“To the formless, interpretation is all that matters.” - Anonymous
The above quote very succinctly encapsulates the human tendency to think and act in patterns and shapes. In this context, it would be obvious for us to create, curate, and derive spaces that give a certain flow to the way we think, act, and proact. Space, to us, is not just a given or vacuum; we interact with it, and in return, it impacts and influences our perspectives, thought processes, and ultimately how we view the world around us.
Therefore, when we think of publicness or community in terms of architecture, we have to always keep in mind the fact that any labyrinth of stone, brick, steel, or bamboo is always interconnected with the complex matrix of our value systems, worldviews, and the eccentric dialectic called life. It reflects our innermost fascinations; it embellishes our most closely held biases; and it projects the evolution that we undergo in terms of how we function and perceive the entire universe around us.
So, anyone who thinks of architecture and spaces as de-connected constructs whose primary premise and purpose are nothing more than utilitarian runs the risk of over-simplifying things, losing out on the minute nuances through which structures and edifices lock in a certain period of history and carry it forward as mementos that can’t ever be totally re-altered or redefined.
Let’s take the example of Mumbai, considered by most to be one of the most eccentric cities globally, to further validate my point of view and why it carries a certain spirit of logic. Mumbai, known by many as the maximum city or the city of dreams, carries in its bosom close to five centuries of human eclecticism at its finest. It’s a near-continuous churn of legacies, traditions, cultures, geographies, and timelines, all fused into a tapestry of ecstatic and esoteric symbiosis that truly takes your breath away.
Every brick, stone, wall, and pavement, from the narrow bylanes of Bandra to the majestic monuments of Fort, tell stories that can’t ever be discarded. And the geometries it embodies weave a saga that is bound to attract, amaze, and allure. Spaces here don’t just reflect the undying spirit of hustle, for which this city on the shores of the Arabian Sea is most famous for, throughout the world; they also weave in the flavour and spice of a million countless romances while juxtaposing through its perspectives and smells the rancour of so many lost dreams, forgotten moments, and ignored memories. It’s like a sacred zone, consecrating both failures and triumphs and converging them together into a synergy whose infectedness no one can truly escape.
The Latinized East Indian romance of Old Bandra, the unduly iconic charm of the land’s end at Navy Nagar, the Indo-Sarcenic grandeur of Town, the monumental modern skyline of Worli, and the cinematic broadways of Andheri all jostle together perfectly to create the isoteric web of varied emotions, aspirations, legacies, and pathways to growth—a complete epic, bringing out humanness and humanity in all its diverse aspects.
In such a kaleidoscope of contrasting yet similar realities, spaces emerge as icons, giving direction to your dreams and lending your vision the legroom to maneuver beyond set boxes. If CST or VT stands out as a tome in stone and marble to an unchanging timeline, where Mumbai has and will always be the much-desired paramour, then the cloud-crashing pinnacles of Worli, like the various World towers, act as impactful spires of steel and glass, inspiring us all to move beyond what we can imagine, enbirthing possibilities and defining our very own tall tale of the Herculean and the phenomenal.
Mumbai also, in many ways constitutes a canvas, where the ebb and high of timelines and eons seem to ceaselessly dialogue with one another, creating soft encores where tales past tend to softly caress with fantasies from the near and distant future. While the Fisher folk from the quaint villages of Worli, zealously guard a legacy that goes back to the Mahabharat, then the vociferous traders from the dingy yet enigmatic shadows of Bhendi Bazaar, attempt to mesmerise us all, with a million boisterous flavours, that drive in thoughts and convictions from a truly Semitic potpourri.
All of these, occur and materialise simultaneously on a metaphysical yet intensely intimate plane and plate of milieus and inheritances, making us adept, comfortable yet at times pleasantly perplexed by the diverse spiritualities and eventualities of an ever-in-flux past, present and future. Here Aartis to Lord Ganesha rubs shoulder with the piousness of the mosque & the gurudwaras during ramazan, while leaving space alive for the ever poignant Easter masses and the strict penance of the Jainas. It’s like watching a never-ending Greek drama on steroids, one where the humble and the rich seek union and the sacred and the sinful seek unholy matrimony, the saintliness of Haji Ali trying to reach its nirvana through the never sleeping club halls of Kamala and Todi mills, the calm sea outstretching its hands to meet a rather mischievous land, in times of unseen empathy.
Here the power of the Queen’s necklace seeks absolution in the infiniteness of the Chowpatty Ramlila, with every immersion signifying a renewal, and every panipuri date signalling the consummation of another incomplete story or tale. The Darkness of Ravan just doesn’t get burnt here, its embers signify a loop, where the good and the bad from the seven islands, finally meet its match through the Alchemy of earth, water and fire. It does therefore make perfect sense for this complex and complicated universe called Mumbai to be home to Bollywood, because in a city where heroes and villains seek and get equal acceptance and admiration, then wouldn’t it be prudent for its denizens to capture it all, within the chemical frames of a moving tape? The film reels in their own way often feel like mini Ramleelas, with the subjectiveness of the bad meeting its peaceful sublimation with the undue nobility of the Heroic.
Thus, one can see the public becoming uniquely and intimately private with the way we view and interact with such divergent forms, practices, and perspectives of architecture, spaces, realities and situations. The physical, spiritual and the carnal lose their inhibitions within the euphoric maze of angles and smells. Mumbai emerges out like the ultimate divinity, destroyer, sustainer and creator all combined; weaving in not just the original seven islands but the seven continents of the world together, it is the safest place for women in the country if not the continent giving its denizens the right to think freely, experiment with their core conceptions about life, and create their own personal pinnacles in terms of growth and success. It embellishes the spirit of adventure, which has always been the core definer of this city but also imparts its own majesty and gravity, influencing thoughts in ways both in-your-face and subtle. In a way, Mumbai becomes one with people, and people become one with Mumbai, a sinful yet sacred loop that they simply can’t ignore or escape, and that’s, to me, the ultimate example of a space inspiring its own story with a near-constant dialogue between art, shapes, forms, and realities that defies the imagination and goes beyond any fixed boundaries, becoming truly the adventure between myths and mythologies.
Published - October 03, 2024 05:26 pm IST
