chandigarh-planned for cultural crisis

Chandigarh-planned city for cultural crisis?


When Swiss born French architect Le Corbusier arrived in India in 1951, country was just breathing after 400 years of British Rule. People born in free India were still infants while grown up had tested the colors of invaders and were torn between cultural impacts of new masters as well centuries old traditions of past. Le Corbusier wanted to give Indians a “city free from past traditions”. He already had written enough and now also had an excuse to design something for “Modern India”. Taking clues from the already designed city plan of Albert Mayer, an American .Le Corbusier finished the shape of the city in mere 15 days sitting in rest house near historic gardens of 17th century pinjore gardens. He infect suggested to bewilder Indians that their city can be planned from his Paris office. But he had to agree to be in India at least for 8 weeks in a year.
Now acclaimed a Modern City even seeking UNESCO status of heritage by being put-on it’s tentative list, initially had no respect for its contextual relation with the” way of life” for whom it was required to be built by the master architect. In fact le Corbusier was busy from 1951 to 1958 in designing and building his own glory in the” Capitol Complex” a group of buildings consisting of secretariat, high court building assembly building, governor’s palace, symbolic Open hand all joined with fancy valley’s of “contemplation and reflections”. A visual dramatic foreign vocabulary of architectural expression had no relation to the cultural, social, and aesthetic values of locals, yet people converged to this new” Mecca “of Modern movement in architectural world. city which was planned for “orderly” 500,00 has increased to 1.2 millions and further is surrounded by” Chandigarh urban complex “which further adds to almost 5 times to what it was initially designed. To worsen the situations is numerous followers in India LC left who make hue and cry even when one talks of introducing something new which otherwise situation and need of people demand. City is to be frozen to keep the legacy of LE CORBUSIER

Paper will analyze the concept development for the city based on the ignorance of Le Corbusier about keeping contextual borders of Indian way of life which will be brought out by analyzing minds of turbulent society burdened with partition of country and what a new foreign architectural expression in terms of city Chandigarh gave them in the guise of “freedom from past “.A boxed city, sometimes referred as Nice sanatorium needs actual assessment of new and old architectural impacts affecting life socially, culturally.

Le CORBUSIER CENTER CHANDIGARH

Finally a place to look for when you are in chandigarh,Le Corbusier center has been opened on the 121st birth Anniversiry of LC.Why it took so long? what it needs is to give fresh look and fresh Ideas what city needs before its too late for the city. Its first and fore most job should be to give a collectively thought wisdom of future ofcity which hangs because of confusion due to original concepts of Le Corbusier of 1950. Sure he woud have changed himself in architectural thinking since then if he was alive.There are many who live in the shade of past and dont want to grow out of it even when problem of living habitat is organic ever growing yet the solutions these well wishers of LC give are of frozen time. What LC Center has to do is interpret the cobusian ideas with improved version functional harmonious and time paced for the good of city. Let this not further froze instead act as melt down furnace within the scope of city's theory of free from traditions of past

aquiring of land for public good

Many people particularly people who purchased land in the periphory of chandigarh are opposing process of land aquisition for the growth of city,which is a certainity. Land which they purchased mostly in early 70's is now huge farm houses, a prized possesion of their earlier oppurtunist investments. Land has now to be aquired for economic growth of city and these people's personal interests are not greater than public interest.This should be kept in mind.Most of these people are retired govt. servants who had control over city's affairs and who during thier tenure saw the opurtunity in having huge land chunks around developing city.Now when people have awakned to the fact they are sore but they should not be they have enjoyed leasure of these large farm houses enough and now no more.While on one side people are packed like sardines in small pegion hole like slum housings whats theidea of owning such luxary in city which is reflection of modren India of Equality.Strange that so called urban slum Helpers from feild of Architecture are also singing the same tune. Pity isnt it?

CITY PARKS

One of the other unique thing of city Chandigarh are its parks. who says that it is only the city of Le Corbusier. perhaps if the care takers of the city like its chief commissioners , administrators ,architects and more important people were not concerned city would have not be what it is today. talking of Parks besides leusre velley sector-11 park, sector 3,10 16 ,23, 36,28 all have well maintained parks rather a treat. development , betterment and concern is main mantra. should we not thank the chandigarh administration?

Human Settelments and experiments?

Chandigarh city born out of division of a country in 1947. it was not a wedlock mind you , rather sepration which germinated the thought.In architectural world its known as CHANDIGARH EXPERIMENT. WHY one has to apply a thought of EXPERIMENT WHEN ITS A QUESTION OF HUMAN HABITAT? how ever it is refered now as experiment and lots of people are looking for an answer weather it resulted in success or not.
CITY started to take shape with the arrival of LE CORBUSIER in 1951.what he decided was in fact a u turn in terms of planning ideas he had thought for PARIS.FIRST OF ALL A LIMITED CITY DESGINED FOR 500,000.SECOND IT HAS ITS OWN CITY LIMIT WITH PERAPHORY CONTROL. THIRDLY IT HAS LE CORBUSIER SPACES WHICH CROSS LIMIT OF ABUNDACE ALMOST A BUILTUP WASTE.
city has grown from its adminstrative role and also in its human occupation as well physical boundries. its impression has not touched the soul of common masses of vilages surronding it for them defination of living style has not changed.
youm can't stop the seeds growth when its planted. it has to grow to become a life.planned has to give way for unplanned and not seen things are changing for chandigarh and planners have nothing else to do but see helplessly.EXPERIMENT HAS BLOWN ITESLF TO SIZE WHERE ITS GOING TO BURST SOON.what it needs is to channelise its energies before the bubble bursts.