Q3 2018 INTACHER Volume 1 Issue 2

Newsletter of the INTACH Bengaluru Chapter Inside This Issue: Read on to find out about upcoming events, member profiles, interviews, 1. The Quarter That Was what the Bengaluru Chapter has been to lately, photographs, and more. 2. The Quarter That Will Be We hope to make this a quarterly, maybe even a bimonthly. Give us your 3. Family Album suggestions, feedback, contributions, photographs. We look forward to 4. Your Take On the City hearing from you! 5. Vox Princeps

THE QUARTER THAT WAS

The Towns of the City On May 22nd, we had our first photos and information. We /Basaveshwarnagar / screening of Towns of the City: screened the film at Bungalow 7 in Jayamahal…! People, lives and stories in the old Richards Town, an old bungalow cantonment towns of Bengaluru. now used as an event space. The The film grew out of our exhibition response was so overwhelming, we of the same name last year in ended up having two screenings Fraser Town, Richards Town and back-to-back! Cooke Town. After the screening, many people The film tells the story of these said they found the film areas through the residents’ heartwarming, and could connect stories, memories and anecdotes, with it. Many others said, “When supplemented with some archival are you making a film about

All About Water for the City June 24th saw a group of enthu the first major, modern ago. We played hide-and-seek with folks setting off at an ungodly hour technological interventions for the brick aqueducts built to bring for Hessarghatta, where waterman bringing water to Bengaluru. water to the plant from the We Vishwanath S (also known as Zen Vishwanath took around the BWSSB reservoir. also visited the itself, Rainman) revealed the history of facilities at Hessarghatta where reservoir and were all we saw some fascinating bowled over by the Ganesh Iyer instruments, machinery and other siphons. All in all, an eyeopener of paraphernalia from over a century a trip! INTACHER Page 2

THE QUARTER THAT WAS (continued…)

A Tree Walk A cool, slightly overcast Sunday salubrious climate, Bengaluru morning in July saw a group of provided a perfect place for many around 15 participants gather in non-native tree species from for a Tree Parichay. across the world to take hold. This We started off under the shade of was intentional, to develop a massive Raintree, a native of Bengaluru as a garden city. And 12th Main, Indiranagar was a very good example of this, with over 60 species to be observed along its length! Who’d have thought?!

In addition to looking at the trees, Finally, after about a couple of Ganesh also encouraged us to use hours of thoroughly enjoyable our other senses such as touch and walking, listening, talking, smell. So the early morning traffic touching, smelling (not to mention witnessed the curious sight of a eating!), we ended under an group of people touching trees Indian Cork Tree. Many thanks to Central and South America. As and smelling leaves all along the Ganesh and we look forward to Ganesh mentioned, with its busy road! more! - by Sanjay Varma, INTACH member

Fort High School – Open Day

Open Day on 11th August was The event that was open to all and understand its features, structure, organised to enable public we had participants from varied and the ongoing restoration. This interaction with the ongoing backgrounds ranging from students also encouraged interaction with restoration project at the Fort of architecture and design, the masons, conservation experts, High School. The motivation for heritage enthusiasts and heritage and architects about traditional such an event was to facilitate the homeowners. materials, workmanship, and the growing public interest in design challenges involved in the towards heritage and to The INTACH team organised panels restoration of a 111-year-old enable engagement with this and maps that took participants on building. The response to the project. a guided tour around the school to event was tremendous with over 150 attendees. The enthused participants understood more about the challenges and prospects of conservation. By far one of the most popular sections was where participants tried their hand at making and using lime plaster – children and adults alike enjoyed getting their hands dirty here! - by Sonali Dhanpal, conversation architect, formerly with INTACH INTACHER Page 3

THE QUARTER THAT WAS (continued…)

The Bengaluru Inscription We spoke in our last issue about the same period, i.e., from the the work on the Bengaluru end of the 9th century CE. Do go Inscription in the and take a look! Panchalingeshwara temple in Begur. That work is finally Many thanks to Shri SVS Gupta and complete. The Bengaluru Advaith Hyundai for supporting Inscription now stands proud, this work. mounted on a pedestal and highlighted by placing it in a pergola. We have also added signage so that visitors can understand the significance of this historical object. Along with it are three other inscriptions from

THE QUARTER THAT WILL BE A PIL for the Janatha Bazaar

September 11th, 1935. The Asiatic Many thanks to the lawyers of Including Payoshini Saraf, Sreeja Building, now also called the Poovayya and Co who are working Nambiar, Basav Biradar, Pankaj Janatha Bazaar, was declared on this pro bono. Modi and Meera Iyer, we came up open. In the opening speeches, it with a short module to get children was said that the building would be Earlier this year, we had asked interested in the city’s history and "a notable addition to the many you to write to the PWD asking it heritage. Payoshni then put us in splendid structures that not to demolish the building. We touch with Mantra4Change, an contributed to the beauty of the do hope we can save Janatha organisation that works with picturesque city of Bangalore." Bazaar with your continued several government and low-fee September 10th, 2018. There was a support. schools in Bengaluru. Thanks to preliminary hearing in the High them, in August, we began a pilot Court this morning on the PIL that INTACH in Schools project with a government Urdu- INTACH Bangalore has filed for the medium school in south Bangalore. preservation of the Janatha Bazaar We have for some years now been Volunteer Pallavi Murthy, an building. Our lawyers have asked engaging with some mainstream architect and teacher, is anchoring that no precipitative action be schools in the city, taking them the programme. A second pilot is taken to bring down the building. out on heritage walks to the scheduled for later this year. We The government plans to raze the museum, temples, lakes, forts or hope to expand the programme to building and construct a 14-storey palaces, or sometimes organising more schools soon. complex there. The building, classroom interactions with some designed by GH Krumbiegel, is of them. But we have long felt the If you’d like to volunteer in this listed as a heritage building in the need to work with more schools, project, please email us at: draft Revised Master Plan 2031. especially government schools. [email protected]. The Court directed the government After some meetings among to respond in a few days. members and volunteers, INTACHER Page 4

Family Album

Where INTACH members introduce themselves

AJAY BHASKAR ULHAS RANE

After an early career in advertising working for large Architect Ulhas Rane is founder-director of Envirodesigners agencies in and abroad, Ajay now runs his own design Pvt. Ltd. An INTACH member since 1987, his interest in and photography studio, creating impactful communication heritage conservation began during his days in Sir JJ for clients. He especially loves organising data into trends College of Architecture, Mumbai when he volunteered with and patterns and dives deep into new technologies. the ASI to document monuments. He has worked on restoration of buildings in Mumbai, temples in Konkan and Ajay enjoys travelling and has a keen interest in history and has prepared conservation proposals for Hill Forts in craft. He has been an INTACH member since 2015. In the Maharashtra. His work on the conservation and adaptive past, Ajay has worked on identifying and surveying old reuse of Gulshan Mahal, a dilapidated building that now buildings in the Richmond Road / Langford Town areas. He houses a Films Archives Museum in Mumbai, received an has also designed posters for INTACH events. award from the Indian Heritage Society in 2001. He has authored several books on Maharashtra’s heritage.

Your Take on Your City Have an eye for photography? Send us your best shots of the city with a note about why took that photo and we’ll feature it in these pages Member Olinda Timms shot these pictures in . She says, “Here is a photograph of a beautiful building I discovered only recently in my neighbourhood. I wandered into this sylvan property just as the sun was setting and captured this serene treasure of Bangalore in the fading light. Most certainly worth a visit.”

Sri Aurobindo Bhavan is a well-preserved, colonial styled building built in 1932 by the Royal family of Nepal for the sister of the King. It was gifted to Sri Aurobindo Trust in 1979. It is located on the south side of Ulsoor lake at 110, Gangadhar Chetty Road. The palatial building is surrounded by flowering gardens and woods that are carefully maintained and protected. The Library and Meditation centre are open to the public. The premises also contain the Auro Mirra International School. INTACHER Page 5

VOX PRINCEPS

Where eminent Bengalureans speak about their work, motivations, life, heritage, and of course, the city

Architect PK Venkataramanan is conservation architect from the the founder of the renowned UK), and she said we could invite architectural firm Venkataramanan him from England to tell us if the Associates. He was also a member building could be restored. She of the Bangalore Urban Arts also organised meetings with the Commission for a year or so. Chief Justice, with the Urban Arts Today, at the age of 83, he says he Commission, and others. I leads a quiet, retired life. In remember myself and other active reality, Venkataramanan is as still INTACH members went to meet actively involved in several things. the then Chief Justice. We told For 9 years, he successfully ran a him that the Attara Kacheri should Residents’ Initiative for Safe not be demolished. He said, “The Environment (RISE), a project that building is in a dangerous involved garbage segregation condition. It has to be demolished. before most people had heard the Ek achha imaarat bana denge hum term. He also established the (We will construct a nice building Senior Citizens Enrichment here). And anyway, where is the Programme, whose members have alternative site?” I suggested that been meeting every single week we could construct a new building for 15 years now, usually in his in the Central Jail site where there garden. INTACH Bengaluru spoke is space. “We send culprits there to Mr Venkataramanan about and you want to send judges architecture, INTACH and his early there?” he asked! involvement with protecting the Urban Arts Commission had okayed city’s heritage. Excerpts from a the plan. The moment I came to In the meantime, I along with a chat with him. know about this, I wrote a letter in few others who were technically Deccan Herald saying this must be qualified to evaluate the building, What prompted you to join stopped. That was the first such visited it. We found that all the INTACH? letter. In those days, Deccan rainwater outlets on the roof had The moment the setting up of Herald was the only paper in been deliberately plugged so that INTACH was announced by Rajiv Bangalore so everyone saw it. This water was stagnating on the roof! Gandhi in 1984, I thought it was a was followed by a letter from M We asked for the plugs to be great idea. People who were Bhaktavatsala, and then several removed. associated with it were very all others also wrote. well-informed people - art Anyway, we got Sir Bernard enthusiasts and aesthetes like Then Bhaktavatsala called us all Fielden over and he inspected the Pupul Jayakar and Martand Singh. I for a meeting in Bangalore Club. whole building. Then we held a was in Delhi then and I joined. There is no other building like that press conference in Bangalore Club in Bangalore so we were all very where Fielden stated that the Can you tell us a little about disturbed by the plan to demolish building only needed minor repairs your early involvement with it. Naomi Meadows (the then and once that was done, the INTACH here in Bangalore? INTACH Convenor in Bangalore) Attara Kacheri would last another In the early 1980s, there were was very, very committed to the 150-200 years! some news reports saying the task. She said, “Let’s fight this Attara Kacheri was in a dangerous tooth and nail.” She knew Sir At one point, there was a move to condition and had to be Bernard Fielden (a world- demolish the Seshadri Iyer library demolished and so on. Even the renowned and well-respected too, saying it was old. And of INTACHER Page 6

VOX PRINCEPS (continued…) course, PWD is always waiting with green belt around Bengaluru. You Vikram Sarabhai. When I started its tractors to demolish things! If could not build into the green Venkataramanan Associates, I had we are not very watchful in these belt. This was to make sure to start from scratch, one kinds of situations, it will go Bengaluru did not expand. This bathroom here, one puja room before we know it. We can make a Green Belt theory was the idea of there! Now of course we have little noise. If the noise can do the BMP (as it was called then) more than 200 employees in something, like what we were able then. Restrictions were imposed Bangalore and a branch in Pune. to do for the Attara Kacheri, that’s on building heights. But that led to And we have clients like Wipro, GE all that can happen. Beyond that, the buildings spreading and all the etc. My son, Naresh, is involved in it is very difficult. Bodies like the trees were cut. If you allow people it now. Urban Arts Commission being only to build high, we get more open regulatory, there have no teeth to space. Look at Bombay. They have What is your favourite project in bite. high-rises but they also have trees. Bangalore that you have worked on? On architects and activism Tell us a little about coming to The library building in the Raman As practising architects, if we Bangalore and your early career Research Institute was designed by object to all this (the move to here. me in the 1970s. I consider that my demolish Ballabrooie, for I came here in 1957 and toured best work. The current director’s example), it turns back on us. If around Bangalore. I found it so house was originally a hostel we become activists, it affects our beautiful and I wished I could building;it was converted into his profession. At the same time, we come and live here. Sometimes residence. That too was done by also can’t let it go. We have to you get what you wish for! I moved me. play a kind of middle role, a to Bangalore in 1966. At first, I balancing act. worked for CnT (Chandavarkar and Thacker) Architects. In 1969, I On open spaces and going started my own firm. At CnT, I had vertical in Bengaluru been working on something in In the 1960s and 70s, they made a Thumba and was dealing with

Executive Committee INTACH Bengaluru Meera Iyer (Convenor) Chapter Aravind C (Coordinator, Treasurer) 166, Kathriguppe Pankaj Modi (Technical Coordinator) W at e r Tank Road Anup Naik 3rd Sathyaprakash Varanashi Stage Bangalore 560085 www.facebook.com/Intachblr www.i nstagram.com/intachbengaluru www.intachblr.org [email protected] Newsletter design by Shah Jahan +91.98450 13 031 +91.9986 0 2 3014