Khabar, Saurashtra ni by Devashree & Sneha

from Khabar, Vasant Ni | Issue 1 | 2021

Meandering through the Studios

Art Deco movement in architecture is distinguished from its façades and the prominent elements it brings together. It symbolised modernity and showcased an approach of being ahead of its time. The emergence of a new residential neighbourhood typology with aspirations rooted in West, Deco travelled places. As Abha Narain Lambah mentioned, this trend came with Bombay’s Gujarati and Marwari businessmen, Parsi industrialists and Royals of the princely state. Bombay deco today has become a movement, as the city holds one of the largest repositories of Art deco buildings. Parallel to that a lot of ideological and cultural exchange between Bombay and Saurashtra; until its separation in 1961, has brought in this unique visual identity to such remote corners of our country.

These very striking structures are located on the most prominent squares in the city. One would have to infer into the vocabulary of Deco elements to recognise these desi European styles as there are possibilities of owners aspiration to emulate a particular structure in Bombay; and we believe that’s what makes these buildings very unique and fascinating. Sometimes major companies would carry on this architectural language to its smaller headquarters enabling deco to travel to these smaller centres. One such company was GEC radio. Their iconic deco magnet houses are there in Calcutta and Mumbai, which surprisingly we may also find a small office peeking on our Dharmendra road too. Being immediately recognisable through its form and elements, we could identify the ones in Rajkot through their stream line or elongated forms like the Green lodge near Dharmendra road and Dhanvantri building in Rajputpara, their continuous cantilevered projections on Canal road, distinct name-plates and crown on Dhebar road and numerous geometrical grilles and railings near Karanpara, Kaapad bazaar and Danapith. We are surrounded by such structures worthy of being restored and protected as heritage, in our aspiration for development let us not get carried away and be slightly more sensitized towards these remnants of time.

**Elaborate corner structures with stream-line façades**

Wandering through the old city of Rajkot near Prahlad plot, Karanpara and Rajputpara one is often amazed at a surprisingly beautiful shift in building typology. Today when we are facing identity crisis of the apartment typology that is rapidly matching up, tucked away in rugged corners are these deco gems. Art Deco became popular in Europe during late 1920’s and has unexpectedly reached to a tiny Western city in India.

People embraced it, by carving their own regional identity within it. Regional Deco hence became a prominent style in India a few decades later; incorporating traditional iconography with individualistic climate responsive elements and its European flair.