You Think That was Us! No Not Us

"Look around! The monuments ‘They’ built, make us proud to this day!"

I have been living in India since 1996, I am pretty old to remember anything, as much of my memory has started to fade out. By the way, I am 24 years old! So, living in India has turned out quite well, I have achieved many things that some people still dream about – Let’s say, a decent lifestyle and a good education! My latest achievement is graduating as an architect.

Well, I am not here to talk about myself. I am here to talk about architecture. I am here to talk about those pretty monuments we have and are so proud of. Dubai has the tallest building in the world known as Burj Khalifa. So what? We have the great Taj Mahal that was built in 1648 just 373 years ago. How time flies right? 

My greatest of the greatest grandfather looking at the Taj Mahal in 1648 must-have thought if this is the level of architecture in 1648 in India, I only wonder what will happen by 2020. Well, my greatest grandfather, I look up at the sky, and I see you. You are the one, that is shining the most just like your era was meant to shine. Please don’t cry! It’s 2020, Corona happens!! Also, I would advise you to shine even more as the level of pollution is increasing day by day.

So, one day out of curiosity, I happened to search about the famous buildings of India. I was quite happy with the result. Those grand buildings made me feel proud about our heritage which showcased our country’s timeline and its rich culture over a period of time.

      Taj Mahal, Agra

The first and the most famous name that appeared was ‘Taj Mahal’ which is one of the seven wonders of the world and is said to be the ‘epitome of love’ as Shah Jahan had built it in the memory of his fourth wife ‘Mumtaz Mahal’. The grandeur of this monument can be observed throughout the day and night. Yes! Especially on a full moon night. This marvelous marble structure glows as the moon shines above it. What a sight it must be? That is why there is no artificial lighting present at the monument as it would be disgraceful to do that.

 

Heritage Experts have to say that, if we illuminate the place artificially, the footfall of the place will also rise, as the insects too will show up at night. Well if you want to experience it under artificial lights, why don’t you visit Taj Mahal part 2?

 

Yes, a part 2! Sequels always disappoint us, be it ‘Sacred Games’ or of ‘Taj Mahal’. Some might totally disagree with me but who cares. Those of you confused, I am talking about ‘Dakkhani Taj’ or ‘Taj of the Deccan’ originally known as ‘Bibi ka Makbara’ interestingly built by Aurangzeb in the memory of his first wife Dilras Banu Begum.

 

It was built-in 1660 at Aurangabad and has a very similar resemblance to the Taj Mahal that his father had commissioned. We all know about his love and passion for architecture, but still, Aurangzeb did try and I will never say he did a bad job. If you don’t compare it to the Taj Mahal it is beautiful too. If you can’t be a Shah Jahan at least be an Aurangzeb. Look at his positive traits, please! Where I am going with this is at least we have to try. We did not build these monuments, they did.

Biwi Ka Makbara, Aurangabad

It’s the 21^st century and we have degraded architecturally. Think of any modern building in India that blows up your mind? Think more! If you can compare it with any other futuristic buildings of the world? Hey man! that’s easy! Take ‘Lotus Temple’ and compare it with ‘Sydney Opera House’. If you are an architect or somehow related to this field, you might name a few buildings. Ask a common man and they won’t be able to name one. 

Architecture plays an important role in changing people’s lifestyles. Take a simple example – A Shopping Mall. Remember the first time you visited a shopping mall? The excitement was on another level. Right? Seeing all those big brands and famous fast food joints spread among different floors under the same roof. It felt luxurious then. Now you’ll find a mall in every city. It’s common for us. It’s a part of our lifestyle now. Another example would be, A local government body built a park with an open-air gymnasium on a wasteland near a big housing society. People of the society benefitted from it and upgraded their lifestyle to a healthy one. One can appear rich by the way he dresses. India is not a poor country, but it looks poor and foreign media loves to show it that way.

Let’s talk about an American movement ‘Make America Great Again’! Just kidding. I bet this slogan would have also gone well with the ‘City Beautiful Movement which was a philosophy on North American Architecture and Urban Planning. This movement was headed by Daniel Burnham with the main motive to beautify the American cities with monumental grandeur. 

There was a need felt for the beautification of the cities that will lead to a better lifestyle of its people and also to attract tourists from around the world. Unlike European countries, which were very rich in their architectural heritage due to their long history of kings and queens, America felt the urge to compete with those European cities. Their plan was to focus more on Civic Buildings rather than residential Buildings.

Chicago City was one of the first cities to adopt the ‘City Beautiful Movement’ ideology. In 1893, Chicago had won the race to organize a ‘World Fair’ in which nearly 50 foreign countries were being represented. Chicago City deteriorating under crime and filthiness created a ‘White City’ at its core, painting the buildings with white stucco, widening the streets, and illuminating it with street lights. 

Open spaces with beautiful planned landscapes were created on the wastelands and new buildings and monuments came up. They acted as a shield and the tourists were made to see only the good parts of the city. After this successful attempt, many other American cities followed this movement. One such being Washington D.C. This movement changed the world’s perception of America and changed the living conditions of its urban population.

World Fair, Chicago City 1893

The Chandigarh city in Punjab, India which was designed by French-Swiss architect ‘Le Corbusier’ was heavily inspired by the ‘City Beautiful Movement. That’s the one reason we call Chandigarh  ‘City Beautiful’. It is beautiful indeed. Well executed and well planned. We need more cities like Chandigarh. Those 100 smart cities about to be made should have a common ideology of Architecture and Urban Planning. Maybe it’s time we have our very own movement and we work for the betterment of the nation and its people and show the world what we are capable of. Let’s inspire our future generation and add more to their History syllabus.

Talking about the current situation, there have been a lot of debates about some of the major new projects that have come up. Take, for example, The Statue of Unity or of the disputed Ram Mandir and Babri Masjid, or be it the construction of the new parliament building. 

Leaving all the politics behind and speaking truly as an architect I see a change that we are going through. We should come together and support it. The change is for us. Not everyone can visit America to see the Statue of Liberty. So, we made our own Statue of Unity, the tallest in the world for our people. It attracts tourists from all over the world hence generating revenue. The temples and mosques are for us to use. 

Last but not the least, we cannot rely on the age-old buildings forever. We are in the dire need of new buildings and monuments of this very era. We need to change our mindset. We need to go big, Cause’ we think that was us! Sadly no! This what we see around us is what we are!