Indian Monument Restoration and Protection thread

[Mahratta]

Originally Posted by IndiansUnite

Jal Mahal in Jaipur being restored:

UPDATE: Dec 23
Copyright Saturnism

Friggin beautiful building man. Gotta visit Rajasthan.

[august88]

hi to the india forummers .

just wanted to comment that indian architecture is really awesome. i mean, it really stands out from the rest of asia with all those sterotype chinese buildings that you see in pretty much everywhere else (not that they suck er nething). it's just that everything seems really "typical" when i think of asian architecture but indian architecture has that "asian" feel that's not really asian. srry if that didn't make sense lol.

but chyea i'm glad the indian government is doing something to help preserve ur historic buildings. all they need is a facelift n a good paintjob. what really caught my eye about india was the taj mahal and a new building in new delhi who's name i have absolutely no clue how to spell haha (looks something like an indian palace, i really don't know). neways, more power to the efforts in preserving those buildings n hope more of them are built. cya

[Mahratta]

Originally Posted by august88

hi to the india forummers .

just wanted to comment that indian architecture is really awesome. i mean, it really stands out from the rest of asia with all those sterotype chinese buildings that you see in pretty much everywhere else (not that they suck er nething). it's just that everything seems really "typical" when i think of asian architecture but indian architecture has that "asian" feel that's not really asian. srry if that didn't make sense lol.

but chyea i'm glad the indian government is doing something to help preserve ur historic buildings. all they need is a facelift n a good paintjob. what really caught my eye about india was the taj mahal and a new building in new delhi who's name i have absolutely no clue how to spell haha (looks something like an indian palace, i really don't know). neways, more power to the efforts in preserving those buildings n hope more of them are built. cya

I see what you mean. I agree with you. India has to be the only nation in the world with so many architectural styles! It has the Mughlai-style buildings, like the Taj Mahal and many Delhi monuments like Humayyun's Tomb, it also has South Indian architecture like Meenakshi temple and Tanjore temple, and it also has Rajput architecture as seen at Jaipur, Udaipur etc. and far more!

Check out the other threads for some more great architecture!

[Hindustani]

august88.........Yes. India will easily overshadow any country in the world in terms of historic architecture diversity & creativity. in all honesty, present historic architecture in India can easily amount to a whole continent. its like having many countries put into one. gosh are we lucky or what.

Originally Posted by august88

hi to the india forummers .

just wanted to comment that indian architecture is really awesome. i mean, it really stands out from the rest of asia with all those sterotype chinese buildings that you see in pretty much everywhere else (not that they suck er nething). it's just that everything seems really "typical" when i think of asian architecture but indian architecture has that "asian" feel that's not really asian. srry if that didn't make sense lol.

but chyea i'm glad the indian government is doing something to help preserve ur historic buildings. all they need is a facelift n a good paintjob. what really caught my eye about india was the taj mahal and a new building in new delhi who's name i have absolutely no clue how to spell haha (looks something like an indian palace, i really don't know). neways, more power to the efforts in preserving those buildings n hope more of them are built. cya

[kronik]

Construction boom chips away at Agra’s heritage character

The Taj Mahal, a 17th century architectural marvel in marble, was meticulously planned. But the same cannot be said for Agra, which is witnessing a construction spree that could dent its heritage character. The medieval Mughal city, which historians in the 17th century described as being more beautiful and bigger than London and Paris, is getting transformed into a concrete jungle. The construction work is neither in tune with its historical importance nor compatible with the demands of a modern city.

“The city’s development lacks focus. It does not reflect the heritage character. The new buildings lack facilities for parking, greenery or open space,” environmentalist Ravi Singh, who is also a progressive farmer from the Barauli Ahir block, told IANS.

Where once trees grew in abundance with 16 beautiful gardens in various parts of the city, now gaudy structures are coming up. The dozen- odd community ponds have disappeared while there is no trace of the dense green patches that were home to a wide range of fauna.

“The difference between commercial and residential use has been obliterated by the unimaginative town planners who are indifferent, ostrich-like, to the chaotic urban scenario,” said Sudhir Gupta, a lawyer and a resident of Vijay Nagar Colony, the oldest organised settlement in Agra.

The river front along the Yamuna is a vast wasteland. The city is expanding in all directions.

The Ansals, Parsvnath, Omax, Jaipurias, Unitech, TDI, the Jaypee group and half a dozen others are all racing against time to complete a project or two before the Commonwealth Games in 2010 in Delhi, which are expected to bring a host of additional tourists to this city.

On Fatehabad Road, the tourist complex of Agra, half a dozen hotel projects are at various levels of completion.

The Taj Express Highway project opened up another avenue all the way till Greater Noida for feverish construction and land acquisition. The 160-km super highway will reduce travelling time between Delhi and Agra by a good one hour.

In the past couple of years, heavy investment in the construction sector has added to the pressure on civic amenities.

Residents in most high-rise buildings now complain of inadequate facilities. Builders often violate well laid out norms on parking space, sewer connections and power supply.

“Most high-rise buildings have neither sewer connections nor treatment plants. All the waste is being dumped underground, poisoning our precious resources,” said Singh.

The apex court has a petition pending on why the city of the Taj Mahal cannot be granted heritage status.

S. Varadarajan, who headed a Supreme Court appointed high-powered committee to examine and suggest measures to tackle the pollution problem in the Taj Trapezium, recommended a ban on high-rise structures within 10 km of the Taj.

Earlier, city improvement trusts used to be under the control of democratically elected local bodies. But the Agra Municipal Corporation has no say in policy matters.

The Agra Development Authority’s (ADA) lacklustre performance on the development front has now raised questions about the relevance of this body.

“A group of bureaucrats now decide which way the city should develop,” said Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.

“The mayor and 90-odd elected municipal corporators have no power to control or influence decisions taken by the ADA, which is headed by people who have no roots or understanding of the city and no stakes in its future.”

Taj Mahal's city has been reduced to a gutter, and this process has been on for decades. This is just one measly newsitem reporting it. Its depressing to see the Taj Mahal surrounded by filth and chaos in all directions.

[kronik]

thanks to the fact that the Taj Mahal is in India's worst state, it will probably crumble to the ground sooner than later.

Uprooting of 2,332 trees in Taj area, SC seeks up affidavit

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file an affidavit on its claim denying that more than 2,000 trees were uprooted by the officials for widening the road leading to the historic Taj Mahal.

A special bench of Justices S B Sinha, S H Kapadia and D K Jain refused to entertain the oral submissions of the up government's counsel, who sought to deny the report of the amicus curiae (court officer) that 2,332 trees were uprooted by the officials without the court's concurrence.

"We do not see any averment in your written submission. You file an affidavit. We will see," the bench told the state's counsel who agreed to do so.

The apex court also directed the state government to file an affidavit explaining its position on various unauthorised constructions reportedly sprouting in close proximity.

Amicus curiae Krishan Mahajan, who is assisting the special bench dealing with environmental hazards posed to the historic structure, had earlier complained to the court that the authorities had uprooted 2,332 trees without seeking the approval of the apex court.

At the last hearing in March, the Uttar Pradesh government had claimed that only 100 of the 2,332 trees for which the state government had sought permission had been cut down without approval.

But the claim had been challenged by environmentalists and the amicus curiae who contended that the state was trying to mislead the court.

[Cov Boy]

It is a tradegy what is happening in Agra.

Is Mayawati the CM for that State?

A solution for all this development would have been to create a sub-city (like Nodia/Gurgoan in NCR) for industry etc to grow & hence leave Agra to become a heritage & tourist city only.

[zhiemi]

Yep, she is the CM.

Rahul Gandhi should visit Agra once, that should make Mayawati pull up her socks for Agra's sake

While on one hand, our politicians (not all of them, of course) speak of our glorious heritage and thus stall the Sethusamudram project, on the other hand, they are doing nothing to preserve the Taj Mahal which epitomizes the nation's rich heritage to the world.

[phaedrus]

Originally Posted by zhiemi

Rahul Gandhi should visit Agra once, that should make Mayawati pull up her socks for Agra's sake

[GJ10]

Soon, Heritage Society for structures outside of ASI's purview

The heritage structures in Gujarat, which are not protected either by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or the state Archaeological Department, are all set to get some cover. Gujarat is on the way to become the first Indian state with its own heritage policy.

A three-member State Heritage Committee formed under the state’s Urban Development Ministry held its first meeting on Wednesday here and decided to set up a State Heritage Society.

The society will be formed shortly under the chairpersonship of the chief secretary and enlist all such neglected sites across the state, which otherwise remain targets of property developers or deteriorate due to sheer neglect.

Retired IAS officer P K Ghosh, also the convenor of the Gujarat INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), said, “We have begun the process for seeking wider public consensus on the issue and also seek people’s participation.

“Similar discussions will be held at 10 other places across the state to prepare the final version of the policy,” he said.

Ghosh heads the committee. Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Dinesh Brahmbhatt and Ahmedabad Joint Commissioner of Police Ajay Chowdhary are the two other members of the committee.

According to Ghosh, detailed surveys and research of the existing heritage structures will be conducted to begin with a continuous conservation programme.

Under the plan, the Karansinhji School in Rajkot, where Mahatma Gandhi did his primary schooling, the Lakota Lake in Jamnagar, Uper Kot in Junagadh, the Royal Palace at Lathi in Amreli district and many such ancient properties will soon see conservation or a facelift.

Across Gujarat, 316 buildings are looked after by the state Archaeological Department, and approximately 200 are protected by the ASI.

Incidentally, the heritage society will also cover properties which are currently in use. In Rajkot city alone, 13 properties have been short-listed that could be covered under the policy. The funds will come from various sources, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Development Renewal Mission (JNURM), the state government and even the corporate groups.

Rajkot received a grant of Rs 19.5 crore on submission of the city conservation plan at the JNURM.

A need for such policy was felt by the state government following constant erosion of heritage due to the fast pace of urban development. This, coupled with a definite lack of system, procedures and delineated responsibilities for heritage conservation for most of the places, only made the situation more worse.

At today’s meeting, leading architects from Saurashtra, academicians, journalists, representatives of various government agencies, including all the four municipal corporations - Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Bhavnagar - and officials of the state Archaeological Department were present among others.

This is just as important as any "modern" development, in my opinion.

Great News.

[phaedrus]

great news indeed. something that has been long awaited. hope other states follow suit

[bhopalus]

Originally Posted by kronik

Construction boom chips away at Agra’s heritage character



Taj Mahal's city has been reduced to a gutter, and this process has been on for decades. This is just one measly newsitem reporting it. Its depressing to see the Taj Mahal surrounded by filth and chaos in all directions.

i dont know, all this stuff sounds okay to me cuz at the end of the day it's industrialization/urbanization

[GJ10]

Somnath Temple all set to Regain Lost Glory

Rajkot, July 4 (ANI): The historic temple of Somnath in Gujarat is all set to become a 'golden temple' by 2010.

The Sri Somnath Temple Trust is carving and gold plating the Sabha Mandap (hall of gathering) for the devotees.

"The interior, which leads the devotees into temples is being decorated with gold and meenakari.

After seeing this beautification work, the devotees approached us and requested us to gold plate the whole of temple, " said Ashok Sharma, Secretary, Somnath Temple Trust.

Besides, the outer structure of the temple is also being painted with fungus resistant paint to allow the porous Bella stones, which make up the structure, to breathe.

The special anti-fungus coating protects it from the adverse weather conditions. At the same time, the coating will not block the breathing of the Bellas based structure.

The outer coating would protect the temple for the next ten years from fungus attack.

Located on the shore, the temple has to bear continuously saline and humid wind.

The new work has already impressed the visitors and many feel like coming back again."The gold plating at some places inside the temple will further enhance the grandeur of the temple. We will have to come here more often in order to experience its full grandeur ," said Ravi, a devotee.

The Somnath Temple is known as 'the shrine eternal' since it has been attacked on several occasions but continues to exist.

It was destroyed six times and subsequently rebuilt every time. The most notable attack was by the invading Turks led by Mahmud Ghazni and centuries later by the Mughal Ruler Aurangazeb.

It was reconstructed for the seventh time in 1947, which lasted till 1995.

[Marathaman]

Dismantling a 500-year-old Kancheepuram temple




It braved the vagaries of nature for 500 years. But now, human hands are bringing down the massive mandapa situated in the famed Varadaraja Perumal temple at Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu.

Built by the Vijayanagar king Achyuthadevaraya around A.D. 1530, it was known for its few hundred pillars covered with beautiful carvings of dancers, musicians, floral motifs and gods. All these are now smashed to pieces with crowbars. The demolition, which began in April, has picked up pace with a bulldozer being pressed into action.

Temple officials said it was "not a demolition but dismantling of the mandapa" to assemble it again to house vahanas (vehicles) of the deities. "A donor" was apparently financing "the project" to "dismantle and re-assemble" the mandapa so that the "vahanas can be displayed openly". The temple comes under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Tamil Nadu government.

However, Dr. R. Nagaswamy, former Director of the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department, called it "a thoughtless act of destruction and renovation". The mandapa could have been cleaned easily, conserved and preserved.

"What is happening now is total destruction. They are not dismantling it. They are smashing it with a bulldozer," he said. The temple was earlier subjected to a bout of vandalism when the murals of Vishnu, Lakshmi and other gods in the Hindu pantheon were whitewashed. The surviving paintings have faded or peeled away. They have not been preserved.

This is the third instance of destruction of a heritage building in Tamil Nadu in the past few months. In April the demolition began of the 250-year-old Admiralty House at the Government Estate on Anna Salai, in the heart of Chennai, to make way for a Rs.200-crore Legislative Assembly-cum-Secretariat complex.

A score of other buildings are also being demolished at the Government Estate. These demolitions are done at the instance of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in the State. Until Independence, the Admiralty House, or the Government House, functioned as the residence of Governors of Madras Presidency.

In the second week of July the demolition began of the 184-year-old Collectorate building in Salem, about 400 km from Chennai. An imposing building with wide wooden staircases, tall pillars and big windows, it housed valuable antiques and plaques.

On a writ petition filed by P. Dhamayanthi, joint general secretary of the Centre for the Protection of Civil Liberties, Salem, the First Bench of the Madras High Court, comprising Chief Justice A.K. Ganguly and Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla, said the building should not be demolished until the officials concerned passed a reasoned order on the representation to declare it a heritage building.

The origin of the Varadaraja Perumal temple at Kancheepuram goes back to about 1,200 years. Nagaswamy, who is also a scholar in Sanskrit, calls it "the most beautiful Vishnu temple at Kancheepuram". The temple originally consisted of an image of Narasimha at the foot of a small rocky boulder. Later, a standing form of Vishnu was installed on top of the rock. It was then called Arulalar temple. The village was called Athiyur because there were a number of "athi" trees around.

The temple began to gain prominence in the 11th century, during the period of the Cholas. Kulotunga Chola encased the rock and built a structural temple around the standing Vishnu circa A.D. 1100. The temple expanded with the construction of several shrines, prakaras (corridors) and gopurams.

Vijayanagar emperor Krishnadevaraya built the present sanctum sanctorum, the vimana above it and covered it with gold sheet around A.D. 1525, said Nagaswamy. He also rebuilt the sanctum of Thayaar (Vishnu's consort) and the vimana, and covered this vimana also with gold.

Krishnadevaraya's successor Achyuthadevaraya built the kalyana mandapa on the left side beyond the western entrance to the temple. This mandapa is known for its several hundred pillars with intricate carvings of horse-riders, dancers, musicians, and gods and goddesses.

On the right side, "as if to strike a balance", he built another mandapa with a few hundred pillars, all hewn out of granite. This was used for conducting temple festivals in the past. Later, it was used as a goshala, or cow shed. It is this mandapa that is being pulled down now.

It originally encased a central mandapa with carved pillars. This has already been demolished. Broken pillar-members, some of them numbered, lie in a heap.

"The entire mandapa is in good condition…. The walls are in perfect alignment. It has survived for 500 years without tilting or developing cracks. Except that it has not been cleaned, it is in good shape," said Nagaswamy, adding that it could have been easily preserved without demolishing it.

No technical report on the mandapa's condition was prepared before the demolition began. Although some of the pillars that have been pulled down are numbered, it would be impossible to reassemble the mandapa because they are lying in a heap in different places and in broken pieces, he said.

Temple officials claimed they would rebuild the mandapa with original pillars as a gallery to house the temple's vahanas. They claimed they were using the bulldozer only to remove the lime mortar on the ceiling of the mandapa.

They would replace the ancient lime mortar with cement mortar. However, the use of cement mortar would be a blatant violation of the canons of conservation, asserted archaeologists. - Frontline

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Se...px?ARTID=21649

[Fusionist]

thats terrible news indeed

[Mahratta]

Ha. Another brilliant example of India making the most of its efforts to preserve its heritage. Why not build a mall on top?

Ridiculous.

[Mahratta]

Originally Posted by kolkatausa

But why destroy something this old? I never thought that something like this could happen in a such a sincere and revered place like Tamil Nadu.

It's all changed mate - our collective subcontinental culture has become filled with undirected lust in consumerism, which is not a bad thing - other than the undirected part, which is why all this is happening. No government foresight, and no societal demands to preserve the culture.

[zhiemi]

60k Indian monuments at nature’s mercy, says Intach

Nearly 60,000 monuments across the country are at nature’s mercy with no agency taking measures for their protection, a body working on conservation of monuments said.

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) has prepared a list of nearly 70,000 monuments in the country of which about 60,000 are not looked after by any government or private agency.

“Many of these 60,000 monuments need immediate attention. Otherwise, they will be ruined,” Intach chairman S K Mishra said. These monuments belong to different periods of history and are reminiscent of art, architecture and culture of respective eras. They include old forts, temples and various other structures.

“Before conservation, we need to protect these monuments first,” Mishra said. The Archaeological Survey of India, the Central agency to look after the monuments, is protecting about 7,000 monuments. Besides, archaeological departments of states take care of some. Intach, the NGO set up in 1984 with the mandate to look after monuments which are not under the coverage of government agencies, has taken up restoration and protection of a few hundreds of monuments. In the capital, the condition of these heritage sites is precarious. Intach has listed 1,208 such historic sites in the city.

While ASI is protecting and conserving 174 sites, the state archaeology department of the Delhi government is taking care of 450 heritage sites. INTACH is conserving about 54 monuments here.

Over 500 monuments in the capital are not taken care of by any agency, Mishra said. “The government agencies are taking care of major monuments in the country. Like in foreign countries, corporates should come forward to preserve heritage sites which stand as a proof of the country’s rich cultural diversity,” he said.

[arijeetb]

RBU plans Tagore house revamp

Jorasanko Thakurbari is set to be renovated and decked up befitting its heritage status.

Work on the project, to be handled by Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) which is housed in the heritage structure, is likely to start after monsoon and is scheduled to be over in 2011, the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.

“Parts of the house are in need of urgent repairs,” said RBU vice-chancellor Karuna Sindhu Das. “The authorities have been working on the revamp plan for the past 10 years. Shifting the fine arts and visual arts departments to the Emerald Bower campus on BT Road is part of the project.”

The Rs 15-crore revamp will be supervised by the 11-member Jorasanko Thakurbari Punarbinyas Committee, which includes consultant architect Arunendu Banerjee.

Built around 1785 by Nilmoni Thakur, the floors and walls of the Thakurbari, now spread across 35,000 sq m, have cracked in several places. Some of the railings and arches are in a dilapidated state and parts of the structure are covered with fungus.

“The focus in the first phase will be on conservation of the architecture to arrest further deterioration, to be followed by preservation. As decided by the university, work will start from the rear side of Maharshi Bhavan,” said Banerjee.

The buildings that will be renovated include Maharshi Bhavan, Vichitra Bhavan and a part of Baithakkhanabari (5 Dwarkanath Tagore Lane). There is a proposal to add a façade to more recent buildings, including Prashasan Bhavan, Sangeet Bhavan and Kala Bhavan, so they blend well architecturally with the other buildings on campus.

The complex will house an art gallery, academy of dance, drama and music, and research centres. Also on the anvil are a food pavilion, sales counter and a water body. “We will plant trees that were there during the days of Tagore,” Banerjee said.

Suranjana Bhattacharya, the member-secretary of the Thakurbari Punarbinyas Committee and the public relations officer of RBU, said the revamp would be themed on the Bengali Renaissance of 19th Century.

“Tagore had talked about terraces that used to hold majlish and get-together of the women of the family. We want to mark the spots and preserve them for public viewing,” Bhattacharya said. “Some of the terraces are inaccessible as they are in a poor shape and also because of security.”

Work will start with an initial UGC allotment of Rs 50 lakh. “We will approach the Union culture ministry, state government, Calcutta Municipal Corporation and private companies for funds. We also had a talk with foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is president of Rabindra Bharati Society. He has promised to visit the campus and do the needful,” said vice-chancellor Das. “Once work starts, funds will hopefully pour in,” he added.

The vice-chancellor called for Jorasanko Thakurbari to be declared a national monument.

[Mahratta]

Tagore's house needs to be made a landmark, good.
The news just before that ain't so good - really, I'm sure we have more than 60 000 structures like that, but not too many people seem to consider a lot of the city heritage buildings (eg. Shahjahanabad, havelis, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata's Colonial architecture, etc.)