Imaging the Landscape Experience of Darjeeling
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NEPAL BHUTAN SIKKIM BHUTAN KALIMPONG II DARJEELING PULBAZAR RANGLI GORUBATHAN RANGLIOT KALIMPONG BIHAR JOREBUNGALOW SUKIAPOKHRI BANGLADESH KURSEONG LOCATION MIRIK NEPAL e history of development of hill stations in India during colonial period dates back to the nineteenth century, when due to establishment of Railways, JHARKHAND MATIGARA NAXALBARI JALPAIGURI British sought to inhabit these cooler areas in the harsh summer. Situated in the Eastern Himalayan belt, a similar hill station, Darjeeling gained popularity PHANSIDEWA KHARIBARI both in India and abroad as a tourist destination. is was facilitated by the commencement of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway between Siliguri, in the plains of Bengal to the hills of Darjeeling. Although intended to support the thriving Tea industry, the DHR soon became one of the most celebrated and BANGLADESH BIHAR ORISSA NEPAL acclaimed train journeys in the world. e toy train chugs along the hill side oering a variety of landscape experiences taking the passenger from the heat of the plains to the bracing mountain air. 3 0 0 ! 12 Darjeeling 00 0 SIGNIFICANT ISSUE 150 But in the post-independent scenario, it witnessed many challenges. With change in ownership, faster and ecient modes of transport and the recurring landslides, the toy train became less preferred and insolvent. Ghum 0 20 Manibhanjan Ridge Senchal 1 2100 6 e land-use changes altered the landscape experience that the DHR once boasted. With lesser travellers and obsolete engineering structure, the railway 00 2400 6 seems to have lost its value, and association with the community. e places and landmarks that narrated the glorious past of the railway were soon forgot- Tiger Hill 0 00 0 ten, and the need to conserve the heritage was realised. In 1999, the DHR was declared as a World Heritage Site due to its signicance as a hill passenger 18 railway and an example of the engineering excellence of nineteenth century and the socio-economic development that it brought into the Darjeeling Sonada 9 400 0 region. 2 0 While the conservation of the railway and its engineering aspect is important the landscape, the larger setting which determines the travel experience plays a signicant role as well. 0 0 2 Tung 1800 1 3 Mahaldiram ridge 0 Takdah-Pashok 0 1 AIM 50 0 In order to conserve the landscape experience, the study aims to nd the answers to the following: 900 How is the journey of Darjeeling Himalayan journey experienced and how can it be described? Mahanadi 15 00 Kurseong 3 0 6 0 0 What are the most signicant landscape experiences that the train oers the travellers? 0 Gayabari How can it be conserved and enhanced? 0 0 Tindharia 6 6 0 0 0 0 6 6 0 Chunbhatti 0 How can landscape intervention re-establish the nostalgia, the historic value of the railways? Rangtong Takdah-Pashok How can design reveal the underlying ecological beauty of the travel? 3 OBJECTIVE 00 To conserve the landscape experience, it is essential to present the traveller with a narration of the glorious past of the railway, the colonial heritage and strengthen the nostalgic and historic values associated with the railways. It will help in deepeninng the travellers understanding of the values and meanings, giving an understanding of the history, nature, or symbolism and surrounding landscape. Sukna e journey takes the traveller from the plains to the mountains, hence the landscape around the travellers change with every mile. Hence this is also a study of vehicular mediation of landscape. e objective is not only to educate the traveller but also to present a rich, coherent, sequential form, a form which has continuity and rhythm, which provides variety and contrasts, well joined transitions, and a well balanced sensation of movement, always negoti- ating the existing view and the emerging view.is may be constructed from modulation space, colour, texture, roadside detail. e landscape of Darjeeling is ecologically sensitive. Hence it is must to protect areas important for their landscape value so that they provide signicant Siliguri opportunities for improving continuity along the journey. New Jalpaiguri 0 1 2 5 N IMAGING THE LANDSCAPE EXPERIENCE OF DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAYS ST170002 METHODOLOGY SCOPE AND LIMITATION e study draws on a range of published and private accounts, government and railway company records, newspaper articles, travel guidebooks and DHR Co. publications in As the thesis aims to explore the study of vehicular mediation of landscape, author’s order to reconstruct the past experiences of the seven-hour journey. While land use along the route changed during the span of around 130 years , the route, stations, and ‘land- own landscape experience is taken into account. scape corridor’ remained largely the same, providing a unique opportunity for comparison among accounts and over the time. e landscape experiences are subjective to a persons preferences, the study does Concentrating on the representational aspects of the journey, the analysis constitute rst the historical investigation and second the author’s own experience riding the railway. not quantify the values etched in the landscape. However, the study does attempt in identifying the most signicant stretches and pause points based on historic, By analysing the aective, cognitive aspects of the journey in the changing landscape of DHR, the following can be deduced nostalgic, aesthetic and ecologic signicance. 1. Signicant places and stretches that have lost value over the time. While the journey stretches to kilometers, the viewshed extends to huge expanses 2. Identication Most scenic views and sections of the journey of land-the mountains above and the valleys below, the landscape intervention of the study is limited to the immediate surroundings (0-100m) With an attempt to assume the supposed situational receptivity of the traveller based on the aective and cognitive experiences, the study identies signicant stretches and pause points which with the help of ecologically sensitive landscape intervention enhance the travel experience, Owing to the limitation of time, the study could only propose certain vignettes or prototypes of landscape interventions along the journey. Senchal Forest 1600 1400 Darjeeling 2400 1200 1000 1800 Baman Dhura Forest 2000 Mahanadi Forest 2200 Chattakpur Forest Ghum Mahananda River Dooteria Forest 1200 Sonada Siliguri Bara Shibkhola Forest Mahanadi Tindharia Sukna 1000 Chunbhatti 1400 Rangtong Tung Panchanai River Shibkhola Forest New Jalpaiguri 1600 1800 2000 2200 Gayabari Sukna Forest 2000 1800 1600 1400 Kurseong 1200 RAILWAY STATION 1000 800 BUILTUP FOREST 600 TEA GARDENS Darjeeling Batasia Loop Ghum Sonada Tung Kurseong Mahanadi Gayabari Tindharia Rangtong Sukna Siliguri New Jalpaiguri 4:00 p.m 3:20-3:30 p.m 3:15 p.m 2:45 p.m 2:00 p.m 1:00-1:10p.m 12:30 noon 12:10-12:12 p.m 11:10-11:12 a.m 10:00-10:02 a.m 9:20 a.m -9:23 a.m 8:50-8:55a.m 8:30 a.m TRAIN IN MOTION STOPPAGE IMAGING THE LANDSCAPE EXPERIENCE OF DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAYS ST170002 15.e tea gardens along the hill side oers long distant 14.e traveller is now in temperate climate and the 13. e train ascend the spurs and go along from one ridge to views. Strong sense of coherence, stewardship. vegetation is completely changed. As the train ascends another. e play in scale and enclosure is very captivating. towards higher altitude, the climate gets cooler and the 12. e train ascend the foothills, the moist deciduous forest traveller anticipates the onward journey. cover seems to open up the views to both the onward 11. While the train leaves Rangtong, the diversity in foliage, texture, few vernacular mountain ranges and the plains left behind. structures makes this stretch of the journey coherent. e curves, bends and the hill-side 17.As the train reaches the Batasia Loop the rst panaromic brings along a sense of mystery and anticipation for a place which oers long, distant views. view of the Kanchenjunga is revealed. e traveller goes around the loop and the train halts for the traveller to immerse in the landscape. With Kanchenjunga in the background, Darjeeling town along the ridge in the 16.e openness of the tea gardens allows the traveller to foreground, this is the most photographic view of the look beyond to the distant hills and the plains. us, from the tiny train, the passenger can look down on the stiing tropical plains or to the surrounding and distant hills. 9.e jungle, after passing Sukna grows denser and denser. e thick and and magnicent foliage of the Sal, and 10. e train reaches Rangtong Station; the station building numerous timber trees. e graceful creepers and orchids Darjeeling has been conserved to its original form; a reminder of the pendant from the trees, the imprenetrable jungle grass and past. vared undergrowth , produce a splendid picture of tropical vegetation. 8. After leaving Sukna station, the forest seems to get denser with undergrowth and tall mature trees. e eld of vision is constrained to Ghum some few meters and the traveller anticipates for an open, long view. ere is a heightened sence of naturalness, coherence, with very low degree of disturbance. Sonada Tung Mahanadi 7. In the foothills, there are many small streams and riverulets descend from the hills. ese are pleasant surprises along the routes which contribute to the sense of naturalness and coherence. Tindharia Kurseong Gayabari Rangtong 6. While the train approaches Sukna, the tea gardens are left behind and the landscape character changes. e forest and the distant hills anticipate the onward journey. Sukna Siliguri New Jalpaiguri Sub-temperate 5. Trees with slender trunk provide permeability to the settin.g As the tea garden Broadleaf stretches along the plains upto the forest, there is a sense of coherence and imageability.