BUILDING BLOCKS OF SIMPLICITY: A TRIBUTE TO LAURIE BAKER

THE DECCAN HERALD, BANGALORE, 15 APR 2007

Building blocks of simplicity

Baker was influenced by Gandhi and applied low cost building techniques in hisprojects.Laurie Baker, the eminent architect, who made India his home, passed away recently leaving behindan inspiring philosophy and legacy. His approach to architecture was radical in the sense that itassimilated our indigenous traditions, eco-friendliness, economy and simplicity in a truly moderniststyle. His statement that “a building should be truthful” encapsulates his approach to architecture.This truthfulness derives its essence from the pragmatism and minimalism of the architecturalelements within the broader socio-economic and ecological contexts. This is what made Laurie Bakera popular one-man mission and his designs, a signature style.A chance meeting with Gandhi in Bombay in 1945 proved to be a turning point in young Baker’s life.After graduating in architecture from the Birmingham School of Architecture in 1937, he hadvolunteered for a group called Quakers to provide medical help to the British soldiers in theJapan-China War. He served in the group for three years in China and Burma but his ill health forcedhim to return home.Visit to IndiaOn his way back to Britain, he had to wait for a couple of months in Bombay and during this periodhe met Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi had expressed his concern for the need of housing for the poorparticularly in the Indian villages. He told Baker that India needed committed architects. This meetinginspired Baker to return to India in 1945 as the member of a leprosy mission.Initially, he lived in Kerala as a guest of Dr PJ Chandy. Subsequently, he travelled extensively thatexposed him to the poverty in the villages as well as the cultural diversity. He was struck by thearchitectural diversity of India and the richness of its localised traditions.He found that every region had its own architectural style depending upon the climatic factors and thelocally available material. One common element that he found was mud which was recyclable wasextensively used everywhere and that these structures stood for ages. Baker felt that native knowledgeand practices need to be preserved.During his travel in India, he realised that a patient’s recovery is faster in a familiar environment. Thismade him construct hospitals and schools with locally available material. Since he utilised theservices of local labourers, he started instructing them with drawings and illustrations.For 16 years, Baker built and operated schools and hospitals in north India and during this time hemarried Dr Elizabeth Chandy, a co-worker and sister of Dr PJ Chandy. In the early 60s, the Bakerssettled down in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, after a brief stay in Vagamon, in Kottayam.
Baker’s influencesLaurie Baker’s upbringing in the Quaker philosophy, Gandhian influence, his commitment to thesocial cause and a deep understanding of the Indian culture shaped his vision. He built modernbuildings with traditional techniques and material.He redefined the concept of low cost housing as it was misunderstood as low quality housing. Hesaid: “low-cost does not reduce or lessen structural stability and durability.” According to him, Indianarchitectural history is testimony to this. Most of the houses are made of mud or bricks baked at thesite are still standing strong.Apart from construction cost, the overall energy requirement on the production of raw materials likecement, steel and glass was also a serious concern for Baker. He commented once: “I have neverdoubted that in a country like ours any of us has any right to squander or waste, or use unnecessarilymoney, materials or energy.”He followed Gandhi’s idea that building materials available within five miles of a construction siteshould be used. It gave Baker innovative ideas to the extent that no two designs of Baker are similar.Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram built by Baker in 1971 is a masterpiece.Other such remarkable buildings are Chapel for Sacred Heart Centre, Chitralekha Studio Complex,Tourist Centre, India Coffee House, Children’s Village, among many others. He hardly cut any tree orlevelled the site to construct any building.Baker co-founded Centre for Science & Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD) in 1985, anon-profit organisation for propagating low-cost housing particularly mass housing for the poor. Hewrote many ‘Do it Yourself” booklets for construction. He was a consultant on the housing relatedpanels of various state and the Central governments besides HUDCO and the Planning Commission.He was granted Indian citizenship in 1990 and was honoured with the Padmashree the same year. Hewas honoured with the UNO Habitat Award (1992) and World Habitat Award (1993). He wasconferred with honorary Doctorate by the University of Central England (1995) and University ofKerala (2003).Baker was active even at 90 as he worked on a restoration plan for Alappuzha and a sanitation systemfor the Sabarimala temple.Though his designs became his signature style, he was opposed to develop his style as a brand. His mission is reflected in his statement: “My feeling as an architect is that you are not after all trying to put up a monument that will be remembered as a Laurie Baker Building but Mohan Singh’s house where he can live with his Family.”

DEMYTHOLISING MYTHS

This is a book review of 'The Pregnant King' a mythological fiction written by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik and published by Penguin India. This review was published in Deccan Herald, Bangalore.

Taking us back to the Vedic age, this book explores issues of gender identity and power that continue to remain relevant through time.

Deriving from Mahabharata that contains a plethora of myths, Devdutt Pattanaik, in his latest novel The Pregnant King, weaves an interesting narrative with contemporary relevance.Myths, being rooted in historical contexts are indeed a-historical for their inherent messages. These axiomatic messages are conveyed through dialectic between the symbolic representations of opposites; dilemmas and contradictions. Mahabharata is a meta-text having several subtexts; one of them is the story of Yuvanshava, the king of Vallabhi who drinks a magical potion and becomes pregnant. Pattanaik takes creative liberty to change the chronology that makes sub-stories run parallel to or to coalesce with the central story in order to highlight the moral dilemma of gender and power in the Vedic period, that is relevant even today. The narrative starts with the great war for dharma in Kurukshetra, in which all Kshtriya kings from all the kingdoms in Aryavarta are taking sides. But Yuvanshava, the king of Vallabhi, is forbidden by his mother Shilavati as he has no heir even after 13 years of three marriages. He is not allowed to even rule Vallabhi though he is a consecrated king because, “a king must provide proof of virility before he can rule.” On the other hand, Shilavati, an intelligent woman, rules Vallabhi efficiently but being a widow, cannot sit on the throne. She is a proxy ruler. In Vallabhi, there is a temple of Ileshwara, a God who blesses the childless with children. Ileshwara becomes Ileshwari on new moon night and remains in a female form for a fortnight. Ileshwara and Ileshwari bless men and women separately. This reminds Shiva’s form of ardha-narishwara. This resolves the contradictions between masculinity and feminity; some male characters in this novel have feminine qualities like Shikhandi and Bahugami.Shilavati continues to rule Vallabhi on the plea that she will enter vanprastha when her son fathers a son. Then a yagna is organised in which two Sidhas, Yaja (mind and truth) and Upajaya (heart and destiny), invoke forces of nature and manipulate them by various rituals. During the yagna, there is a ceremony in which Yuvanshava and his first wife have to give cows to newly wed Brahmin couples. Here, the tale takes a twist as a Brahmin boy named Somvat dressed as a woman (Somavati) comes to receive cows with his friend Sumedha. It was a disruption in the ceremony that enrages Vallabhi. Somvat, while waiting in the dark cell for the verdict by the king at dawn, encounters a Yaksha. Sthunakarna takes his manhood thus turning him into a woman. The same Yaksha had saved the reputation of Shikhandi who was born a girl but raised as a boy by donating his manhood to prove his gender. Shikhandi never returned the manhood that he had borrowed from Sthunakarna. It had made Sthunakarna genderless. The rules of dharma are rigid as the lineage and gender are given and hence, both Sumedha and Somavati were burnt alive. They became pisachas because they were not allowed to cross Vaitarni due to ambiguity in their gender and lineage. Though the yagna was disrupted, the two sidhas produced a magical potion and left it in a pot in the king’s mahasabha. By mistake, a tired Yuvanshava drank the potion and became pregnant. He delivers a son Mandhata from his thigh. Myths of Nara and Narayana and of Aruni talk of men delivering babies. Yuvanshava starts having motherly emotions conflicting with his gender and identity. Yuvanshava says, “I am seed and soil. Man and woman. Or perhaps neither. A creature suspended in between, neither here or there?”The Pregnant King is an interesting reading for the simplicity of its language and the lyricism. Devdutt Pattanaik transposes us to the Vedic period and makes us draw parallels across epochs with similar socio-cultural definitions of gender and power.

FRANCE IN CAIRO

Article published in Deccan Herald (Bangalore) Sunday Magazine

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUJIT CHOWDHURY

Sujit Chowdhury stumbles upon the Khalil Museum in Cairo that houses rare French art collection.

While rushing through the various museums and monuments in and around Cairo, I was struck by the mention of Mr and Mrs Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Giza area that houses a priceless and the largest collection of European paintings and sculptures on this side of the Mediterranean. The Museum located on 1, Kafour Street, was originally the mansion of Khalil, a statesman and connoisseur of art. The building as well as the collection has to tell a lot about Mohammed Khalil’s life, Egyptian modern history and its cultural interaction with France.

Mohammed Mahmoud Khail (1877-1953) was born to an aristocratic family and he studied law at the Sorbonne University. It was in France that he fell in love with Emeline Lock Hector who was a student of music and had a passion for art. They married in 1903 in Paris. Khalil developed keen interest in everything French; from cuisine to costumes and from painting to architecture. The Khalils were more interested in the emerging trends in Western art of which Paris was the hub.

The first painting that the couple bought was ‘Water lilies’ by Renoir for merely 400 pounds — the value of which is now estimated to be $ 40 million. By the time, the Khalils returned to Cairo in 1918, they had a handsome collection of paintings, statuettes and other antiques. Initially, the Khalils lived at 11, Kasr al-Neil Street but soon they moved to the palatial building at 1, Kafour Street after Khalil bought this building from Mahmoud Fakhry Pasha, a long time minister to France and a friend of Khalil.


The eastern side of the building overlooks the Nile and it has intricate metal and glass work taken from the French Arnoveau style as revealed from its grand entrance and the massive window.

The western side of the building facing the Murad Street has features of Neo-Classical style with detailed ornamentations. The area of the building is about 1400 sq. meters surrounded by a beautiful garden and has four levels with marble winding staircase and French terrace. The basement of the building now houses the administrative office, library, Information Centre and an auditorium.

The first floor has largely the collection of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist School whereas the second floor has pre-impressionist paintings. ‘Life and Death’ (1889) and ‘Father Jeans Walk’ (1889) are two paintings of Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh’s ‘Vase and Flowers’ is another precious possession. There are paintings of other impressionist and post-impressionist artists like Monet, Renoir, Pissaro, Sisley, Eugene Boudin, Toulose Lautrec, Degas and Marie Cassette.

Many artists represented in the collection are also from different schools who significantly contributed in the emergence of modernism in Western art; prominent among them are Ingres, Gusatve Courbet, Theodore Rousseau, Millet, Constant Troyon, Charles Daubingy, Daumier and Declaroix. In all, there are 208 paintings beside 40 sculptures that include work by Rodin and Cajou. The museum also has a large number of French furniture, ceramics and rare books.

It is interesting to know why and how such a large number of paintings encompassing a longer period of Western art history found its destination in a private collection in Cairo.

One reason is the genuine interest of the Khalils in art and their wealth to buy these masterpieces from the Parisian art dealers. Another reason is the onset of the Second World War when Paris was seized by the Nazi and paintings were looted and confiscated. During that time, art dealers and gallery owners were compelled to sell the paintings at low price.

Khalils used this as an opportunity. Richard Mosseri, an art curator, was the mediator and with every trip to France, the Khalils returned to Cairo with a load of paintings, sculptures and other works of art. This is how Khalil’s mansion turned into a fabulous collection of objects d’arts.

While practicing as an eminent lawyer in Cairo and being in the board of directors of many Egyptian banks and insurance companies, Mahmoud Khalil started actively participating in politics and he was appointed as the minister of agriculture in the Al Wafd Cabinet in 1937 and became the Speaker of the Senate in 1939.
Together with Prince Youssef Kamal, he founded The Society of Lovers of Fine Arts in 1924 and became its chairman from 1942 to 1952. He also supervised the 1937 Egyptian Pavilion in the International Exhibition in Paris and also 1949 exhibition of décor Egypt-France. For his contribution to promote art, the French government rewarded him with the title of Correspondant de l’Académie des Beaux Arts and the Grand Cordon de la Légion d'Honneur.

In 1947, Mahmoud Khalil bequeathed the palatial house of Giza to Emeline and in 1953 he himself drew a will bestowing his beloved wife one third of his estate, including the art collection. Shortly, Mamoud Khalil suffered a massive heart attack and died in Paris on December 27, 1953.

In 1954, Emeline drew a will that upon her death the mansion along with all the art collection would go to the Egyptian government. She died on March 19, 1960. In 1962, the house of the Khalils was inaugurated as Mr and Mrs Mahmoud Khalil Art Museum.

Unfortunately, after Anwar Sadat became the President, he acquired the museum in 1971 and converted it into his office. All the art collection was relocated to a palace in Zamalek. It was only after Sadat’s death in 1981 that Mr and Mrs Khalil’s house was restored as a museum after establishing the authenticity of the retrieved collection from art specialists.

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A BIRD IN HAND

Article published in Deccan Herald 12.10.2008
A bird in hand...



What makes Fenwick's art distinct is the spirit of the birds and their natural habitat that he has captured in his water colours, says SUJIT CHOWDHURY


Painting flora and fauna is a specialised area and very few artists have perfected this art. With the passing away of Fenwick Lansdowne on July 26, 2008, we have lost a celebrated artist who painted birds with rare sensitivity and precision, unlike many natural artists. Apart from a painter, he was a conservationist who fought for the cause of endangered avian species.Fenwick was born in Hong Kong in 1937 to British parents. He contracted polio, paralysing the right side of his body when he was less than a year old. During the Second World War, the family moved and settled down in Victoria, Canada. Fenwick’s mother was a trained artist and was good at water colour. Young Fenwick, lying on a stretcher, started drawing and painting under his mother’s guidance. When he was 13, he started showing interest in painting birds.He studied birds and insects from the Ornithological collection at the Royal British Columbia Museum as well as learnt many things by watching them in the wild. Appreciating his talent, the museum offered Fenwick an apprenticeship and also exhibited his work when he was only 15 years old. Soon he had another exhibition of West Coast birds at the Royal Ontario Museum. Seeing that, John Livingston, a leading naturalist and environmentalist, commented, “He has the most remarkable combination of scientific truth and artistic feeling I’ve ever seen.”


This was the beginning of a remarkable career of Fenwick whose oeuvre is considered to be in the true tradition of John James Audubon (1785-1851). Fenwick carried forward Audubon’s legacy as his birds communicate emotions.Both Audubon and Fenwick have spectacular draftsmanship, superb colours and fine texture. What makes Fenwick’s art distinct is the spirit of the birds and their natural habitat that he captured in his water colour paintings and drawings as he said once, “I do bird portraits.” Normally, bird-paintings look frozen and formal as an anatomical or an ornamental piece but Fenwick’s work portrays the essence of these birds with all delicacy, spectacular variety of colours and movement.In 1966, Fenwick published Birds of the Northern Forest followed by Birds of the Eastern Forest, Volume I (1968) and Volume II (1970). The text was written by John Livingston. Fenwick established himself as a naturalist with Birds of the West Coast in two volumes (1976 & 1982) as he wrote the text himself.He was specially commissioned to illustrate S Dillon Ripley’s famous monograph ‘Rails of the World’ (1977). Rails (Rallidae family) are rare endangered species found in remote islands, dense forests and isolated coastlines worldwide. These birds live in a colony and once they are comfortable in a habitat, they gradually lose the urge to migrate and become prey to predators. That is how many species became extinct or are endangered. This was a remarkable study with over 70 colour, and black and white illustrations by Fenwick.In 1982, Fenwick married Helen Nicholson and had two children, Tristram and Emma. Tristram is also a painter who prefers water colours and focuses on urban environment as his theme. In 1984, Fenwick was commissioned for another significant project of studying rare and endangered birds in China. It was a 10-year-long project in collaboration with leading ornithologists like Cheng Hso-Hsin and Hsu Weishu, the Academia Sinica, the Ornithological Society of China and the Beijing Natural History Museum. The project involved extensive journey in the wild despite his physical disability.For this study published as Rare Birds of China, Fenwick produced 32 prints with Collotype printing which is a tedious printing process requiring up to 12 colours per image, each applied separately on handmade plates.It is worth mentioning that Fenwick never allowed unlimited production of his prints despite the hefty price his prints fetched. For example, the price of 32-prints collection of Rare Birds of China was $ 25,000. He always made limited editions of his prints under his signature and destroyed the plates.He had exhibitions of his work in all the prominent galleries and natural museums of the world. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy and was honoured with the Order of Canada and the Order of the British Columbia. In the preface to Birds of the West Coast Vol. II, The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip wrote that Fenwick captured the magical moment when a long sought bird is seen in its characteristic setting and thus he “...has the exceptional ability to capture such moments with an effortless assurance but which can only come from intimate knowledge, immense care and remarkable talent.”Due to his passionate involvement, Fenwick’s bird paintings have become an autobiographical record of his intimate experience with birds in their natural habitat.His life and work demonstrate that he was a scientific observer and a skillful delineator who elevated the status of bird paintings to that of bird-portraits.

VISIONS OF THE SOUL IN COLOURS

SCREAM : EDWARD MUNCH'S MOST FAMOUS & ICONIC PAINTING

SELF PORTRAIT OF EDWARD MUNCH

Visions of the soul in colours
Go through the creations of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch and you find an underlying feel of anxiety, uncertainty and melancholy, says Sujit Chowdhury

Every age gets reflected in an artistic icon. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa shows the perfection and serenity of Renaissance period while Van Gogh’s Sunflowers’portrays the inner turbulence and transience of human life. Similarly, Edvard Munch’s Scream epitomizes the existential angst of modern times. In this painting, we see a horrified person with a twisted fatal face with holes in place of eyes and mouth. He is closing his ears against the scream of nature in a backdrop of blood-red skyline. Munch wrote about this painting: “I was walking along a path …the sun was setting—suddenly the sky turned blood red—I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence—there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city…I stood there trembling with anxiety– and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.” Existential PredicamentsEdvard Munch (1863-1944), the celebrated Norwegian artist, established the Expressionist movement in modern art. He was a prolific painter and printmaker. His ouevre shows his existential predicaments and his aesthetic quest to deal with the complex issues of birth, growth, love, decay and death. In his entire work, we find an underlying feel of anxiety, uncertainty and melancholy. He has seen his mother dying when he was only five and later his elder sister and younger brother died while one sister was sent to a mental asylum. Munch too had a fragile health and a weak mental disposition as he said on his 70th birthday, “Illness and insanity and death were the black angels that stood at my cradle”. The fear of death haunted him throughout his life as he wrote, “when I cast off on the voyage of my life, I felt like a ship made from old rotten material sent out into a stormy sea by its maker with the words: If you are wrecked it is your own fault and then you will be burnt in the eternal fires of Hell”. But, the sense of uncertainty of life fuelled his creativity as he said, “without anxiety and illness, I am a ship without a rudder…my sufferings are part of my self and my art. They are indistinguishable from me and their destruction would destroy my art.” Intellectual companionAfter an informal education at home, he joined Royal School of Design at Kristiania (now Oslo) but left it to study painting. He was associated with the Bohemian circle of intellectuals and was exposed to the emerging movements in literature, music and theatre. In the beginning, Munch started painting in the naturalist style but soon he shifted to simplified forms and vibrant colours to evoke intense feelings in a symbolic manner. He was influenced by Gauguin’s primitive symbolism but Gauguin had to travel to Tahiti to get inspired whereas Munch “carried his own Tahiti inside himself” as one critic hailed his work. He travelled extensively and divided his time between Berlin and Paris that brought him closer to August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen and also helped him to evolve his own distinguished style after progressing through impressionist, post-impressionist, Fauvist and symbolist styles. His was a narcissist art born out of personal experiences and existential truthfulness.BreakthroughDuring this period, Munch also started etching, lithography and photography. Munch achieved a breakthrough with his first solo exhibition in Berlin in 1892 which was labelled as ‘objectionable art’ by the authorities and was closed down. With this, Munch became famous overnight. Critics found his paintings as “pictures of Ibsensque mood arousing curiosity both on a social and psychological level.” In fact, 1890s was the most productive phase in Munch’s career. His paintings expressed varied aspects of human existence in modern times as felt and internalised by Munch himself. Munch exhibited these paintings in 1902 in Berlin as a series called Frieze of Life. This series had 22 paintings that inluded well known works like Despair, Melancholy, Jealousy, Anxiety, Death, Madonna, Summer Night’s Dream, Self Portrait with Cigarette, Death in the Sickroom’ and The Scream. Through these paintings Munch established a set of motifs, images and symbols to express the most subtle visions of the soul; something unseen in art history before. Personal crisisThough Munch had become a sought after painter in Europe, he was undergoing a severe crisis in his personal life. Coupled with his fragile health, he started having bouts of depression particularly after the death of his father in 1889 and two failed relationships that left him remorseful. He stated drinking heavily and had become more of a split-personality as he recounted, “the influence of alcohol brought the schism of the mind or the soul to its extreme…like two birds in a single cage…under the violent schism of these two mental states arose an increasingly stronger inner tension – a conflict – a fearful battle in the cage of the soul.” In 1908, Munch had a nervous breakdown and after eight months of treatment in Copenhagen, he returned to Norway. By this time Norway had got its independence. Munch was received in his home country as a national artist. He got several commissioned work especially decorative murals. Munch settled down in Ekely, an estate on the outskirts of Oslo. His ‘children’Now, Munch turned outwards as mostly he painted landscapes and countrylife. He also revisited some of the earlier themes from Frieze of Life. He spent a reclusive life without any companion. He called his paintings his children. When he died at the age of 80, 1008 paintings, 4443 drawings, 15,391 prints besides an equally huge number of woodcuts, etchings, lithographs and photographs were found in his house which he had bequeathed to the Oslo Municipality. What sets Munch apart from other artists of all times is the ‘inward gaze’ that gave rise to the Expressionist movement. Munch penetrates through the human soul; its outwardly invisible forms and discovers the spiritual aura of ‘self’. He gives voice to the unspoken fears and aspirations of the modern man, and above all, his struggle against the outside forces. Munch’s creativity was not inspired by an ‘impression from outside rather it was truly an ‘expression from inside’.

Article published in Deccan Herald (Bangalore) Sunday Magazine

MOSAIC OF MUMBAI

Mosaic of Mumbai
The skyline of Mumbai that you see today evolved over a long period of time. Sujit Chowdhury traces the architectural history of the metropolis and the makeover it has gone through.
Mumbai has been a city of dreams since the time it opened its shores to welcome native and foreign traders. It is indeed a ‘melting pot’ of diverse cultures and the confluence of socio-economic and political trends over centuries have shaped its modern metropolitan character. Mumbai’s architectural heritage bears testimony to these historical changes.The seven islands of Mumbai were gifted to Britain by Portugal when Charles II married Catherine, the Portuguese princess in 1661. The Portuguese rulers had built forts in these islands for trading. Remnants of these forts can be seen even today at Sion, Mahim, Bandra (Castella De Aguada) and Versova. Since Kolkata was the administrative and trading hub of the East India Company, Mumbai did not have imposing buildings in 17th and 18th centuries. Mumbai buildings were constructed in native style for purely utilitarian purposes. Gradually, with increasing political and commercial activities and the imperial perception of building as a visual symbol of power, the building started to be constructed in Victorian Gothic style. Some of these buildings are St Thomas Church (1672-1718), the Mint (1829), Crawford Market (1869) and Town Hall (1804). South-side sagaBy mid-19th century, land at the southern tip (today’s Colaba) was reclaimed, causeways to the mainland were built and a rail section was opened to Thane. These developments were fuelled by the growing demand of Indian cotton in Britain due to the American Civil War. Increasing trade through Mumbai Port created an affluent mercantile class largely from Parsee and Gujarati communities.

After 1860, Mumbai was poised to emerge as a major urban centre when Henry Bartle Edward Frere became the Governor in 1862. Frere had a dream of transforming Mumbai into Urbs Prima in Indis i.e, India’s first city. He was instrumental in constructing St John’s Church in 1847 to commemorate the dead soldiers in the First Afghan War of 1838. Construction of Afghan Church was a turning point in the architectural history of Mumbai as it heralded the emergence of Neo-Gothic style suited to Indian climate and functionality. It was a Gothic style unique to Mumbai. Though the buildings were designed by British architects, locally available materials especially stones were used to minimize cost and to suit Mumbai’s humid climate and torrential monsoons. The expertise of Indian masons and craftsmen in elaborate decorative elements added a new dimension to this Gothic revival in Mumbai. ‘Georgian London’ Frere was the guiding force as he vehemently criticized his predecessors for copying ‘Georgian London’ in Mumbai that lacked a truly Anglo-Indian distinctive character. He said,“…architecture in England was at such a low ebb that we could not realize what was essential to the progress of art in India.” Frere demolished the old Fort George situated at the southern tip of Mumbai that was built in 1716 for military purposes. Frere planned for a series of administrative and public buildings in this area and commissioned and associated distinguished British architects; notable among them were George Gilbert Scott, Henry Conybeare, George Molecey, John Fuller and F W Stevens. No doubt, his aim was to enhance the image of the empire and to establish an effective civic administration, construction of new buildings in the Fort area (also called Frere Town) changed the skyline of South Mumbai forever. British Architects visited Mumbai and after studying the local needs designed these buildings. Opening of Suez Canal and newly-established railways in India facilitated transportation of construction materials. Establishment of Sir J J School of Art in 1854 produced trained craftsmen to take Frere’s enterprise forward. The rich traders donated generously for construction of public buildings. No stone unturnedWithin a span of over 30 years, Mumbai had acquired a unique architectural character based on Victorian-Gothic premises with indigenous components. Elements like sculpted balconies, turrets, oval and circular windows were incorporated that suited Indian sensibilities. Stones available locally in different variety like blue and red basalt from Pune, buff-coloured Kurla stone, Vasai sandstone, off-white stone from Porbander were extensively used. Frere’s town covered the southern tip of Mumbai. The plan left large open spaces (esplanade) that still provide lungspace to the densely populated business district by Azad, Oval, Cooperage and Cross Maidans. The prominent buildings in a row around Oval maidan are Old Secretariat, High Court and University Building with the famous Rajabai Tower. Adjacent to this is Central Telegraph Office which earlier housed GPO. Facing it we find the iconic Flora Fountain, a sculptural artefact of highest perfection made in Neo-Classical tradition in 1869. In the vicinity, the Head Quarter of Bombay, Baroda and Central Indian Railway (now Central Railways and Churchgate station) was constructed in 1899. Other remarkable buildings in this area are David Sasoon Library (1873), Chief Presidency Magistrate’s Court (1889), Royal Alfred Sailor’s Home now the HQ of Maharashtra State Police (1876), Elphinstone College (1890) etc. The Neo-Gothic style in Mumbai reached its zenith with the construction of Victoria Terminus (1888) and then of Bombay Municipal Corporation Building (1893);both conceived by F W Stevens. By the time, the design for BMC was being considered, the British government had realized the need to amalgamate Hindu and Mughal architectural elements into their buildings. This stylistic shift was the result of changing colonial policies that started believing in adaptive strategies after 1857 mutiny.The empire, to continue its rule, tried to evoke a sense of familiarity with the past. It led to emulation of architectural elements from Hindu, Jain and Mughal traditions so that empire is no longer perceived as an alien ruler. This change found its expression even in Gothic buildings like Victoria Terminus and BMC HQ and led to emergence of Indo-Saracenic architecture. John Begg, a Scottish Architect, came to Mumbai in 1901 as the Consulting Architect to the government and designed General Post Office (1913). Inspired by the Gol Gumbaj of Bijapur, he designed the central dome of GPO with minarets, cupolas and horseshoe shaped arches. It was a radical break from the predominant architectural style as it contained an unprecedented eclectic and a new syncretic style. After GPO, John Begg and George Wittel designed Prince of Wales Museum (1915). Gateway of India (1922) was another landmark structure in Indo-Saracenic tradition that was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911. Interestingly, at the time of their arrival a temporary structure was erected hurriedly and today’s Gateway of India was formally inaugurated in 1924. Indo-Saracenic style also paved the way for independent development of various architectural styles derived from Zorastrian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Jain traditions as evident from numerous religious structures in Mumbai. No missing the ‘chawl’Apart from these developments, large scale immigration required residential structures. Since migration was community based and space was scarce, it led to a typical residential pattern called chawl which was a two to five storied building with one room accommodation with common toilets.The architecture of these chawls was influenced by the common cultural background of the residents. For example Khotachi Wadi in Girgaum area bears the Portuguese influence as the residents are largely Goan. In 1930s and 40s, the first generation of Indian architects trained in the Western tradition, broke new ground with their modern style based on sleek, symmetrical and geometric patterns using steel, plastic and glass for residential and commercial buildings that resembled to a contemporary style in Miami and New York. It was termed as Art Deco, a unique architectural style that dotted the landscape around Oval maidan and Marine Drive. Many hotels like Ritz, Astoria and West End and theatres such as Metro, Regal and Eros are Art Deco buildings. Besides buildings, a host of artefacts like fountains, statues, memorials and other installations added to the beauty of ever-charming Mumbai. Mumbai thus became an architectural mosaic that contributed in shaping its cosmopolitan and secular character. Post-Independent Mumbai witnessed rapid growth of suburbs and construction of skyscrapers. Closed cotton mills were pulled down for new construction and many buildings of historical significance like Buckley Court and Watson Hotel were demolished or altered to fulfill commercial needs.Fortunately, the citizens of Mumbai did not remain silent spectators. With growing heritage awareness, protests and mass mobilization by activists, professionals, resident associations and NGOs, the state government of Maharashtra passed a legislation in 1995 that enlisted 574 architectural structures (buildings, artefacts, residential clusters, open spaces etc.) and 14 precincts of heritage significance and further categorized them into three grades according to their architectural, historical and cultural importance as well as their period, design and use. The legislation was the first in India to monitor and regulate modifications or alterations with a view to protect them from demolition or rebuilding. Thanks to the conservation awareness among the citizens of Mumbai that many buildings have been restored to their previous glory. Significant among them are Convocation Hall of Mumbai University, Central Telegraph Office and Victoria and Albert Museum, now known as Bhau Daji Lad Museum.Conservation of CST and Elephanta Caves are going on and both are now listed as world heritage sites of UNESCO. Precincts like Kala Ghoda and Banganga have been protected. Annual events such as Heritage Walk and Mumbai Festival have further propagated the heritage awareness. Large scale protest against rebuilding of Opera House and Capitol Theatre have saved these buildings. Conservation plan is on the anvil for many buildings like GPO and Hazi Ali Dargah. The problem faced by the conservation process is that most of the buildings are government owned and the maintenance works over the years have been ad-hoc and incongruous in nature that have further deteriorated the structures. One glaring example is Gateway of India where waterproofing treatment with a synthetic resin adversely affected the stone. Paucity of fund is another constraint. Though new areas are being developed for growing residential and commercial needs, the vested interests comprising the builder-political nexus have been clamoring for redevelopment of heritage structures and precincts. The Heritage Committee is only a recommendatory body and it needs more autonomy and power. The recent controversy is redevelopment plan for Crawford Market (now renamed as Mahtama Jyotiba Phule Market) as the Municipal Corpration has passed a resolution and the government is facing criticism from various quarters.In fact, making Mumbai another Shanghai necessarily does not involve destroying its glorious history. What we need is a concerted conscious effort to deal pragmatically with the conservation of Mumbai’s architectural heritage so that its cultural pluralism and historical legacy are preserved in the context of rapidly changing urban demands.