A city in flux munches on Corbusier legacy

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 9

Le Corbusier lives on — on record, not as much off it — for a city whose caretakers look back at its founding father 50 years after his death with a sense of serendipity. The city administration, which struggles daily to understand the fast-changing contours of Chandigarh, Le Corbusier underscores what the city could have been, rather than how it is or will be like. 

That became apparent as the city administration's remembrance of the master architect, which began with his 50th death anniversary on August 27, culminated into his birthday celebration on October 6 with a four-day international symposium kicking off on October 9. 

Amidst a photo exhibition, a sitar recital and a book launch today, Corbusier's most renowned creation Capitol Complex stood testimony to how terribly a modern Indian city has fallen short of realizing its founding father's dream: two of the six monuments — Geometric Hill and Martyrs Memorial — are incomplete. Their drawings were made by Corbusier.

Nevertheless the show highlighted a significant dialogue between the aesthetic relevance of Chandigarh's architecture and its culture. The exquisite pictures of the Assembly Hall, High Court, The Open Hand and The Secretariat adorned the walls of its compound. The photography exhibition — “Capitol Complex 2015” — showcased the works of Uttam Chand, a former senior photographer at Government College of Architecture and his one-time associate Rajiv Kumar, who is now a senior photographer at the college. "We had only a week's time to click these pictures and we wanted to capture both, the artistic and functional dimension of the Capitol Complex, including the interiors of the Assembly Hall," said Uttam. 

Award-winning historian William JR Curtis, who released his book 'Le Corbusier Ideas and Forms,' echoed the sentiment shared by many who care for the city. "The biggest challenge is the rise in population, pollution, traffic and rural migration. Plus, I haven't studied the metro project. I wouldn't like it interfering with the city's architecture. One needs to preserve and protect the original."  "Corbusier's architecture is like a functional sculpture and the book highlights the principles of transformation and transmission of Corbusier's thinking," he says. While sharing that historical monuments have fuelled Corbusier's inspiration, Curtis says the Governor's Palace was indeed inspired by Fatehpur Sikri.  He rubbished the idea of Corbusier being a fascist. "It's ridiculous. If Corbusier were a fascist, why would he offer a proposal to the Soviets? Or why would he work with the socialist People's Party in France? Or why would he design a city in a democratic country, India?" he asked.