Taya Zinkin, author of books on India and noted journalist, had this experience of Corbusier, architect, during her visit to India in 1952.
Without any preliminaries he told her he liked fat women and we could spend pleasant night together.
So gigantic was Corb’s egotism that he probably considered it enough of an honor for a humble mortal
to provide a genius like him with a night’s relaxation, she wrote in Manchester Guardian.
Earlier, when she had appreciated one of his drawings, he boasted to her he was a better artist than Picasso.
The maker of Chandigarh enjoys a fascinating image in India and elsewhere but little known are recent revelations
about his fascist links, his admiration for Hitler and Mussolini, his contempt for ordinary people and workers.
At this time when we are dealing with a fascist architecture order It is vey important to put in perspective
his Modernist vision which viewed the city as a machine in which people will play a very secondary role
in relation to the motor car which will rule urban life.
He had also wanted to destroy half of beautiful Paris to impose his own architecture of functional ,
so called Modern buildings. It is all on record.
It is necessary to take cognizance of this. Many of our architects are up in arms over the destructive vision
of the Central vista in Delhi . And justifiably so but many of them have remained silent over the damage
done by builders and so called Modernist architecture in many parts of India, the whole
misappropriation of public land, driving out the poor.
Many have also remained silent over the vandalization of the heritage of the historic cities of Jaipur,
Lucknow and Hyderabad by the imposition of Metro railway. The Metro again is a reflection of bloated
egos of politicians who want to show that they have done something spectacular when actually they
have exposed themselves to extreme ridicule from the discerning public because very few people are travelling in the trains.
The whole project is hideously expensive and shows a scandalous disregard for the needs of pedestrians and bus users.
The Metro is being justified in Architecture image Mumbai with the plea that it will reduce car trips. This is a big lie as can be seen from
Delhi where despite the Metro there are more cars and more congestion.
And it is going to get worse. If the Metro is such a solution, why is there such a massive provision for parking for
thousands of cars in the Central vista project. Traffic projections in Delhi show that many roads in neighboring parts of Delhi
will have to be widened to provide for increased car traffic.
Architecture image In Mumbai, the MMRDA’s approach to architecture and traffic can be grasped by one look at its new head
office in the Bandra Kurla complex. It is is an entirely faceless, box like structure , neither modern, nor traditional,
devoid of any character. And the contemptuous attitude towards pedestrians is reflected in its blatant intrusion on the footpath.
These are the people who are imposing monumentally expensive projects on the city which will have little benefit to common people.
Everything is for the upper class. Now there is a proposal to provide underground connections to the Mumbai airport.
As if the fancy special flyover to the airport, exclusive to motor cars, is not enough.
And all this while boasting that the Metro will reduce car travel.
Vidyadhar Date
Vidyadhar Date is a senior journalist and author of a book concerned with road safety and the cause of public transport , cyclists and pedestrians.
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