ENMESHED I
The post independence years saw
rise in state identity crisis and perhaps architecture found its new wisdom in
seeking such political identity of independent state. The advent of various
architects, studied and trained abroad helped in strengthening the wants of identity. The
architecture envisioned itself to be responsible for nation identity as whole,
subjecting its regional complexity far behind in such utopian thinking. The tag
of third world was entrapped into the notion of state architecture coupled with
mighty overcast of modern masters imaginations. The identifiable language that
emerged from these legacies was seen in few architectural projects like Rajghat
New Delhi, Gandhi Smarak Sanghralay, Atira Housing, IIT Kanpur, Dairy at
Mehsana, Medical Research Institute, Chandigarh, Sri Ram Center New Delhi, TISS
Mumbai and Rabindra Bhavan New Delhi. The architecture clearly marked the new archetypes
for a society whose values were enmeshed into history & myth of thousands
of years.
ENMESHED II
The brutal verdict of
functionalism and utopia, overlaid with some regional relief was witnessed in advent of Louis
Kahn in Indian architecture scenario. The architecture saw subtle and sudden relief
from engraved brutalities of modernism. The methodical formalism and regional
quality of Kahn’s work put new impetus in Indian architecture yet seeking for
its identity then. The newly established architecture linage from Mumbai, Ahmadabad,
Delhi, Chandigarh was something that put India into the global map of
architectural innovation.
ENMESEHD III
The year 1986 saw sudden change
in what was termed as pan Indian architecture in practice and academics. The exhibition
of VISTARA (expansion) rooted out the academics pedagogy of western modernity
with non-manifested ideology of intuitive world, endurable images &
experience of everyday life. The overlays of history and myth has changed the
perception and expanded the boundaries of architecture. The VISTARA arguably challenged
the notion of rationality of science and technology. The western domain
remained busy with transformation of rationality and science with environmental
issues while Indian sub-continent was still seeking the logic of metamorphosis
of myth. The VISTARA exhibition opened up the new debate that architecture
obviously needs to resonate the locale & it made it very explicit the
overlays and its relationship within the constitution of history.
ENMESHED IV
The project on social
modernization and housing faced with stark brutalities of aesthetic cleansing
project. The architecture of state is suddenly replaced with housing for state.
The sudden shift also witnessed the wants & need of language to construct
the housing typologies. The want of technology and seek for identities are two extremities
that still not expanded till date into new variation. The academic pedagogy and
practice suddenly finds new seepage: subject of city and nature. The incomplete
project on modernism and industrialization/ De-industrialization of cities
along with inner-city conditions, social housing and direction to the
development has further eroded the sphere of architecture in this new obsession. The pedagogy with
colonial mind-set, envisioned to have non-architectural dialogue.
UN-MESHED: The architectural
question, often being trapped in two extremities in Indian context namely
modern subtleties versus local sensibilities or modern sensibilities versus
local subtleties. The catching sky is an analogy of myth that remains open ended
without being subject to fetishism & objectification. The catching sky is an unwavering & stoic claim, that remains subservient to itself, leaving infinite possibilities of embededness. The Indian architecture is a tribute to the catching sky, it is not merely a transcription of history rather an analogy of open-endedness within. The catching sky is an artifact & memory together, transforming itself both as a object and subject. The catching sky that
moves with us, that shapes us. The work of Indian architecture always remains in
debt to the catching sky and the relationship that it has build with decisive intolerant
modernity. The catching sky is a phenomena, a sense, a subtle order, and potential of
infinite and latent finite of enduring meditative engagements within timeless architecture.
PHOTOGRAPHS CREDIT: MANOJ PARMAR ARCHITECTS
