In search of roots: The start of a journey to uncover the ancient Hindu concept of /In as f£J(perience"in India, today. - An exploration of Indian metaphysics as the foundation of this concept. KSHAMA CHARI A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Architecture. Johannesburg 200'7. If the thunderstorm is no fonger for us the marriage of heaven and earth, 6ut onfg a discharge of efectricity, a[[ that we have rea[fg done is to su6stitute a physica[ for a metaphysica[ fevef of referencei the man is far more a man who can rea[ise the perfect vafidity of60th e~fanations, each on its own fevef of reference. Of the man who cou[d [001( up to the roof of his house, or tempfe, and say ((there hangs the Superna[ Sun" or down at his hearth and say ((there is the navef of the earth", we maintain not onfg that his house and tempfe were the more servicea6fe to him and the more 6eautiful in fact, 6ut in every sense much more such homes as the dignity of man demands than are our own ((Machines to five in. " Coomaraswamy, Symbolism of the Dome Declaration I Kshama Chari (Student number: 0514479E) am a student registered for the Degree of Master of Architecture (by research) in the year 2007. I hereby declare the following: • I am aware that plagiarism (the use of someone else's work without their permission and/or without acknowledging the original source) is wrong. • I confirm that the work submitted for assessment for the above course is my own unaided work except where I have explicitly indicated otherwise. • I have followed the required conventions in referencing the thoughts and ideas of others. • I understand that the University of the Witwatersrand may take disciplinary action against me if there is a belief that this in not my own unaided work or that I have failed to acknowledge the source of the ideas or words in my writing. Signature: --}J-+-~I-To,.;----.+--'--- Date: __\_8 ___ 3c_u\_)-\-- _2.OC:>::r_.__ _ In search of roots: The start of a journey to uncover the ancient Hindu concept of "Art as Experience" in India, today. - An exploration of Indian metaphysics as the foundation of this concept. Indian architecture has its unique place in the architectural history of the world. It constantly inspires its people. It continues to fascinate many a tourist and thinker. It has a multi-layered, 4000 year old history with the Indus valley civilisation (approx. 2500 BeE) boasting of highly sophisticated space planning concepts. The progressive evolvement of Indian culture since then has seen further refinement of all its art-forms. The remnants of the built forms of such bygone eras hold immense architectural merit that makes a walk through any traditional town a meaningful memory, even today. If architecture is the reflection of culture, what should have been the richness of the culture that gave rise to such splendour in architecture! Yet, "In order to understand a culture, it is not enough to describe its buildings, but one wants to know the impulses that drove people to build them." (Ballantyne, 2004, 30). So then what were these impulses that drove the Indian people to create the stupendous architecture, the representations of which are marvelled at today? The main proposition of the dissertation is that the ancient Hindu concept of "Art as Experience" on which much of the conscious place-making by the Hindu people was based, evolved from profound metaphysical seeds that addressed the very basis of man's existence on earth. The research hopes to partially prove that the greatness of traditional Hindu architecture lies in its metaphysical moorings of Ultimate Reality and Ultimate Truth and in doing so understanding what Ultimate reality was in Indian philosophy and what bearing it had on Hindu architecture and addresses the questions of how traditional Indian Hindu architecture housed man: body, being and all within his unique context? How does Hindu architecture with its unique perception of man and his environment converse with universal perennials? What is the currect architectural scene in India? And what are the lessons that such a comparative study might teach one? The research tries to answer the above questions by looking in depth at the ancient Hindu architectural concept of "Art as Experience" that is believed to have given rise to the ancient Hindu architecture of India. Starting with examining Indian metaphysical constructs and within it the perception of known and unknown entities of reality; further exploring its relevance to architecture in terms of the role of body in architecture, the concept of micro and macrocosms, contextual appropriateness and the unique place that thresholds held in life, the research moves on to the role of an architect and the way in which the architecture created lent meaning to the everyday life of people, attempting to understand how ancient architecture was weaved into the lives of people and their beliefs. Further, some parallels with non-Indian architectural thought are discussed following which the need for a sensate environment for human beings to live in, the need for identity and meaning in architecture, the concept of place and culture as a generating force for architecture are also explored. Finally the current state of architecture in India is discussed. In the end, some lessons that could be learnt from history are enumerated that could help in creating architecture that integrates both the universal principles and the particularities of culture to bestow meaning and identity to the people it purports to serve. This research tries to examine the past to look for clues to a future of identifiable and authentic architecture - to bring the ancient and contemporary into the same framework in order to look for lessons within. Abstract submitted by Kshama Chari. S.no: 0514479E to Dept. of Architecture. University of Witwatersrand on 18 lui 2007. Acknowledgements I express my thanks to the Department of Architecture and Planning at the University of Witwatersrand, its current head Prof. Alan Mabin and past head Prof. P.G. Raman for letting me pursue my M.Arch studies and encouraging my endeavour. Thank you Professor Paul Kotze, my mentor, for your continued guidance, encouragement and above all faith in me without which I would never have had the confidence to complete this research. Thank you too Marguerite for your kind words of encouragement and for being there. Heartfelt thanks to Dr. Aly Karam for his continued support. Thanks also to Hannah, Fiona and Gloria, Doreen, Vasentha and all the others at Wits who in their own ways aided my research and made the road ahead that much easier. I thank the University of Witwatersrand for generously giving me the Post Graduate Merit Award, The University Council Award and the G.E. Pearce award which served as additional motivation for me to give my best. I also thank Prof. Karel A. Bakker from the University of Pretoria for giving me his time and advice. I profoundly thank architects Dr. Sreevatsan and Shashikala Ananth, art historian Dr. Prema Kasturi and Coomaraswamy enthusiast Mr. Satchidanandan from Chennai, Mr. Sajan, Joint Director of COSTFORD, Trivandrum for being kind enough to give of their time and knowledge to me in India. I also thank the National Folklore Support Centre Library, the Connemara Public Library and the Madras Institute of Developmental Studies in Chennai for kindly allowing me to use their facilities. My family, everyone of you a big thank you for being there at everyone of my beck and calls, for helping me in innumerable small ways and big ways and most of all for being proud of me and my work. Thanks Kunkum for your timely help. The same to everyone of my friends - Thank You. And Satish, without you I wouldn't be who I am and this research would never have happened. Thank You. Table of Contents: 1. Introduction 01 Statement of the problem and the main hypotheses 02 Structure of research 03 Research Method 05 Limitations of study 06 Importance of study 07 2. Indian Philosophy 09 Aim of Indian philosophy 10 Vedanta Philosophy 10 What is Vedanta 11 The core 11 The subject 12 The Self 13 Ultimate Reality 14 Experience of Ultimate Reality 15 Art and Art Experience 16 Levels of Art Experience 18 Sensible experience 19 Metaphysical experience 19 Transcendental experience 20 3. The unknown and known 21 Known experience 21 Experience of unknown 21 Unknown through the known 22 Idol Worship 22 Radha and Krishna 23 Thiruppavai 25 Maata-Pita-Guru-Deivam 26 The Sexual union 26 The concept of unknown in Indian art 27 4. Body in Indian Architecture 30 Human Body as point of reference 30 Human Body as analogy 31 Body in Indian philosophy 33 Notions of Body, Place and Divinity 34 5. Macro- and microcosm: Finding a place for the human within 38 Courtyard as the physical space 38 The Metaphysical space 43 Examples Example 1: Multifamily Household a Example 2: Single family Household c Example 3 d 6. Context Sensitivity 47 Context in ethics and epics 47 The context of site 49 Context within the site 50 Creating a context for activities 51 Contextual ising the individual 51 Materials suited to context 52 Importance of Context in other art forms 53 Universality 54 7. Thresholds 56 Body as threshold 56 Rites of passage as threshold 57 Thresholds in space 60 Thresholds in Temples 60 The Gopuram as threshold 61 Mandapams as thresholds 62 Prakarams: Doorways as thresholds 64 Thresholds in homes 65 Veranda as threshold 66 Entrance door as threshold 67 8.