History Of Architecture(AP313) | Term Paper | 2013

THE QUESTION OF STYLE-ORIENTING THE RAJ

Term Paper for History of Architecture (AP131)

Aakanksha Gupta Roll Number: 17 Sushant School of Art and Architecture

ABSTRACT
The British came to India to trade but eventually they ended up ruling India under the name of East India Company. As the British observed that India had a glorious and magnificent architecture already they were in a great need for an architectural style of their own to prove the Indians that they were the better civilized ones. The British took the European palette which brought in all the known styles from classical to gothic to baroque for them. They blended these features with the existing architecture of that time to show the supremacy of their architecture style. The hybrid combined diverse architectural elements of Hindu and Mughal with gothic cusped arches, domes, spires, tracery, minarets and stained glass, in a wonderful, almost playful manner. Structures built in Indo-Saracenic style in India were mainly grand public buildings like clock towers, courthouses, colleges, town halls, offices, railway stations. E.g. Rashtrapati bhawan in New Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Gateway of India in Mumbai But then the question that arises is what if the Britishers didnt blend the European palette with the Hindu and Mughal? How did they land up in Delhi as the milestone of indo Saracenic style? Did the Britishers do some justice to India in terms of architecture? If we look at present condition its the indo Saracenic structures that are still used by the government as a mark of status and power. In my term paper I intend to find answers to these questions and give a brief on how Indo Saracenic turned out to be blessing in disguise for India.

History Of Architecture(AP313) | Term Paper | 2013

PAPER

The British came to the Indian subcontinent in 1615, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir to trade but eventually they ended up ruling India under the guise of East India Company and later as a direct crown colony. As the British observed that India had a glorious and magnificent architecture already they were in a great need for an architectural style of their own to prove the Indians that they were the better civilized ones. During their rule, as the Britishers were here to stay they built a number of schools, railways, railway stations, ports, banks, post-offices, libraries, universities, administrative and bureaucratic offices, even palatial residences in transcontinental brick and mortar infrastructural system. The magnificent buildings constructed by the British in India, many of which are still present did not spring simply from the fancy of the architects or from purely aesthetic or administrative concerns: Rather they embodied a vision the British had of themselves as rulers of India. Communication skills and technology made it possible for people to actually document their work and people could use the same photographs or archaeological data to build the same thing over an entirely different place. Muir College in Allahabad by William Emerson and Madras University Senate House by Robert Fellowes Chisholm are two buildings are early essays what came to labeled Indo-Saracenic architecture. Muir College, on a whole presents a dramatic composition. Over a large hall which exudes a vague air of Venetian Gothic there rises a dome which is Mughal in outline but Persian in decoration and besides it stands a minaret transported from mamluk, Egypt. At the same moment in early 1870s, Madras University Senate House by Robert Fellowes Chisholm was being built. In the bold arcades encasing the Madras University Senate House, some of the arches are of an ogee form, like those of the Deccan, while others are of a voluptuous horseshoe form such as those of Moorish Spain. The decorative details-the glass and the woodwork in the openings the stone carving of capitals and balconies-are equally eclectic; without copying specific models. Forsaking the standard western classical and gothic models for the British architecture in India, Emerson And Chisholm were attempting to design in a manner which took account of the Eastern location of their work, incorporating ideas from the diverse heritage of India and Islam. From eccentric beginnings emerged a distinctive architectural movement, an arresting episode in both British and Indian architectural history. Then happened the movement lead by T.Roger Smith, an architect who practiced in Bombay. The battle of styles in Victorian Britain provided context for this debate: the quest was for a single distinctive architectural language which would express the nature and purposes of British Imperialism. What Roger smith meant by his assertion was that the British in India were not colonists but conquerors. What he meant by that distinction was that they had not abandoned their homeland in order to settle in a new one; they did not adapt themselves to local traditions. The purpose of raj in smiths view was to impose British standards in all areas of life.

History Of Architecture(AP313) | Term Paper | 2013 As our administration exhibits European justice, order, law, energy, and honor and that in no hesitating or feeble way so our buildings ought to hold up a high standard of European art. They ought to be European both as a rallying point for ourselves, and as raising a distinctive symbol of our presence to be beheld with respect and even with admiration by the natives of the country. It was evident from Smiths conclusion that architecture must be European to inspire respect and admiration and also, to be distinctive. This idea of using a European style was preferred by both administrators and architects, most notably in Bombay and Calcutta. Yet, this was not the only argument in relation to defining the architecture of India. William Emerson suggested, It was impossible for the architecture of the west to be suitable to the natives of the east. The debate on the question of style was hyped when there were two ideologies-one was to follow the footsteps of romans who not only cut roads and pitch up roman fashion buildings were ever they went and had an occasion to build and other was to understand the social and cultural difference and adapt something with was more acceptable for the people in terms of theories and climate and at the same time procured the first place for the British ahead in the race. They shared a political concern for the effect of their choices of styles and idioms. The search for the style lead to the experimentation with the form and function. The buildings built during the 1860s were experimentation with a number of native styles for the public buildings especially.e.g. The Muir College by William Emerson. Indian colonial architecture evolved in three distinct phases. First phase was Calcutta. Calcutta was the new ideal European city. In the British capital, architect Vincent Esch who had extensively worked in Hyderabad for the Nizam of Hyderabad was appointed in Calcutta. Esch less converted to the Indo Saracenic approach, and most of his own designs in the city were strictly classical. There were a number of neo classical buildings being built. It has some of the earliest monuments to British rule. Government House (Raj Bhawan) at Calcutta was built in 1803 by Captain Charles Wyatt (of the Bengal Engineers). Then there was the Palladian classical style influence that was seen in residence of the Viceroy of India. It was basically a testament to English control over the province of Bengal. Their came a time when if there was to be built a building it had to be European style building towering over the landscape of Calcutta. The Corinthian columns, portico facade, the Classical pediment, and the Pantheonic Dome, all of these architectural elements reek of a foreign design style, transplanted onto the colony, much like British rule after the Battle of Plassey. The Victoria Memorial Hall of Calcutta is a prominent example of the same. Designed by William Emerson at the beginning of the century, is one of the proudest architectural achievements of the British Raj. It was more emphatically an European design. The central dome transports one to the other capital of the Empire with its strong echo of Wrens St. Pauls. But the corner domes have a more Mughal outline, a central dome surrounded by four small domed kiosks surmounts a vast arched portal and four corner towers all clad in white marble. It was an British imitation of Taj Mahal.

History Of Architecture(AP313) | Term Paper | 2013 These building perfectly represented the early phase of the Raj. But the British had less regard to the country in terms of their architecture. There after this came the second phase. It was like the beginning of the most ambitious building program any British colony had ever seen. THE GOTHIC REVIVAL. The focus shifted from Calcutta to Bombay. Bombay was also an important center because of the trade and its ports. There were two main events which changed the face of Bombay forever. First was the construction of railway lines connecting it to the hinterland of India and second, the opening of the Suez Canal, which made the entrance to India closer at Bombay, rather than traveling to Calcutta or Madras. This made trade easier for the British as they no more had to travel all along the Calcutta coastline. Bombay was on its way to become the international trading market. F.W.Stevens was the chief architect of The Victoria Terminus Railway Station (1887).The architectural grab was triumphantly gothic. It is the most prominent example of gothic architecture in India. The highly ornamented facade, gargoyles and the massive gothic dome, arches were prominent features marking the mercantile excellence of the British. Rajabai Clock Tower, University of Bombay (1878) was a reminiscent of Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster; London (1859), the Gothic clock tower at Bombay combined the British obsession with control. The architecture aimed at reinforcing the colonial hierarchy, and this was the message the foreign architectural style sent to the natives. Into this already sweltering, rich fabric, architect George Willet worked two exotic, heavy ornaments: the Prince of Wales Museum(1905) and the famous Gateway of India(1911). Both paid very close attention to the patterns of Indias regional Islamic architecture, the museum borrowing especially from the tombs of the Deccani sultans while the gateway applies the details of a Gujarati mosque to the cut of a triumphal arch. The buildings designed and constructed by the British were spelled by many factors projection of power and control being the top most priority. The British had to prove that they had an upper hand to the Indians in every possible way. It is with this mindset that British architects began dominating the visual landscape of India So they came up with the conclusion to merge the Indian art with their European palette. There was an utmost need of a new style which was more relatable for the people. This lead to the third phase and precisely the most important one. Photography helped the architects to document and records the culture, people and landscape of India. This is the reason that Indo-Saracenic became a prominent style in the later period Then came the most important event which marked the actual indo Saracenic style of architecture in India. The shift of capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi. Britishers were spellbound by the excellence of Mughals in terms of architecture. They took features and merged it with their style giving birth to the real Indo-Saracenic. Entire Delhi was replanned by architects like Edward lutyens and Hebert Baker. They incorporated the realm of Mughal architecture in terms of the material like use of sandstone for the entire faade, bulb like

History Of Architecture(AP313) | Term Paper | 2013 dome on the top and symmetry with European features like columns on the front, etc. to a balanced proportion. At New Delhi, colonial architecture can be seen to finally achieve an authentic synthesis between British thought and Indian aesthetics. New Delhi exclaims the relationship between culture and power as expressed in the architectural forms the British employed in India. From the great monuments of New Delhi to the most obscure structures in dusty country towns these buildings visibly represented in stone the choices the British made in politics as imperial rulers. Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Viceroys House and the Secretariats in New Delhi are the biggest achievements of lutyens and baker. Delhi is not only known because it is the capital but also for the structures like the Parliament house, India gate , etc. which are the supremacy commanding structures of the nation.

Figure : Sushant Logo

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Bibliography
1. Metcalf, Thomas R. An Imperial Vision Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj. s.l. : University of California Press (February 16, 1989). 2. Baucom, Ian. Out of Place: Englishness, Empire, and the Locations of Identity. s.l. : Princeton University Press , 1999. 3. Bakshi, Randip. JOURNAL OF EMPIRE STUDIES,The Birth of Indic Architecture. [Online] 2011. http://empirestudies.com/2011/03/20/the-birth-of-indic-architecture/. 4. Articles- Science and Society: An Indian Perspective- D. Science and Technology under the British Rule The Building of New Delhi. Centre for Policy Studies. [Online] Centre for Policy Studies,INDIA, 2011. http://cpsindia.org/index.php/art/114-science-sustainability-and-indian-national-resurgence/d-scienceand-technology-under-the-british-rule/160-3-the-building-of-new-delhi. 5. London, Christopher W. Architecture in Victorian and Edwardian India . s.l. : Marg Publications, 1994.