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Encounters with the Past: Sustainable Tourism and Cultural History in for the Taj National Park

KENNETH MCCOWN California State Polytechnic State University, Pomona

PROJECT HISTORY reduce sprawl, pollution and environmental damage from wind-borne particulates. No further develop- Several cross-cultural encounters influenced the ment beyond the existing squatter villages would direction and development of this project. The be permitted in the park boundaries, thus making governments of the United States and signed a pre-emptive move to keep tourist infrastructure a memorandum of understanding for site planning from eyesight of the . Taj National Park, of cultural heritage sites in the city of Agra. This led acting in tandem with the proposed and Taj Nature to a series of studies by the United States National Trail and existing Park afford a sizeable Park Service, the Civil Engineering Department of three-sided buffer zone around the spectacular the University of Roorkee, the National Transpor- monument. This park creates a greenbelt area tation Planning and Research Center, the Center around the Taj, as required by a court order in 1994. for Advanced Development Research, and Delhi These green spaces keep large amounts of vehicular University. The reports covered possible strate- traffic away from the Taj, and reduce and absorb gies for the development in Agra, and addressed diesel emissions in close proximity to the monu- aspects of Agra's environment, focusing primarily on ment. The two proposed parks, and Shah Jahan park the immediate surroundings of the Taj Mahal. The work in conjunction with other regionally planned results of those studies indicated critical issues re- green belts protect the Taj from erosion from sand garding Agra's tourism industry and environmental particles windswept out of the Thar Desert outside conditions. In 1994, the U.S. National Park Service of the city. These heavily planted areas reduce wind published its Agra Heritage Report, outlining the speed, to drop the airborne load into the parks. concept of Taj National Park on the eastern bank of the River across from the Taj Mahal. This It became obvious to the design team that the park report put forward initial ideas of controlling the needed to function as part of a larger framework development on the east bank and restoring the that needed inclusion of models to cope with urban historic Mehtab Bagh garden. The University of sprawl, ecological system, economic development, Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Land- cultural heritage, narrative history and agriculture. scape Architecture provided a proposal, addressing The team recommended a master plan that critically ecological, land uses and access, and socio-cultural incorporated a tourism plan that would benefit the aspects in further detail. city economically, but be driven through a narra- tive that displayed the history of Agra, not just the THE MASTER PLAN Taj Mahal. Agra has a rich cultural heritage that involves the decentralization of the Islamic garden. In August 1999, the Department Several historians note the Agra as a first instance of tourism invited the Department of Landscape of the pavilion moving from the center of the Mu- Architecture of the University of Illinois at Urbana- ghal garden to the end, where it would face the Champaign to develop an illustrative master plan riverfront. The riverfront contains infrastructures for an area across the Yamuna River, opposite of developed by the British, Mughal and Hindu cultures the Taj Mahal, to be known as Taj National Park. and provides opportunities to see the rituals of how This land has been denoted a conservation area to each culture relates to waterfronts. the city based upon time of stay in Agra, and modes of transportation. These tours range from the This narrative approach would provide opportuni- simple two-hour visit to the Taj Mahal to a three-day ties to ameliorate tourism problems in Agra. Most stay including a visit to the nearby historic Islamic tourists take day trips up from New Delhi, taxing the complex at Fatephur Sikri. Simple packages such infrastructure of the city without making any finan- as these may be marketed easily and heighten the cial contribution other than the fee to see the monu- tourist's awareness of other spectacular sites in Agra ment. The Indian government had already noted and its surrounding areas. The design creates a the discrepancy in visits to between the Taj and the marketing scheme for attracting tourists and gen- other monuments in Agra. Even monuments within erating revenue. This additional revenue can fund a mile of the Taj display up to an eighty-percent infrastructure investment that can be the first step drop-off in tourist attendance. The government to reversing the environmental situation in Agra, advanced the idea of a 'Taj Trapezium,' incorporat- which is unquestionably grim. Such improvements ing the Taj and forty other monuments in Agra, the are crucial to address the insufficient quantity and sacred sites of , and Vrindavan, Bharatpur poor quality of water in the area, and the dense bird sanctuary, and Firozabad, a city known for its haze of pollution that shrouds the city from dusk glass industry. The 'trapezium' affords Agra the until dawn. This project helps realize the "Green opportunity to generate revenue from overnight Agra, Clean Agra" idea that is just beginning to take stays, and meals, among other tourist necessities. hold in the city. By creating tour packages that involved other key monuments, visitors could understand the relation- Therefore, the team recommended a bypass road ships between these monuments and the rich and from the hotel district southeast of the Taj, to the underappreciated history of Agra. In addition, lon- other side of the river. This in conjunction with a ger stays of up to three days would bring revenue pedestrian bridge attached to an existing bridge by to the city, that would help pay for the creation of the allows easy access across the Yamuna infrastructural improvements. River. The team also recommended a riverfront circulation system not dissimilar to the walk along The tourist experience is fragmented and at times the Seine in Paris. This riverfront promenade is ac- daunting due to the poor circulation systems in cessible to pedestrians, human-powered rickshaws, Agra. It was evident that Agra was not fulfilling bicycles and animals. The promenade reduces its potential tourist revenue. Under the present traffic congestion within the city. The pedestrian road circulation, the trip from the Taj across the bridge, bypass road and promenade easily connect river to the Taj National Park takes about an hour. the park areas and monuments to the city across The unpaved roads in Agra contain pedestrians, the river. The ring road spurs new development, bicycles, human and animal rickshaws, livestock, but the National Park boundary curbs growth near camels, and two and four-wheeled vehicles on a the Taj Mahal. Additionally, this ring road takes typical day. The team identified the key monu- through traffic out of the central city, thereby reduc- ments and recommended the creation of a cultural ing pollution and overcrowding in inner city areas heritage district along the Yamuna Riverfront. This near the Taj. district would emphasize the relationships between the Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal, in addition to the TAJ NATIONAL PARK gardens and nurseries, and industrial sites, water wells, and riverfront. This district could contain a As mentioned above, the Taj National Park performs circulation infrastructure that would create a formal several functions. It stops development pressures relationship for the city, back to its riverfront, and immediately adjacent to the Taj, reduces pollution create a more cohesive experience for the tourist and erosion from the air, and protects villages and separate from the existing roads. recently discovered historic sites from develop- ment. The park program includes demonstration These new circulation routes would allow the Uttar plots for sustainable agricultural practices, ecosys- Pradesh Department of Tourism to market specific tem preservation and pollutant removal, historic tours to the visitors at Agra. During the team's archeological digs, passive and active recreation, stay in Agra, we identified travel times to all of the and event spaces. monuments, setting up potential tours throughout A proposed ring road will spur the growth of the ENCOUNTERS WITH THE PAST 359

city to the opposite side of the Taj. Working with change. In36 Views, Hiroshige includes Mount Fuji American agencies, Indian officials in the state of in every painting. It becomes a reference point that Uttar Pradesh identified key lands acquired them unites all daily activities in the Japanese culture, to protect the views to and from the Taj Mahal. from working in the fields, to the market place, to Great fears existed that this ring road would lead the temple. While Mount Fuji always acts as a ref- to multi-story developments that might include Taj erence point, Hiroshige pays close attention to the View Hotels. These government-purchased lands changes in color and structure in the landscape. His and consolidate it into one contiguous parcel to be sensitivity to light and color expands the viewer's known as Taj National Park. Due to the complexi- perceptions when in the landscape. ties of land acquisition and the appropriateness of the selected lands to be acquired, the design team This framework becomes the narrative and struc- agreed with the proposed park boundary. The ture for the design of the Taj National Park and boundaries however, do encompass all key view- Riverfront Promenade. On site analysis for views sheds to the Taj. This park allows the visitor at during varying times of day created key points least some sense of how the monuments appeared identified as remarkable vistas to the Taj. These in the context of the seventeenth and eighteenth protected and articulated views frame opportuni- centuries, during their era of significance. ties to observe the changes of shifting light create upon the Taj. These multiple points link the Taj to This land acquisition does have intricacies that related sites in the historical narrative and casually need to be addressed. Three squatter villages exist locate it within viewsheds where the daily activities within the park boundaries. These people may not of Agra's citizens occur. be relocated. This proposal suggests improvement in the villages, by creating a loans program to start Linking the encounter with the past, to future en- small cooperatives, and giving the villagers training counters, we encourage sustainable ecosystems and and opportunities to become construction workers agricultural techniques. Taj National Park, and our and maintenance employees for the park. The team proposed Taj Nature Trail become demonstration recommended that new entry points into the park be parks that display sustainable ecological practices. located at the villages. These entry points can assist The parks become a wonderful place for education economic development in the village markets. Ad- in these techniques due to the amount of Indian ditionally, the park may continue and preserve the citizens that will attend them while viewing the Taj existing 'nursery district' which is currently thriving Mahal. We suggest restoring as much of the na- to the north of the park. New lands will be devoted tive ecosystems as possible, especially in the nalas to nurseries, and efficient land use for crops, giv- (runoff channels). The phytoremediative planting ing the villagers another avenue of economic and schemes for the nalas serve as a model for cleaning business development. highly polluted water with vegetation. By protect- ing such a large landmass from development and The new framework highlights 16 views of the Taj. connecting it to existing green networks, the veg- This perceptual theme drives the design of the park etation in the park will act as a nutrient and species and the promenade, and becomes a tourism pack- sink, clean the air, and be valuable for production of age. Encounters with multiple cultures influence the timber, food, ropes and other products. Devoting design ideas, including the paintings of Hiroshige as much land as possible to these ecological treat- and Hokusai, and the Seine River in Paris. India ments will reduce the energy expended upon the displays a remarkable penchant for incorporating land. This sustainable aspect of the project facili- multicultural expression. Several regimes have tates field studies in ecological practices; findings conquered the country, but the people embrace may set precedents and dictate future landscape many monuments and typologies. policy in India.

Hiroshige and Hokusai produced paintings that The Taj National Park contains an important water- reminded their Japanese culture of its identity. front historic garden designed by , Specifically, in the 36 Views of Mount Fuji, Hiro- Shah Jahan's wife (for whom the Taj was created). shige produces a remarkable set of paintings that Mehtab Bagh is an interpretation of the paradise show two important points in landscape perception; garden set upon the riverfront in Agra. It is specu- landscape as identity and reference, and landscape lated that Emperor was buried here until he was moved to Kabul. Historians and archaeologists traffic on the narrow streets of Agra. The present consider these gardens among the finest garden circulation experience takes the tourist on arduous architecture in the world. The protection, docu- automobile trips throughout the city, taking poten- mentation and redevelopment of the garden creates tially an hour to travel just a few miles. This expe- important policy for the development of managing rience negates the historical models of circulation this cultural heritage. As historian James Wescoat, in Agra. The promenade creates a series of paths Jr. notes, no detailed appraisals exist for landscape linked with spaces that tie back into the city, re- practices and principles of landscape heritage con- linking it with its waterfront. These spaces absorb servation in Agra, or its region. These gardens the confluence of traffic in the nodes and distribute shed light on layout, plant species, and uses and this traffic down the separate paths. The segments implementation of water. Mehtab Bagh and the Taj of the path are linear, aimed at focal points includ- National Park provide opportunities of oriental/oc- ing the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. In this way, cidental collaboration with the Agra Heritage Project, the perceptual experience is similar to the one of the Mehtab Bagh Project, Taj Mahal research, and the Mughal Garden; a frontal, controlled circula- the Smithsonian Project. tion, fixed upon a final destination. These linear paths occur on levels that gradually step down to Mehtab Bagh is the center of the Taj National Park. the river influenced by the Seine in Paris. This Pa- This garden may be used for moonlight and sun- risian typology can effectively accommodate grade set/sunrise views of the Taj, which are considered changes for large animals such as camels, elephants to be the best times for viewing the monument. It and cattle. The tectonic articulation of this model grants a vista that is not often seen by tourists, who includes the ghats and other Hindu expressions. until now have had no easy access to the opposite The promenade organization separates and controls bank of the river. different 'user' groups in a city inhabited by eleven million people. It links the monuments and eases Additional program elements such as the amphithe- travel between them. ater generate revenue and interest in the parklands. Artists such as Yanni include Agra among other The promenade also serves as a framework for world heritage sites to play globally broadcast con- viewing Indian culture and facilitates use of the wa- certs with the monuments as the backdrops. These terfront by the town citizens. Historically, Agra was events provide literally millions of dollars per show a city of riverfront gardens, and therefore must be that contribute to development of Agra's physical understood in the context of the river. This is simply infrastructure. Other park programs include, pas- not possible with the existing roadways that move sive recreation areas with interpretive landscapes back into the town. A visitor experiencing the Agra illustrating cultural responses to wind, water and sky Fort, Taj Mahal, Mehtab Bagh, and other monuments (nighttime observatories). Sustainable agriculture understands the relationships between them. All of including fields and managed forests fill the remain- the monuments and gardens relate to the river, as ing areas of the site, creating a bucolic experience evidenced by their orientation, as well as the few with framed views of the Taj. remaining ghats (stepped terraces leading down to the water). Along the promenade, several interpre- The Promenade tive opportunities have been suggested, not just at A Yamuna riverfront promenade is a central feature the major monuments, but also at historic locations of the new master plan. The promenade encom- and points where indigenous culture can be viewed passes both sides of the river, spanning from the and understood. This includes plant nurseries, ag- Taj Mahal and Mehtab Bagh, up to the Agra Fort ricultural sites, laundry washing, religious shrines and Ram Bagh. and local crafts and vending. Signage and interac- tive experiences are in place so that the tourist can This constructed walkway along the bank of the understand the splendor of the monuments in the Yamuna River will alleviate traffic congestion in the context of the society that created them. city, provide a cohesive interpretive experience, and help improve resource efficiency. As stated before, The rediscovery of the riverfront afforded by the travel times within the city are prohibitive, due to promenade will improve the use of natural resources the high vehicular, bicycle, and animal-powered in the area. To help fulfill necessities for water, and ENCOUNTERS WITH THE PAST 361

keep the wooden pile foundation of the Taj intact, One strength of the Taj Mahal National dams will be constructed up and down river from the Park Master Plan is a "landscape approach," Taj. These dams will keep the water level constant. which is sensitive to a broad range of en- Present conditions find the riverbed dry during the vironmental, visual and social factors from winter months. The promenade takes advantage of the site to regional scales .... The next phase this new water level, providing both a focus and a of planning should perhaps begin at the backdrop for the myriad activities that take place local village level and progressively invite at the river's edge in Indian culture. and respond to regional, national, and international perspectives. It should also CONCLUSION envision progressively greater geographical integration of environmental protection and The collaborative effort between the University of cultural heritage conservation efforts. The Illinois, the United States National Park Service, success of plans and decrees for the Taj Tra- and the myriad agencies of the Indian government pezium, Yamuna Action Plan and Taj Mahal serves as a model for encounters with the past, National Park depend upon both a sober landscapes and cross-cultural encounters, James historical perspective on institutional barri- Wescoat, Jr., a contributor to the final report, con- ers and a visionary geographic perspective cludes: on the prospects for integration.