28 May 2012

Friday Movie


Public, Private and the Sacred





Every morning, as I impatiently wait for the lift to arrive – the old lady in the neighboring flat sits outside her door, painstakingly drawing out an elaborate kolam. The elaborate diagram that I inadvertently stamp upon every evening, in my haste to reach back home.

It was an image of this kolam that we began our discussion with, this Thursday. We spoke about Charles Correa’s article named “Public, Private and the sacred” wherein Correa brings forth the need to address the realm of “sacred” in the art of building.

According to Correa – while the word “sacred” might have a million implications – it primarily refers to the human fascination with the infinite and unbounded. This endless fascination has manifested itself in various forms over the ages.  The mandala, the Jain cosmograph, the Islamic char- bagh pattern, each evolving from the thoughts, aspirations and shared history of a population – and developing unique architecture that seems timeless.

The question that was posed before the forum was to identify the myth of modern India. Is it the neon lights, the nylon sari or the TV antenna?  How do we create architecture that that matters to the people of India – that allows them a habitat to live with their own mythic imagery, their aspirations and their dreams?

The discussion that ensued showed a definite drift from the thought that echoed in the article.

There was a general agreement that this “nostalgia” towards history and the bygone is merely blocking our path. There was a counter – argument which stated that we are now in an increasingly globalizing world, and must look forward instead of looking into the past for inspiration. The question of context need not be “over-philosophized” but merely taken as a matter-of-fact condition that needs to be dealt with. Designs need not essentially respond to the surroundings in the conventional sense. They may fascinate – or even shock – and these very buildings may form the context of tomorrow. Some of the young architects were of the opinion that we must now cut off this umbilical cord to the past that seems to the limiting our design possibilities and must wholeheartedly embrace the future and all its possibilities.

The myth of today, as someone stated – is the sharp whip of rationality and scientific innovation. As such – why must we shy away from bold forms and cutting edge materials?

 Then again – when I look around me - I see the most wonderfully pluralistic society. Every day that I drive by the little slum near my apartment complex – I see almost a replica of the living patterns of yore. The little open to sky court that forms the major living space, the verandah which forms the social space.

 I see Vedic symbology painted on modern doors and as I gingerly walk past the neighbor’s kolam, I realize that in our country – the past and its myth – the sacred is fundamental to the aspirations of the people. It is exactly what makes us what we are.

How do we cut off this umbilical cord and forge ahead – fascinating, shocking and creating a whole new pattern?