see:
A monumental mockery of heritage and history
Mandira Nayar
http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/05/stories/2006010510410100.htm
==============
First HT started (just after Ms Dikshit finally
stopped) serial write-ins to let prominent architects
pontificate about how rigid, non-participatory, etc,
the Master Plan was, is and will be. What these
opinions have to do with the demolition drive in
context of which they are opined I dunno.
The drive is against building permit violations, ie,
violations of building bylaws. Those are being
modified outside MPD revision, by MCD/Del Govt with
USAID and architects/architectural firms and seek,
among other things, to empower architects to issue
building as well as building use permits and to make
local-area plans to make area-specific byelaws for
local-area-plans. These LAPs are being piloted, with
architectural firms, in anticipation of post-GATS
regime of planning by architectural firms and
post-JnNURM regime of tool-kitted CDPs to allow such
peculiar planning or, rather, freedom from planning /
zoning regulations as desired by others for a number
of services that we are offering under GATS. These
last years NGOs made hay criticising planning and
planners to promote participatory planning among
select stakeholders, now the sun is about to shine on
prominent architectural firms and others who have
crafted, out of bag-of-tricks flexi-laws for and by
LAPs guided by CDPs guided by Visions, purported
*alternative* that they call *urban renewal*. What
that fuzziness means I understand (because I have
benefit of knowing the more refined frameworks for
renewal, rehabilitation, redevelopment, etc,
articulated in planning theory and law), but how the
prominences can possibly rationalise hawking it in
context of this demolition drive I dunno.
The cons item on Hindu front page has anguished
reporter ruing (in name also of unnamed senior ASI
official ruing):
----
The High Court may have issued orders for demolishing
illegal structures across the Capital, but the newly
expanded Village Bistro at Hauz Khas Village, that
according to the Archaeological Survey of India
violates every rule in the book, is still standing
tall... Ironically, the newly refurbished Bistro uses
the Hauz Khas heritage as its calling card and even
has a gallery dedicated to the grand old monuments.
Telling people to "experience history" at Bistro, its
unique view of the monuments is certainly drawing in
the crowds. "Calypso", the lounge bar that opens only
after 7 p.m., also violates the law that forbids any
gramophone or music near a protected historic monument
----
And AGK Menon, senior conservationist and urban
planner, rues:
----
"It is amazing that when there is all this talk about
removing illegal structures across the city, some
people seem to be above the law. The ASI appears to be
abdicating its responsibility by not doing anything,
but the law can't be the responsibility of the law
enforcers. What hope does a society have when its
citizens don't want to protect its monuments?" asks
senior conservationist and urban planner A.G.K. Menon.
----
Menon is neither qualified conservation architect nor
practicing planner (he started the HT write-in series
as architect and town planner plus director TVBSHS,
college teaching architecture that he has been running
for 15 years, from farmhouse). However, he did chair
the MPD-2021 expert group on conservation and urban
renewal. It is an open secret that he was hanging out
in MPD-2021 (in which he could hardly have made it to
any other position) just to try get his college
building regularised. The group he chaired produced by
way of chapter on Conservation and Heritage such tripe
that ordinary citizens have asked in Public Notice
responses for it to be removed for dignity of a
statutory document (simply on basis of comparison with
what MPD already provides). The ASI (now anonymously
ruing) was represented on the Menon group as was the
premier cons NGO, INTACH, that simultaneously
commissioned Menon to write some INTACH Charter for
cons. These caring senior cons then formed committees,
including one in DUAC, to file in response to Public
Notice their objections on what they had or had not
written in MPD-2021. They even presented those at
length at Public Hearing on 03.10.05.
I wonder now what point caring senior cons and cons
caring journo are making about Calypso to express (by
mocking us) their eternal love for heritage. Are they
inspiring ASI to stop abdicating? But journo rues that
unnamed senior official says ASI rues they cannot
enforce their law and Menon says law cannot be
responsibility of law enforcers and rues that we do
not care. So? shall we drive a bulldozer to Calypso
for law-enforcing and care-demonstrating? We cannot
(we will be locked up, in jail or loony bin or both
sequentially). Shall we drive MCD Commissioner to
divert a bulldozer from the MCD drive? He cannot (Hauz
Khas is duly notified urban village and there is no
bylaw violation since bylaws are not enforceable in
Lal Dora to date). Shall we ask DDA to act against use
violation? It cannot (because it has to normally
listen not to us but to cons committees provided for
in F-Zone Plan of 98 and by later regulations for
heritage committee(s) on all of which INTACH and
senior cons are sitting and, at the moment, action
against Calypso would also amount to conflict in
pendency of MPD-2021 Public Notice with MPD-2021 urban
renewal proposals!). So, what do we do? Organise
stakeholder discussion for senior caring cons to
participatorily rue and pontificate about how we are
to blame because we do not care... That is loopy loop!
For not-loopy straight-thinking we start elsewhere. We
wonder what sort of music Calypso plays and if
non-conformity with cons lifestyles of that or
something else about partying at Bistro / Calypso
might have provoked the ruing and pontificating in the
Hindu front-page item. We wonder, next, about the
colour of the cats that got the tongues of senior
caring cons and unnamed senior ASI official and cons
caring journo when the Aga Khan threw in musical
extravaganza with sit down banquet at HumayunTomb for
his recognised ones (including AGK Menon and INTACH
chaps). We wonder also who is Menon who runs college
than runs from farmhouse and does have evenings with
music to fuss about Calypso at madrasa (college) after
himself participating also in musical party at TOMB...
That is progressive thinking and I have progressed to
following thunk:
I nominate Calypso refurbishment for the Aga Khan
Award for Architecture: for self-help / citizen
enterprise urban renewal inclusive of articulation of
musical experience of heritage in more sensitive,
inclusive, pluralist, etc, etc, way than the Aga Khan
himself, with all his recognised ones, could provide
to heritage-lovers in Delhi. And I dedicate the
nomination to AGK Menon, senior conservationist et al,
for inspiring it.
Nominations for next cycle of the Award are otherwise
currently open and just last year the Award Director
had invited me to join the nominating chaps among
recognised chaps. I had declined, but everyone knows
women chaps are fickle-minded. Also, I have pointed
out scams in the Awards / Award presentation in India
in last 4 consecutive cycles and if one cant beat them
one can always join them, out of love and care for
continuity of tradition, etc. So.
- gita
__________________________________________
Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about.
Just $16.99/mo. or less.
dsl.yahoo.com
A monumental mockery of heritage and history
Mandira Nayar
http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/05/stories/2006010510410100.htm
==============
First HT started (just after Ms Dikshit finally
stopped) serial write-ins to let prominent architects
pontificate about how rigid, non-participatory, etc,
the Master Plan was, is and will be. What these
opinions have to do with the demolition drive in
context of which they are opined I dunno.
The drive is against building permit violations, ie,
violations of building bylaws. Those are being
modified outside MPD revision, by MCD/Del Govt with
USAID and architects/architectural firms and seek,
among other things, to empower architects to issue
building as well as building use permits and to make
local-area plans to make area-specific byelaws for
local-area-plans. These LAPs are being piloted, with
architectural firms, in anticipation of post-GATS
regime of planning by architectural firms and
post-JnNURM regime of tool-kitted CDPs to allow such
peculiar planning or, rather, freedom from planning /
zoning regulations as desired by others for a number
of services that we are offering under GATS. These
last years NGOs made hay criticising planning and
planners to promote participatory planning among
select stakeholders, now the sun is about to shine on
prominent architectural firms and others who have
crafted, out of bag-of-tricks flexi-laws for and by
LAPs guided by CDPs guided by Visions, purported
*alternative* that they call *urban renewal*. What
that fuzziness means I understand (because I have
benefit of knowing the more refined frameworks for
renewal, rehabilitation, redevelopment, etc,
articulated in planning theory and law), but how the
prominences can possibly rationalise hawking it in
context of this demolition drive I dunno.
The cons item on Hindu front page has anguished
reporter ruing (in name also of unnamed senior ASI
official ruing):
----
The High Court may have issued orders for demolishing
illegal structures across the Capital, but the newly
expanded Village Bistro at Hauz Khas Village, that
according to the Archaeological Survey of India
violates every rule in the book, is still standing
tall... Ironically, the newly refurbished Bistro uses
the Hauz Khas heritage as its calling card and even
has a gallery dedicated to the grand old monuments.
Telling people to "experience history" at Bistro, its
unique view of the monuments is certainly drawing in
the crowds. "Calypso", the lounge bar that opens only
after 7 p.m., also violates the law that forbids any
gramophone or music near a protected historic monument
----
And AGK Menon, senior conservationist and urban
planner, rues:
----
"It is amazing that when there is all this talk about
removing illegal structures across the city, some
people seem to be above the law. The ASI appears to be
abdicating its responsibility by not doing anything,
but the law can't be the responsibility of the law
enforcers. What hope does a society have when its
citizens don't want to protect its monuments?" asks
senior conservationist and urban planner A.G.K. Menon.
----
Menon is neither qualified conservation architect nor
practicing planner (he started the HT write-in series
as architect and town planner plus director TVBSHS,
college teaching architecture that he has been running
for 15 years, from farmhouse). However, he did chair
the MPD-2021 expert group on conservation and urban
renewal. It is an open secret that he was hanging out
in MPD-2021 (in which he could hardly have made it to
any other position) just to try get his college
building regularised. The group he chaired produced by
way of chapter on Conservation and Heritage such tripe
that ordinary citizens have asked in Public Notice
responses for it to be removed for dignity of a
statutory document (simply on basis of comparison with
what MPD already provides). The ASI (now anonymously
ruing) was represented on the Menon group as was the
premier cons NGO, INTACH, that simultaneously
commissioned Menon to write some INTACH Charter for
cons. These caring senior cons then formed committees,
including one in DUAC, to file in response to Public
Notice their objections on what they had or had not
written in MPD-2021. They even presented those at
length at Public Hearing on 03.10.05.
I wonder now what point caring senior cons and cons
caring journo are making about Calypso to express (by
mocking us) their eternal love for heritage. Are they
inspiring ASI to stop abdicating? But journo rues that
unnamed senior official says ASI rues they cannot
enforce their law and Menon says law cannot be
responsibility of law enforcers and rues that we do
not care. So? shall we drive a bulldozer to Calypso
for law-enforcing and care-demonstrating? We cannot
(we will be locked up, in jail or loony bin or both
sequentially). Shall we drive MCD Commissioner to
divert a bulldozer from the MCD drive? He cannot (Hauz
Khas is duly notified urban village and there is no
bylaw violation since bylaws are not enforceable in
Lal Dora to date). Shall we ask DDA to act against use
violation? It cannot (because it has to normally
listen not to us but to cons committees provided for
in F-Zone Plan of 98 and by later regulations for
heritage committee(s) on all of which INTACH and
senior cons are sitting and, at the moment, action
against Calypso would also amount to conflict in
pendency of MPD-2021 Public Notice with MPD-2021 urban
renewal proposals!). So, what do we do? Organise
stakeholder discussion for senior caring cons to
participatorily rue and pontificate about how we are
to blame because we do not care... That is loopy loop!
For not-loopy straight-thinking we start elsewhere. We
wonder what sort of music Calypso plays and if
non-conformity with cons lifestyles of that or
something else about partying at Bistro / Calypso
might have provoked the ruing and pontificating in the
Hindu front-page item. We wonder, next, about the
colour of the cats that got the tongues of senior
caring cons and unnamed senior ASI official and cons
caring journo when the Aga Khan threw in musical
extravaganza with sit down banquet at HumayunTomb for
his recognised ones (including AGK Menon and INTACH
chaps). We wonder also who is Menon who runs college
than runs from farmhouse and does have evenings with
music to fuss about Calypso at madrasa (college) after
himself participating also in musical party at TOMB...
That is progressive thinking and I have progressed to
following thunk:
I nominate Calypso refurbishment for the Aga Khan
Award for Architecture: for self-help / citizen
enterprise urban renewal inclusive of articulation of
musical experience of heritage in more sensitive,
inclusive, pluralist, etc, etc, way than the Aga Khan
himself, with all his recognised ones, could provide
to heritage-lovers in Delhi. And I dedicate the
nomination to AGK Menon, senior conservationist et al,
for inspiring it.
Nominations for next cycle of the Award are otherwise
currently open and just last year the Award Director
had invited me to join the nominating chaps among
recognised chaps. I had declined, but everyone knows
women chaps are fickle-minded. Also, I have pointed
out scams in the Awards / Award presentation in India
in last 4 consecutive cycles and if one cant beat them
one can always join them, out of love and care for
continuity of tradition, etc. So.
- gita
__________________________________________
Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about.
Just $16.99/mo. or less.
dsl.yahoo.com