SANDHI www.iitkgpsandhi.org A Science-Heritage Initiative Sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India ALL PROJECTS PROGRESS OVERVIEW REPORT & BOOK OF ABSTRACTS (Inclusive of a blueprint for Varanasi: a Mega-exploratory project) INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KHARAGPUR October 2014 04 Preamble 06 PART-I: Section A: Progress and Review Report Advisor Prof. Partha P. Chakrabarti Director, IIT Kharagpur 40 PART-I: Section B: Progress and Review Report Monitoring Cell Prof. Sunando Dasgupta Dean, Sponsored Research and Consultancy Cell, IIT Kharagpur Prof. Pallab Dasgupta 56 Associate Dean, Sponsored Research and Consultancy Cell, IIT Kharagpur PART-I: Section C: Progress and Review Report Principal Investigator (overall) Contents Prof. Joy Sen 74 Department of Architecture & Regional Planning, IIT Kharagpur Vide order no. F. NO. 4-26/2013-TS-1, Dt. 19-11-2013 PART-II: Book of Abstracts (36 months w.e.f 15-1-2014 and 1 additional year for outreach programs) Professor-in-Charge 96 Documentation and Dissemination PART-III: Book of Abstracts (Varanasi) Prof. Priyadarshi Patnaik Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur 110 PART-IV: A Blueprint: Bases of Action Plans for Varanasi | A Prologue www.iitkgpsandhi.org 120 VARANASI – An Eco-Design Blueprint ISBN: 978-93-80813-29-5 | 02 | SANDHI | A Science-Heritage Initiative Acknowledgements | 03 | Acknowledgements The opportunity and the certitude of being a part of Sandhi is a life-time blessing. Not guidance forwarded by Mrs. Smriti Irani, Honorable Minister-in-Charge, Ministry of 'The modern physicist experiences the world through an extreme specialization of the rational many are blessed like us. It is a platform which has given us the ways and means to serve Human Resources Development, Government of India, and also for her wonderful wishes mind; the mystic through an extreme specialization of the intuitive mind……to paraphrase an old our very Motherland – 'India' – the fountainhead of civilization. and support from her very first day. Chinese saying, mystics understand the roots of the Tao but not its branches; scientists understand its branches but not its roots. The freedom and the camaraderie that we enjoy under the portals of this great Institute, I particularly forward our sincere gratitude to Prof. Sunando Dasgupta, Dean, Sponsored which are built on the bedrock of the sacrifices of our great martyrs, are the first Research and Consultancy Cell, IIT Kharagpur, for his silent but uncompromising support Science does not need mysticism and mysticism does not need science; but men and women foundations of Sandhi. We feel further blessed to dedicate Sandhi to their hopes, and guidance. Particularly, I want to put on the Book of eternal records, the indispensable need both' aspirations and the purpose for what they had once stood for. friendship emanated by two of my esteemed colleagues, Prof. Pallab Dasgupta, Associate Dean of the same Cell and also a key person in Sandhi, and Prof. Priyadarshi Patnaik of our Our acknowledgements are due to many. Just to mention two from a countless list – One, Fritjof Capra Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Much of what has been accomplished in recollecting a time more than a decade back, it was a rare patronage of Prof. Amitabha Epilogue: Tao of Physics Sandhi and much of what you see in this book are because of the two of them. Ghosh, our past Director, who had inspired many of us to go ahead with these kinds of holistic and syncretic efforts of inquiry and explorations, though they were just nascent or Finally, a note of deep gratitude has to be forwarded to all our Heads of the Concerned rather, in a seed form. During that period, i.e., in the year 1999-2000, we had floated an Departments, Centers and Schools; and most important of all, to our excellent team of exhibition cum publication called 'Madhu Vidya', meaning a ramification and a revelation Principal Investigators and their teamwork to shape 'Sandhi'.…. and last but not the least, on the Heritage of Indian Deep Ecological correspondences and complementarities, to the fulfilling contributions of their league of scholars, research associates and research which contained the first fruits. Many well-wishers and guardians had shared their assistants, in the making of this report. 'The seer-wisdom realizes that supreme solar world in the form of a Asswattha (pippal) tree, where blessings – the names of Swami Pravananda, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math and On the behalf of a 'friendship with values' called 'Sandhi, I sincerely seek your continued the branching of the rays of the sun carrying the immortalizing waters (the madhu) reverts back to Mission, Belur Math; Artist-Engineer Sri Arunendu Banerjee; and most significantly, blessings and support. its roots at night and resurges again to flood the universe with the day light Swami Ramananda of Sadananda Ramakrishna Mission, Dakshineswar are to name a few only. From there we have treaded to our recent times, forerun by the leadership of PPC – This is the eternal truth and they all, who know the truth, are one with their 'Father in the (Prof. Partha P. Chakraborti), who is our present director. He has been the 'heart and supreme heaven'' mind'- the master-drive and a perpetual friend in our efforts to capture and shape Sandhi. Joy Sen We particularly owe a lot to Ms. Amita Sharma, the past Additional Secretary (Technical Principal Investigator, SANDHI Seer Dirgha-tama Education), Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, for her October 2014 Rig Veda: Mandala one, 164:20 unparalleled support and guidance. Without her, IIT Kharagpur could not have initiated Sandhi. Other IITs followed. In this connection, we sincerely acknowledge an overarching | 04 | SANDHI | A Science-Heritage Initiative Preamble | 05 | Preamble SANDHI is a major 'Science-Heritage' initiative. It means a 'Scientific Approach to Ancient Classifications of Indian Ragas and b: Audience Response to Indian Classical 1. To conduct a re-explorative geo-archaeological –architectural – iconographical SANDHI aims at putting forth a new order, a greater order in thought and action – by, of Networking and Designing of Heritage Interfaces'. SANDHI is a recovery and recognition Music Classification study of: Chandraketugrah, East of Kolkata: as a potential site of current and future and for the students. It is not an 'either or' but essentially an integration of science and of our heritage through the 'lens of science'. SANDHI is also the augmentation of scientific The two iconographic projects will: excavation for re-interpreting the chronology of Indian history (500 BC – 500 AD) tradition – assimilating the analytical and deep intuitive sectors of human thinking and methodology by incorporating and absorbing inputs and processes embedded in our based on the textual insights by a) Megasthenes b) Ptolemy and c) Huen Tsang & action. That always has been the life of India – a very ancient and yet a modern and ever- Indian and global traditional knowledge systems. It is the 'Sandhi', - the spirit of a) establish a scientific correlation between 2-D footprints of Ecologic-Climatic others growing all-assimilating civilization. The spirit of SANDHI comes out best in the following assimilation and integration of the two –Science and Heritage that matters. construct and anthropocentric patterns & 3-D systems of iconographic patterns or words: 'footprints' (Mandala) as evident in design of Temple, Sacred Precincts and General 2. To conduct a re-explorative geo-archaeological –architectural – iconographical SANDHI is sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Department of study of Vajragiri-Lalitagiri-Pushpagiri belt of Coastal Orissa: a potential site of Settlement forms in Indian architecture and also beyond India It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most Higher Education, Government of India. It is an inter-institutional and people and ground current and future excavation for re-connecting the historic connections between fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different centric approach. One of the main objectives is to arrive at a holistic process of design [Breadth structure across periods] apparently diverse thought-systems like Kashmir Shaivism, Tibetan Buddhism and lines of thought meet. systems and pedagogy, by involving students right from the first day and positioning them b) establish linkages between iconographic re-interpretation of architecture and others movements in the extended South East Asia/ Indonesia in real-life piloted projects through the 16 SANDHI projects. IIT Kharagpur is exploring -Werner Heisenberg engineering patterns of Vedic and Buddhist periods based on: 3. A multi-dimensional exploratory study of the 'Heritage City' of VARANASI for the various SANDHI projects through an Apex body, which consist of Prof. P. P. ŸIdentification of underlying common patterns: built-forms; shape grammar; studying the patterns of: Cosmological-Historic footprints (A), geo-morphological Chakraborti, Director, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. Sunando Dasgupta (Dean) and Prof. Pallab 'India of the ages is not dead nor has she spoken her last creative word; she lives principles of design; styles and continuity embedded in the two layers footprints (B), habitat of educational systems, ancient physical and social Dasgupta (Associate Dean), Sponsored Research and Consultancy Cell (SRIC) of IIT and has still something to do for