In Lucid Language That Speaks To Laymen And Architects Alike, This Book Provides A History Of Twentieth Century Architecture In India. It Examines In Detail The Early Influences On Indian Architecture Both Of Movements Like The Bauhaus As Well As Prominent Individuals Like Habib Rehman, Jawaharlal Nehru, Frank Lloyd Wright And Le Corbusier.
This book is an attempt to evaluate the role of architecture of foreign masters of modern architecture in India in shaping the post independence Indian architecture. It is an effort to understand the reasons of origin of modern architecture, factors responsible for its development and its architectural vocabulary both in world and in India. It further strives to gather the existing studies that have already been done and also intends to contribute to the present body of knowledge by identifying and defining architectural vocabulary of modern architecture of foreign modernist masters' works in India and also statistically analyse its influence on post independence Indian architecture that native architects exhibited in public domain. It is a maiden attempt to analyse the influence statistically at such an exhaustive level, which has never been done before. The book elaborates how the architecture of modern India embodied and reflected the dramatic shifts of Indian society and culture. It throws light on Indian architectural modernity journey that began at the turn of the 20th century, fostered new design practices that directly challenged the social order and values invested in the building traditions of the past. It is an effort to fill in the gaps in the course of development of modernism in India and also an in depth analysis of the way Indian architects were influenced by the works of foreign masters of modern architecture in India. This critical representation of India's post independence modern architecture is an essential reading for all students and scholars of architecture, as well as all those interested in the story of development of modernism in India.
In a second edition of their successful Concise History of Modern India, Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf explore India's modern history afresh and update the events of the last decade. These include the takeover of Congress from the seemingly entrenched Hindu nationalist party in 2004, India's huge advances in technology and the country's new role as a major player in world affairs. From the days of the Mughals, through the British Empire, and into Independence, the country has been transformed by its institutional structures. It is these institutions which have helped bring about the social, cultural and economic changes that have taken place over the last half century and paved the way for the modern success story. Despite these advances, poverty, social inequality and religious division still fester. In response to these dilemmas, the book grapples with questions of caste and religious identity, and the nature of the Indian nation.
The course of south Indian history from pre-historic times to the contemporary era is a complex narrative with many interpretations. Reflecting recent advances in the study of the region, this volume provides an assessment of the events and socio-cultural development of south India through a comprehensive analysis of its historical trajectory. Investigating the region's states and configurations, this book covers a wide range of topics that include the origins of the early inhabitants, formation of the ancient kingdoms, advancement of agriculture, new religious movements based on bhakti, and consolidation of centralized states in the medieval period. It further explores the growth of industries in relation to the development of East-West maritime trade in the Indian Ocean as well as the wave of Islamicization and the course of commercial relations with various European countries. The book then goes on to discuss the advent of early-modern state rule, impact of the raiyatwari system introduced by the British, debates about whether the region's economy developed or deteriorated during the eighteenth century, decline of matriliny in Kerala, emergence of the Dravidian Movement, and the intertwining of politics with contemporary popular culture. Well illustrated with maps and images, and incorporating new archaeological evidence and historiography, this volume presents new perspectives on a gamut of issues relating to communities, languages, and cultures of a macro-region that continues to fascinate scholars and readers alike.
Two distinguished historians, Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf, come together to write a new and accessible account of modern India. The narrative, which charts the history of India from the Mughals, through the colonial encounter and independence, to the present day, challenges imperialist notions of an unchanging and monolithic India bounded by tradition and religious hierarchies. Instead the book reveals a complex society which is constantly transforming and reinventing itself in response to political and social challenges. The book is beautifully composed and richly illustrated. It will be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand India, her turbulent past and her present uncertainties.
Shivdatt Sharma (b. 1931) is one of the most prolific Indian modernist architects. Starting out as an architect in the Chandigarh Capital Project Team led by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, Sharma subsequently became Chief Architect of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He then went into private practice. Sharmas architecture is a distinct blend of the core principles of Modernism, interpreted through the lens of contemporary Indian realities. Modernism was adopted as both symbol and instrument of nation-building in Nehruvian India. Working alongside designers and artists, architects went to work building innumerable small townships, universities, public institutions, housing estates and infrastructural projects across the country. Progressive businesses also patronized Modernism as full participants in the project of nation-building. The Modernism in India Series documents the extensive heritage of Modernism and modern architecture in India. Bringing to light the work of a forgotten generation, this series documents work that is currently under threat by the forces of globalization. This well-illustrated book documents Sharmas work from the early days, when it was a part of the experimental and innovative ethos of Chandigarh, to the present. He has designed for a range of public and private clients across the world. Along with a portfolio of selected works, this book includes critical essays, interviews and a chronology of projects.
The primary era of this study - the twentieth century - symbolizes the peak of the colonial rule and its total decline, as well as the rise of the new nation state of India. The processes that have been labeled 'westernization' and 'modernization' radically changed middle-class Indian life during the century. This book describes and explains the various technological, political and social developments that shaped one building type - the bungalow - contemporaneous to the development of modern Indian history during the period of British rule and its subsequent aftermath. Drawing on their own physical and photographic documentation, and building on previous work by Anthony King and the Desais, the authors show the evolution of the bungalow's architecture from a one storey building with a verandah to the assortment of house-forms and their regional variants that are derived from the bungalow. Moreover, the study correlates changes in society with architectural consequences in the plans and aesthetics of the bungalow. It also examines more generally what it meant to be modern in Indian society as the twentieth century evolved.
This groundbreaking volume examines how the Mughal Empire used architecture to refashion its identity and stage authority in the 18th century, as it struggled to maintain political power against both regional challenges and the encroaching British Empire.
