Spiritual Lab - Bachelor architecture thesis by Jaymin Tanna

Spiritual

Lab

ARCHITECTURAL THESIS by

JAYMIN TANNA

FINAL YEAR B.ARCH (2014-2015) ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE

CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the dissertation Spiritual Lab is the bonafide work of JAYMIN TANNA submitted to the faculty of Academy of Architecture in partial fulfilment of the requirement towards the Bachelors degree in Architecture recognized by the Council of Architecture, India and University of Mumbai during the academic year 2014-2015.

Ar. Abhay Patil

Dissertation guide

Ar. Suresh Singh

Prinipal In-charge

External Examiner

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and above all, I would like to thank Ar. Abhay Singh who is responsible for teaching me not only most of what I know about architecture but also about life. His love for architecture and knowledge has always been an inspiration. I would express my gratitude towards Ar. Abhay Patil whose more than a year long guidance has helped shape this thesis the way it has. I would also like to thank Ar. Jiten Prajapati for accepting to guide me when no one else did and for truely making me believe in 'Sabse bada rog, kya kahenge log'. I am also thankful to Ar. Yagnik Bhatija for being a patient and supportive class incharge. Lastly, I would like to thank all the classmates of 2010 batch and some even before that for adding all the fun in the years at Academy of Architecture.

for Manasi, Durgesh & Shoeb

T A B L E

O F

CONTENTS

1 3-9 10-43 46-63 66-111 112-131 132-139 140-153 155-157 159-161

chapter I

Prologue chapter II

Pre-thesis chapter III

Cosmos chapter IV

Reflection chapter V

Branding chapter VI

Community chapter VII

Culture

chapter VIII

Site

chapter IX

Program chapter X

Epilogue

chapter I

Prologue

by Ar. Abhay Singh

The purpose of this thesis is to explore, investigate, conclude, put forth the questions that lay deep within all of us but find no symptomatic presence in the everydayness of our lives; lost in the urbane environment, rendered excessively meaningless. It is a search in finding our own relationship, that with one's own self; those which primarily define our existence or our existential preferences. It explores possibilities that lay within the architectural domain to enhance, activate and progressively nurture one's aspiration as an individual and towards the society at large. The protagonist in this search is the self. The experimental labs for this protagonist are places that bring humane interactions, not entirely sublime but those which carry inherent conflicts and violence of the mind. Community and communal; Socially amiable and class differential; Religious and scientific temperament; Deeply contemplative and relational.

chapter II

Preâ&#x20AC;&#x160;-thesis

Before beginning, I would like to take some time and make clear my stand point in writing this thesis. To avoid controversy, I would like to place myself in the grey area of the black and white of belief and nonbelief. I would like to assert that, "I don't believe in God like all our religions and faiths portray him to be, but at the same time I do believe in the power of religions to save mankind from misery and anarchy." I agree to what Alain deBotton writes in 'Religion for Atheists' - ....the real issue is not whether God exists or not, but where to take the argument once one decides that he evidently doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Hoping to change people's beliefs is not the intention of the thesis. In fact, I am of the view that any idea needs a counter part for it to exist and sustain itself in it's pure form. Anyone who be-

lieves in the idea of the opposition party in democracy would agree to this. Opposition and constant questioning is essential for sound functioning of an idea. However, the scope of the thesis is majorly architectural. The idea is to culminate the project into a building, which in our case is a place that provides us with everything that any religious building provides. What that 'everything' is will be discussed in the later part of the book. Additionally, the building should be secular in the real sense, meaning it should dissolve all discrimination of caste and class of the society and should be truly universal. The thesis virtually began in the November of 2008 when I imagined God to be a rockstar. This image probably stemmed out of my love for rock music during this time. What is important is not the rockstar-like image of God in the painting (which could have been a man with a

sitar if I had been listening to classical music at that time or with a camera if I had been doing photography) but the icons of many religions I was exposed to during that time, on the figure. This was the time when I was at the beginning of accepting my own views about life, still mostly under the influence of how I was brought up and had been told by a limited group of people with limited sets of beliefs. Almost two years before even thinking about architecture as a profession, I was still far from being an atheist. As a child, I was never very religious. Considering how I was raised in a Hindu family who never questioned their faith and nor was I ever allowed to question mine, Hinduism was never enforced on me more than just praying once in a while on occasions and never insulting a prasad. My next experiences in religion were after I chose to study architecture in 2010.

This was when I started thinking about religious and spiritual architecture, mostly because our academic architectural trips included visits to ancient temples, mosques and other spiritual buildings. The effect of these visits was life-changing. I started questioning the reason for such obsession in religious architecture. Why did people invest so much of their energy, time and money in their faith? Even though the reason was not something I adored, the result was unquestionably effective and successful. The effect can easily make one wonder Does God really exist? Next encounter with religion happened in September of 2011, when a friendly discussion with three of my friends led to a search of why Islam, a religion whose name itself translates to peace, is said to be a reason for communal violence and terrorism? We began looking for answers in the holy book it-

self - the Quran. I called this project 'Peace lessons after class', since we conducted these sessions after our academic architectural classes. We aimed at compiling our research in the form of a film and we recorded each of our sessions in this regard. We managed to conduct somewhere close to 50 such sessions in which we completed the first three chapters (surah) of the Quran and began the fourth. Even though the project did not manage to make me believe in Allah and his prophet, it did manage to instil in me a respect for the religion and most of it's beliefs as far as their intentions were concerned. I would now like to leave you with some topics I was thinking about when I had decided to choose religion as a topic of research. Plates on the following page express those topics (which were nothing more than first thoughts) along with random sketches made during travel.

chapter III

Cosmos

Religions have worked greatly on providing consolation to humans in need by driving our attention towards the cosmos and nature in general. To analyse how religions work in this direction, here are four examples of texts from various sources that can provide a link between theists and atheists. 1. Interpretation of the vishwaroop darshan in the eleventh chapter of Shrimad Bhagawad Gita. 2. Interpretation of 'Book of Job', a writing in the old testament of the holy Bible. 3. Dog's eye view, an article by a student on a blogging website. 4. Verses from the second chapter, surah Al-Baqarah of the Holy Quran.

1. It was when Arjuna was in doubt about waging war against his brothers and teachers, that Lord Krishna enlightened him with his form of the universe.

Vishwaroop Darshan

By: Kishor Kulkarni on April 30, 2011

I used to wonder about a wider interpretation of the eleventh chapter of Shrimad Bhagawad Gita which describes Vishwaroop Darshan, manifestation by Lord Krishna of himself as the entire universe. The brief background of it is as follows. Lord Krishna had told Arjuna that everything in this creation is but only a manifestation of one or the other of His aspects (vibhooti). Then Arjuna desired to see the Lord as everything in the universe and that led to the vishwaroop darshan. I have always wondered as to what could be the meaning of vishwaroop darshan for an ordinary man like me. For me, it is enough to read that God is everything and everything is God. What is the added significance of vishwaroop darshan for me? Here are some of my own ideas about it.

Scenario

Meaning for common man

Arjuna wants to see the Lord as everything.

I wish to have a proof of the existence/power of God.

Lord displays himself as everything in the created universe.

I get the proof.

Arjuna ceases to see the Lord in his human form and instead sees his vishwaroop.

God can show anything to me. So, if I see the object world today the way it is, it is His wish. Tomorrow, if He wishes to show it to me in a different way, He can do so according to His sovereign wish.

The vishwaroop has predominance of the destructive apsects of the Lord that petrifies Arjuna.

I am petrified by the idea of death.

The vishwaroop shows Arjuna that all Kauravas as well as their supporters, including the mighty Bhishma, Drona and Karna, togetherwith the huge armies will die in the war.

God has everything pre-planned.

The Lord tells Arjuna to go ahead and fight the war and be the instrument in killing all the vile elements that had burdened the earth at that time. Lord Krishna was God incarnate and had all the powers as

God uses anyone He wishes as mere instruments to achieve His objective. His wish is soverreign and I may not understand the reasoning.

illustrated by him by killing many demons and other powerful men like Kansa,Chanoor, Shishupal etc. So he could easily have destroyed the vile elements represented by Kauravas. But he used Arjuna and other Pandavas for that purpose and he himself did not even keep any weapons with him. The Lord tells Arjuna that even if he does not still want to fight, his kshatriya nature (gunas) will make him fight. He will be like a man put on a chariot so that the man will have to go wherever the chariot goes.

I am driven by my gunas and my action is ultimately forced by the larger divine scheme.

Arjuna had initially thought that if he fought the war and killed his own relatives and guru, he will land in hell. That made him drop his bow. But through vishwaroop darshan, the Lord showed him that the war was for His divine purpose which would be achieved, no matter what. And Arjunaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apprehensions about landing in hell etc were irrelevant in the divine scheme.

I seem to believe that the karma that seems necessary at a given point in time is towards a certain purpose as determined by my conditioned mind. But my conditioned thinking is irrelevant in the bigger picture planned by God.

Arjuna gets petrified by vishwa-

I, as an ordinary man, cannot bear

roop and requests the Lord to assume his normal form.

the real gigantic form of the Creator.

The Lord advises Arjuna to keep the vishwaroop in mind all the time, while living in the world with the human form of the Lord.

In this world, I may pray and perform pooja of an idol. But I should always remember that the real God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent.

ď&#x201A;&#x2122;ď&#x201A;&#x2122; Representation of Krishna's vishwaroop in the famous T.V. series of 2013-14 'Mahabharat'.

2. Book of Job is one of the writings in the Christian old testament. It is a story of faith in God and tries to answer the question of why the righteous suffer. The following summary is taken from the internet and explains the story in simple words.

 Job is a wealthy man living in a land called Uz with his large family and extensive flocks. He is “blameless” and “upright,” always careful to avoid doing evil (1:1). One day, Satan (“the Adversary”) appears before God in heaven. God boasts to Satan about Job’s goodness, but Satan argues that Job is only good because God has blessed him abundantly. Satan challenges God that, if given permission to punish the man, Job will turn and curse God. God allows Satan to torment Job to test this bold claim, but he forbids Satan to take Job’s life in the process. In the course of one day, Job receives four messages, each

bearing separate news that his livestock, servants, and ten children have all died due to marauding invaders or natural catastrophes. Job tears his clothes and shaves his head in mourning, but he still blesses God in his prayers. Satan appears in heaven again, and God grants him another chance to test Job. This time, Job is afflicted with horrible skin sores. His wife encourages him to curse God and to give up and die, but Job refuses, struggling to accept his circumstances. Three of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, come to visit him, sitting with Job in silence for seven days out of respect for his mourning. On the seventh day, Job speaks, beginning a conversation in which each of the four men shares his thoughts on Job’s afflictions in long, poetic statements. Job curses the day he was born, comparing life and death to light and darkness. He wishes that his birth had been shrouded in darkness and longs to have never been born, feeling that light, or life, only intensifies his misery. Eliphaz

responds that Job, who has comforted other people, now shows that he never really understood their pain. Eliphaz believes that Job’s agony must be due to some sin Job has committed, and he urges Job to seek God’s favor. Bildad and Zophar agree that Job must have committed evil to offend God’s justice and argue that he should strive to exhibit more blameless behavior. Bildad surmises that Job’s children brought their deaths upon themselves. Even worse, Zophar implies that whatever wrong Job has done probably deserves greater punishment than what he has received. Job responds to each of these remarks, growing so irritated that he calls his friends “worthless physicians” who “whitewash [their advice] with lies” (13:4). After making pains to assert his blameless character, Job ponders man’s relationship to God. He wonders why God judges people by their actions if God can just as easily alter or forgive their behavior. It is also unclear to Job how a human can appease or court God’s justice. God is unseen, and his ways are inscrutable and beyond

human understanding. Moreover, humans cannot possibly persuade God with their words. God cannot be deceived, and Job admits that he does not even understand himself well enough to effectively plead his case to God. Job wishes for someone who can mediate between himself and God, or for God to send him to Sheol, the deep place of the dead. Job’s friends are offended that he scorns their wisdom. They think his questions are crafty and lack an appropriate fear of God, and they use many analogies and metaphors to stress their ongoing point that nothing good comes of wickedness. Job sustains his confidence in spite of these criticisms, responding that even if he has done evil, it is his own personal problem. Furthermore, he believes that there is a “witness” or a “Redeemer” in heaven who will vouch for his innocence (16:19, 19:25). After a while, the upbraiding proves too much for Job, and he grows sarcastic, impatient, and afraid. He laments the injustice that God lets wicked people prosper while he and countless other innocent people

suffer. Job wants to confront God and complain, but he cannot physically find God to do it. He feels that wisdom is hidden from human minds, but he resolves to persist in pursuing wisdom by fearing God and avoiding evil. Without provocation, another friend, Elihu, suddenly enters the conversation. The young Elihu believes that Job has spent too much energy vindicating himself rather than God. Elihu explains to Job that God communicates with humans by two ways—visions and physical pain. He says that physical suffering provides the sufferer with an opportunity to realize God’s love and forgiveness when he is well again, understanding that God has “ransomed” him from an impending death (33:24). Elihu also assumes that Job must be wicked to be suffering as he is, and he thinks that Job’s excessive talking is an act of rebellion against God. God finally interrupts, calling from a whirlwind and demanding Job to be brave and respond to his questions. God’s questions are rhetorical, intending to

show how little Job knows about creation and how much power God alone has. God describes many detailed aspects of his creation, praising especially his creation of two large beasts, the Behemoth and Leviathan. Overwhelmed by the encounter, Job acknowledges God’s unlimited power and admits the limitations of his human knowledge. This response pleases God, but he is upset with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar for spouting poor and theologically unsound advice. Job intercedes on their behalf, and God forgives them. God returns Job’s health, providing him with twice as much property as before, new children, and an extremely long life.

Illustration of Book of Job by William Blake

3. The following article is written by Vatsal Tanna, a final year Mechanical Engineering student, on a blogging website. He resides in Mumbai. Although not a scholar in Theology, his pantheist philosophy is worth pondering upon.

dog's eye view Saturday, October 8, 2011

I was sitting on a bench on a railway platform when I heard loud barking from behind me. I wheeled around to see two dogs were barking at an apparently 'new' dog in the area. That's the thing with street dogs. They mark their territories & let only their own pack inside. If a new dog comes along, he's howled and growled and barked back outside. What got me thinking was the reaction of the people. The people near these dogs, they just gave a brief look at the commotion & then got back to their own work. I looked back at the dogs and, judging by their tails & their huge & seemingly angry barks, it

was a pretty serious issue for them. But to the more 'intelligent' species, it meant nothing. Perhaps they knew that the 'area' the dogs were fighting for did not really belong to them. It was a railway platform. We, the people, have paid taxes to build it. The platform was built solely on the money, intelligence, time & energy spent by us humans. So, in the correct sense, the railway platform belonged to us humans, and not those four-legged creatures. In that sense, these poor creatures were fighting for something they didn't even own. Just for a second, (even though I firmly believe that dogs are fairly intelligent and affable creatures) I wished they could understand that their fight didn't make any sense at all. Just for a second, I felt a tinge of sympathy towards them. After that, I wheeled back to my comfortable position & noticed a small boy sitting beside me. He must have come when I was observing the dogs. He was going to school, I thought; judging by the uniform and a school-bag that he was wearing. He was reading a

book. I grinned. The book that he was reading belonged to the subject 'History'. And then it struck me. The book contained information on the blood and gore that had been spent by us humans in the name of nations, religions & even resources such as coals and diamonds. It just struck me that while we fought and killed each other, the trees, the soil, the air; they all stood doing their own work. The higher power never interfered. Perhaps, they knew that the things we were fighting for never belonged to us. It belonged to the supreme power who has made it. We pride ourselves in the lands that we think we own. But somewhere down the line, we know that perhaps one earthquake is all it takes to wreck an entire city. One earthquake is all it takes to throw all the people out of its territories. Perhaps, we are not intelligent enough to understand this fact. I looked back at the dogs. They were still embroiled in their routine. I realized that my sympathy had metamorphosed into empathy.

It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then He directed Himself to the heaven, [His being above all creation], and made them seven heavens, and He is Knowing of all things.

Qur'an 2:29

And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know."

Qur'an 2:30

And He taught Adam the names - all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful."

Qur'an 2:31

They said, "Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise."

Qur'an 2:32

He said, "O Adam, inform them of their names." And when he had informed them of their names, He said, "Did I not tell you that I know the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth? And I know what you reveal and what you have concealed."

Qur'an 2:33

As much as these stories seem random, there is a common factor to them apart from all of them being written in “God” concerns. All of them try to solve human problems by making them unimaginably insignificant. They say that our economic losses and failed relationships have no effect on the universe and our very existence is of very little importance. At first, it might sound humiliating and offensive, but it can give way to a new level of human knowledge and liberation. It wouldn’t be wrong when Alain de Botton in his book says “Religion is above all a symbol of what exceeds us and an education in the advantages of recognizing our

A church is something very beautiful. It is nice when people feel happy in it. But I am not a religious man. Look at us, and then at the infinity of space. We are rather small insignificant creatures, wouldn’t you say? - Oscar Niemeyer

paltriness.” If there is anything that is unquestionably common between believers and non-believers is awe at the expanse of universe and respect for the uncertainty of nature. If we were to believe Spinoza, human grief is because of lack of knowledge. The more we acquire knowledge, the more we are satisfied with life. At this point, one could enquire that wouldn’t a stock broker, after a bad day at the share market, feel liberated when he is preached about a star or a constellation at the end of the day? And as Alain de Botton suggests, what if all the screens in our public spaces are hooked up to live telecast of the galaxies from the satellites?

An illustration by Nathan W. Pyle, an artist from Manhattan.

To get a perspective of the massiveness of the cosmos, one must switch to how Neil deGrasse Tyson, an American astrophysicist presents it in the famous T.V. documentary series of 2014 'Cosmos - A Spacetime Odyssey'. The cosmos is massive in accordance to human capacities both in space and time. In order for us to reach as far as we can in the cosmos, we first need to know our cosmic address. So if you have to mail a letter to the principal of Rachana Sansad's Academy of Architec-

ture from a distance further from human knowledge (another universe), it would be addressed as: To, The Principal, Rachana Sansad's Academy of Architecture, 278, Shankar Ghanekar Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400 025, Maharashtra, India, Earth, Solar System, Milky way galaxy, Local group, Virgo Supercluster, Observable Universe.

Earth

Observable universe (logarithmic scale)

12,742 km

8.8 x 1023 km (93 billion light-years)

The expanse of the universe known to us would make light travel for 46.5 billion years from earth to its boundary. What we are talking about here is just the universe that is within the limits of human observance. After talking about the hugeness of space, let us mention the hugeness of cosmos with respect to time. In 'Cosmos - A Space-

time Odyssey', Neil deGrasse Tyson, in order to give the cosmic time a human scale, compresses it into a single calendar year. The calender starts with the Big Bang on the first moment of January 1st with the last moment of 31st December being the present moment and then plots important events of cosmic history on the calendar. It is interesting to know how new

Cosmic calendar in 'Cosmos - A Spacetime Odyssey'

JANUARY Big Bang!

FEBRUARY

01 02 03 04 05

06 07 08 09 10 11

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29

30 31 APRIL

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

MAY

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

JUNE

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29

30 31

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

01 02 03 04 05

06 07 08 09 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29

30 31

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29

30 31

1st January - The big bang! 10th January - First stars burst into light. 13th January - Stars coalesced into first small galaxies. 15th March - Galaxies merged to form the Milky way. 31st August - Our sun's birthday!

MARCH

now

Cosmic time in a single calendar year (as explained in the T.V. documentary series 'Cosmos - A Spacetime Odyssey') in which every month equals about a billion years and every day equals about 40 million years.

21st September - Origin of first life form. 9th November - Development of microbes. 17th December - Tiktaalik ventured on land. 28th December - First flower bloomed! 30th December - Death of dinosaurs. 31st December - Human evolution.

31st December of the cosmic calendar:

2400 2300 2200 2100 2000 1900 1800 1700 1600 1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 0900 0800 0700 0600 0500 0400 0300 0200 0100 0000

now

human evolution

(hours) the last day

60 58 56 54 52 50 48 46 44 42 40 38 36 34 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 08 06 04 02 00

now

first paintings on caves / invention of astronomy

(minutes) the last hour birth of Buddha birth of moses

birth of Muhammad

birth of Christ

60 58 56 54 52 50 48 46 44 42 40 38 36 34 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 08 06 04 02 00

now

invention of writing

(seconds) the last minute

we are to the cosmos. Our presence occurs only in the last hour of the last day of the cosmic calendar and we only have records of the last 14 seconds of the cosmos. It is important to note that birth of prophets of most prophetic religions occurred

all of recorded history

not before 7 seconds from now in the cosmic calendar. Now, imagine the optimism that this knowledge of the cosmos through science can bring in us. All we need is a larger perspective on things and peace is all ours.

I assert that if you were depressed after learning and being exposed to the perspective, you started your day with an unjustifiably large ego. - Neil deGrasse Tyson

It is with great conviction when scientists claim science to be their religion. It is what provides them with everything a religion would provide to a theist. Perspective is the first of them. Optimism and knowledge are the outcomes of this perspective. At this point I would like to support the above assertion with an example.

The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of planet Earth taken in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe from a record distance of about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles, 40 AU) from Earth, as part of the solar system Family Portrait series of images. In the photograph, Earth is shown as a fraction of a pixel (0.12 pixel in size) against the vastness of space. The Voyager 1 spacecraft, which

had completed its primary mission and was leaving the Solar System, was commanded by NASA to turn its camera around and to take a photograph of Earth across a great expanse of space, at the request of Carl Sagan. Subsequently, the title of the photograph was used by Sagan as the main title of his 1994 book, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space

From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in all this vastness â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. - Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, 1997

Earth: A pale blue dot

26.5 m

en.wikipedia.org

Rose Center for Earth and Space

~29 m

The philosophy behind the Rose Center for Earth and Space is exactly what Neil deGrasse Tyson wanted to convey in 'Cosmos - A Spacetime Odyssey' and what Carl Sagan wanted to convey in his book 'Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space', 1997. The center primarily aims at bringing about a sense of perspective in the minds of its visitors. It aims at making the visitors aware of the smallness of humanity's place in the known universe with respect to space and time. The design is bold and futuristic with a glass cuboid enclosing a sphere (Hayden sphere) that is supported on tripod-like legs that elevates the sphere above the ground. The Hayden sphere is divided into two parts - upper and lower which houses two theatres respectively. The surrounding space is used for other permanent as well as temporary exhibitions.

American Museum of Natural History.

Rose Center or Earth and Space. Location : 79th Street Central Park West, New York. Designed by : James Stewart Polshek and Todd Schliemann. Opened on : 19th February, 2000. Project cost : ~$ 210. Director : Neil deGrasse Tyson.

The design of the center is such that the Hayden sphere is used as a unit for size comparison. For instance, if one considers the size of the sphere to be a scaled version of our sun, then the center provides with models of proportionate sizes of all the planets of our solar system which are mounted on railings or suspended from the ceiling. Earth's size is smaller than the size of a basketball in that case. The sphere can similarly be assumed to be our galaxy and also a hydrogen atom. One can see all theses comparisons as one walks on the 'Scales of the Universe walkway'.

The idea was to make the 2000 tonne Hayden sphere appear to be floating inside the glass cube. Hence, to minimise visible supports, the sphere is supported on a truss system at its equator and the load is transferred to the ground through three pairs of tapering steel columns (tripod supports) at three points. Supports for the 'Cosmic walkway' ramp also emerge at these points.

Rose Center for Earth and Space has the largest suspended glass curtain wall in the United States of America. The 95 foot cube has

736 glass panels measuring 5 x 10.5 feet, fastened with 1,400 spider connectors. The glass is tensioned by a prestressed cable truss system that is connected back to the primary steel structure. This tubular steel framework is also used to support the roof.

Permanent exhibitions of the Rose Center for Earth and Space constitute the following spaces : 1. Cullman Hall of the Universe Exhibits, divided into the universe, galaxies, stars, and planets, show the discoveries of modern astrophysics. Digital scales measure your weight on Saturn, Jupiter, and the Sun.

5 4

2 a 1 b

3. 2.

4. 5. 1.

a. Ecosphere A sealed spherical aquarium in the Hall of the Universe holds a complete ecosystem of plants and animals that can recycle nutrients and obtain energy solely from sunlight.

b. AstroBulletin This high-definition screen displays the latest imagery from telescope observations worldwide and current NASA missions. 2. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth Geological samples from around the world and videos explain the processes that formed the earth and

continue to shape it. c. Dynamic Earth Globe This globe, suspended above an amphitheater in the Hall of Planet Earth uses a projection system to recreate views of a rotating earth as seen from space.

d. Earth Event Wall Events such as earthquakes or volcanoes are broadcast on a screen as they unfold. Other video stations show scientists at work. Lower level First floor Second floor Third floor

Hayden sphere (planetarium)

3. Scales of the Universe Walkway Models show the relative size of cosmic, human, and microscopic objects, from galaxies, stars, and planets, to the human brain and the smallest atom.

4. Big Bang theatre Glass flooring around a circular opening lets visitors look down into a multisensory interpretation of

the first movements of the universe. Explanatory narration is by Jodie Foster. 5. Cosmic Pathway The Big Bang exits to this sloping 360-ft pathway with astronomical images tracing landmarks through 13 billion years of cosmic evolution.

6. Space theatre The 429-seat Space Theatre, which features a custom-made Zeiss Mark IX Star Projector and a Digital Dome Projection System to display a hyperrealistic view of the planets, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies, uses a sci-

Carl Zeiss Mark IX Universarium, the projector used in the Hayden space theatre.

entifically accurate 3D map of the observable universe based on millions of astronomical observations.

7. Arthur Ross terrace Adjacent to the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and built over the new parking garage on 81st

Street, this magnificent outdoor 47,114-square-foot public space opened to the public on Saturday, September 23, 2000. The Terrace, rich in trees and plantings, and with sloping lawns, features a central plaza with water jets and twinkling fiber optic lights imbedded in the stone surface in the shape of the well-known Orion constellation. Visitors may relax at large wooden benches that double as "activity tables," and at cafe tables and chairs set amongst the trees on the upper terrace, facing the Rose Center.

The designers of the center have called the building a 'Cosmic Cathedral'. "It will be attracting pilgrims for the sake of science and education", quoted Polshek.

chapter IV

ity. Protestantism much influenced the culture, beliefs, and economy of the place it became important in.

It is definitely a fact that not all the buildings are built keeping in mind the people other than those directly using it or are somehow affected by it. You can definitely not file an FIR against a building that is abusive to your sight when you are merely passing by it to your work. It is just not one of your rights even in the biggest democracy of the world.

Martin Luther, a doctor of theology and a monk, said that the church should return to its roots, and give more weight to what is written in the Bible. Luther thought that the Church had gone too far away from the original teachings. He published 95 theses on the way the Catholic Church was then. Some say, he stuck them onto the door of the church of Wittenberg, but others say this is not true. The 95 theses were published in 1516 or 1517. With the theses, he started the Protestant Reformation. The protestants believed that only the Bible was enough to spread the word of God which can be read in a bare room too and that there was no need of elaborate architecture for the purpose of preaching. They believed that this kind of elaborate architecture is disturbing and that it makes us choose beauty over holiness. This philosophy thus led to damage to

Reflection

The story of Protestantism Protestantism is a form of Christian faith and practice. It began in northern Europe in the early 16th century. At that time, they were against some parts of Roman Catholicism. Together with Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, Protestantism became one of the three greatest forces in Christian-

decorative catholic churches, breaking of statues and burning of paintings by the protestants. At the same time, the protestants appointed their architects to build churches that merely provided a shed for congregation for reading the Bible. By the middle of the sixteenth century, the conventional Catholics rose into action and said that the elaborate church architecture and paintings depicting various scenes from the heaven were in fact very important to bring us closer to God. So, there was a protest against Protestantism and again churches were built with complicated designs and paintings. In 1836, Pugin pub-

lished Contrasts, a polemical book which argued for the revival of the medieval Gothic style, and also "a return to the faith and the social structures of the Middle Ages". Each plate in the book selected a type of urban building and contrast-

ed the 1830 example with its 15th-century equivalent. In one example, Pugin contrasted a medieval monastic foundation, where monks fed and clothed the needy, grew food in the gardens â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and gave the dead a decent burial â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with "apanopticon workhouse where the poor were beaten, half starved and sent off after death for dissection. Each structure was the built expression of a particular view of humanity: Christianity versus Utilitarianism."

A plate from Pugin's book 'Contrasts' comparing a Roman Catholic city (top) to a Protestant city (above).

If you think about it, Catholicism had a very important lesson to teach. It said that we are affected by everything we sense. The “where” factor was very important to them in the most basic act of reading the Bible. Its implication in religion would be that it would not be effective at all if it was to be preached only by means of a written word. It requires beautiful things like art, architecture, music, etc. to flourish and spread. If taken further it can also be spread by putting it in the day to day life of people through public buildings like schools, hospitals, banks, etc. What Pugin’s book tells us is that the world can also be made to look ugly without people losing faith in God. Its implication would be that it can be beautiful even when people lose faith in God. It wouldn’t then be true when people say end of fear of God will lead to total anarchy. The question then arises, what could then

be built as a replacement to today’s sacred architecture? What could cater to, in Botton’s words, our ‘soul’ when one loses faith in any supernatural belief ? One answer to this could be temples for atheists. Three very different views of what these temples could be is what follows. 1. Prasad Shetty is an urbanist based in Mumbai. He has studied architecture (Mumbai) and urban management (Rotterdam). He is one of the founder members of the urban research collective; CRIT. He also works with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region – Environment Improvement and Heritage Conservation Society and teaches at the Rachana Sansad’s Academy of Architecture in Mumbai. Prasad Shetty in his graduate thesis set out to build a temple for atheists which ultimately led him to research and analyse subjects of tomb architecture, Indian art and 'deviants' in the society. The following extract is

taken from his thesis report 'Cenotaphs for artists' and describes his idea of what a temple for atheists could be. ...But whatever is said about the tombs it is quite clear the tomb is built for the DEAD. This is an interesting value of the tomb, it denotes the death of the dead. In that case the tomb of Humayun indicates the death of Humayun, the mill land structures denote the death of the mill, the tomb of religion would indicate the death of religion, the tomb of belief would indicate the death of a belief and the tomb of God will denote the death of God. It becomes necessary then to build these tombs when such objects are dead, or atleast indicate the death of the object, confirm it and celebrate it for such constructs are unnecessary to the human society. Our atheist would then build a tomb for his temple. He would build a tomb of belief, the tomb of religion, the tomb of God. It would be then this tomb which would be the temple for an atheist...

As much as this analogy seems interesting, it is somewhat like saying, "There exists no absolute truth!"- an idea that contradicts itself. The fact that someone is saying that itself proves that there is at least one absolute truth that, "There exists no absolute truth!" Similarly, when someone represents someone's death, it proves his life in the past. So if an atheist builds a tomb of God it would shatter his belief of nonexistence of God, but would mean that God existed for him in the past. Another point is that a tomb of God would have a very different meaning than a tomb of religion. Building a tomb of religion would not make someone an atheist. It would make him secular. A secular person can very well be a theist not believing in the idea of different religions. Even though Shetty's idea of temple for atheists is highly questionable, his

thoughts on secular spaces in architecture are worth a praise. He questions the secularity of the so-called nonsecular buildings. This point of view is further discussed and quoted in the chapter VI, Community. 2. Alain de Botton, in his book 'Religion for Atheists', says that religious buildings have a set of strict guidelines that they follow as far as architecture is concerned. A church, a mosque or a temple, all are built keeping in mind certain compulsory spaces, certain compulsory rituals or certain compulsory materials that the makers have to adhere to in order to make it. Temples for atheists, according to Botton, need not stick to these guidelines and that the templesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; only common element would have to be their dedication to promoting virtues essential to the well-being of our souls. These can differ from place to place or designer to designer. He also proposes some schemes

and designs for the same. - A Temple to Perspective This temple would aim at making human problems highly insignificant by comparing them to the expanse of the universe. This can simply be done by the mere scale of the temple, use of materials and sound and also by play of light. The function that this building should fulfil should be that similar to a science museum-of that illuminating our minds with knowledge. The design proposed for such a temple is: A Temple to Perspective whose structure would represent the age of the earth, with each centimetre of height equating to 1 million years. Measuring 46 metres in all, the tower would feature, at its base, a tiny band of gold a mere millimetre thick, standing for mankindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time on earth.

- A Temple to Reflection This temple should only aim at the quality of reflecting on oneself. It would just be a silent place to sit and think about things we have been ignoring or avoiding in our daily lives. The architecture would have qualities we lack in ourselves- of that of peace and serenity. A Temple to Reflection would lend structure and legitimacy to moments of solitude. It would be a simple space, offering visitors little beyond a bench or two, a vista and a suggestion that they set to work on unravelling some of the troubling themes that they have been using their normal activity to suppress.

- A Temple for the Genius Loci This kind of temples would be inspired from ancient Roman and Christian tradition of genius loci, when people undertook pilgrimages to different parts of Europe for their grievances (usually ailments of body). Based on a similar concept, our travels should be carefully planned based on what our requirements are. These requirements can be deduced by travel agents who would be trained to do the same and would plan our trips. A psychotherapeutic travel agency would align mental disorders with the parts of the planet best able to alleviate them. Local shrines and

temples could then be built at these strategic places. ...How much more therapeutic our journeys might be if they could include a visit to a secular local shrine or temple, a work of architecture that would define and concentrate the qualities of its surrounding setting. Inside, we could deposit wax versions of our anxieties and immaturities, attempting thereby to formalize the purpose of our trip â&#x20AC;&#x201C; while outside, in a row of small retail spaces, talented artists would sell inspiring tokens of the transformative powers of their settings One such shrine might be dedicated to the energy of a capital city, another to the purifying calmness of the deserted tundra, a third to the promises of the tropical sun. These temples would offer homes to otherwise elusive genii locorum, and together teach us to regard travel as a means of existential healing, rather than merely a source of entertainment or relaxation...

3. Karagiannidou Eleni, a student of Architecture and Design Aalborg University, Denmark has written a thesis called 'A Chapel for Atheists'. In this master thesis, the author wanted to create a place that would induce stillness and calmness in it's visitors' minds. She imagined a shelter in the busy city of Rotterdam, Netherlands with no clear programmatic aspect. The designer takes inspirations from Juhani Pallasmaa's 'Six themes for the next millennium', James Turrell's works, Carlo Scarpa's use of materials, Gaston Bachelard's 'The poetics of space' and Junihiro Tanizaki's 'In praise of shadows' to name a few in order to create a building that survives the 'terror of time' by its tactile approach of design in a world obsessed with ocular-centric design. What follows are some excerpts from the thesis that justify our need for self reflection.

...My belief is that if we can stop ourselves from all doing for a moment and distant ourselves only to start again, amazing things would happen; to the self and society, and the human community...

...Why is that architecture that moves us makes us feel that time runs slower? How is that places that speak to our inner self are perceived as frozen in time? This interests me, the ability of architecture to distort our perception, rapping us in an other dimension where time stops. Show me how to slow down time and I will show you how to create exceptional architecture. How to create still, timeless architecture that speaks to the unconscious. That slows down your brain and activates your senses penetrating your existence and nests in your subconscious. Ables you to turn inside your self to see with real eyes the dream you call a life... 109

Eleni's thesis uses Juhani Pallasmaa's 'Six themes for the next millennium' as a base for design of the shelter. Pallasmaa, in this essay proposes a change in our architectural thinking of today which is mostly ocularcentric and function-oriented by writing about six themes that architecture should encompass in it's design. i. Slowness Pallasmaa begins by quoting Karsten Harries - "Architecture is not only about domesticating space. It is also a deep defence against the terror of time. The language of beauty is essentially the language of timeless reality". He thus promotes the architecture that slows down our perception of time and allows us to understand the constantly changing nature of the world and consequently evolve with the same. Eleni claims that western society has corrupted our perception of time,

which is a continuum, by fragmenting it now and then. Our lifetime is divided into childhood, teenage, adulthood and old age; our days are divided into mornings, afternoons, evenings and nights and each of this fragment rules a respective function that we are supposed to carry out in these clusters. Our spaces are a slave to this fragmentation of time. For an architecture to touch you, it is important to break away from a fragmented time and space model. In order to do this we need to free architecture from a clear programmatic function. Eleni writes : " I hypothesize that in places with no clear programmatic function or where the function touches the sphere of the metaphysical, where rational rules do not apply or where we, consciously break those rules out of our need for stillness, like in a church or a cemetery, our perception of time stays still, as we do not relate to a piece

of our functional life, hosted in those spaces. If there is no standardized function, there is no standardized time span, hence, no preformatted identity on our acting. Consciously or subconsciously stop thinking about time once found ourselves to those extraordinary places, we get absorbed into a timeless space where our rationalized no reason for existing, meets our not rationalized need for non-existing". ii. Plasticity Tactility is one of the most important factors of great architecture. Being able to feel the stone, wood and even concrete would do nothing but allow more human participation in architecture. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you have an understanding about materials, you can do architecture; you have a vocabulary as if you have had a language vocabulary. Knowing how to use a language ables you to write prose or poems, but if

you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know your vocabulary, your materials, how can you do architecture?â&#x20AC;? Glenn Murcutt suggests in his interview for Lubliana University. iii. Sensuousness Juhani Pallasmaa claims that our ability to draw and print architecture has made it lose it's plasticity, a quality that allows it to be easily shaped and moulded. Architecture then caters to only our vision. All the other senses remain ignored. According to Pallasmaa, architecture should stimulate all our senses. iv. Authenticity Pallasmaa writes : "Emotions and reactions in the consumerist world are increasingly conditioned. We need works of art and architecture to defend the autonomy of emotional response. In the world of inauthenticity and simulation we need island of authenticity that let our reactions grow autono-

mously and allow us to identify with our own emotions". v. Idealisation The driving force of an act of building, according to Pallasmaa, for any architect should not be it's rational and functional demands. It should be his view about an ideal society or world that should govern his design approach. vi. Silence Juhani Palasmaa highly advocates that architecture should instil silence in us. The silence he talks about is not mere absence of sound. It is a mental state when we observe and listen. "It is a silence that evokes a sense of melancholy and yearning for the absent ideal", he writes. James Turrell, an American artist, has worked with light and space for over half a century in order to engage his viewers with the limits of human perception. One of his projects, 'Skys-

pace', (over eighty in number worldwide) are chambers with an opening in the ceiling to view the sky. The walls of the room are usually painted with neutral colours and is provided with benches along the perimeter. LED lights are also fixed along the perimeter which change colour during the course of the day and also our perception of the sky. Turrell's skyspaces make us aware of one of the most important objects for our perception - Light. It presents the sky, which we know exists but never really see, in a way that is contemplative in nature. The opening in the ceiling of a skyspace (which is usually circular, elliptical or a square-shaped one) frames the sky in such a way that it reduces the scale of it to a great extent. Anyone watching it feels as if it is his own piece of sky. Reducing the distractions around the sky to such an extent makes one really observe the colour of the

sky and question their ignorance about the universe.

The act of building in nature, for a designer, should be with a clear conscience. When asked to do the task, the first point of view one should make is of the superiority or inferiority of nature over the designer or the user (humans in our case). It is important to realise whether you believe to own a power that allows you to control or tame nature. Although people who claim so will be rare, the person poses grave danger to himself who claims so (only if he exists). A human being trying to harm nature by means of taming it would cause harm to humans itself who happen to be a part of nature. When you consider building (in nature) as an activity, trying to stop the flow of the river or cutting down trees for the activity would do nothing but pose more problems for the future. The only thing to believe then is that we, as human beings, have no power over nature and our act of

building should affect it in as least way as possible. Once we accept our inferiority with nature and go ahead with the act of building, the next concern should be about the image of our building - What should the building look like? Or should the building be visible at all? The answer is both yes and no and both can be equally justified. One can take a stand whereby one strips oneself from all the powers to even attempt to recreate what is present in nature and make a building with straight lines and perfect geometry, which is not usually present in nature. The colour of the building can also be without the shades present in the immediate context or can be as universal as white. Further, the building can also be raised above the ground as a gesture of not even disturbing the natural elements of the ground. Great architects like Mies van der Rohe and Rich-

ard Meier have taken this approach in Farnsworth house and Douglas house respectively in order to achieve the relationship of their buildings with nature. The other approach one can take in an attempt to decide the image of the building is to try making it invisible altogether. It is when one decides to do this, that the question of building materials comes into the picture. It can be done in two ways. One, by using natural materials available in the immediate surrounding itself and two, by use of artificial materials. The former approach is the one which is usually called vernacular architecture. Although vernacular architecture requires a lot of experience and knowledge in practice, it is the safest approach one can take while trying to build a relationship of the building with nature. I mean, what are the chances of the building failing to respond to nature when it is

made out of nature in its purest form itself ? Using artificial materials like glass, steel, etc. in order to make the building invisible in nature is an approach that is much more contemporary. It is a way of expressing that we, as human beings, can make something which is very different from nature but at the same time are in no way attempting to disturb the beauty of nature. What this approach does is that it allows humans to maintain their self-esteem along with bringing harmony between the building and nature. It is this approach to design that has encouraged contemporary designers to use glass, mirrors or highly reflective metal as materials for building in nature. However, the question of sustainability is not taken into account in this discussion and is a different topic altogether. The effect of production of these artificial materials on nature is highly questionable.

Is nature inferior or superior?

Should the building be visible or invisible?

What materials should be used?

chapter V

Branding

Organised religions have given the corporate world something no other management schools could have ever thought of providing. It is the tool of branding. Branding promises its customers consistency in quality and feel of the product throughout the places it is used. If you think about it, organised religions do mostly that. For example, a crucifix placed outside a church promises its users a particular set of people, rituals, and an overall feel of Christianity inside the building, just as the golden arches logo would do for McDonald's. Here's what Alain de Botton writes in his book, "Institutions trust that the appearance of their logo, whether on a remote mountainside or on top of a skyscraper, on a bedsheet or on a cloak, will instantly communicate the reliable presence of a particular set of values and act as a

promise of uniformity and quality. To stamp out eccentricities, the training manual for new staff of the McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corporation runs to 300 pages, providing instructions for every imaginable action and transaction: there are rules about where the employeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name badge must be placed, what sort of smile each customer must be treated to and precisely how much mayonnaise should be added to the underside of every top bun. The hamburger company has little faith in what the members of its workforce will do if left to their own devices." And then there is brand extension, a strategy in which a famous company uses its brand name to launch another product with the same brand name to expand its business. This also gives its customers surity about the quality of the product. Brand extension is a popular strategy of the modern corporate world and it is also a step forward from the primitive religious branding, but the question here is 'Is it still enough?'

Fun fact: McDonald's' iconic golden arches are recognized by more people than the cross. A survey by Sponsorship Research International found that 88 percent could identify the arches and only 54 percent could name the Christian cross, according to Fast Food Nation.

Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational branded venture capital conglomerate founded by entrepreneur Richard Branson. Its core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle, and it also manages ventures in financial services, transport, health care, food and drink, and telecommunications; together, Virgin's businesses consist of more than 400 companies worldwide.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

The hierarchy of needs is one of the best-known theories of motivation. Created by psychologist Abraham Maslow, the hierarchy is often displayed as a pyramid, with the most basic needs at the bottom and more complex needs at the peak. The four lowest-level needs are what Maslow referred to as D-needs (or deficiency needs). These needs are due to a lack of

something and need to be satisfied in order to avoid unpleasant feelings and to move on to higher level needs. The uppermost needs in the hierarchy are referred to Bneeds (being needs or growth needs) and involve the desire to grow as an individual and fulfill oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own potential. 1. Physiological Needs The basic physiological

needs are probably fairly apparent – these include the things that are vital to our survival. Some examples of the physiological needs include: • Food • Water • Breathing • Homeostasis In addition to the basic requirements of nutrition, air and temperature regulation, the physiological needs also include such things as shelter and clothing. Maslow also included sexual reproduction in this level of the hierarchy of needs since it is essential to the survival and propagation of the species.

2. Security and Safety Needs As we move up to the second level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the requirements start to become a bit more complex. At this level, the needs for security and safety become primary. People want control and order in their lives, so this need for safety and security contributes largely to behaviors at this level. Some of the basic security

and safety needs include: • Financial security Heath and wellness • Safety against accidents and injury Finding a job, obtaining health insurance and health care, contributing money to a savings account, and moving into a safer neighbourhood are all examples of actions motivated by the security and safety needs. Together, the safety and physiological levels of the hierarchy make up what is often referred to as the basic needs. 3. Social Needs The social needs in Maslow’s hierarchy include such things as love, acceptance and belonging. At this level, the need for emotional relationships drives human behavior. Some of the things that satisfy this need include: • Friendships • Romantic attachments • Family • Social groups • Community groups

• Churches and religious organizations In order to avoid problems such as loneliness, depression, and anxiety, it is important for people to feel loved and accepted by other people. Personal relationships with friends, family, and lovers play an important role, as does involvement in other groups that might include religious groups, sports teams, book clubs, and other group activities. 4. Esteem Needs At the fourth level in Maslow’s hierarchy is the need for appreciation and respect. When the needs at the bottom three levels have been satisfied, the esteem needs begin to play a more prominent role in motivating behavior. In addition to the need for feelings of accomplishment and prestige, the esteem needs include such things as self-esteem and personal worth. People need to sense that they are valued and by others and feel that they are making a contribution to the

world. Participation in professional activities, academic accomplishments, athletic or team participation, and personal hobbies can all play a role in fulfilling the esteem needs. People who are able to satisfy the esteem needs by achieving good self-esteem and the recognition of others tend to feel confident in their abilities. Those who lack self-esteem and the respect of others can develop feelings of inferiority. Together, the esteem and social levels make up what is known as the psychological needs of the hierarchy. 5. Self-Actualization Needs At the very peak of Maslow’s hierarchy are the selfactualization needs. "What a man can be, he must be," Maslow explained, referring to the need people have to achieve their full potential as human beings. According to Maslow’s definition of self-actualization: "It may be loosely described as the full use and exploitation of talents, capabilities, potentiali-

ties, etc. Such people seem to be fulfilling themselves and to be doing the best that they are capable of doing... They are people who have developed or are developing to the full stature of which they capable." As he was developing his theory, Maslow studied the biographies of famous historical individuals who he believed were good examples of selfactualized people. These figures included Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass.

Literature forms a very important part in spread

of any idea, let alone religious ones. Creating records for ideas resulted in use of everything from stones to wood to cloth to paper for the purpose. Whatever is used to write, written material (that forms books these days) is used primarily for preserving ideas that need to spread, either geographically or over generations. But there is one thing to ideas. They are PokĂŠmons always trying to undergo a form of metamorphosis and transform into a similar but stronger species of PokĂŠmon, a process called evolution, in our case, reality. Ideas aspire to be reality.

The point here is, would all religions have prospered the way they have, if they had relied only on lit-

erature for the purpose? That is when institutions come in. This is the point when philosophy makes way for a physical space, something tangible. It would not be true if one says that religious world is stronger than its secular counterpart because the prior has succeeded in making more institutions than the latter. The truth is, both worlds have institutions, in fact the secular ones are more in number. It is just that, the secular ones are not the ones that are meant for the ‘soul’. Most of them just provide services that make our lives comfortable. Secular institutions – bank, post office, shop, mall, restaurant, museum, theatre, school, hospital, etc. Religious institutions – Temple, religious library, religious artifact shop, school, hospital, etc.

If one tries to plot

the secular buildings mentioned above on Maslow’s pyramid. One finds that they never get past the second base of the triangle. Some of them crawl their way to ‘Love and belonging’, but that is it. Religions, however, are the only brands that start at the third level and also lead us to the apex. ~ Just to experience the branding aspect of organised religions, I went around three different and famous religious areas in order to document everything from food to music to colours pertaining to these religions. What follows on the next pages is a series of photographs clicked on these three visits. It is important to note that iconism plays an important role in all religions. It is, in a way, also important to bind people of similar faith because it gives something common to look up to. Iconism in terms of figures, colours, shapes, etc help the

Location - Dadar (West). Distance from Siddhivinayak temple = 1.9 km. Area = ~13000 sq.ft. Number of stalls = 600 to 720 (542 licensed). Peak hours - 04:30 am to 09:00 am. Peak seasons - August to December (due to Ganesh chaturthi, Dassera, Diwali, Christmas).

A list of what is sold in the market: • marigolds • hibiscus flowers • roses • dhruva grass • basil leaves • arabian jasmines • carnations • orchids • lotuses • chrysanthemums • asters • apta leaves • banana leaves etc.

84Maharashtra

Flowers in the Dadar flower market come all the way from Nagpur, Sangamner, Nashik, Pune, Sangli, Satara and also from Vasai and Virar. The flowers are delivered to the market at 04:00 am which means the trucks have to be loaded and departed two to even twelve hours before the delivery time.

Mumbai

a 200 m

i Tawakkal Sweets Malai in many flavours (`600/kg) complements a perfect malpuwa. 26, Khara Tank Road. 2346 6360

> I ON S TAT BY

LLA

Husain iyah

TO m

Raudat Tahera Shrine

HURST

) ROA D

m KGN Juice Thick anjeer shake `25. Corner of Gujar Street. n Noor Mohammedi Hotel Live goats, Husain original on display; nalli nihari `60. 179, Wazir Building, Abdul Hakim Chowk. 2345 6008 o Shalimar Cold Drinks Falooda from `22. S.V. P. Road, around corner from Shalimar. 2345 6632 p Suleiman Usman Mithaiwala Classic firni `25, flavoured `32–`34; lurid halwas. 175, I. M. Merchant Road, Minara Masjid. 2346 5059 q Hindustan Hotel Chota kebabs and lamba pav. 2347 6241 r Burhanpur Jalebi Centre Churns out hot, crisp mawa jalebis, `160/kg. 27/74, Memonwada Road. 98193 12072

ROA D

Moghul

UMERKHADI

o n

MINARA MASJID q

I. M. Merchant

Minara

t Halwa-Paratha Stall `80/kg.

s Hussein The twinkle in his eye brings us back. Mini malpuwa `10. In front of Chinese n Grill.

D OA

BHENDI l Surti 12 Handi Gulam Mustafa’s family recipe from Surat turns a nihari (stew) into a meal, `80. 10pm–4am. 12, Gujar Street.

D) ( S I R J . J . R OA

L A NA

Hazara

Street

Tahera Raudat

Mutton

Stall

T V.

k Idris Colddrink Sharbat delights like vari yalli (saunf), `10. 101, Pakmodia Street. 98202 19035

Restaurant

j Jilani Fast Food Corner Bada baida from `30. Shop No. 6, Sana Manzil, 92/95, Pakmodia Street.

M OH A M M E D A I R L

h Bar-B-Que Corner Takes down its sign and sigdi by 11.30pm, so hurry for kheeri and kaleji (`20). Khara Tank Road.

Null Bazaar

Saifee Ambulance

Gujar

LEGEND

g Indian Hotel All-purpose tava joint, from naan-chop (`18) to bheja (`120). 92/96, Shop No. 1/2 , Khara Tank Road. 2346 0687

S . V. P. ( SA N D

i j

Saifi

f H. M. Jalil Cold Drink & Juice Centre Year-round source for Swadeshi teetotaler soda Sosyo. 79/83, R. C.Wala Building, corner of Raudat Tahera Street & Khara Tank Road. 2346 2237

Nabull ah

f g

d e

e National Dry Fruit Stores Dates! “Ayurvedic” herb-stuffed (`500/kg) to Basra (`100/kg); saffron from `160/g. Shop No. 3, M. S. Ali (Grant) Road. at J. J. Junction. 99202 33886

E. R. R OA D

d Zaika Juicy tangdi kebab `50, until 3am. M. S. Ali (Grant) Road at J. J. Junction. 98212 06285

AN (M AU

c Nawab Seekh Kebab Corner Seekh with deep-fried parathas, `40 per plate, until 3am. Corner of M. S. Ali (Grant) & Duncan Roads, behind Do Tanki police chowky. 99679 87561

Khara Ta

M A P GU IDE

NT) R OA D

BOHRI MOHALLA

DUNC

b Chand Harissa Hyderabadi khichda `30 (from 4pm); tender mutton seekh `25. Until 1am. YMCA basketball court, Mastan Talao.

M. S. A LI (GR A

AZAD

a Sarvi Seekh kebab sells out fast; paya (`38) served hot all night long. 184/196 Dimtimkar Road, Nagpada Junction. 6608 6347

DO TANKI

) ROA D

Mohammed Ali Road

M U M BA I B O S S

b 100 m

MASTAN TA L AO

A C A R N I VO R E ’ S M A P OF

T O M A S J I D S T AT I O N

graphics © Matt Daniels (hnhdigital.com)

A list of food recommended by MUMBAI BOSS (www.mumbaiboss.com), a popular website that covers the culture of the city.

100

101

102

This stall receives its candles from Kurla, where they are hand-made at home. The candles range from a meagre price of Rs. 2 to even as high as Rs. 150.

103

104

105

106

107

One of the most innovative ways of votive offering can be seen in the church. Stalls outside the church sell wax figures of probably everything that one can crave for and ask from God. These figures range from shapes of homes, to shops, to televisions, to parts of body like hands and feet. These are offered at the church according to what one wishes for. These are originally made from wax (which symbolises purity) but are also made from thermocole and coated with wax nowadays.

108

109

ocular sense of humans as it is one of the strongest sense that we relate to. Also, constant remembrance is something most religions cling to in order to keep constant and also increase its number of followers and sometimes spread peace. The most secular example for this is Krishnadas, who stands on one of the busiest junctions (Juhu circle) in Mumbai holding a placard, preaching a lesson of peace and smiling to all the passers by.

110

111

chapter VI

Community

Earlier we developed, based on Alain de Bottonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theory, that religions work because inspite of humans being extremely selfish and violent, we need a sense of belonging in the society. We need with us people who believe in something similar to what we believe in and who will support us when things go wrong. Being left out is one of the scariest thoughts that haunt our lives. Religions however know of this fact and each of them has devised solutions to bring people of faith together by some way or the other. Festivals, meals and charity are some of the ways by which religions try to cure our loneliness. Historians believe that we started disrespecting our neighbours when we started losing faith in God. It is definitely a fact that our sense of community has decreased over centuries just as

we have started losing faith in God. Why was it that people in the past were experts in community lessons? It was probably because people did not have a choice. They knew that the government is not going to develop schemes to feed the hungry or shelter the homeless because there was no government at all. Even though I am a believer in the principles of democracy, it is a fact that it has given the people liberty to ignore their basic duties. We still give a large amount of our earnings to community welfare through taxation but the question here is that does it touch our souls as much as a charity to an orphanage or an old age home would do? We tend to find an elevation in our trust for strangers in religious buildings when we suspect everyone to be thieves, murderers or psychopaths on daily basis outside them. How intriguing is the fact that the fear of God is much more than

113

the fear of our legal system. However, we tend to set loose of this suspicion on some occasions. First, when we know that the person belongs to a good family; its implication being that he is well educated and that has been given good lessons in social ethics by his family. Second, during situations of crisis and disasters. Third, when we realize a need to find someone who will spare us our loneliness for the rest of our lives and allow us to make a family of our own. Then finally there are the so called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;non-secularâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; religious buildings like the temples. But, is the temple a non-secular building at all today? Here is what Prasad Shetty debated in his graduate thesis about the subject. ... If one considers situations of highly non-secular spaces such as temples or mosques etc., our anarchist friends would argue that along with the whole concept of the temple or the mosque being fake, they have very conveniently adapted other unseen values. They have in-

114

stitutionalised the concept of God, and become the house of a belief. More than the house of God they are psychotherapy centers and refuge camps. They become the commanding points for the civilisation and house other Gods who would include a stone, a person or even money; they actually have become financial institutions. Considered as good architectural models by some romantics, they have become houses of leisure and pleasure. While the puritarian critics are right in all their statements about the temple, there are some other values, which are often overlooked by this forceful anarchist community. The temple provides accommodation and occupation to a sizeable section of the society. In the postindustrial third world where the class differences become a new caste system, it is only the temple that houses and accepts all members of the commercial society, the director of a multinational as well as a beggar. I think that the temple is far more secular in this respect than the elitist art gallery with Husainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paintings in it... The next question

that all religions ask is that what do you do once you are successful in bringing together people of similar faith into a space? How do you avoid meaningless wandering of people, a question that most of our museums and art galleries fail to answer? The answer is simple. You provide them with a set of rituals to follow after you have entered the space. This choreography can be as weird as joining hands to a statue, pouring milk on it, ringing a bell, bowing and prostrating to a wall, lighting candles, reciting songs and so on.

...

At this point, there should be a mention of museums and art galleries as architectural spaces. Can muse-

ums and art galleries do more than just display art? In Christianity, there is a narration of the final hours in the life of Jesus Christ, called the fourteen stations of the cross. These are intended to provide spiritual conviction to the followers of Christianity by remembering and depicting the agony and pain Christ took upon himself for the sinners on earth. These fourteen stations depict following events of Christ: 1. Jesus is condemned to death. 2. Jesus carries his cross. 3. Jesus falls the first time. 4. Jesus meets his mother. 5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross. 6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus 7. Jesus falls the second time 8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. 9. Jesus falls the third time. 10. Jesus is stripped of his garments. 11. Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed

115

to the cross. 12. Jesus dies on the cross. 13. Jesus is taken down from the cross (Deposition or Lamentation). 14. Jesus is laid in the tomb. Most Roman cathedrals have these stations along the side walls of the nave, depicting the events in artistic forms (usually sculptures). The tradition is to move around the stations to commemorate the 'Passion of Christ'.

14 Stations of the Cross, Portuguese Church, Calcutta (Kolkata)

116

Westminster Cathedral, London.

Imaginary secular twelve stations of old age.

Alain de Botton's proposal of imaginary twelve stations of old age (right) by comparing with Westminster Cathedral, London (left). Change in the arrangement of art in Tate Modern museum, London (below).

117

Sometimes, instead of gathering people into a building to follow the choreography, religions often gather people in the name of food. Meal being one of the major topics of concern in religions, they often prescribe food to lead a good and healthy life. Besides it also becomes a subject of charity. No one (forget religions) would discourage sharing food for it is the most uplifting activity of the soul for any human being keeping aside belief or disbelief. 1. Guru ka Langar Statistics: i) Total number of devotees fed daily = ~40,000 (twice on occasions). Total number of devotees served at a time = ~3,000 (within 30 minutes) Total number of volunteers = 300 permanent sewadars + other volunteers. ii) Area:

118

Total area devoted to cooking, washing and eating = 4900 sq. metres (70 m x 70 m). Langar timing = 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. iii) Raw materials: Flour = 100 quintal. Cereals = 25 quintal. Milk = 5000 litre. Sugar = 10 quintal. Pure ghee = 5 quintal. Gag cylinders (L.P.G.) = 100. (1 quintal = 100 kg) Everyday over eight quintals of sugar and seven quintals of daal are donated. Often, people also donate money to the langar funds. Occasionally devotees donate the expense of the entire langar for a day. This comes to 2 lakh rupees or $5,000. Each meal costs about 12 cents or Rs. 5. Considering the meal has rotis, daal, kheer and karah parshad (which one gets in the Gurdwara) the cost reflects the harmony and love of the preparation and service. The volunteer nature of the effort, the use of vegetarian concepts and the mass scale of operation are all reflected in the extremely low cost of the meal.

On April 20, 1998, a HukamNama from the Supreme Temporal Authority of the Sikhs, Akal Takhat Sahib, was issued to the entire Khalsa Panth in regards to Guru-Ka-Langar. The HukamNama, issued by Jathedar Singh Sahib Bhai Ranjit Singh Ji, after intense consultations with other Singh Sahibs, Sikh intellectuals, historians, and respected Sikh priests, directs all Sikh Gurdwaras to follow the centuries old Panthic tradition of partaking Guru-Ka-Langar in the form of a Pangat (on the floor). The HukamNama directed all Gurdwaras worldwide to remove any chairs and tables used for consuming Langar by the Shaheedee Gurpurab of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Sahib Jee in 1998.

119

In its very inception, a protest against the inequities of the caste system, the Sikh langar is a 'common refectory' attached to every Gurdwara. Guru Nanak had started a crusade against the tyrannies of the high born over the people of humble origin; and the Guru's langar was an institution which was promulgated in this holy campaign. A practical step to root out the evil which was eating into the very vitals of the Indian people, the free kitchen became the foundation of equality and fraternity, among the followers of the Guru.

120

If one studies aright the ideals of Sikhism, one would be simply impressed by a really unique feature: the secularization of service. And this ideal is most vividly practiced in the Guru's free kitchen, which is open to all. Those who profess other faiths are as freely allowed to partake of and help in the running of the kitchen as the followers of the Sikh faith themselves. No distinction is made between man and man, between the Sikhs and the non-Sikhs, between the high caste and the low caste, in the seating or serving food in the Guru's kitchen.

'Men of God, wherever they are, of whatever race or creed, belong to one community, the community of man, free from the chains of birth, creed and race.' The Sikh Gurus exhorted their followers to regard everyone as their own brother. We are brothers born of the same father. 'Our Father is one and we are all his children.' We are members of one family. All the Gurus showed in actual life how this percept of the 'Brotherhood of Man' was to be lived out; the free kitchen is perhaps the best demonstration of

the same Love and active sympathy for the downtrodden to lift and hug the fallen, and to share our earnings with the needy and the poor are some of the factors of a true religion. And the free kitchen is an institution where these noble ideals can be practiced. A Sikh Gurdwara is a central place of worship and langar is a place for serving each other. In a langar a mingling of all classes is provided and in dining together realization of the truth 'all food is gift of God and that prejudices about it are entirely invalid'.

121

Langar in a Sikh Gurdwara is the community kitchen. Every Sikh is expected to take part in the running of the kitchen. He may pay for the expenses, bring provisions or personally contribute labor of love, by cleaning utensils, fetching water or fuel, or taking a hand in cooking and distributing food. Puran Singh calls Guru's langar 'Temple of Bread' and says: 'What is a home, but a hospitable feasting of children with bread and love and faith? What is spiritual life in the temple of flesh, without a full meal first?

2. Seva Café Seva Café is a gift economy restaurant on C. G. Road, Ahmedabad based on a unique concept of charity. The roles of 'workers'/'owners' and 'customers' of a regular restaurant of a secular world are replaced by 'volunteers' and 'guests' respectively at Seva Café and any guest eating at the cafe can choose to pay,

122

not for his own meal, but for the meal of the next person eating at the cafe.

The cafe works on the noble idea of 'Circle of Giving' where any person can volunteer to serve at the cafe (prepare food, serve food, wash utensils, etc.) and offer the food as a gift to guests at the cafe. At the end of the meal, the guests receive an envelope containing, not a bill for what they had, but a plaque saying 'Pay from Heart' and one can choose to pay for the meal of the next guest and the circle goes on. It is important to note that this circle is always at a risk of snapping even if only one

guest chooses not to pay, but the cafe has been open for 7 years now, which says it all. Siddharth Sthalekar, a graduate from IIM, Ahmedabad (2005) helped reopen the cafe in September 2011 along with his wife. Siddharth was the co-head of the derivatives trading desk and the head of algorithmic trading at Edelweiss Capital until 2010 after which he quit his job to pursue his 'experiments in generosity'. Seva Café basically consists of: • an open kitchen • a terrace dining • a closed seating area • a small section for books • a stage • a handicraft store It is open for guests for four days a week (Thursday to Sunday) from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and serves about 50 guests every night. It has served more than 85000 meals till date and 100% of any profits are used to support social service projects.

123

A Business model of Seva CafĂŠ by students of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad pursuing masters degree in Strategic Design Management.

Value Proposition Participants Media Resources Seva CafĂŠ is run by 'Moved by Love', which is supported by a non-profit organization 'ServiceSpace'.

A unique nonprofit organization that ignites and supports small expressions of service through technology.

124

A volunteer-run space facilitating projects that shift our culture towards a greater sense of trust, con- A gift economy nection and community. restaurant.

Nipun Mehta, a software engineer from UC Berkeley, is the founder of ServiceSpace and practises 'Giftivism' - The practice of radically generous acts that change the world.

A gift economy, according to Mehta, is characterised by four shifts: 1. Consumption to contribution - Appreciate what you receive and pay it forward. 2. Transaction to trust - Rely on interconnections. 3. Isolation to community Cultivate a network of gift ties. 4. Scarcity to abundance Experience generative power of gratitude.

Inspired by the concept of a pay-it-forward restaurant like Seva Café, Ahmedabad, volunteers across cities like Bangalore and Mumbai came together to organise Seva Café in these cities too. The Cafe was first run in Bangalore on Dec 2, 2012 at the Vriksh Restaurant in Yelahanka New Town. Since then, it has been widely reported in the media, from TOI to Hindu to Time Out Bengaluru to The Alternative. Seva Café was first run in Mumbai on Jan 13th, 2013 at the Shantivan Garden: Generosity in Motion. It was held again in February and March. An initiative like this has its effects outside the bounds of the organisation too. For example, Udaybhai Jadav, a ricksaw driver in Ahmedabad and a volunteer at the Seva Café, provides his customers with all the facilities that make their travel comfortable, which includes a fan, magazines, an mp3 player, snacks and a dustbin. His generous attitude towards his

Smile card is another concept of ServiceSpace. How to use a smile card? 1. Do an anonymous act of kindness for someone. 2. Leave a smile card behind to encourage them to pay-it-forward. 3. Share your story here to spread the inspiration. 4. Change the world, one kind act at a time.

125

customers does not stop at this. He does not charge his customers according to the meter, but asks them to pay from heart and they are free to walk away without spending a single penny.

126

"The idea is to trust the assumption that every individual, irrespective of his economic standing, can be generous." -Siddharth Sthalekar

127

2. 1.

4. 3.

8. 9.

10. Plan axonometric view of Seva CafĂŠ (not to scale)

1. Lift 2. Entrance 3. Waiting area 4. Reading area 5. Indoor dining (air-conditioned)

128

6. Stage 7. Terrace dining 8. Kitchen 9. Handicraft store 10. Entrance

129

130

131

chapter VII

Culture

If one asks (ignoring and not debating about what belief system is true), what role religions play or have played in the society, one clear answer would be that they teach us how to live. They prescribe every action right from how many times to pray, to what to eat, to what to wear and even how many times to have sex. “The times for conjugal duty prescribed in the Torah are: for men of independent means, every day; for laborers, twice a week; for donkey drivers, once a week; for camel drivers, once in thirty days; for sailors, once in six months.” -Talmud, Ketubot 61b Note : Talmund is a central text of Judaism. The question then arises ‘what, in the absence of religion, would prescribe our way of living and determine our goals?’ In other

words ‘who would teach us how to live?’ One answer to this question was given in the nineteenth century Europe when the church began losing its ruling powers and the church and the state were separated. It was said that culture could replace religion. Matthew Arnold was an English poet and cultural critic of the nineteenth century. He worked as a school inspector for many years.

In his book 'Culture and Anarchy', he defined culture and therefore value of humanities in education. In simple words, culture, according to Arnold, is knowing everything that matters to us by means of best that has been thought and said in the world and applying the thus gained knowledge to our actions. Based on the above defini-

133

tion, following form the social grounds for culture: • Love for our neighbour. • Impulses towards action, help and beneficence. • Desire for stopping human error. • Clearing human confusion. • Diminishing the sum of human misery. • Noble aspiration to leave the world better and happier than we found it. Study of above would give actions for culture and hence, culture is study of perfection. Note what falls in the category of 'perfection' in Arnold's definition. John Stuart Mill was a nineteenth century British philosopher, economist and civil servant.

Mill, in his inaugural address to the University of

134

St. Andrews, London quoted about the purpose of universities -"It is not a place of professional education. Universities are not intended to teach the knowledge required to fit men for some special mode of gaining their livelihood. Their object is not to make skilful lawyers, or physicians, or engineers, but capable and cultivated human beings." Assuming that ‘teaching’ in a secular world is an activity that is the responsibility of institutions like schools and universities, it is time these institutions start designing their curriculum more efficiently. Pedagogy as a field is a much ignored practice in India. Our emphasis on vocational training is to such an extent that we often ignore Arnold's education system based on teaching culture and Mill's idea about the aim of educational institutions. It is important to scrutinize what falls in the scope of educational institutions. The question then arises that does

teaching a way of life fall in the realm of educational institutions or their aim is purely vocational? Having said this, attempts have been made worldwide (also spread in India) to make the practice of teaching and learning more experience-based rather than learning by book. One such attempt is a parallel educational system called 'Waldorf education'. Waldorf education is an approach to education based on philosophies of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), an Austrian philosopher.

This new system was said to be loosely based on Steiner's ideas of anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy that he developed and applied to fields of pedagogy, agriculture, medicine and also architecture and various fields of arts. However, anthroposophy is a philosophy of various beliefs that Steiner had about spiritual development of human beings and Waldorf education does not encourage teaching this philosophy in theory. It is therefore better to avoid talking about anthroposophy while discussing Waldorf education as an educational system. The first Waldorf School opened its doors in September 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany, under the sponsorship of the Waldorf-Astoria Company. The director of the company sought to provide a new kind of education for the children of the factory workers -- a comprehensive and highly cultural education that would help them to become creative and balanced individuals in the fullest

135

sense. This new kind of education was to work towards cultural renewal as an antidote to the despair gripping Central Europe and its young people in the aftermath of World War I. Following the war, the Waldorf Schools rapidly spread through Europe, North and South America, to South Africa, Canada, United States, Australia, and New Zealand. There are now over 2000 Waldorf (or Steiner) schools and kindergartens in over 40 countries. From the very beginning, when Steiner's Waldorf schools began in Germany in 1919, he turned toward holistic methods, seeking an interconnecting ground for the teaching of art and science. Steiner believed that a sense of individual totality, based on personal freedom and unpossessive love, could enhance perception. By weaving these into teaching methods, Steiner hoped to create a seminal model of education so powerful that there would soon be no continuing need for the prototype Waldorf schools. How did these schools

136

differ from others? Primarily in the emphasis on the arts and the inner life. Said Steiner simply, "Waldorf school education is not a pedagogical system but an art - the art of awakening what is actually there within the human being." Steiner understood the problems of our strong intellectual bias -- and of parental expectations of success in money, power, and social adaptation. To override such repressive pressures, he felt a higher view was necessary -- one that took into account the purpose of man's development. Steiner had such a view. He called it Anthroposophy and he stressed the idea of growth and change, believing that a new kind of education could pave the way for man's next evolutionary stage. What makes Steiner's work valuable today? First of all, it asks questions, "What is a human being?" His answer, which includes reverence for life -- as taught in every class -- expresses the true connections among nature, person, and society. It is dedicated to inner development, to the education of spiritual qualities, ego strength, differentiation, will, thinking, feel-

ing, movement - and even breathing. For instance, in Steiner's curriculum, science is taught with a concern for human values; religion is not the only route in our sense of meaning and of belonging; art is a route that helps reveal nature's secrets. Each individual school takes on the character of different creative personalities, free of institutional rigidity and state control. Steiner advised against a merely intellectual school day, firmly believing in the seriousness of play; all main lessons have recreational aspects. Students document their ideas by writing and drawing in special notebooks. Art is taught not to make children into artists, but to expose them to the healing influence of colour and in order to develop their sense of independent judgement, to exercise their creative wills, and to counteract the tendency of our time to set the imagination apart from learning. Music is also viewed as a basic component of learning. Life, said Steiner, is intrinsically musical. Interval, tone, polyphony -- all affect our thinking and ordering of experience. Thus in Waldorf edu-

cation, music may be interwoven with botany, geometry, astronomy. Dance is taught as a combination of sound, motion, and language -- and expressed in a unique form called Eurythmy. (As with most Waldorf lessons, this multipleskill exercise appears to synchronize several different sectors of the brain.) Steiner also encouraged his teachers to include the elements of humour and surprise. Eighty four years after the first Waldorf School was established there still remains a need for this special type of education -- and its whole systems approach to human capabilities. Researchers as diverse as Howard Gardner, Jane Healy, Joseph Chilton Pearce, Reuven Feuerstein, and Bob Samples are now calling for multiple approaches that reach into the whole brain and echo Steiner's comprehensive vision. One more idea for revolutionizing education system occurred in India by Jiddu Krishnamurti, a great and sometimes controversial speaker and writer. Krishnamurti saw education as a re-

137

ligious activity and believed that modern education is failing to solve world's problems because of lack of sacredness attached to it. He believed that children must be taught rightly so that they grow up to be religious human beings. Here is what Scott Forbes writes about Krishnamurti's approach to the nature of education "From the full body of his work, we can conclude that, for Krishnamurti, edu-

138

cation is: 1. Educating the whole person (all parts of the person), 2. Educating the person as a whole (not as an assemblage of parts) 3. Educating the person within a whole (as part of society, humanity, nature, etc.) from which it is not meaningful to extract that person. From the above it probably goes without saying, though it can not be said often enough, education is not about preparation for only a part of life (like work) but is about preparation for the whole of life and the deepest aspects of living. ". Krishnamurti founded several schools around the world, including Brockwood Park School, his only international educational center. When asked, he enumerated the following as his educational aims: 1. Global outlook: A vision of the whole as distinct from the part; there should never be a sectarian outlook, but always a holistic outlook free from all prejudice. 2. Concern for man and the envi-

ronment: Humanity is part of nature, and if nature is not cared for, it will boomerang on man. Only the right education, and deep affection between people everywhere, will resolve many problems including the environmental challenges. 3. Religious spirit, which includes the scientific temper: The religious mind is alone, not lonely. It is in communion with people and nature. Krishnamurti felt that the physical nature of educational centres was very important. He maintained that we are affected or informed by and therefore educated by far more than we suspect, and this is especially true of young impressionable minds. The schools Krishnamurti founded are very beautiful places, and this is not by accident. Beauty is important, not just because it is pleasing, but because sensitivity to beauty is related to being religious and indispensable to the healthy growth of a child. Perhaps we should include in this discussion on aesthetics what Krishnamurti felt about nature and education. This makes

sense in that for Krishnamurti, nature was both beautiful and a demonstration of order. The educational centres Krishnamurti founded are invariably in parks or countryside. This was not just because he felt that nature was pleasing, but because he felt that a relationship with nature had important implications for living sanely and to a relationship with the sacred. He would not, however, condemn as hopeless, inner-city schools that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have such luxuries, because nature was wholly available in the smallest part; a blade of grass, a house plant, or a gold fish. " If you establish a relationship with it [nature] then you have relationship with mankindâ&#x20AC;Ś But if you have no relationship with the living things on this earth you may lose whatever relationship you have with humanity, with human beings." - (Krishnamurti 1987)

139

140

chapter VIII

Site

The criteria for site selection is simple. Since the aim of this thesis is to address the community and self reflective emptiness of the people by bringing them to the basics of human survival, it is important for the site to be located within an urban setting, easily accessible to the urban population, the ones deprived of these basics. Having said this, it is also important for the selected site to be equally cut off from the urban disturbances traffic, poor sanitation, hectic occupations, etc. Also, nature needs to have its presence in its raw form on the site because of its inherent quality to induce contemplation. The site thus selected is located in the middle of Mumbai (literally) on the banks of Powai lake. It lies approximately 5 km away from the Western Express Highway (NH8) and the East-

ern Express Highway (NH3) in the middle of both. The east-west approach to the site is through the JogeshwariVikhroli Link Road (JVLR) and north-south approach is through the Saki-Vihar Road. The existing 40 acre land is owned by the BMC and is being developed as a garden under the name 'Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyan' or better known as Powai garden. 12 acres has already been planned and implemented. The implemented design for the garden includes a series of lawns, terraces, promenades, ponds and also a play ground. There is also an existence of a municipal school on the site and part of the site is also leased to Maharashtra State Angling Association (MSAA). MSAA was formed in 1935 and has a strong presence in the area since then. It is an association of a selected group of members (most of them are high profile) who are allowed angling in the lake

141

142

143

and can take part in various activities of the association. The BMC has allowed fishing as an activity at present because the water of the lake is not being used for drinking purpose on account of its pollution by surrounding settlements and growth of high amounts of water hyacinth in the lake. MSAA possesses approximately 80 houseboats, on which members with their families and friends can spend the weekend, and 30 ordinary fishing boats. Membership to the association is offered to a limited few because of the responsibility the activity carries. Since MSAA is also associated and responsible for the conservation of the lake, they cannot afford any pollution caused by the boats of the anglers on the lake. Also, the

144

presence of crocodiles in the lake adds a little danger quotient to the activity.

Angling in Powai lake is more like a sport rather than an occupation. Many members of the association claim to put the fishes caught back inside the water after clicking a photograph of the catch. Many even confess of

undertaking this activity in order to get away from their busy urban lives and contemplate. One cannot deny the site's capacity of offering a quiet and contemplative atmosphere in the middle of the city. Even today, one can easily find people sitting on a boulder, alone, doing nothing but thinking or a group of children trying to compete

with the anglers of MSAA or a couple in love trying to find solitude from people. The land is mostly rocky and slopes at most places. This gives rise to a particular type of natural growth on the land. Most of the trees are deciduous that bear beautiful flowers for some months annually; some examples being Sterculia urens, Bombax ceiba, Erythrina indica, etc.

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

153

chapter IX

Program

Project is broadly divided into 4 sub-programs - Voluntary cafe, non-vocational school, science center and contemplating residencies. 1. Voluntary cafe Although a cafe, dining is not the primary function of the building. Food just being an excuse, the idea of the building is interaction of conflicting ideas. Design of the building is thus inward looking even though it being on a beautiful location. The performance stage then becomes an important part of the cafe. It becomes a stage to share ideas, mostly contradicting. Also, the cafe also aims at bringing its visitors and volunteers to the basics of human survival. Growing your own food then becomes important as an activity for a place that serves food. Be-

cause of availability of a lot of open space on the site, a proposal to carry out farming and gardening seems to be feasible idea. It will serve dual purposes. One, make the cafe self sufficient in terms of maximum of its supplies. Two, generate revenue for the functioning of the cafe which is based on a voluntary concept. 2. Non-vocational school Since the program invites a lot of opposing ideas to be together, introducing children into the picture will add neutrality to the project. The last reason anyone could fight is for children, isn't it? Ask a parent this and you will find the answer. The idea here is to make children an example by action. This is done by proposing the course for the school in such a manner that the students also volunteer to work in the cafe. Another aim of this school is to question the aim of education in this voca-

155

tional training-centric world; to address the larger aim of education to teach how to live rather than how to earn. 3. Science center The central, and I would even say, the only aim of this building is to provide perspective to live life. The most secular way to do this would be through science. Mere knowledge of our place in the cosmos, the history of the origin of our universe and the concept of spacetime is enough to do this. The newly gained perspective can bring about a lot of optimism and can be an instrument of world peace. 4. Contemplating residence Being the beautiful site that the selected one is, one cannot help but make use of its ability to induce thought. The idea of this building is exactly opposite to the idea of the cafe. The aim here is induce loneliness

156

to encourage talk to the self. It is when this happens, that great ideas are born. One of the aims of this set of buildings is to slow down time. The buildings serve as a retreat providing spaces for leisure activities like reading, cooking, painting, bathing, massages and psychotherapy treatments.

Building program Waiting area Library/reading area Dining Performance stage Community kitchen and cooking school Farm/vegetable garden Storage Toilets Classrooms

Library Faculty room Administration

Performance hall

Toilets Future expansion Lobby/Reception Planetarium

Exhibition

Administration

Stargazing terrace

Sub program

1 1

25 50 160 0 30 170

0.50 0.99 3.18 75 seating. 0.00 50 seating. 0.60 3.38 20 volunteers.

50 35 80 90 150

1 1 2 2 1

0 50 35 160 180 150

0.00 0.99 0.70 3.18 3.57 2.98

Office

150 150 150 180 80 18

1 1 1 1 1 3

150 150 150 180 80 54

2.98 2.98 2.98 3.57 1.59 1.07

Pantry Space for working staff Auditorium Backstage

25 50 280 60

1 1 1 1

25 50 280 60

120 177 12

1 1 1

0 120 177 12

0.50 0.99 5.56 1.19 Green room, changing rooms and projection room 1.39 Catering the classrooms and faculty rooms. 0.00 2.38 3.52 15 m diameter dome, 100 seating. 0.24

12 400 320

1 1 1

12 400 320

0.24 7.94 6.36

0.00

Indoor Outdoor dining

Teaching rooms Activity rooms Art and ceramic classroom Music classroom Wood working shop Earth science lab

Theatre Projection equipment room Box office Indoor exhibition space Semi-indoor exhibition space Outdoor exhibition space

Contemplating chambers

Circulation and services

25 50 160

1 1 1

30 170

Storage Office

15 15

3 2

45 30

Space for working staff

Recording studio Editing Studio

15 20

1 1

15 20 0 35

300

25 25 25 25 30

4 2 1 1 4

100 50 25 25 120

40 100 600

2 2 1

80 200 600 5035

Toilets Residential retreat

Area (sq.m) Nos. Gross area (sq.m) Percentage (%) Notes

Main hall Bedroom Massage room Facial room Psychotherapy room ropom Chamber of reading Chamber of cooking Chamber of bathing

Catering the dining and kitchen. 25 students, Including storage. 25 students, Including storage. 25 students, Including storage. 25 students, Including storage. 25 students, Including storage. 25 students, Including storage. For 8-10 faculty. For the principal, vice-principal and chairman

0.89 0.60 One for planetarium director and museum curator each. 1.79 For technician, production incharge and other staff 0.30 0.40 0.00 0.70 Catering the exhibition spaces and planetarium. 5.96 Includes reception, seating and dining areas. 1.99 0.99 0.50 0.50 2.38 Can be used for reading, painting, music, praying. 1.59 Can be used for cooking and dining. 3.97 Used for bathing. 11.92 100.00

157

158

chapter X

Epilogue

What began as a search for religious architecture for atheists has led to a search for what religiousness is for a theist and how can the same be applied in case of atheists in the most secular way possible. The architecture thus produced is a lab, a place of experiment, a place where risks are taken, the aim of which is something that touches the soul. The resultant spiritual architecture then produced does not brand itself on the basis of motifs, colours, food or music. It brands itself with something much more universal. Nothing can be more universal than nature itself. A building that takes form from light are the most spiritual ones. Most of Louis Kahn's buildings are religious in that sense then, aren't they? The church of light is then one of the best examples of a secular spiritual building, isn't it?

The question whether God exists or not still remains unanswered. Even though it wasn't the scope of this thesis, it definitely was how it all started. To address this scope, I would like to conclude the book with a story. Blind city It was just another day in the city. The structure of society was similar to what we are aware of. People had to contribute to avail facilities of the society. Everyone had a duty to perform in return of which they received their rights. But it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the city you and I live in. Going to a new place in the city was a pain. Not because the transport system was bad or the roads were too complicated. It was because no one knew the correct way or the shortest way. Maybe the reason was that they all were blind. Time required to reach a new destination was

159

uncertain. It took people hours, days or even months to reach the destination. Some did not even reach and died on the way or settled in a place on their way. Others reached the wrong destination which they assumed or claimed to be the right one and died in delusion. No one knew where the city was or how it came into existence. In spite of several attempts no one could go out of the city. People often came into the city from outside but all of those were blind too. No one had seen the other. They only recognized them by their voices. There was a new arrival in the city that day. People obviously could not see him but could hear his voice. Every one welcomed him with warmth. After having chatted for some time, the new arrival made a startling revelation. He claimed to be visually abled. People were confused. They never knew what

160

seeing was. He explained them what it is to be able to see. He claimed that he can show them the most efficient way to their destinations. No one will be lost again. At first, people were sceptical. How does one believe in such a claim? How does one prove his abled vision? He told everyone that the sky was blue and the grass was green, but how does one really know if it really is so? Since he did not ask for anything in return, people decided to give it a try. From that day onwards everyone in the city asked him for directions. Some destinations were near whereas others were far away. Irrespective of the travel distance people asked him for directions and he fulfilled his promise and directed them. This happened for a year. After one year, people realized something. They understood a pattern. After all, pattern finding is one of the reasons that separates humans from

other animals. They realized that people who travelled short distances according to the prescribed path, often reached their destinations; whereas the ones who were prescribed the longer travel distances did not often reach their destinations. There were two flaws in this realization. One, no one checked the short distance people who claimed to have reached their destination for delusion. Two, they even ignored pure logic that the probability of getting lost increases as the distance increases. Slowly the city was divided into two groups. One believed the abled vision and other did not. The first group included all the short distance travellers and other included all the long distance travellers. The people who wanted to go far continued living their life exactly like they did before the new arrival. They kept on searching for their destinations. Most of the

time, they did not succeed. All they had at the end of their lives was the knowledge they gained from their travels. The knowledge they gained from going into the wrong and unplanned roads. They did not die in discontent. Following days were just another days in the city. Maybe it was the city you and I live in. ~

161