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More than that, the building of
Chandigarh inspired and moulded the thinking of a new
generation of architects in India and the world. For young
practitioners he was like a prophet whom they followed with
respect and diligence traditionally reserved for gurus or
ustads. Several new capital cities came later and their
designs were, in some way or the other, inspired by
Chandigarh. Bhubaneswar and Gandhinagar in India and Islamabad
in Pakistan, the last two bear strong resemblance to the
"super block" sector concept first attempted in
Chandigarh. Then, came Brasila, the new capital of Brazil by
Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, the later a disciple of
Corbusier. Yet, none of the other cities come close to
Chandigarh. It remains the boldest attempt of all and that,
too. commissioned by a country struggling to rediscover itself
soon after it won independence.
Besides
planning the new capital city, an unexpected bonus testifying
to the creative genius of Corbusier and his ever-faithful
cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, came about: triggering the latent
creativity of the ordinary persons and individuals unlettered
and virtually unknown but working close to them. The two of
them were Nek Chand and Bansi Lal. Bansi Lal was assigned to
Jeanneret as Man-Friday, a multipurpose cook, bearer and valet
to the great master and his gentle cousin (Jeanneret).
 In fact, due
to his long stay (15 years) in Chandigarh. Pierre Jeanneret
endeared himself to the entire team. While Le Corbusier kept
everyone in awe whenever he visited Chandigarh, Jeanneret was
available to the team on a more or less informal basis. Unlike
Corbusier who was arrogant, flamboyant and possessed a
monumental ego with "brittle edges" in his
personality that overwhelmed ordinary mortals, Pierre
Jeanneret was soft-spoken and polite.
Again,
Corbusier wrote a number of books and monographs (by one count
90) and in turn, many books have been written on him but
hardly any book has been written on Pierre Jeanneret. Almost
everyone who came in close contact with him was deeply touched
by his self-effacing personality. Not only he was an architect
with an uncanny talent of a form-giver, but also possessed
charisma, one that would spark hidden talents and creativity.
Of course Nek Chand and his Rock Garden are now well known
around the world; another unknown was Dhani Ram engaged as a
model maker-carpenter, he helped carving boats sketched by
Jeanneret for the Sukhna Lake.
Even more
interesting was the multipurpose Bansi Lal, hired as a peon
and cook and bearer. He learnt to prepare French dishes, and
was taught to make wines (jamun wines). In him was discovered
a flair for designing dhurries and carpets with local birds
and animals and floral motifs; some of those were later woven
by local handlooms.
Another was
Giani Rattan Singh who became a master making models from the
architectural drawings and sketches of the great masters. He
was the one who crafted models of the High Court building, the
Secretariat and the Gandhi Bhawan in Panjab University campus.
Writing about
Jeanneret, the book quotes Sneh Pandit: "In many ways
Chandigarh feels the impact of Jeanneret’s work more than it
does Le Corbusier’s, for it is he who helped design the mass
of humbler dwellings around which the daily life of the common
man is woven". Commenting on Jeanneret’s work,
architectural critic Patwant Singh has remarked: "His
contribution to Indian architecture can only be understood in
the context of India’s architectural history.... His
solutions were not impatient impositions." While,
Jeanneret interpreted Corbusier’s ideas and designs and
personally supervised their construction, he was
simultaneously training a group of young architects who were
looking up to him for guidance.
 The authors
state, "Pierre Jeanneret is warmly loved and admired by
his Indian colleagues and assistants among whom he has
automatically taken on the role of the guide and
teacher." And as Patwant Singh defining Jeanneret’s
personality wrote: "There was no evidence of any desire
to bruise others so his own ego could be salved.... He
propounded no unique philosophy, felt no need to pull people
down from their pedestal, made no audacious statements to
prove he was an enfant terrible of architecture. His
disinterest in image-building was absolute...." He was
interested only in architecture and what "Jeanneret left
behind in Chandigarh is a powerful testimony to the man’s
remarkable qualities."
The authors
declare that Jeanneret was an embodiment of "immaculate
simplicity and loved India more intensely than most
Indians". He wished his ashes to be immersed in the
Sukhna Lake of Chandigarh so that he would become part of his
creation. To the authors goes the credit of mentioning the
many buildings Jeanneret had designed in Chandigarh and
elsewhere in Punjab; of these are Panjab University campus and
that rare gem called Gandhi Bhavan breathing the spirit of the
Mahatma’s message.
Sponsored by
the Swiss Arts Council the book, "Le Corbusier &
Pierre Jeanneret: Foot prints on the Sands of Indian
Architecture", marks 50 years of Chandigarh. The book is
a product of painstaking research undertaken by Sarbjit Bahga
and Surinder Bahga, both alumni of the Chandigarh College of
Architecture, a school virtually created by Le Corbusier and
Pierre Jeanneret. Both spent their formative years in the
school and had seen Chandigarh being built before their eyes
Peter Schaer provided support and guidance and Dr Walter Gyger,
Swiss Ambassador to India, and Mr Jagmohan as India’s
Minister of Urban Development, patronised the research and
wrote the preface.
Insofar as
Chandigarh is concerned, a number of books and articles has
been written, the most notable of them was by Norma Evensson,
"Chandigarh" (1969), followed by Ravi Kalia’s
historical analysis "Chandigarh: In Search for
Identity" (1987). Both books were well received by
students of architecture and city planning, but none really
covered in the works undertaken by the two cousins in other
parts of India. As the authors state, in particular, Pierre
Jeanneret’s works were not so well known earlier so it is
appropriate to find a fitting coverage in this book...."
Besides
discussing Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeaneret’s work in the
country, the book reviews their influence on contemporary
architecture, urban design and town planning in
post-independence India. The book also covers the works of B.V.
Doshi, Jeet Malhotra, S.D. Sharma, Aditya Prakash, Rajindra
Kumar, Shivnath Prasad and several others who were inspired
and influenced by Le Corbusier.
The book has
an unusual arrangement of chapters; "Tale of two
colossi", "City planning", "Citadels of
democracy", "Poetry of homes", "Hives of
work", "Temples of learning", "Corridors
of culture", "Footprints" and an extraordinary
Epilogue written by Jeet Malhotra who extends the principles
he learnt from ustads Corbusier and Jeanneret in planning a
new urban India.
Strange it
may seem now, the fact remains that Corbusier who came to
regard himself as the new prophet of architecture and city
planning did not have formal architectural education. His
introduction to architecture came via art and sculpture, and
he never forsook art. Corbusier used to spend much time in art
work, even while visiting Chandigarh in the making. His many
paintings and collages, but mainly painting on practically
every visit he made when the new city was emerging, are
difficult to find. Perhaps the book could provide facsimiles
of some of them. He did the abstract tapestry of the High
Court building. And designed the abstract design on the main
entrance gate of the Assembly building gifted by the
government of France. As the authors of the book, Sarbjit and
Surinder Bahga state, "The sculptural quality of handmade
mud houses in the village fascinated both Corbusier and his
cousin". No wonder most of his buildings are more
sculptural in form than formal architectural style.
Le Corbusier
visutalised his city of tomorrow to be a "radiant
city" with basic elements of nature, sunlight and breeze
and although at an early stage he thought of his ideal city in
terms of very tall structures (skyscrapers) of glass and
steel, sited amidst large open spaces, a city enchante
surrounded by large open greens, separating pedestrian
movement from the vehicular, a city of order, discipline but
in complete harmony with nature yet ironically controlled and
managed by bureaucracy.
This book on Corbusier and
Jeanneret is a significant contribution to the work done in
India by the Corbusier cousins and deserves wider circulation.
It is excellently produced with lavish illustrations, maps and
diagrams - all useful in comprehending the underlying concept
of the two living genius of our time, when some of us had the
privilege of meeting personally. Hopefully, a less expensive
paperback edition would be forthcoming because the price at Rs
1750 is high for most studennts of architecture and planning.
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In the
post-independence period, two of the more prominent visitors
were Le Corbusier and his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret. They were
invited to design a new capital for Punjab. Soon came a
composite team of young Indian architects and town planners.
Under the leadership of Le Corbusier it developed the Master
Plan of a cciity at the foothills of the Himalayas. It is said
that the outline for Chandigarh was developed within a week of
the arrival of Corbusier.
