Bharat Bhavan 2020 – Discovering Indian culture through architecture

Bharat Bhavan 2020 – Discovering Indian culture through architecture

PREMISE

Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru (India’s first prime minister), India saw the formation of various new academies and retrofitting of heritage buildings with cultural institutions. This was done to bring arts and traditional crafts in the urban limelight. After his death, the vision was carried forward by the forthcoming governments in the 1970s.

A new draft stating the need for cultural revival and sustaining India’s intangible and tangible heritage was drawn. The intent was to give a platform for practitioners of this traditional art form and educate others about these in an accessible urban forum.

This is how the vision of ‘India House’ or ‘Bharat Bhavan’ was born, envisioned to be built in each of the 21 states (in 1970). It was imagined to be a cultural center that spoke this vision through a series of galleries and exhibition/performance spaces.

CHALLENGE

The first commission of this vision went to Architect Charles Correa where he was endowed with the responsibility to design the first-ever Bharat Bhavan, in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). It provided space for contemporary expression, thought, quest and innovation for creative pursuits grass rooting from the rural to urban areas.

India has embraced similar public venues and cultural institutions after this building; however, this was the only ‘India House’ built. The original plan of having one in each state did not reach realization.

If we could ever implement this vision where every state could have a Bharat Bhavan in the context of today, how would it be? How would its design speak of the newer interpretations and aspirations of its people, its culture, its daily life?