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CHANGING PERSPECTIVES -THE RAJ: INDIA AND THE BRITISH
1600-1947

Term Paper for History of Architecture (AP131)
Aakanksha Gupta
17
Sushant School of Art & Architecture


The British Empire in India is the most fascinating e.g. in the history of the world
of the sovereignty of an extensive territory and population by a small minority of
an alien race. What started as an economic tussle between the European
companies to gain maximum control over the trade gradually made its way for
the supremacy of the British East India Company in the mid-18th century. They
changed the face of India and tore the wealth out of India piece by piece. The art
and architecture were the one of the most stressed upon areas.

The art of India is an integral cultural expression of India. It is intertwined with
assertions of nationalism, the equation of modernization and westernization, and
a desire to preserve the cultural heritage of India.
Unlike the more obvious impact of western technology in the societies across the
globe, we saw a completely different response of European art in India. It
wobbled form an ardent and earnest acceptance of western art in the initial years
of Raj to a very strong resistance to it in its later years. This reflected the change
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from an initial period of implicit westernization to the growth of national
consciousness.

The short-lived school of Company painting combined English water color and
Indian miniature styles and in technique by the appearance of linear perspective
and shading. Aesthetically, they are the descendants of the picturesque scenes of
India created by the likes of Thomas and William Daniell, Tilly Kettle, etc. The
style first emerged in Murshidabad, West Bengal, and then spread to other
centers of British trade: Varanasi, Delhi, Luck now, and Patna.



http://ngmaindia.gov.in/sh-european-india.asp#
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`
when the British came to India they took this forward to a whole new level by out
setting art schools for the emerging Indian elite where they deliberately
introduced them to linear perspective and chiaroscuro, employed since the
Renaissance to create a faithful likeness of the subject.
With the gathering momentum this created a new turbulence for the Indian
artists and left them tangled between the choice of style: the Indian art and the
western allies. In the initial years, artists like Sewak Ram and members of the
Ghulam Ali Khan family of Delhi were the much celebrated ones.
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http://lowres-picturecabinet.com.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/39/main/2/64295.jpg

The Muharram Festival, by Sewak Ram

The Great Exhibition of 1851, in London had stripped down the English arts and
exposed its mediocre quality over the much strong and embellished traditional
Indian manufacture which lead to accusation by William Morris, Owen Jones,
George Birdwood and other champions of art manufactures, that government had
neglected Indian applied arts and was responsible for its degraded quality.

By the 19th century, there was an enormous loss of patronage for the traditional
artist. This phenomenon acted as turmoil to developments in the nationalist
movement. We saw the nation drifting apart as the moderate politicians in favor
of power sharing with the rulers, and the extremists who increasingly
pronouncing for swaraj (self-rule); the call for total independence.
Indian art practice underwent a remarkable transformation from the 1870s
onwards. The attention shifted from the industrial arts that the British rulers
wanted Indians to learn to fine arts.
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Academic expressions of realism became the new mantra for a whole generation
of artists who trained in the art schools of Bombay and Calcutta. These artists
were not only trained in naturalistic representation of figures and objects, but
also in the skillful use of a relatively new medium oil.
Some very promising students were like Pastonji Bomanjee, Raja Ravi Varma
Jamini Prokash Gangooly, etc.

Artist Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) of Kerala was an overnight success. Though
he straddled between the norms of the modern western and old Hindu but he
gained universal popularity on his narration of Hindu Puranic mythology in the
language of western illusionist art, popularity largely indebted to the radical
westernization of Indian craft ship in the nineteenth century.

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http://www.indiapicks.com/Indianart/Images_S/R_Varma_Port_Gentleman_S.jpg
Portrait of Gentleman, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi


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http://www.indiapicks.com/Indianart/Images/R_Varma_Draupati_Virata.jpg
Draupati at the Court of Virata, Sri Chitra Art Gallery, Thiruvananthapuram

As the principal of Calcutta Art School in 1896, Ernest Benfield Havell tried to
rebuild the teaching norms by removing the classical antiques from classrooms
and replacing European paintings in the Gallery with fine Mughal art. This set
roots for a controversy and the students and local press criticized it to be a
retrogressive move.
Havell met artist Abanindranath Tagore, the nephew of poet Rabindranath Tagore;
which changed the course of art in India. These two along with a few other artists
joined forces to commence the first modern art movement in India, later to be
known as the new Bengal School.

This gave the first solid ground for the revitalization of Indian cultural history
and spirituality through art. There was a shift in medium from oil and subjects
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popular amongst the British, to ancient murals and medieval Indian miniatures
for inspiration both for subject matter as well as indigenous material such as
tempera.
The style advanced beyond the borders of Bengal. Abanindranath turned to Asia,
to learn the Japanese wash technique, which he found more cordial. India needed
to draw nourishment not only from past Indian traditions, but from the best in
oriental art.
Along with Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore and the Japanese intellectual
Okakura Kakuzo, abindranath saw common ground in response to the growing
challenge of western dominance, holding up Asian 'spirituality' against the
'materialism' of the modern west. Notable artists of the Bengal School were Asit
Haldar, M.A.R Chughtai, Sunayani Devi, Gaganendranath Tagore, and
Kshitindranath Majumdar.
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The themes were mostly misty and romantic visions of the Indian landscape,
historical scenes and portraits as well anecdotes and incidents from daily life in
the countryside.
http://indiapicks.com/Indianart/Images_S/Chughtai_Radhika_S.jpg
Radhika by M.A.R Chughtai, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi

Bengali school art was characterized by rhythm and softness in painting
techniques. Figures were elegant and refined with attractive color scheme
technique. The paintings were plain and simple in its context.
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There was linear gracefulness and poise of Ajanta in the paintings. There was a
strong influence from the rajasthani and Mughal School and advertised effortless
exposed light and shade with no hardness.
By around 1910, Abanindranath had become the acclaimed leader of this
movement and he had also made an official gesture with his politically charged
painting, Bharat Mata (Mother India) depicting a young woman, portrayed with
four arms in the manner of Hindu deities, holding objects symbolic of India's
national aspirations.


The first generation of the Bengal school was now conducting art schools across
the India. Even the oppression from home couldnt hold them from spreading out.
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Bombay was the sole exception and remained, under Gladstone Solomon, an out-
and-out western school, and a ruthless rebel of Havell and orientalism.
Kala bhawan along with a small school was founded by Rabindranath Tagore at
Santiniketan on 1919. Kala bhawan promoted learning through observation and
living as a part of nature to the studio based practice giving an alternative
methodology of art training. Works of Jamini Roy, Nandalal Bose, BB Mukherjee
and Ram Kinker Baij graphed a pictorial history of India in its fight for
independence. Students were encouraged to look at the world around them for
inspiration.

A Nandalal Bose painting
Roy adopted the simplification of the forms, the bold, flat colors and the medium,
material and themes of local folk paintings He painted ordinary men and women
from the village. Jamini Roy restricted his palette to. mostly earthy or mineral
colors. The monumentality that he often brought to his figuration recalled the
quality of classical sculptures.
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http://www.indiapicks.com/Indianart/Images/Jamini_Roy_Mother_Child.jpg
Mother and Child, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
The Bengal School encountered growing hostility in the 1930s, including that of
Amrita Sher Gil (1913-1941), a remarkable woman painter from the Punjab.
Group of Three Girls
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Now lets discuss the architectural grounds.
The magnificent buildings constructed by the British in India, many of which are
still present did not spring simply from the fancy of the architects or from purely
aesthetic or administrative concerns: Rather they embodied a vision the British
had of themselves as rulers of India.

Indian colonial architecture evolved in three distinct phases.
First phase: Calcutta
The British had to accomplish their rule of colonialism. Desperate measures were
taken and new buildings were being built to suit the taste of the Englishmen. We
see a great Palladian classical style influence that was seen in residence of the
Viceroy of India.
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/29b.jpg
Raj Bhawan, Kolkata
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St Paul cathedral

The Corinthian columns, portico facade, the Classical pediment, and the
Pantheonic Dome, all of these architectural elements reek of a foreign design
style, transplanted onto the colony, much like British rule after the Battle of
Plassey.
The Victoria Memorial of Calcutta is a prominent example of the same. These
building perfectly represented the early phase of the Raj. They had zero regard
for the architecture of India and were busy building up their own domain.

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http://www.tirthntours.in/pics/Victoria-
Memorial-Kolkata.jpg
The Victoria Memorial of Calcutta
Then was the Second Phase: THE GOTHIC REVIVAL. The focus shifted from
Calcutta to Bombay. It was like the beginning of the most ambitious building
program any British colony had ever seen.it stud tall and regal in its gothic look.
The construction of railway lines and opening of the Suez Canal, which made the
entrance to India closer at Bombay, rather than traveling to Calcutta or Madras
changed the face of Bombay forever. Bombay metamorphosed into a polished city
much to blow away Kolkata.
The Victoria Terminus Railway Station (1887) is the most prominent example of
gothic architecture in India. The highly ornamented facade, gargoyles and the
massive gothic dome, arches were extrusive features marking the monetary
excellence of the British.
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Victoria_Terminus,_Mumbai.jpg
Victoria Terminus, Mumbai
The architecture directed at strengthening the colonial hierarchy, and this was
the message the foreign architectural style sent to the natives.
In 1873, T. Roger Smith concluded:
As our administration exhibits European justice, order, law, energy, and honor
and that in no hesitating or feeble way so our buildings ought to hold up a high
standard of European art. They ought to be European both as a rallying point for
ourselves, and as raising a distinctive symbol of our presence to be beheld with
respect and even with admiration by the natives of the country.
It was obvious from Smiths conclusion that architecture must be European to
inspire respect and admiration and also, to be distinctive. Yet, this was not the
only argument in relation to defining the architecture of India.
The debate on the question of style was hyped when there was clash of ideas.
One was to pursue the paths of roman and built the grand and set up a standard
while over was to absorb the Indian norms and framework and create out a style
which was more acceptable for the people in terms of theories and climate and at
the same time acquired the first place for the British ahead in the race.
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This headed to the experimentation with the form and function. A number of
styles were being played with giving birth to different buildings. .e.g. The Muir
College by William Emerson.

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01216/24TH_ALLAHABD_VARS_1216948f.jpg
Muir College, Allahabad

So they ascended to merging the Indian art with their European palette. There
was an utmost need of a new style which was more relatable for the people. This
lead to the third phase and precisely the most important one.
Before we understand the third phase lets discuss about the urban development.
The correlation between urbanization and economic development is a well-
established universal phenomenon. During the Raj, British entrepreneurship
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further created a favorable atmosphere of trade and industry in the western
region fuelling massive urbanization.
The modern practice of urban planning in India was commenced after the First
Rebellion (1857). The British realized that they had come within a hairs breadth
of losing their empire in urban areas because their organic morphology made
them difficult to control. Subsequently, there was a unified effort to rebuild
Indian towns on more familiar grounds that they could understand.
This establishment somehow favored the metropolis as it brought fundamental
economic transition in India, transforming agriculture from subsistence to
commercial and gradual industrialization of the economy. And that was also the
basis of developing transport network of railways and national highways in
addition to water and sewerage networks. Townships and nodal cities grew
around this network.
Guidelines were lead down for undertaking urban development projects. To
standardize the modern process of planning The Handbook on Town Planning
was published by the Public Works Department in 1876. The book was revised
over 70 times to make it more admissible.

Urban Planning of Metropolis
At the heart of each of the rst British cities in India Madras (1644), Bombay
(1661) and Calcutta (1690), there was a fort area dominated design which served
as a residence and governance unit for them. Their armed forces were
accommodated nearby in an area called the cantonment. The much larger Indian
area that sprang up around the British core was usually referred to as the Native
or Black Town whereas the British governed in White Town.
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This was much criticized later in the early 19th century as the city became a
hotbed center of contemporary state politics striving for independence.

Kolkata Port
As we already know Kolkata was the fortified mercantile base for the British, the
British wanted to improve the urban sprawl as it affected their trade and
questioned their supremacy.
After the Battle of Plassey, the British had consolidated themselves with the local
administration with the laying out of Maidan around Fort William.
Governor General Lord Wellesley (1798-1805) began the planning process with
his prescriptive Minute on Calcutta' in 1803 which led to the setting up of the
Lottery Committee in 1817 so called because funds for city development were
raised through public lotteries. His major concerns were to provide wider roads
for army to move commercial trade and save their legacy from being uprooted.
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C.H. Bompas, Chairman of Calcutta Improvement trust, observed the street
patterns and came to a conclusion that the street system was totally inadequate
for the volume of traffic and large areas had virtually no streets at all especially
in the north.
E.P. Richard was appointed to examine and prepare a detailed study of the citys
need and plan out new street patterns. Work begun in 1913 and report was
published in 1914.
The mesh of narrow streets divided the city into half-mile rectangles within
which tangle footpath separate properly set at every possible angles. As per
his acknowledgments, the slums sprung out where the people were unable to
commute in and out of the city. Although a small tramway system existed since
1873, it was confined in its expansion because of the lack suitable streets.
The much thick and dense urban fabric was shaved down to broad boulevards as
per his new propositions.

Figure 3: Richards ideal plan for Calcutta. (Proposed new streets are shown in
red.)
Ref: The Indian Metropolis, 1989:p.126

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It was noted that the European no longer lives in a sort of proud isolation. Rich
Indians increasingly invade the European quarter and out do the merchant insist
in the splendor of the dwellings.






Calcutta was soon becoming the Britishs very own mini version of England as it
mirrored a lot of similarities. Banks and business houses were being rebuilt as
per the European palette style under the Calcutta Improvement trust and it got
critical acclaim from the British. Streets like Chowringhee road, Harrison Road
were soon flooded with commercial buildings along with the existing structures
which were being refurbished. New channels were dug out to keep the drainage
in check. Planning encompassed not only the regulation of physical spaces, but
also the multiple concerns of health, policing and commerce.
Figure 4: Harrison road, constructed in 1893
Ref: The Indian Metropolis, 1989:p.133: fig.123

Figure 5: Central Avenue and Chowringhee Square, 1935
Ref: The Indian Metropolis, 1989:p.127: fig.116

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http://www.kshamabade.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Kolkata-Pictures-5.jpg
New routes were laid down for the tram which connected the Chowringhee,
Esplanade, Chitpur Road, Shyambazar, Strand Road and Wellesley. Earlier it was
horses that used to pull the tramps but after invention of Electricity the first
electric tram ran on steel lines between Khidirpur and Esplanade on 27th March
1902.
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Due to perceived geographical disadvantages combined with growing nationalism
in Bengal there was a shift of the capital to New Delhi.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Delhi_Drubar%2C_1911.jpg/800px-
Delhi_Drubar%2C_1911.jpg
Delhi Durbar, 1911
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New Delhi was built to celebrate the permanency of British sovereign rule over
the length and breadth of the country. But its permanence proved ephemeral. On
Dec 11, 1911 the capital was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi and the first stone to
its foundation was laid. This also was the THIRD PHASE in colonial architecture.
Entire Shahjahanabad was replanned by architects like Edward lutyens and Baker
as per the new Indo-Saracenic. They incorporated the realm of Mughal
architecture in terms of the material like use of sandstone for the entire faade,
bulb like dome on the top and symmetry with European features like columns on
the front, etc. to a balanced proportion.
One man masterminded every aspect of the construction, from the shape of the
doorknobs in the Viceroys palace, to the types of flowers suitable for planting in
the roundabouts. It is nonetheless an astonishing tour de force of styles, forms,
ideals, and impositions which converge to make a convincing design statement.


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http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ebjKnQFP83c/StwQM2NnyKI/AAAAAAAABHc/BrEY4AyniPY/s320/5.jpg

A rare aerial view of the president's palace and the parliament building in Delhi,

New Delhi, with its vast dimensions, was the first city specifically designed to the
scale of the motorcar. The wide avenues were planned along the major pathways.
The plan consisted of wide leafy avenues connected through roundabouts
designed to entertain approx. 6000 vehicles. Clear watercourses paralleled the
grassy expanses on either side, with varieties of stately trees adding to its
magnificence.
In general the road network consisted of diagonals and radials, at 30 degree/ 60
degree angles to the main axis, forming triangles and hexagons. The system of
axes and diagonals drawn from the tradition of baroque classicism provided a
means of unifying a large- scale composition and of establishing visual hierarchy.

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http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-lutyens-delhi

Additionally the plan was conceived with class divisions in mind: the lower
classes were to live at the periphery and outside the central zone. Various types
of housescalled bungalows at the upper end of the scalealso reflect a lively
attention to detail because of Delhis climatic changes. Mostly singlestoried
whitewashed in lime, with deep verandas, high ceilings, and ventilators to ensure
cross ventilation, their designs were functional and free of flamboyance.

The entire city was focused on the government complex, which functioned as a
symbolic and physical city center. At the heart of the city was the impressive
Rashtrapati Bhawan, located on the top of Raisina Hill. The Rajpath connects
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India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhawan, while Janpath, which crosses it at a right angle,
connects South end with Connaught Place.

Rashtrapati Bhawan

Rashtrapati Bhawan was the residential home of the British Viceroy. The perfect
site selection for the imperial residence was a great task. Lord Harding chose the
Raisina Hill for locating the viceroys palace because it was well drained and it
constituted slopes and plains between the ridge and the river. The foreground
favored glimpses of the various monuments like Jantar Mantar, with tombs of
Safdarjung and Lodhis, etc.
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http://www.archinomy.com/sites/default/files/case-studies/2010/lutyens-delhi-site-selecion.jpg


http://www.indiansecretsrevealed.com/rashtrapati-bhavan-trip
Plan of Rashtrapati Bhawan.
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The construction with its two shade sandstone architecture, reflects a pure
intermingle of Mughal and classical European architecture. The most
breathtaking and distinctive perspective on this edifice is the dome, strikingly
similar to Sanchi Stupa. The plan is identically symmetrical along the central axis.
This vast mansion has got four floors and 340 rooms.
Chhatris
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Rashtrapati_Bhavan_dawn_-_IMG_2053-5.JPG/800px-
Rashtrapati_Bhavan_dawn_-_IMG_2053-5.JPG
Chhatris are draped beautifully at the rooftop; chhajjas are stone slabs below the
roof to safeguard the structure from sun rays in addition to heavy rains during
monsoons; and jaalis are stone slabs with lots of perforations designed with an
array of floral and geometric patterns. Blending Indian temple bells with the
Hellenic style architecture was another marvel how Indian and European designs
were fused.
The Secretariat Building, which houses various ministries of the Government of
India including Prime Minister's Office, Parliament House, etc. Many of the
buildings are in classical architectural style, yet it
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incorporated Mughal and Rajasthani architecture style and motifs.







REFERENCES
1. Mitter, Partha. Art and Nationalism in India. The British Empire. [Online]
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/india/artandnationalism.htm.
2. Art, National Gallery Of Modern. Showcase - Company Period. National Gallery Of
Modern Art. [Online] Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, November 12, 2012. [Cited: April
28, 2014.] http://ngmaindia.gov.in/sh-company-period.asp.
3. Indian Art. India Picks. [Online] [Cited: april 28, 2014.]
http://indiapicks.com/Indianart/Indianart_index.htm.
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4. Changing Image of Lutyens Delhi | Archinomy. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1158/changing-image-of-lutyens-delhi.
[Accessed 12 October 2013].
5. Norma Evenson. The Indian Metropolis: A View Towards the West. Hong Kong : South
Sea In't Press Ltd., 1989. ISBN 0-300-04333-3
6. Metcalf, Thomas R. An Imperial Vision Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj. s.l. :
University of California Press (February 16, 1989).
7. Science and Technology under the British Rule-The Building of New Delhi
Link- http://cpsindia.org/index.php/art/114-science-sustainability-and-indian-
national- resurgence/d-science-and-technology-under-the-british-rule/160-3-
the-building-of-new-delhi
8.journal of empire studies- article:- the birth of indic architecture
Link- http://empirestudies.com/2011/03/20/the-birth-of-indic-architecture/
9. Out of Place: Englishness, Empire, and the Locations of Identity By Ian Baucom

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