After loads of effort, finally this Sunday I made it to the much talked about exhibition of Master Architect Doshi. ‘Celebrating Habitat’, at National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi is a retrospective of the Architect’s life hence his projects. I have been to a handful of architectural exhibitions before – in college life mostly – and always ended up finding myself a bit more curious and a bit more incapable of ‘understanding’ the projects from wall-hung plans, sections and few complementary models. This was one of the reasons why I got interested when a friend of mine came up with the idea for his thesis where he wanted to connect people with architecture through ‘exhibiting architecture’.
This exhibition is a bit different. The ‘recreated’ spaces are the USP and you know it the moment you enter the hall. Greeted by a low-height ceiling a sense of intimacy created by space gropes you in. The exhibition allows you to move freely as the projects are not arranged chronologically. The scale and size of that ‘model’ pushes you to look for its ‘real’ counterpart. And there, on the right, you see a life-like photograph of the Architect’s residence with the plans and model. And there only you discover the actual implementation of the low-height ceiling and the small intimate space. That very moment, you know… this is different!
On the right hand side, you find another private residence project done by the architect and few sketches accompanied by a note written by him. As photography is prohibited in the exhibition (thank god), thus what I could carry back from there were only few notes/writings mentioned at different places. (Confession: These notes actually helped me to understand and relate to the exhibition in a much better way) The sketches were done by his grand-daughter (also the curator of this exhibition) in childhood, I guess. The note that accompanied them read, “Become like a child… and break free from normal conventions.” Here he was inspired by the drawing of a face drawn by his grand-daughter and thus decided to become a child whenever he works on a project – every time, think like a child, as if you have not done anything like it before, break free from what the education has bounded you with, and start from scratch… every time. This very note was enough to be considered as a souvenir from the exhibition.
A quick glance on the paintings done by him (handmade perspective views in a painting – I mention that with a feeling of awe and surprise) and a collage of ‘local’ pics with a quote written on top, “Indian lifestyles are likeblotting paper. Simultaneously local and global, holistic and sustainable…”
Then the masters of the master – Corbusier, LIK, Tagore and Gandhi. A green backdrop with their photographs and quotes, I managed to note a few.
Corbusier – “Remember. Every morning you are born in the skin of a donkey…”
LIK – “search for spiritual in architecture…”
Tagore – “look for viswa bharti. Be a part of nature and build around nava rasaas…” (This is something I still have to google, thus have no idea what it means..)
And this was followed by a model of the exhibition area mentioning what is where, again with a note by him, “this is not an exhibition of an architect but an exhibition of an artist who sees all the stages of place, bldg at one glance.” Indeed, what he said could be easily seen and felt. What I found ironic was that Corbusier being his mentor, one can easily find traces of his style in Doshi sir’s work – but what puts them apart from each other is the fact that Corbusier was an artist who designed buildings… and Doshi sir, we know him as an architect and he calls himself an artist! Interesting. Indeed there is a very thin line between both these practices.
Then the projects – NIFT, Delhi, Sangath – plans, models, sketches, drawings – and people who came with ‘families’ found it difficult to understand and created nuisance and demanded for somebody to explain ‘something’ to them. (Thanks to the girl present there who actually explained everything to them, phew, hectic job!) Suddenly after this minor episode I read on the wall in front, “There is no greater teacher than intuition…” and I smiled to myself. The ‘forced perspective’ tunnel that was recreated with Sangath’s model is an incredible effort to create the ‘experience’ of scale/space. Experience can only be felt. It is not something that can be ‘explained’. This is a step ahead in ‘exhibiting architecture’.
Then few steps take you to the Hussain-Doshi gufa (a.k.a. amdavad ni gufa) and CEPT corner. Again, a wonderfully recreated space with the help of photographs and actual space is commendable. I haven’t been to CEPT yet, but could feel how that particular part of the building would actually be. Moved on with other projects and a door designed by him, strategically placed in between the hall. Small cutouts in the wall also gave the glimpse of other projects showcased behind it, creating a relationship and continuity. The next installation bowled me over.
The Intangible city, a collage of plans of all the townships done till date by the architect placed as a plan of a city itself with a river flowing through it. Previously, on a wall one of his quotes had mentioned how he feels like a river flowing in search of sea and how his architecture defines his life. Suddenly I felt smashed by the enormous quantity of brains that he might have put in to create something like that! With this kind of ‘introduction’ to his planning capabilities one can now see the details of these townships. Vidyadhar nagar, LIC housing, Aranya… with very interesting sketches and an intelligent interactive model of Aranya showing the possibilities and permutations and combinations of housing plan. A wonderful conceptual diagram explaining the stages from encroachment to urbanization explains everything. As I have been working on participatory housing planning/designing for Dharavi, I found a line written on wall catchy, “Participatory communities with choices to grow and build.”
A quick glance on the assembly building project and a residence – again with to scale model of the ‘otla’ and staircase with four columns recreated. The ‘journey’ ended in the central space created by four columns, like a vedi, replicating a sitting space in the Architect’s own residence. Saw the movie ‘Retrospective Film on Architect B. V. Doshi’ before leaving the exhibition.
Overall it is an experience one must have.
Short film -
P.S. One might not be able to understand the ‘experience’ of a space in a photograph, but photographs can actually help you understand this article in a better way. So click the link - Photos of the Exhibition by Dinesh Mehta
Light… natural or artificial… is like jewelry, an accessory for a building. Its like the 'sringaar' that is applied to beautify something - ornamentation. I admit that I had never noticed before how even the bland buildings get a colorful flavor with the help of ‘lights’. This time the Diwali celebrations pointed out that to me in open.
After a routine long day, coming back from work, spending an hour in the pale yellow/white light of metro compartment, walking down back home you are greeted by the same buildings that you see daily – the same ‘block’ architecture with common elements, common technical faults and even common looks. But once, during this festive season you are welcomed by lights… all over the place. The buildings, for once, lose their boundaries and merge into one another as if they lie with a layer of lights on them. Everything – the corner balconies, the glass railings, the MS-balusters, the out-of-context cornices and motifs, the excessively provided glass doors – everything is overpowered by those beautiful lights spread over those boxes (no offense) uniformly. Suddenly, the road is converted into a ‘space’ highlighted by the lights around. On the other hand, very seldom you see such lights placed according to the architecture of a building – enhancing and justifying all the niches, parapets, voids, and massing. Whatever way they are used, they indeed put life in (though for short time) what seems to be a dead immovable mass.
Louis I. Kahn, the master Architect said, “The sun never knew how great it was until it hit the side of a building..”
The randomly clicked ‘show of lights’ on my way back home. Delight!
Early morning crowded metro station leaves me in a fix every day. I see people running like mad to catch the train which is standing at the platform. The hurry is to reach before the doors shut. No offense but I laugh at them many a times, not because of those weird expressions on their faces when they are about to bang on the closing door but because all this reminds me of that wonderful place where life was never in hurry. The mornings used to start when the matador would start its first trip – that too dependent on the seasons. People never used to rush for anything. They had their own targets but were not afraid of the consequences they might have to face if they don’t complete them. No wonder why people in ‘city’ attend motivational classes of some gurus where they teach them how to be 'fearless'. Fear bounds you. Fear of expectations. Fear of performance. Fear of getting late. Its all too specific in city. The ‘9:15’ Metro which will come in ‘01’ minute and would take ‘51’ minutes to reach the destination. And there, people enjoyed being there in that moment. No one ever shouted on the conductor for prolonged halt at different places. No one even had the answer to the question, “Gaadi Kab aayegi?” What all they could say was, “Aajayegi abhi..” Maybe that’s why we used to treat it as the 'country' space. There is no fear. There are no expectations. The life goes on like an organism, which functions smoothly as all the parts are working in coordination, opposite to the city. I always used to call Mumbai a city of machines, where people act like machines operating on some pre-ordered instructions. Delhi is no different apart from the fact that this machine is noisier.
These machines travelling in Metro are so stressed that they use different ways to ‘disconnect’ themselves from regular things. Some shut their eyes and murmur the names of their gods and some plug in the headphones, shut eyes and concentrate on the music. What they all are doing is ‘forgetting’ or erasing their memories temporarily or getting ‘high’. People in ‘country’ never shut eyes while travelling so as they can see the beauty lying in the nature. For city we have songs like “There’s a big hard sun, beating on the big people, in a big hard world” (Eddie Vedder) I, personally, never like to see the sun when I am in city. And back there, we used to gaze right into the rising sun early morning. ‘Accept’ is something that a city teaches very well. Being one of the ‘machines’, I accept the conditions and try to forget things listening to music. But every time I plug in to “Paradise” (Coldplay) and close my eyes, I find myself in Sahil's room, the place which relates to the song very well. Or while listening to “Don’t you worry child” (Swedish House Mafia), I find Him Anshu sitting next to me doing nothing…
One of the several ways to define 'Dilli ki sardi'.
The moment you see a "rehri" (cart) with moongfali and gajjak, and the sighdi (matki with coal/wood to warm up the peanuts) you know that Dilli ki sardi has arrived! People spend their afternoons standing around these pit-stops and enjoy the winter sun. Thats how Dilli celebrates winter.
भले छ्चीन लो मुझसे मेरी जवानी..
मगर मुझको लौटा दो Campus का सावन..
वो छोटी सी Balcony वो बारिश का पानी..
Sirah की वो सारी दुकानें पुरानी वो चाचू जिनसे कहते हम की “Maggi है खानी..!”
वो राजा की lemon-tea में चीनी का बहना… वो बबलू के omlete में प्याज़ ना रहना..
भुलाए नहीं भूल सकता है कोई… वो छोले ते कुलचे… वो चटनी में पानी…
कड़ी धूप में GATE 1 से निकलना वो DPS के लिए .. लंबा शॉर्टकट पकड़ना.. वो पहाड़ी के पेढो तक पत्थर उच्छालना..
वो Hospital की design में नुक्स निकलना.. वो चिल्लड़ की दौलत पे party बनाना.. वो समोसे + टिक्की + राम लड्डो में दही मिलना…
वो थक- हार कर भी हमेशा पैदल ही जाना.. फिर दिन काट के.. छत पे रातें बितानी…
वो छोटी सी बाल्कनी वो बारिश का पानी..
कभी काम करके .. ढंग से bore हो जाना.. वो Nagari, Anshul, Sahil के कमरो में जाना.. ‘नहीं करना yaaaa’ ऐसे बहाने बनाना… वो sheet-ein बनाकर फिर Cntrl+Z दबाना…
वो गर्मी में तपना.. वो सर्दी में जमना… ना दुनिया का घम था.. ना Society का स्यापा.. बस Monsoon की बारिश में बहते ही जाना…
कोई मुझज्को लौटा दो Campus का सावन.. वो छोटी सी बाल्कनी … वो बारिश का पानी..
