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Architecture and Design- the old and new!
Let’s start with the new beginnings…
India finally has it’s own body for the Design Industry. Called the ‘Association of Designers of India’ (ADI), the initiative of forming this body began a year ago, when the Pune Design Foundation and AIDI, Bangalore members decided to dissolve their respective local bodies and come together to create a pan-India body for Design. So history is being made and the Facebook group, within a matter of few days only, has a membership of 300+ designers, all raring to come together and work for Design and it’s promotion.
The ADI will be formally launched on February 10th, 2011 during the inauguration of the Pune Design Festival.
The Pune Design Festival or PDFest as it is more popularly known as, is in its 5th year and promises to be a wonderful collaboration between different design fields, with various events lined up.
Mukund and I from Sarvasva are proud and honoured too, to have been part of the founding body of both – the ADI and the PDFest. What glorious times we live in! And I’m sure, this is just the beginning of more to come.
Look up ADI on www.associationofdesignersofindia.com (the site is still coming up, will keep you all posted) and PDFest on www.punedesignfestival.org.
On another note, I have been doing a month’s course on Indian History/Archaeology and Architecture and have been learning so much of what makes this great country; including some of the renowned teachers who are taking time out to lecture and share their work and viewpoints. I especially wanted to do this course so that I could further supplement ‘Pune Walks’ (the heritage walks that our firm conducts) with the knowledge from experts.
And while I have been seeing the extreme passion and care being taken for projects in archaeology, I have failed to see the same happening in the heritage conservation/ restoration segment, especially here in Pune. And what is saddening more so is the huge gap between the ancient history (archaeology) and the modern times; which makes the middle segment of history/heritage all the more so important. And hence required to be respected, saved, documented, conserved, restored and maintained. Not retrofitted with the new only, or with the modernistic idea of what we think these buildings /structures should be. Because, if these structures are not going to be part of our present and future, we will in the long run have no link to our immediate past.
And the past is important for the future to exist.
- Darpana.
Where is our heritage going?
I often wonder, when I think this question, “Where is our heritage going?” It’s disappearing so fast, so it should be going somewhere I think… I wonder what train or plane it is catching, and to reach where? Why is it vanishing without a trace? Does it have a dubious past or a criminal record? Then why is it being chased off?
I conduct heritage walks [Pune Walks] around the city. And this is something that is very close to my heart because I always feel my heritage and culture make me what I am today. And I am proud of it. It’s wonderful to go and touch the old stone and wood, and breathe in thousands of years of history that was the foundation of the today we live in.
Whilst walking along the streets of Pune, all I see are the old wadas being demolished and new monstrosities emerging in the name of ‘modern architecture’, and I wonder, “Where is our history going?”
Old doors are displaying forgotten history and culture. Windows open out to new vistas and a new life. Sometimes one only sees these now lifeless ‘openings’, a mute testimony to all that had been. And I wonder, “What did those homes turn into?”
Sometimes, and often, I’ve wished I lived in a place that had this kind of rich history, culture and architecture; and since I cannot, I make do by spending time at them. And its a wonderful feeling to share these treasures with others.
But when I see the kind of neglect from the people and government, and also the cold callousness of the Building and Construction industry; not to mention the absolute sense of irresponsibility and lack of imagination from architects, I wonder, “Where are we really going?”
I mean, would you point out to a non-characteristic, typical, glazed facade and tell your children, “Look, this is our wonderful heritage!” … ?
