Shot in central west India in 2009, 1000 Gods is a set engaging Indian culture on 3 levels. These include the rural/suburban, the urban, and industrial layers. I was fortunate enough to spend an intensive 5 days traveling through Maharashta, and Gujurat, traveling to Mohatma Ghandi’s home town, Ahmedebad, as well as Bombay; a place of particular interest to me since my undergraduate architecture thesis [see SuperCity]. Here I present my reflection on the distinct layers encountered.

It’s 4.30am, there’s a red glow in the sky from the lights of the ship breaking yard. It’s cool and brisk, as the wind kicks off of the ocean. Standing in a crowd of anxious workers on a blackened beach, we all stare at a tiny light in the dark abyss while sipping tea. The light grows as the minutes pass, and a silhouette emerges. We continue to stare into the darkness as what feels like nothing more than a toy boat in a bath tub approaches. Titan approaches to its’ final resting place. The minutes pass and Titan grows, no longer a toy in a basin, now a behemoth on an aquatic carriage; heading straight towards me with no intent of stopping. Some in the group, including myself, inch backward slowly in unease, as this monster of a machine approaches. It grows and grows, only to crash into the shore just 10 meters ahead of me. Then like a creature discarding its’ organs two anchors spew from the creatures sides; both in search of the deep sea floor, only to find the shallow shore. Titan has beached never to return to open waters.