UPSC IAS exam preparation - Arts, Architecture and Literature of India - Lecture 6

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 Colonial architecture Part II 

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4.0 Towns and Cities in India

It is evident that when we think or talk of architecture, we have to think of the related idea of town planning or urban development. In this section we will learn about the growth and development of towns and cities in India. It is indeed an interesting story. We will go into details of the four major cities of contemporary India -Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. We will trace the origin of these cities and learn about their important structures and buildings.

Starting from the Harappan civilization, (also known as Indus-Saraswati civilization by some historians), India has had a very long history of town planning, which can be traced back to 2350 B.C. As we have already learnt, the two cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro had an elaborate drainage system, roads which cut each other at right angles, a citadel which was built on a high ground and in the lower parts lived the rest of the population. Kalibanga in Rajasthan and Surkotda in Kutch had similar city structure. From 600 B.C. onwards, we come across more towns and cities that were associated with both Aryan as well as Dravidian civilization. These were Rajgir, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Hastinapur, Ujjain, Sravasthi, Kapilavastu and Kausambhi besides many others. We also come across many towns in the Mauryan period known as Janapadas (small towns) and Mahajanapadas (big towns).

4.1 Muslim influence & coming of the British

With the coming of the Muslims to India, the scene changed. Islamic influence became evident in the towns. Mosques, forts and palaces now dotted the urban scene. According to Abul Fazal, there were 2,837 towns in 1594 A.D. This was mainly because many larger villages were transformed into smaller towns which came to be called qasbas. These qasbas soon came to be occupied by local artisans and craftspersons, who started specializing in their chosen craft, for example leather works and marble in Agra. Sind specialized in cotton textiles, silk etc, while Gujarat excelled in the art of weaving gold and silk threads and made brocades that were often exported to other countries. As we know, later, during the 16th century, the Europeans came to India through the sea route and thus began the establishment of new port towns like Panaji in Goa (1510), Bombay in Maharashtra (1532), Machilipatnam (1605), Nagapattnam (1658), Madras (1639) in the south and Calcutta (1690) in the east. The reason why these new port towns were developed by the British was because during this time England had developed into a leading industrial economy of the world, while India was the leading supplier of raw materials for the British industries as well as a potential major buyer of these goods.

After 1853, railway lines were also laid out by the British to carry goods from the interiors to the ports or connecting areas which were supplying raw materials or receiving finished goods. By 1905, nearly 28,000 miles of rail lines had been spread to serve the economic, political and military interests of the British. Post and telegraph lines were also laid which were needed for communication purposes.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Bombay (now Mumbai), Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Madras (now Chennai) had become well known important cities for administration, commerce as well as industries. Some places like Dalhousie Square in Calcutta, Fort St. George in Madras, Connaught Place in Delhi and the sea shores of Marine Drive in Bombay reminded the Europeans of their home in England. But they also wanted the coolness of their environs back home in Europe. So new centres developed in the hill stations near these big cities to beat the sultry summer months of India, e.g. Mussoorie, Simla and Nainital in the North; Darjeeling and Shillong in the East; Nilgiri and Kodaikanal in the South.

New residential areas like Civil Lines and Cantonments came up in towns. The area where civilian administrative officers lived was called Civil Lines, while cantonments were areas meant for the British Army Officers.

4.2 Chennai (formerly Madras)

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, and is one of the four original metropolitan cities of India. The city grew up around Fort Saint George, and with time, absorbed the surrounding towns and villages. In the 19th century, the city became the seat of Madras Presidency, the southern division of British Imperial India. After independence in 1947, the city became the capital of Madras State, which was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1968. It has retained its traditional Tamil Hindu culture, and has been able to provide a unique blend of foreign influence and Indian culture. Chennai's British influence is evident in various cathedrals, buildings, and wide tree-lined avenues.

The High Court Building, built in 1892, was said to be the largest judicial building in the world after the Courts of London. The main hallmark of Fort St George, its decorative domes and corridors, are reminiscent of new architecture.

The Ice House was used to store enormous blocks of ice cut from the Great Lakes in northern USA and shipped to India for refrigeration purposes during the colonial rule.

Another beautiful structure that came up during this time was the Church of St. John that had wide Gothic arches and beautiful stained-glass windows. It had the nave and aisles, a tower and a spire. The walls are made of rubble, faced with coarse Kurla Stone buff while the piers, arches, and dressings are of Porbunder Stone; the roof is built of teakwood and the floor of tiles imported from England.

Yet another structure worth mentioning that was built during this period was the General Post Office. Completed in 1872, the General Post Office in Chennai has a vast central hall, with a very high dome. It was built in local basalt with dressings of yellow stone from Kurla and white stone from Dhrangadra. It is an important tourist attraction. Inside, the marble topped tables, the high vaulted ceilings, and the sweeping staircases are designed for an ostentatious show of wealth and power of the British.

4.2 Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)

Kolkata was the capital of British India till 1911. It was established as Calcutta in the year 1686, as a result of the expansion plans of the British. The city kept progressing until 1756, when Siraj-ud-Daula (Nawab of Bengal) attacked and succeeded in driving the British away from the town. In 1757, the following year, Battle of Plassey took place, in which Robert Clive took over the city by defeating the Nawab. With the establishment of Supreme Court at Calcutta in 1774, it became the seat of justice. The capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1911. Calcutta was officially renamed as Kolkata in 2001.

Howrah Bridge is located over the Hooghly river. It connects the city of Howrah to Calcutta. It stands on two 270 feet high pillars and was constructed without using any nuts and bolts. This bridge acts as an important symbol of Kolkata. It is probably the busiest bridge of the world.

Located in north Calcutta, the Marble Palace was constructed in 1835. It serves as an exquisite art gallery. It displays marvelous objects of art, sculptures, pictures & oil paintings. It also has a zoo, where you can find different kinds of birds and animals. In fact, it has a rare collection of birds.

Fort William is situated at the banks of river Hooghly. The original was built in 1696 the British East India Co., and rebuilding done by Rebert Clive from 1758 till 1781. The basic purpose of setting up Fort William was to prevent attacks from invaders. The area that was cleared around the fort has become a maidan, where several exhibitions and fairs take place till today.

The Victoria Memorial Hall in Calcutta is a fabulous museum that was established in the year 1921. It is a fantastic place that takes visitors into the world of past history. Today, Victoria Memorial is one of the finest art museums in Kolkata. It is a 184 ft tall edifice that was constructed on 64 acres of land.

The Eden Gardens Cricket Club in Calcutta came into existence in the year 1864. Today it has the capacity to accommodate about 1,20,000 people.

The construction of Writers Building began as early as in 1690. It got its name owing to the fact that it served as the dwelling place for the junior writers of the East India Company. This Gothic structure came into existence during the tenure of Lt. Governor Ashley Eden (1877).

4.3 Mumbai (formerly Bombay)

Mumbai is located on the shores of Arabian Sea, on the West Coast of India and was once a group of seven islands. Although its site has been inhabited since pre-historic times, the city of Mumbai dates only to the arrival of the British in the 17th century, when it came up as Bombay. However, it really took shape in the 19th century. It was the first Indian city to have railways. Along with Calcutta, it was one of the first two Indian cities where newspapers came into existence.

During the second half of the 19th century many civic and public buildings were constructed in Bombay in Victorian Gothic Style e.g. the Secretariat (1874) the Council Hall (1876) and Elphinstone College (1890). But the most impressive style was the Victoria Terminus (modern-day renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus), the massive railway construction in 1887. It looks more like a cathedral than a railway station. It contains carved stone friezes, stained glass windows and flying walls.

The famous Gateway of India was built with yellow stone in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture to honour the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to India. It was completed in 1924 at a cost of Rupees 24 lakhs, which was a fortune in those days. It has a 26 metre high archway and is complete with four turrets and intricate lattice work carved into the yellow basalt stone.

Since independence, Mumbai has continued to be India's leading commercial and industrial city. The stock exchange, the business centres, the famous film industry called Bollywood.

4.4 Delhi

Delhi became the capital of British India in 1911. That is why Delhi celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011. Evidently, it was in 1911 that the modern city now called New Delhi came up. However, Delhi has a history much older than that. It is believed that there are at least seven important old cities that have come together to form Delhi. The first city of Delhi is believed to have been established on the right bank of the Yamuna by Yudhishthira, the oldest of the Pandava brothers by the name of Indraprastha. This is from the story of Mahabharata, which is the legend of the Pandavas and Kauravas.

According to folklore, Delhi was founded by Raja Dhilu. During the 2nd century A.D, Ptolemy, the geographer marked Delhi in his map as Daidala.

But it was much before this that among the innumerable Harappa sites figures the city now called Delhi. The evidence of this can be seen in the National Museum at Delhi.

From that time onwards, Delhi has continued to grow. Today it has expanded so much that it is now one of the largest cities, not only in the country, but in the whole world, with all its accompanying chaos and humdrum.

A very interesting legend is associated with Delhi. The story goes like this: the snake Vasuki was pushed underground by an Iron Pillar in the Qutab Minar Complex during the time of King Ashoka. Several years later, when the Tomar king Anang Pal of Lal Kot, established his rule in Delhi, he pulled out this pillar and set the serpent free. At that time, it was predicted that no dynasty would now be able to rule over Delhi for long. After the Tomars came the Chauhans, who built a city called Qila Rai Pithora in the Lal Kot area, near Mehrauli. Prithvi Raj Chauhan of this dynasty ruled from Mehrauli.

Delhi again came into prominence when the Slave Dynasty came into power. King Qutb-ud-din had started building the famous Qutub Minar, which was later finished by Iltutmish.

Later, when Alauddin Khilji became the Sultan, it was Siri that became the centre of power. The Siri Fort still exists and this area in Delhi is known as Shahpur Jat. Siri also has an interesting story to tell. Alauddin Khilji's rule was constantly threatened by the Mongol invasions. Some of these Mongols who stayed back in the city rebelled. Alauddin Khilji got them beheaded and their heads were buried under the walls of the city. That is how the place came to be called Siri. As you know the word sir means head.

Some years later, when the Tughlaq dynasty came to power, Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq constructed the city called Tughlaqabad. This was designed as a fortified town. After Ghiyasuddin's death, Mohammed Bin Tughlaq (1320-1388) enclosed the earlier cities of Delhi into a single unit and named it Jahanpanah.

Ibn Batuta, who served in the court of Mohammed Bin Tughlaq, has given a very interesting description of this city. He has described it as “.....the metropolis of India, a vast and magnificent city, uniting beauty with strength. It is surrounded by a wall that has no equal in the world, and is the largest city in India, nay rather the largest city in the entire Moslem Orient”.

Another important ruler of Tughlaq dynasty was Firoz Shah. During his reign, Delhi had an enormous population and covered an extensive area. He constructed Firozabad, located near Firoz Shah Kotla. However, the invasion of Timur, the king of Samarkand, in 1398, destroyed its glory, including the city of Jahanpanah. Timur took with him Indian architects and masons to build the mosques at Samarkand. The succeeding rulers shifted their capital to Agra.

It was the Mughal ruler Humayun, who built Dinpanah on the mound of ancient Indraprastha. However, it was Humayun's grandson, Shah Jehan, who revived the lost glory of Delhi. He started building the Red Fort in 1639 and finished it in 1648. In 1650, he started the work of building the famous Jami Masjid. Shah Jehan's city was called Shahjahanabad. Great poets such as Dard, Mir Taki Mir and Mirza Ghalib, etc. made Ghazals and the language of Ghazals, i.e. Urdu famous during this period. It is believed that Shahjahanabad was more beautiful than Baghdad in Iraq and Constantinople in Turkey. Over the centuries, the city was looted and destroyed by the armies of Nadir Shah (1739), Ahmad Shah Abdali (1748) as well as continuous attacks from within. All these weakened the city. But, in spite of all these problems, Delhi still had much to offer - Music, Dance, Drama and variety of delicious food along with a rich cultural language and literature.

It was said that Delhi was the home to at least 24 Sufis of which the most famous were from the Jahanpanah area. Some of them were:

1. Kutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki whose khanqah or dera was at Mehrauli;
2. Nizamuddin Auliya, whose khanqah was at Nizamuddin;
3. Sheikh Nasiruddin Mahmud, who is popularly known today as Chiragh-e-Delhi; and
4. Amir Khusro, who was a great poet, magician and scholar.

After 1707, the Mughal power weakened and Delhi became a pale shadow of itself. In 1803, the British occupied Delhi after defeating the Marathas. The areas around Kashmere Gate and Civil Lines became important centres, where the British built many structures. In 1911, the British shifted their capital to Delhi and built an entirely new city called New Delhi. It was made on a majestic scale. The large structure of the India Gate, the Viceroy House which is now the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House and the North and South Blocks were all made to impress the Indian subjects of the British rule. They were meant to show the supremacy, the majestic power as well as the regality of the British. This new city was completed by 1932.

4.4.1 Connaught Place

The Connaught place or the Connaught Circus, though not designed by Lutyens is part of Lutyen's Delhi and was conceived as the Central Business District (CBD) of the new city. It was also constructed after the inauguration of New Delhi in 1931 and was completed only in 1933. The design of the space was started by W.H.Nicholls, the Chief Architect to the Government of India and after he left India in 1917, the design was completed by Robert Tor Russell, who was the chief architect of the PWD, and was named after the Duke of Connaught. The Connaught Place or CP, as it is fondly called, houses some of the headquarters of several Indian firms and is one of the largest financial, commercial & business centres in Delhi.

The space is conceived of as two concentric circles, creating the Inner Circle, the Middle Circle & the Outer Circle and seven radial roads.

The inner circle of CP is bounded by a two storeyed building ring all around, with a colonnaded passage at the ground level. This is home to all kinds of branded shops, eateries and restaurants, and is a favourite location for the young urbanites to hang around. The space is always bustling with couples walking around through the circular colonnaded space, window shopping or just simply walking around looking at people. There are also the street vendors selling their curios, handicrafts and eatables. The double height passage with the massive columns on one side creates a strong axis of movement, yet at the same time creating a comfortable space due to its semi-open nature. A major disorienting factor in this space is that all around the inner ring, the architecture of the double storeyed buildings with their colonnaded passages is so monotonous that one cannot orient oneself in the space. It is difficult to identify which part of the circle one is in and people often end up walking around the entire circle to find a place or to meet a friend. The only landmark which helps in giving a sense of direction is the LIC building designed by Charles Correa, which stands as a distant landmark with its red sandstone facade.

The central park is frequented by youngsters, couples & even families, who enjoy the evenings sitting out on the lawns. The space below this is converted into a large underground market called the Pallika Bazaar, where you find everything from clothes, to electronic items to softwares and is a bustling places always filled with people.

On one side of the outer circle stands the imposing structure of the LIC building, designed by architect Charles Correa. The language is that of red Agra sandstone cladding on the external walls with a glass facade and a massive space frame structure to define the entrance space. There is a large flight of steps on the front side, further emphasising the monumental scale of the building.

There is a quaint little market just behind the LIC building, on the Janpath, which is exclusively for garments. There are lines of shops on either side selling T-shirts, ladieswear etc, with a wide central space through which the people move and haggle with the vendors.

4.4.2 Rashtrapati Bhavan

Rashtrapati Bhavan is considered the most prestigious and esteemed artifact of India. This prominent building is enveloped by exceptional political and cultural annotations as it is not simply one of the most magnificent architectural structures of India, but is also the official residence of the President of India. When the capital of India was relocated from Kolkata to New Delhi, the British Empire sensed the need to construct a residence for the British Viceroy in the new capital of the country. With regards to this intention, the building structure was designed and constructed with excellent artistry considering all the requirements and comforts of a King. The construction is spectacular with its two shade sandstone architecture that reflects a pure intermingle of Mughal and classical European architecture. The most breathtaking and distinctive perspective on this edifice is the dome, its elegance and design taken from the famous Stupa at Sanchi. The dome is superimposed on the structure in a way that it is visible from a very long distance and is breathtaking. The contemporary Rashtrapati Bhavan was the residential home of the British Viceroy, which was designed by Edwin Landseer Lutyens.

Apart from this there is the Durbar Hall with the throne of the Viceroy. The Hall is embellished by the bright and stunning colored marbles that enhances the impressive ambiance of the construction. Then there is the Ashoka Hall designed with wooden flooring beneath a Persian style painted ceiling. Other attractions in the building are striking Indian architectural patterns like the Buddhist railings, chhatris, chhajjas and jaalis. Chhatris are festooned beautifully at the rooftop; chhajjas are stone slabs below the roof to safeguard the structure from sun rays in addition to heavy rains during monsoons; and jaalis are stone slabs with lots of perforations designed with an array of floral and geometric patterns.

The sanctioned amount for the construction was 4,00,000 pounds. Nevertheless, it took seventeen years for constructing this Indian monument and the amount approved was amplified to 8,77,136 pounds (equivalent to Rs.12.8 million then!). The cost including construction of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mughal Gardens and the staff quarters amounted to Rs.14 million.

Moreover, the Rashtrapati Bhavan embodies an assortment of appealing Indian temple bells in its pillars. All these greatly enhance the aesthetic appeal of the architectural marvel. The Presidential Estate comprises a drawing room, dining room, ball room, tennis court, polo ground, golf course, cricket field, museum and banquet hall. To the west of this incredible structure is the exquisite Mughal Garden reflecting a blend of Mughal and British style.

It is spread across a land of 13 acres and is a home to many native and exotic flowers. The garden is divided into a grid of squares through four channels, two running north to south and two running east to west. The crossings of these channels are adorned with lotus shaped fountains that elevate the magnificence of the garden. In all aspects, like form, style, and structure, the Rashtrapati Bhavan fascinates all visitors and tourists as much as the other architecture marvels of the country. Rashtrapati Bhavan is extended over four floors having 340 rooms in all. With a floor area of 2,00,000 square feet the structure is built using 700 million bricks and three million cubic feet of stone. A limited amount steel has gone into construction of this Indian monument.

The highlight of Rashtrapati Bhavan is its dome. It is visible from a distance and is known to have the most attractive round roof in Delhi. Experts assert that the dome is strikingly similar to the Stupas at Sanchi. Rashtrapati Bhavan has Buddhist railings, chhajjas, chhatris and jaalis similar to those at Sanchi. Another Indian feature present in the building's architecture is the use of Indian temple bells in its pillars. Having temple bells on the pillars was a good idea since it is a part of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions. Blending these bells with the Hellenic style architecture is a good example of how Indian and European designs can be fused.

This 'Empire in Stone' was transmogrified to the permanent institution of democracy on January 26, 1950 when Dr Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India and occupied this building. It was from that day that the building was renamed as Rashtrapati Bhavan or the President's House. When Chakrabarty Rajagopalachari assumed the office as the first Governor General of India and he began living in this building, he preferred to stay only in a segment of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This segment now comprises the family wing of the Bhavan. The then Viceroy's segment is now being used as the Guest Wing of the building where the honorable heads of state and delegates of other countries stay during their official visits to India. The grandeur and vastness of Rashtrapati Bhavan has left ace architects of the day awestruck.

  

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