SHIMLA 2010

CITY OF 69

The city of oxford had not changed as mush as people. The city was predictably different: it was bigger: the cars: and shops were numerous and more garish: and the streets were more crowded. But the predominant characteristics of the place was still the cream- coloured stone of the college buildings: with occasional glimpse through an arch of the startling green turf of a deserted quadrangle in curious hue of English pale shadow as against the brassy glare of tropics. The seamless buildings picking up the generous contours of winding streets of markets are familiar however the students seemed a totally new breed. Men were with hair growing over their ears: with orange and pink neckerchiefs with bell- bottom trousers and high heeled shoes. Many of them were barefoot in the streets: or wore peculiar open sandals without socks. The very often Men and women had trousers & tops vulgarly tight fittings with conviction that lingeries were out of fashion while some men grew pig tails or masses of curls so that they always looked as if they were peering through hole in a hedge. This apparently being insufficient outrageous for some: they had added Jesus beards: Mexican mustaches or sweeping side-whiskers. How bizarre that nothing seems to have changed: the paintwork of houses: front garden: but lukewarm socialist knowing that society was unjust: not sure how it might be changed for the better. Growing older is gain of skills and not wisdom if unaltered & frozen built is abraised with dynamics of new generation is read through ageless lenses.

URBAN MATIX

- Urban design education
Urban design is traditionally rendered with western academic forum. Its role is very often predetermined in abstraction of historicism on one hand while iconic & ideality on other hand.

- Urban design, architecture & Indian cities.
A city is a palimpsest, a document with many layers of accretion & imperfect erasure, many glosses & comments and marginal notes. It is often called as collaborative art work, a strange collaborative partnership of people, civic policy makers, democratic political - legal system & socio-cultural & regional hegemony. The matrix of lattice system is an abstract idea of theoretical discourse within urban design context of Indian city. It represents the complexity of various realms seeking sense of locus & alignment to the vast reality of perceived urban order.

THE LOST CITY

The city constantly neogtiating with what is central and what is marginal. The ghats are victims of constant negotiation. Once being a central are now backyard of the city. How cruel... the significance of death once was celebrated in central space is now marginal or backyard activity. The city grow on belief & decays on sedimented morphed customs....

LAST SUPPER

last journey


last wish

last rites

innocent joy

stubburn lonliness

lapse of light

Endless silence

DENUDE DUALITY

The often visit to Karjat has been ritual for past two years without much attentive to emerging built reality. The saturday visit had revealed some striking and perpetual reality of similar town across the nation. The most surprising thing was that, we are able to ignore such emergence built form without much resistance. Perhaps this duality has larger wisdom, or that is reinforcing the free-will

philosophy of existance

Its a relentless growth of agriculture town across the nation, where the gap among existential order, aspirational refrences & driving metaphor fuled by politics, cinematic relaity & real reality is wider beyond comprehension.

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