Celebrating Public Spaces of India

C E L E B R AT I N G

Public Spaces of

INDIA

Archana Gupta and Anshuman Gupta Foreword by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik

C E L E B R AT I N G

Public Spaces of

INDIA

A first of its kind, Celebrating Public Spaces of India is a bold attempt at understanding architecture as a defining feature in the identity of space, particularly the idea of the ‘public space’ and its influence on evolving modes of urbanism in India. Through a carefully curated list of vibrant landmarks across India, this volume explores and highlights the sociocultural-functional strength of public spaces within the urban fabric of cities.

The authors identify and analyze more than fifty landmarks across the length and breadth of India; bustling bazaars, cultural hubs, historic monuments, waterfronts and religious spaces all find a place in this volume, in an attempt to understand the mechanics of these built and open structures, and their influences on urban cityscapes.

Featuring evocative photographs and drawings, in addition to insightful original research, Celebrating Public Spaces of India is an invaluable resource for anyone wishing to understand the nature of the ‘Indian urban public space’.

With 124 images, 26 illustrations and 27 plans.

front cover Shore temple of Mahabalipuram, UNESCO World Heritage Site back cover The ghats on the Pushkar Lake, Ajmer

C E L E B R AT I N G

Public Spaces of

INDIA

2

C E L E B R AT I N G

Public Spaces of

INDIA

Archana Gupta and Anshuman Gupta

Foreword by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik

Mapin Publishing 3

First published in India in 2017 by Mapin Publishing 706 Kaivanna, Panchvati, Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad 380006 INDIA Simultaneously published in the United States of America in 2017 by Grantha Corporation E: mapin@mapinpub.com distributors North America Antique Collectors’ Club T: +1 800 252 5231 • F: +413 529 0862 E: info@antiquecc.com www.antiquecollectorsclub.com United Kingdom and Europe Gazelle Book Services Ltd. T: +44 1 5246 8765 • F: +44 1524 63232 E: sales@gazellebooks.co.uk www.gazellebookservices.co.uk Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar Paragon Asia Co. Ltd T: +66 2877 7755 • F: +66 2468 9636 E: info@paragonasia.com Malaysia Areca Books T: +604 2610307 E: arecabooks@gmail.com Rest of the World Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd T: +91 79 40 228 228 • F: +91 79 40 228 201 E: mapin@mapinpub.com www.mapinpub.com Text and images © Archana Gupta and Anshuman Gupta except those listed on photo credits ISBN: 978-93-85360-08-4 (Mapin) ISBN: 978-1-935677-66-6 (Grantha) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Copyediting and Proofreading: Ankona Das / Mapin Editorial Editorial supervision: Neha Manke / Mapin Editorial Design: Gopal Limbad / Mapin Design Studio Design Support: Darshit Mori / Mapin Design Studio Production: Rakesh Manger / Mapin Design Studio Printed in India by Gopsons Papers Ltd

Pages 2–3 Tourists enjoy the monsoon showers at Gateway of India, Mumbai Pages 4–5 Sadar Bazaar, Jodhpur (see p. 88) Pages 6–7 Pilgrims congregate for the Kumbh Mela at Har Ki Pauri

5

6

Contents Preface

8

Foreword

10

Introduction

14

Public Buildings and Monument Plazas

24

City Squares and Cultural Spaces

42

City-level Urban Parks

62

Bazaar Streets and Market Places

80

Waterfront Spaces

102

Religious Spaces

122

Ancient Heritage Monument Spaces

148

The Way Forward

160

Bibliography

164

Photo credits

165

Acknowledgements

168

Preface Public spaces are a window into the city’s soul. —Sharon Zukin

A public space is a social space that is generally open and accessible to people. It may be a city level converging spot or part of a neighbourhood, business district, historic precinct, waterfront spaces or other area within the public realm that help promote social interaction and a sense of community.

Possible examples may include spaces such as city plazas, town squares, marketplaces, high streets and malls, city level parks and public greens, water edge boulevard and spaces, open spaces within public buildings or public spaces within private buildings.

Good urban public spaces are understood as areas in a city where social interactions and economic exchanges taking place give birth to a strong sense of community and commerce; where friends meet, strangers interact and lovers romance; where the homeless or the dejected ponder deeply over what to do next, kids run around and have endless fun; and also where political demonstrations, religious processions and cultural celebrations take place. They are accessible, have a friendly environment and there are trees to provide shade, there are benches to sit and safe places to walk. The place is safe for old people and women, and largely speaking these places become the melting pot of various cultures within the social fabric of the city or the neighbourhood. Vibrant public places are both democratic and equitable in nature; they do not differentiate between people on the basis of religion, caste or economic criteria. These places belong to the homeless, who spend the nights sleeping here, as much as they belong to the millionaire who comes here for a morning walk/jog, in his Mercedes. These places belong to and are easily accessible to everyone.

If we look at the great urban public spaces within the realm of our cities in India, we would realize that many of the above

8

criteria do not necessarily become the most identifiable

schema within the city, these spaces have evolved into very

features—many of our public spaces are crowded, chaotic,

happening, crowded, cultural spaces in the city fabric, eg.

dirty and unsafe, yet they are beautifully alive—throbbing with

temple square at Jagannath Puri

vitality and dynamics. They seem to work with internal logics not perceivable to the naked eye, almost as if with a sense of

(3) These spaces are geographically built and available, and

metaphysical value. The apparent chaos and disorder here, on

their experience has been accentuated by means of some

close observation, actually consists of several layers of order,

intelligent and sensitive design intervention by the city

all superimposed. These spaces celebrate their democratic and

planners, eg. Marine Drive, Mumbai

multifaceted nature and offer something of functional utility and value to everyone.

(4) These are spaces which through their incidental location in the overall city scheme have over the years become a focus

We need to identify the geographic, demographic, social and

point as the city has grown around them, eg. South Extension

functional characteristics of these public spaces to attempt to

Market, Delhi

understand their richness and beauty. Essential requirements would be to understand its location within the geography of

Functionally, these spaces can be broadly classified into the

the city, layout and connectivity with important activity nodes

following categories:

and areas in the city, its economic, social, ethnic diversity and

1. Public Buildings and Monument Plaza

functional dynamics. It is equally important to note whether

2. City Squares and Cultural Spaces

specific planning efforts and formal design contributed to

3. City Level Urban Parks

create a sustained and enhanced character of the public space,

4. Bazaar Streets and Market Places

or if the space formed historically, or even in an organic manner

5. Waterfront Spaces

(and not through a formal planning process) and grew in its

6. Religious Spaces

importance as the city grew around it. These public spaces

7. Ancient Heritage Monument Spaces

are found to be of four kinds when examined from a built form perspective;

This book is an attempt to capture and explore the liveliness and the essence of such public spaces and understand the

(1) These are designed spaces, outcome of a designed master

dynamics of what makes these spaces alive and vibrant.

plan, where this space was intentionally carved out in its

The main focus throughout remains to re-define our gaze,

current form as part of formal design intervention, eg.

understand and celebrate the liveliness, timelessness and

Connaught Place inner circle and it’s central park in New Delhi.

beauty of these great Indian Urban Public Spaces.

(2) These are historic spaces, parts of old historic towns or monuments, which originally had a specific design function and scale, but now many hundred years later, in its current

9

Foreword

Both Indian mythology and Greek mythology refer to creatures

Could it be that ‘unorganized’ means not under central

that are composites of other creatures. While India has the

command? One without a monotheistic view of things? When

‘Nava-gunjara’(Vishnu in the composite form of nine animals),

things are not under one command, then different people think

Greece has the ‘Chimera’(a fire-breathing monster having

differently and this is seen as anarchy in the west where there

disparate parts of three different animals). But while Nava-

is one right way of doing things. In India, where polytheism

gunjara represents divinity, Chimera represents chaos and

has always flourished, everyone thinking never created chaos.

monstrosity; while the former is celebrated, the latter needs to

At the boundary between ‘mine’ and ‘not mine’ negotiations

be tamed or killed. Inspite of the creatures’ sameness of hybrid

took place and order emerged as everyone balanced their need

compositions, they have contradictory functional roles. So, is

with that of their neighbour. The result has almost always

the problem with the beast or the gaze? I am convinced it is

been an effective system, though maybe not the most efficient

the gaze. It is the duality of this ‘gaze’ that fears India’s chaotic

one. Polytheism is messy and can never be efficient but it

nature, thinking that it will collapse if not tamed, ordered and

accommodates every one. Monotheism is highly efficient but

organized.

demands alignment to one way of thinking. It is this difference in gaze that looks down upon traditional Indian cities (as

Across most traditional Indian towns, typically, the roads

compared to their Western counterparts) and seeks perfect

are narrow and they wind into a labyrinth lined with shops

order and disciplined urban planning.

that have served customers for hundreds of years; money is exchanged, value is generated. Yet, this is dismissed as the

So you build a planned city! For whom is this planned city built?

‘unorganized’ sector. Every shop is well organized in its own

Is it for the rich and educated India or the aspirational India

right though the bazaar with its sounds and shapes looks

or the surviving India or the India below the poverty line? The

rather chaotic. There is microcosmic order in macrocosmic

notion of “context” does not exist in modern thought; it only

chaos. Why then is it deemed unorganized? Is it because our

exists because it is “politically correct”. If there were a genuine

educated gaze compares it with the malls of cities, especially

acceptance of the idea of “context” then few would be obsessed

Western cities?

with planning and laws. Planning demands knowledge of most, if not all, variables as it aims to create a predictable

10

space. But in a country like India, with a diverse population,

19th-century economic and political theories, taking a reference

not just economically, but also linguistically, and culturally,

from the cities of Europe and North America. These cities

there are too many variables to predict. The context is both

reflect a European and American mindset—they are not ‘global’

dramatically different and unique.

and cannot be generalized.

Our cities are a combination of organic (slums) and inorganic

Today, Indian cities and public spaces within them are fast

(planned). Poor migrants build the organic while the inorganic

evolving, and being driven by global economy, Western

is built with the support of the state machinery. To assume

influences and rapid urbanization. As we shift from smaller

we will have enough resources to have fully planned cities is a

and more manageable scale of towns and habitation to the

dream. We have to factor in reality using available resources

massive scale and spread of mega-cities, the level of complexity

to create a settlement which is actually not as chaotic as

increases manifold. We strive for the perfection and clinical

people imagine it to be. The organic and inorganic forces need

order of Western cities, without acknowledging and planning

to communicate and integrate with each other in a vibrant,

for the difference in our ground (socio-cultural-economic)

unpredictable yet synchronized world.

realities. The social, economic and religious fabric of the Indian society is polytheistic and heterogenous. The city’s

The words—chaos, raunaq, bazaar, congested, dirty, etc.—are

stakeholders need to create sustainable and interconnected

often associated with the traditional Indian city which has

ecosystems within the city fabric to allow the organic to

in it implicit the many multi layers of activities, rituals and

constructively engage and mutually coexist with the inorganic.

multivalent functions which coexist in harmony despite the apparent chaos. The notion of public spaces emerges through

This book is an attempt to capture and explore the vitality,

the tension between the various human and natural orders.

liveliness and essence of some of the great public spaces across Indian cities. The main focus remains to re-define our gaze,

In the context of the contemporary Indian city, we need to ask

appreciate the multiple layers that constitute the complex

what it brings to the table culturally and psychologically, not

urban fabric of our cities and celebrate the apparent chaos!

materially. The gaze currently is materialistic based on Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik

11

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Amritsar

Shimla PUNJAB

Rishikesh Haridwar

UTTARAKHAND

Nainital

HARYANA

ARUNACHAL PRADESH

Delhi

Gurgaon

Gangtok

RAJASTHAN

Pushkar Jodhpur

Jaipur

Agra Fatehpur Sikri

SIKKIM

UTTAR PRADESH

Guwahati ASSAM

Lucknow

Ajmer

Allahabad

Varanasi

JHARKHAND

MADHYA PRADESH

I

Ahmedabad

GUJARAT

N

D

Bhopal

Imphal MANIPUR

Bodhgaya

Udaipur

Dwarka

MEGHALAYA

BIHAR

NAGALAND

TRIPURA WEST BENGAL

I

A

MIZORAM

Kolkata

CHHATTISGARH ORISSA MAHARASHTRA

Puri

Mumbai TELANGANA

Hyderabad Pattadakal Panjim

GOA

KARNATAKA

Bengaluru

Chennai Mahabalipuram

DS

EP WE AD SH

Thanjavur

LAN R IS

LAK

12

TAMIL NADU KERALA

BA NICO ANDAMAN AND

ANDHRA PRADESH

Hampi

Madurai

Based upon Survey of India maps with the permission of the Surveyor General of India. ©2016 Mapin Publishing. Responsibility for the correctness of internal details shown on the main map rests with the publisher.

Agra Tajganj Ahmedabad Teen Darwaza Law Garden C.G. Road Manek Chowk

Hampi Virupaksha Temple Haridwar Uttarakhand Hyderabad Hussain Sagar Charminar

Sabarmati Riverfront

Imphal Khwairamband Bazaar

Kankaria Lake

Jaipur Tripolia Bazaar

Ajmer Dargah Bazaar

Jodhpur Sadar Bazaar

Allahabad Kumbh Mela Amritsar

Kolkata Maidan

Jallianwala Bagh

Prinsep Ghat

Wagah Border

Lucknow Hazratganj

Golden Temple Bengaluru Lal Bagh Cubbon Park

Madurai Meenakshi Temple Mahabalipuram Shore temple Mumbai

M.G. Road

Azad Maidan

Bhopal Bhojtal

Gateway of India

Bodhgaya Mahabodhi Temple

Shivaji Park

Chennai Marina Beach Delhi

Kala Ghoda Marine Drive Juhu Beach

India Gate

Nainital Mall Road

Pragati Maidan

Panjim Goa

Red Fort Surajkund Mela Dilli Haat Connaught Place Ramlila Maidan Lodhi Garden Chandni Chowk Jama Masjid Dwarka Gujarat Fatehpur Sikri Uttar Pradesh Gangtok M.G. Marg Gurgaon Cyber Hub Guwahati Kamakhya Temple

Public Buildings and Monument Plazas

Pattadakal Sangameshwara Temple

City Squares and Cultural Spaces

City-level Urban Parks

and Galganath Temple Puri Bada Danda Chowk

Bazaar Streets and Market Places

Pushkar Rajasthan Rishikesh Uttarakhand Shimla Mall Road

Waterfront Spaces

Srinagar Lal Chowk Thanjavur Brihadeeswarar Temple

Religious Spaces

Udaipur Pichola Lake Varanasi Uttar Pradesh

Ancient Heritage Monument Spaces

13

Introduction In any city, the architecture is usually a defining feature in

A city without shared public

understanding the identity of the space — it becomes a part

spaces is a city without culture,

Architecture is invariably associated with that which is ’built’.

of the conscious attempt at what the city projects itself to be.

without history.

But a city is almost in an equal measure defined by that which

— Charles Correa

we need to see cities as the sum of its multitude of spaces and

is ’unbuilt’. Architects see cities as buildings and streets, but people’s interactions in them as a reflection of their culture.

We know that an active and vibrant public space is an integral part of a city. It replaces and to an extent also substitutes for the traditional idea of community. It is where social interactions happen, festivals and celebrations take place, where an exchange of ideas and commodities occur, and in fact where cultures are allowed to breathe and intermix. It has been said that a good public space is akin to being the foregrounds of our public institutions – parliament, courts, universities, municipalities, government institutions, neighbourhood schools – where we interact with each other and deal with the government. Good spaces serve as a stage on which the daily drama of a city’s public lives is enacted. They provide a unique window into the socio-cultural fabric of the city – they are indicators of how citizens interact and engage in the public domain.

14

There are four major cornerstones which define our framework: 1. Indian

2. Urban

3. Public

4. Space

Each of the above elements has a unique identity and set of defining characteristics—it is when the four engage into a single time / space matrix that it gains particular interest.

Considering that diverse cultures, regions and religions operate at different levels regarding what can be considered as acceptable boundaries of public vis-a-vis private, the nature of this space is constantly changing – and is characterized within an ‘Indian’ context by a set of parameters that are unique to spaces that exist and co-exist in India. At an academic level, we understand that public spaces across the world share certain aspects of accessibility, activity, comfort, and security—yet within and in spite of these common themes, our attempt is to explore the nuances of difference within these public spaces around us and understand what makes them come alive. What is it that makes some places alive and happening while others remain non-descript. To begin understanding this complex phenomenon, one could perhaps begin by exploring what each of the four cornerstones mean.

15

16

Indian: The concept of “Indian” across the world and even across history has been open to much speculation. Leaving aside the conventional notions of region and geography, economics, religion and caste and even politics and demography, a prime question has been: how do Indians perceive themselves? What characteristics can we attribute to the notion of “Indian” to explain what the term encapsulates?

Ideas like a growing economy, a strong education system, emerging services and technology hubs, jugaad, the varieties of crafts, the quintessential Bollywood, strength of the family unit, the lure of the new-age television industry and reality shows reflecting aspirations of millions of urban poor, a daily negotiation of the modern through traditional values, the acceptance of “sab chalta hai” (read mediocrity) attitude and above all a laboured survival, are to name only a few of the many characteristics that make for the term “Indian”. They are mainly characteristics of what has been defined by sociologists as the “soft power” of a nation. For casual observers, the vibrancy manifests in the sheer numbers of people, colours, traditions as an organized chaos and begins to be a reflection of what they perceive as Indian. Indian democracy and its demonstration in the public domain plays a key role in determining what the important identities are of being Indian just as much as the multi-religious secularities do in our society.

Indian ideas of proxemics, and what is an accepted number of people before a space could be considered “crowded” is also an interesting framework with which we can evaluate the way we use our spaces—these in turn go hand in glove with cultures and rituals enacted in a non-familial sphere, where many events, festivities and processions happen in the company of complete strangers who establish a bond of shared space.

facing page Drawing presenting the concepts—Indian, Urban, Public and Space above Law Garden, Ahmedabad left Teen Darwaza, Ahmedabad

17

Urban: It is an idea uniquely understood in consonance with the idea of a city, where buildings and people co-exist.

Cities get established due to a myriad of reasons, ranging from economics, work and growth opportunities, to historic incidents, natural disasters and geographic sensibilities.

Urban areas are usually distinguished from their rural counterparts by higher population densities, and subsequent higher economic activity and energy consumption patterns.

In the Indian context, the definition of an urban area (as per the 2011 Census of India) includes among other things a place with a minimum population of 5000 people and a density of at least 400 persons per square kilometre.

Considering it also specifies urban areas as having more than top Goregaon, Mumbai

75% of its workforce involved in non-agricultural activities,

above Cyber Hub, Gurgaon

it is usually identified with mass migratory patterns.

This wide diaspora implies that people need to establish roots, connections and cultural authenticity. They need to find alternate means to express their identities determined by memory and nostalgia—whether through communities, events, festivals, recreational spaces like parks or through cultural and retail areas. The scale at which it is established also identifies the notion of urban to a certain extent.

18

Public: By its very definition, the word public is understood by its relationship to the word ownership—the important question here to be asked is if the word “public” implies owned by “all” or owned by “none”. Though the word public is most commonly associated with ‘people at large’ or a community, it is also an indication of that which is popular or existing in open view. It hence has various connotations depending on the perspective and usage of language.

Public is as much a physicality as it is a set of social conventions. Hence a public space is generally considered a social space which is open and accessible to all people in the city. So, “who owns what” is generally understood as an important predetermining factor of the “public” space in a city. At the level of state machinery the public space is understood to be the responsibility of municipalities and local authorities, but many times these are also under the purview of archaeological societies, private trusts and even corporate bodies. They are usually defined by equal access to users across all sections of a society, irrespective of economic and social status. Most large-scale open spaces in a city tend to be public in nature—roads, parks, waterbodies being some of the major types.

Manek Chowk, Ahmedabad right Hazratganj, Lucknow

19

Space: A popular statement by the Dalai Lama—space is

many names—parks, plazas, squares, maidans, roads, streets.

that where we have not built—is the simplest definition that

It gets a marked identity by walls, edges, activity markers—

there is of this complex phenomenon. In a city this is usually

identities that can be either permanent or temporary in

defined by the absence as much as the presence of the built

nature. In fact, in every space there is an inbuilt definition of

component. Though it is “empty” it is critical to remember

limits. Region, culture and its people define different limits

that in a city this is never synonymous with “unused”. It is

and these limits eventually define the space and function.

where a multitude of activities and functions occur and it is

These limits continuously change and redefine space in a city in

multivalent in nature. It can accord to its function and location

ways that are subtle or radical, depending on circumstances.

above Lal Bagh, Bengaluru below Juhu beach, Mumbai

20

When we combine these four aspects in a single space

disorder, compounded by overcrowding and poverty. Even

and time to form the Indian urban public space, a complex

after two and a half centuries of trying, the British could not

entity is created. At the surface it may seem crowded, dirty,

decipher this chaos and re-structure India. All the cities, towns

chaotic, multi-utility and mis-managed. However, at a deeper

and infrastructure they built, was almost always in isolation

level of analysis, the same space scores equally if not more

and as a distant addition to the chaotic reality of the existing

on counts of its lively, happening, dynamic, activated and

Indian town.

celebratory nature. What is responsible for this alternate perception is the ‘gaze’. The ‘gaze’ or the world-view with

The ancient Indian cities served villages, which were essentially

which we look at these spaces and understand the contextual,

rural/ agrarian in nature, and their governance was locally

social and cultural reality is an alternate framework for

managed by the people (panchayat). In contrast, the ancient

looking at the reality of this complex phenomenon.

European cities were served by the villages they protected and had central rules, written documents and contracts for

Gaze: Our ‘gaze’ or the way we look at and view the world,

governing them, and those serving were answerable to a

is deeply influenced by our history, cultural values and

central, external, all-powerful authority whose rules were to be

beliefs, education system and background and consequent

obeyed. Indian society unlike the Western, had local panchayat

inherent biases, and coloured by societal perceptions. In

governance. Western cities reflect a Western mindset – they

India, the subject of cities, architecture and planning is

do not reflect ‘global’ mindsets. The Indian city borrows

deeply influenced by Western city planning references, since

heavily from the Western model (without questioning),

most of the research, education and planning models are

superimposing the same as an overlay on a very different

predominantly based on Western (European and American)

Indian ground reality. The problem arises when the resulting

concepts and philosophy. This is possibly due to our two

concoction is reviewed and analysed from a Western ‘gaze’.

and a half centuries under the British rule, which heavily influenced (and made subservient) the Indian psyche. India

By changing the nature of gaze from Western to Indian,

is primarily a rural civilization comprising of many scales and

what we can ascertain is that beneath the apparent chaos

sizes of villages, hamlets and settlements, many a times

and disorder visible in Indian cities, there is a natural,

based on caste and religion. Our cities predominantly operate

human and social order inherent in the way communities

as a loosely defined agglomerate of an old city core with

have lived and organized themselves in multi-layered and

multiple urban villages, planned and unplanned settlements

multi-functional spaces within Indian settlements. Thus,

and communities spread around. Even our master plans for

multiple social orders superimpose themselves in an Indian

most large cities are a retrospective and politically motivated

settlement with peripheral negotiations at the edges

formalization of the areas in the city which have organically

creating loosely defined organic structures. From a Western

grown. Our cities are a combination of historic, incidental and

reference point, this superimposition may look chaotic.

conscious design. They are part random occurrence fuelled by market forces, and part master plan development.

Hence, re-focusing the gaze to be context sensitive to an Indian reality becomes the main crux for an objective

Chaos—meaning absence of organization and lack of single

and meaningful interpretation of Indian Cities.

central human control— is a word that emanates from Western references. From a Western gaze, Indian cities and

Vibrant public spaces are inclusive and democratic in nature,

towns have always had an inherent chaos and apparent

promote human contact, social activities and facilitate 21

community involvement. These spaces are safe, welcoming, visually interesting and accommodating for users of all age groups. These spaces have a geographically, architecturally, locationally, spatially strong design feature as an anchor.

WESTERN URBAN PLANNING CONCEPTS

Public spaces are a true reflection of our culture and society, and get activated on a daily / weekly / monthly or annual

CENTRAL AUTHORITY

MARKET & ECONOMY DRIVEN

basis, depending on the kind of usage and events that take

CANONICAL

ORDER & DISCIPLINE

GREEK & CHRISTIANITY -NITY

INDUSTRIALIZATION

REALISTIC

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE & ITS HISTORIC INFLUENCE

WESTERN FEUDAL EUROPE

L YTICA ANAL MA SCU LINE

STRATEGIC ACCURATE ALWAYS IN CONTROL PRACTICAL LINEAR LOGIC

FACTORY PRODUCED

FUN ARTISTIC

VE ATI E R C

LOCAL CONTROL

INDIAN PERSPECTIVE & ITS HISTORIC INFLUENCE

MULTICULTURAL

FEMININ E

CREATIVE FREE SPIRITED POETIC PASSIONATE ADVENTUROUS FEARLESS

TRADITIONS & RITUALS HINDUISM & MANY GODS

ANCIENT INDIAN TOWN PLANNING

RURAL & AGRARIAN

CONTEXUAL ORGANIC

Illustration of the concept—Gaze

22

place in the space. These spaces are strategically located

Ideally, great public spaces should be peaceful and

within the overall dynamics of the city— neighbourhood,

comfortable; equally accessible to pedestrians and cyclists;

waterfront, city center, business or entertainment

safe for children, women, elderly and differently-abled;

districts, historic area, parks, etc. The scale and expanse

and provide shade and shelter through trees and sensitive

of the area may be monumental or human, the space

urban landscape (natural or designed). It should have

may be a resultant of a great design intervention or just

a predominant overriding usage theme but still have a

evolved over a period in the life of the city, in either case its

multiplicity of usage defining that space; it should be

importance and its “activity index” remains very high.

multilayered and a nodal focal point in the larger scheme of the city around; and should be strongly embedded in the socio-cultural-economic fabric of the adjoining communities.

Many of our great Indian urban public spaces are happening and activated despite failing on many of the ‘technically correct’ parameters highlighted above. There is a word in hindi known as “raunaq”, which loosely translates into “an atmosphere of excitement” —this could perhaps be a way of rationalizing the flurry of activity characterized in Indian Urban Public Spaces. We need to change the nature of the gaze and look again and celebrate their beauty and timelessness.

The individual spaces featured in this book have been carefully chosen for their representative nature (and are not prototypes), highlighting the essence of the typology of the space they represent. The focus has been to choose variations within a type and to avoid repetition; the list is not exhaustive and includes spaces which the authors are familiar with and have experienced. Similar spaces can be found across other cities in different forms. The attempt has been to highlight spaces which are naturally activated, vibrant and happening as a city-level public space (despite any/all odds). These spaces may not conform to standard accepted urban planning theory and practices but within their own frameworks are an essential cultural and social landmark in the life of that city.

Great Indian Urban Space—Illustration

23

24

Public Buildings and

Monument Plazas

Charminar, Hyderabad Teen Darwaza, Ahmedabad India Gate, Delhi Red Fort, Delhi Gateway of India, Mumbai Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar Tajganj area, Agra Jaisalmer Fort, Jaisalmer Kala Ghoda, Mumbai Jama Masjid, Delhi Bada Danda Chowk, Puri

Shahjahanabad, Delhi

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. — Pericles

St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City

The urban precinct has always been

the interim years (at times hundreds of

defined by the presence of a main public

years), now defines the current reality

square or plaza, which is the core of the

and character of these public spaces.

power systems thriving in that space and time. Historically, public spaces have

From a European city planning reference

been the nucleus of the embodiment

point, the city plaza was the open

of these political-cultural domains.

urban public space (city square) where

Vast at times, and of a human scale at

the political, religious and legal bodies

different times, these places often reflect

building the administrative anchors

the architecture, culture and political

of the main city formed the three

reality of that particular period and

cornerstones. Most colonial cities

many times are also associated with and

were planned around a city square

share a direct physical connect with the

with the power centres and public

monument and built fabric of the space.

institutions around it. The plaza or the

They form the foreground/background

city square would historically serve as

for the overall setting of the monument,

the military parade ground, witness to

and have an original functionality and

political rallies and city-level cultural

specified usage associated with it.

celebrations. The Trafalgar Square in London, the Zocalo Square in Mexico

26

The history and politics which led to

City and the Tiananmen Square in

the formation of this space overlaid

Beijing are typically the most prominent

by the many transformations that the

examples of city squares or plazas. The

city-space may have undergone over

Durbar Square in Nepal, is also another

Public Buildings and Monument Plazas

Durbar Square, Patan

classic example of a public square which

Some of these plazas and squares are

is the pivot between the religious hub

frozen in time and have been preserved

and the palace complex. The larger

in their actual form. Their historic and

city usually surrounds these spaces

archaeological value demand interest

and grows outwards from these.

and viewership, e.g., the Qutb Minar and the remnants of Old Fort in New Delhi.

In the context of historic Indian towns (both Hindu and Mughal references),

Some of these spaces have evolved with

these spaces were mostly formed at the

time with a few layers of contemporary

junction of the royal fort/palace, the

city-level development around them.

city level mosque/temple on one side

Their functionality has been transformed

and the main city-level bazaar street

over the years and the space has

running on the other. The Red Fort,

now become an inherent part of an

Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk precincts,

overcrowded yet still functioning old city

built in the early 17 century, and the

core, eg. Teen Darwaza, Ahmedabad

main square within the Jaisalmer Fort,

and Red fort, Jama Masjid in Delhi.

th

Rajasthan are classic examples of spaces formed at junctions. This typology is

Some of these spaces are struggling

also seen during the British period in

to keep pace with the evolving, fast

India and exemplified by the building

moving world around, showing traces of

of the new British capital in Delhi in

its past at the core, although the parts

top Puri, Odisha

the early 20th century through the

around have evolved/transformed with

above Outb Minar, Delhi

Rashtrapati Bhavan–India Gate axis.

contemporary overlays. Some aspects of

pp. 24–25 Gateway of India, Mumbai

27

these places remain static whereas some

spaces may also have city-level political/

are transformed beyond recognition,

cultural events organized in them.

e.g., Charminar, Hyderabad.

It can also be noted that many a times While we study these city plazas/

there is a challenge managing these

squares, the main focus is not on the

spaces in terms of crowd control,

monuments or the ruins of the built but

security, general cleanliness and order,

on the history and story attached to the

restoration, conservation, etc. due to

built and hence the formation of the

the multiple government agencies and

public space around it in context of its

stakeholders involved. Consequently,

current functionality. These spaces tell

these spaces and the buildings/

us many stories, interwoven in the rich

monuments face various levels of decay

history of their respective cities—stories

and deterioration, and due to poor

of war and peace, of kings and fiefdoms,

management the spaces are unable

of religion and culture, of mutinies

to function as beautifully and actively

and massacres, and of freedom,

as they can in the overall scheme

celebrations and commerce. Such

of the city. Many times, the change

spaces can be found across the length

and impetus required to maintain

and breadth of India in towns with

and sustain these historic plazas are

historic precedents of varying scales

minor policy level decisions, and only

and imbued with regional variations.

a limited focused intervention in the area is needed to reactivate it, as in

The built fabric becomes a backdrop

the case of the Kala Ghoda precinct,

for the activities in that space—almost

Mumbai. They do not require large

theatric in nature. In a contemporary

monetary inputs and with only some

context, these spaces form a pivot

conscious thought and slight impetus,

or a background, against which the

have the inherent ability to regenerate

drama of everyday modern life of the

their own usefulness and vigour.

city takes place. These places may have transformed due to the daily hustle

The cities too, are all to an extent

and bustle of the fast-paced modern

struggling with the dichotomy of

city around—primary transport routes

resolving contemporary changes

and traffic, commerce and retail (both

within traditional fabrics. They are

organised and unorganised)—but

all at varying stages of evolution.

they still form a part of the key tourist attractions within the city. These

Tajganj, Agra

28

29

Public Buildings and Monument Plazas

Charminar, Hyderabad

30

Archana Gupta, co-founder of The Foundation of The Indian Cities, is the Vice-President (Projects) for KPDK Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. An architect and teacher, she has extensive experience in service architecture and infrastructure development, and has to her credit several publications and research projects relating to studies of traditional and vernacular Indian settlements.

Anshuman Gupta, co-founder of The Foundation of The Indian Cities works as Vice-President, Head of Projects (South Asia), at Deutsche Bank AG. An architect and an accomplished corporate real estate professional, he has extensively travelled and worked across India. A strong proponent of the sustainable approach to design, he spares time to research and write about urbanization and cities.

OTHER TITLES OF INTEREST the architecture of

Celebrating Public Spaces of India Archana Gupta and Anshuman Gupta 168 pages, 124 photographs, 26 illustrations and 27 maps 9 x 9” (229 x 229 mm), paperback with gatefold ISBN: 978-93-85360-08-4 (Mapin) ISBN: 978-1-935677-66-6 (Grantha) ₹1800 | $39.50 | £30 2016 | World Rights

Hasmukh C. Patel

Selected Projects 1963–2003 Catherine Desai and Bimal Patel

Designing for Modern India INI Design Studio

learning from india series

Learning from Delhi

Practising Architecture in Urban India Pelle Poiesz, Gert Jan Scholte and Sanne Vanderkaaij Gandhi

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Sketches of the City’s Architectural Treasures Matthijs van Oostrum and Gregory Bracken

MAPIN PUBLISHING www.mapinpub.com

Printed in India

ARCHITECTURE

Public spaces, both in their aesthetic and functional roles, provide a window to a country’s culture. In India, the colonial interlude severely disrupted our architectural traditions.

Anshuman Gupta and Archana Gupta’s lavishly illustrated and insightful contemplation of our public spaces, is a serious and readable attempt to revisit our architectural traditions in the context of contemporary priorities.

Pavan K. Varma, Member of Parliament and acclaimed author

India is home to some of the most interesting public spaces in the world, from the ghats of Varanasi and Pushkar to Mumbai’s Marine Drive. Unfortunately, in the rush to build utilitarian cities, the art of creating great public spaces was mostly ignored in the post-Independence period. Celebrating Public Spaces of India brings these places back to the centre stage.

Moreover, the book brings a unique Indian sensibility to the understanding of how public spaces are used in our cities.

Sanjeev Sanyal, Economist, urban theorist and renowned author