignment. This intelligence of appropriate expression is called Aucitya.

Today, however, creativity is increasingly shaped by virality, transience, algorithms and performance metrics. Culture is into a prop without depth and products that emerge out of this lens, risk becoming either superficial nostalgia or commercial extraction. In this context, Aucitya offers an alternative framework that is rooted in fidelity, discernment and responsibility.

Intent

This one-day edition of Aucitya explores how Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), aesthetic frameworks, storytelling traditions and cultural memory can be transformed into meaningful contemporary products, experiences and communication systems without losing their integrity.

The workshop brings together scholars, creators and practitioners who have translated cultural knowledge into living frameworks, products, visual systems and emotional experiences.

Workshop Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4tfuY2aVm3ePf1hy9?g_st=aw

Session Details

Session 1: Regenerative Tech and Product Design: A Dharma Centric Approach

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Facilitator/s: Sh. Raghava Krishna

Can "Human Centred Design" reconcile with "Sustainable Planet" - The opening session will explore the underlying worldview, cognitive structures and values driving unsustainable techno production and offers an alternative from an Indian Civilizational worldview.

The session asks:

What happens when culture becomes content?
Can technology create meaning without distorting essence?
How do we create products that generate resonance?
What does dhārmika innovation look like?

Tea Break

Time: 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Session 2: Designing a Cultural Product: Panchanga, Time and Civilisational Product Thinking

Time: 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Facilitator/s: Charusmita Rao and Neelacantan B

This session is a deep dive into the journey of translating Indian civilisational knowledge into a contemporary cultural product. Using the Panchanga project as a case study, Charu and Neel explore how ancient frameworks of time, rhythm, ritual, symbolism and aesthetics can be transformed into living design systems for contemporary audiences.

The session explores:

The philosophical foundations of the Panchanga
Translating intangible knowledge into tangible experiences
Balancing usability, aesthetics, and authenticity
The challenges of creating products rooted in Indian frameworks instead of imported paradigms
Participants will also engage with visual storytelling, symbolic design and the process of turning research into experiential products.

Session Details

Lunch

Time: 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Session 2: Designing a Cultural Product: Panchanga, Time and Civilisational Product Thinking

Time: 2.00 PM - 3:00 PM
Facilitator/s: Charusmita Rao and Neelacantan B

Interactive Segment

Participants will work in groups to identify a cultural practice, symbol, or knowledge system and ideate how it may be translated into:

A product
A visual system
A digital experience
A storytelling framework
A learning tool

Session 3: IKS Product Showcase

Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Facilitator/s: Ar. Meghana Dutta

This session will be an exploration of furniture, objects and storytelling rooted in Indian cultural memory and lived aesthetics.

Meghana ji’s work reflects how everyday objects can become carriers of narrative, craftsmanship and civilizational meaning, transforming materials and spatial forms into experiences of cultural continuity. Situated at the intersection of design, tradition and contemporary living, the showcase invites participants to engage with Indian Knowledge Systems as a tactile, lived experience.

Tea Break

Time: 4.00 PM - 4:15 PM

Session 4: IKS Product Showcase

Time: 4:15 PM - 5:30 PM
Facilitator/s: Narahari Rao

In this session, Narahari introduces Kathakar, VRTAM's live interactive storytelling platform, and explores how storytellers, educators, cultural institutions and creators can use it to transform any story into a shared, participatory experience. From workshops and cultural presentations to teaching sessions and public performances, the session touches on Augmented Reality as a storytelling medium and returns to a question that has always been at the heart of learning: how the oldest pedagogic tool we have remains the most powerful container for meaning, and how tools built with purpose can finally give it the reach it needs.

Who is this for?

Designers and brand strategists
Entrepreneurs and founders
Artists, writers, filmmakers and creators
Educators and researchers
Product and communication professionals
Individuals interested in culture-led innovation and IKS applications

Participants will explore:

How to build products rooted in the Indian Knowledge Systems
How to translate IKS into contemporary formats
How aesthetics and ethics must move together in creation
How rasa, narrative, symbolism and ritual can shape design thinking
How to create culturally resonant digital stories in the age of algorithms

Raghava Krishna

Founder & CEO

Regenerative Tech and Product Design: A Dharma Centric Approach

Neelacantan B

Founder - Coolture, Bengaluru

Designing a Cultural Product: Panchanga, Time and Civilisational Product Thinking

Charusmitha Rao

Founder - Coolture, Bengaluru

Designing a Cultural Product: Panchanga, Time and Civilisational Product Thinking

Ar. Meghana Dutta

Founder - ANAG | Co-founder - Satori

IKS Product Showcase - ANAG

Narahari Rao

Founder - VRTAM Studios

IKS Product Showcase - VRTAM

Frequently asked questions

What is the exact location?

What if I am joining from outside of Bengaluru city?