| indian parliament library archive,
| http://164.100.24.208/ls/refer/ref01/H003.htm

Title : Building an ugly India.
Author :BHATIA, Gautam
Annotation :Stresses on the need to have clean environment in the city
or country side.
Publication :Seminar, No.501,, May.2001, pp.30-34 Magzines & Periodicals

| the best they could make of one of our
| foremost critics of urban life!
| no wonder they got their building done by
| raj rewal, who was also responsible for
| much of the asian games building,
|
| who else, in their limited imaginations would shine?
| in many ways bhatia's article is about the legacy
| of the rewal-kukreja-menon generation in
| delhi, and elsewhere.

And I was left thinking of places in ones own life that come to mind in
daily encounters with the city — all built before my birth. Victoria
Terminus in Bombay, the Howrah Bridge in Calcutta, the tunnel on the
Kalka Simla line, the Gol Ghar in Patna, Connaught Place in Delhi — the
list is endless. None of the decaying structures of the 1982 Asian Games
figure in the list.

| rewal, valorized as a hero with distinctly indian roots, here:
| Landmark library: A modern building with distinctly Indian roots...
| http://www.architexturez.net/+/subject-listing/000068.shtml

Would the structures of the 2010 Commonwealth Games?

Sadly, in our own midst there is nothing. Nothing that has evolved
locally, made by today’s hands, in a moment of pride. Every time a BBC
correspondent stands before India Gate to give his report, it fills me
with quiet dread. Not because here’s an Englishman standing before an
English landmark in my city. No. Only because it gets me wondering how
in the 70 years since India Gate we still haven’t produced an
architectural symbol of lasting value.

| echoed by barun roy, rediff comment:
| http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/apr/29guest.htm

Shall we remain an ugly duckling?

April 29, 2005

Is the next tallest building in the world going to be built in India?
Who knows? Maybe. Why not? After all, there's no limit to one's dreams,
and, since the government's recent announcement fully liberalising the
construction sector, a lot of people have started dreaming.

We shouldn't be surprised. By throwing the door wide open to foreign
investors, the new policy offers a very real chance, for the first time
in ages, to rebuild this ancient land with icons of a new age.

But are we ready in our mind for an architectural transformation of
India, one that will tune us in to the rest of the world and not
perpetuate our reputation as a repository of ill-conceived,
pseudo-classical monstrosities?

| a thread runs through public discussion, online and in print,
| in dinner conversations and elsewhere. bhatia is not alone
| and much of what he has said has become a part of our daily
| experience, having entered the lexicon of indian english
| language.
|
| will somebody tell be builders of an ugly india, or that
| generation, to please, in the name of god, go?