The rise of a metropolis

Chennai

Chennai, Nov 1

The Queen of the Coromandel Coast, Madras, evolved from its beginnings as scattered settlements and fishing hamlets nestling on the shores. Today, it is Chennai, a bustling metropolis, where tradition and modernity coexist. The architectural journey that the city has traversed is a virtual walk through the pages of its history, revealing multiple, diverse facets of local idioms coupled with the juxtaposition of external influences in its path to becoming the city as we know it today.

Built in stone and materials of lasting permanence, the early temples of Triplicane, Tiruvottriyur, Tiruvanmiyur and Mylapore survive as testimony to an early era. The distinctive agraharams are on streets that skirt the temples. Built around open, sunlit courtyards with raised platforms or ‘Thinnais’ at the entrance, the domestic architecture in brick and lime had traditional ‘Madras Terrace’ roofs with wooden rafters. In the early 1500s, the Portugese came to the ancient Pallava port of Mylapore, and built the Churches at Luz and Santhome.

Architecture in the city was transformed radically with the coming of the British. Colonial architecture came in the form of the neo-classical and regency with colonnades, pediments and arcades. Planning concepts changed from the introverted, tightly woven dense fabric of the city to an extroverted setting of spaces outdoors creating vast foregrounds for grandiose structures. The Fort is, as they say, ‘where it all began’. Established as a trading post in the early 1600s on three square miles of ‘no man’s sand’, it has some of the finest structures, a veritable repository of history to this day - The Fort House now the Secretariat, St. Mary’s Church, the oldest Anglican Church in the country, Clive’s House, Grand Arsenal, Kings Barracks and the Fort Museum.

Most of the early British buildings were pure classical designs as Imperial symbols planted on Indian soil. Ripon Building, Raj Bhavan, Madras Club, Pachaiyappa’s Hall are explorations of the classical aesthetics, as were some of the finest churches, St. George’s Cathedral and St. Andrews Kirk with porticos, colonnades, steeples and domes.

The ‘Verandah’ as a local element of design began to be incorporated in many of these dignified and regal structures as a first sign of the marriage of cultures. An ancient Tamil technique of sinking drums or wells for load bearing foundations was also employed in many a British structure. The residential architecture in areas like Georgetown were varying combinations of the Colonial and the Vernacular.
While the Imperial imprint had been stamped on Madras architecture, the British had learnt to observe and imbibe the local ethos. This was a result of both a conscious policy decision to respond to local context as well as to the passage of time. The assimilation of traditional forms and patterns metamorphosed the building vocabulary into a rich and sensuous expression, the Indo-Saracenic.

The erstwhile presidencies, known for their distinct architecture were commonly referred to as ‘Colonial Calcutta’, ‘Gothic Bombay’ and ‘Indo-Saracenic Madras’ as a defining image of its architectural content. A curious combination of the Islamic, Indian, Moorish, Gothic and Colonial, Indo-Saracenic is referred to as ‘licentious eclectic’. The hybrid style encompassed brick and stone, towers and domes, cusped arcades and colonnaded verandahs, stained glass and trellises in stunning variations. Robert Fellowes Chisholm’s and Henry Irwin, leading practitioners of the time have left a wealth of the finest architectural treasures in the city.

The arteries of Madras are dotted with exquisite examples of the Indo-Saracenic. The road along the Marina will qualify among the finest urbanscapes anywhere in the world. Mount Road boasts of Agurchand Mansion, VST Motors, Higginbothams, Poompuhar, Rajaji Hall and several others. Several other fascinating structures include the YMCA, University of Madras, Oriental Research Institute, Victoria Hostel, Guindy Engineering College, Veterinary College and the Madras Medical College. In the early 1900s, with the advent of industrialisation, ‘Art Deco’ emerged. The simplistic, almost stark structures had soaring vertical lines, offset by subtle curves on facades and balconies. The Esplanade area is a defined Art Deco district of Madras, with Dare House of Parry, Bombay Mutual, State Bank of Mysore, National Insurance, Oriental Insurance. The city has grown since then in the last several decades. Globalisation has brought in its wake a homogenisation where cultural identities begin to blur. Held in trust for posterity, we are aware that cultural resources are non-renewable, and if lost are lost forever. In architectural terms this means not only the loss of the built fabric, but the unique techniques, craftsmanship and skills that went into the structure. Clearly, we must act as custodians of the fragile wealth by shouldering our share of responsibility to pass it on to the future generations.

What is it that we, as citizens, can do to conserve the heritage of Madras? Amidst the din and rush for everything new, we must rise up to protect our heritage. An active voice and public participation have saved some of the heritage buildings like the DGP’s office. Only by valuing our past can we appreciate the present as we move into the future.

Sujatha Shankar is currently the Convenor of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), Chennai Chapter. She is passionate about heritage and conservation.