An article appeared which is accessible via the link below. My response or comments to that article is below that. The article talks about the recent devastation in Uttarakhand, India and the fact that the Kedarnath temple which was much in the news did not get much damaged because of thoughtful construction. It talks about some efforts to rebuild the devastated state. My comments have appeared in that publication, and they are here too. :-)
The link to the article:
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/thoughtful-construction-style-saved-kedarnath-from-serious-damage-a-month-since-the-uttarakhand-disaster-113071400510_1.html
My response:
The barrier that is being talked about may not be opaque completely. It could be a designed structure that could resemble a railing. This is to prevent the boulders from intruding. As far as the flood waters are concerned, there could be a provision of channels starting from before the temple facing the mountains and then going underneath the ground and turning at the same time so that they run along the sides of the temple complex. Hope this is possible. These channels will not be open to fall into but suitable railings shall be provided. Also, there should be terraces. Let this be an opportunity also to add terraces which are an intrinsic part of Hindu temples. So the channels will disappear at some point and there will be terraces above them. I write as I think. Never been to Kedarnath, only seen pictures and relying on description given in this article. I am saying that the reconstruction has to be seen as an opportunity to further beautify, but only vernacularly. Only funds should be provided by the Centre. The Uttarakhandis themselves shall design and rebuild. If my help is needed, we are only too eager. I mean that this should not be an opportunity for the construction mafia across the board to encash since they are only interested in lootpaat and gandagee. So many darn UPites have only tarnished the state. So many Haryanvis have gone there not to add on to the peace but to colonize with their demeanour. Punjab state has also used their heads and displaced Uttarakhandis from their lands and made them into drunkards. Anyway, to cut a long story short, what I am saying is that this is an opportunity for Uttarakhand itself to realise that outside interference in their state has only hurt their overall "state ambience", if I can use that term. I don't understand why they don't have police personnel of their own. They don't have to import traffic police from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. These imported louts do not understand the mountain spirit. "What's that?" They are destroyers of a kind, the ugly kind. They don't understand "innocence". Uttarakhand stands for "innocent cosmopolitanism" (goodness, been looking for a prefix with cosmopolitanism for Uttarakhand for a long time! - there, I coined something.) or really true cosmopolitanism. Saaf safaayee, upkeep, maintenance should be handled by Uttarakhandis themselves and not allow the marauders from Chhoraa Ganga Kinaare Wala or the lath maar from Haryana to uproot their culture. Yes, I have strong sentiments. Your crispness will further erode Garhwal, Kumaon. Be careful. So, coming back to design.
In so far as help from public enterprises is concerned, I don't know. Most of them have closed rigid skulls without much understanding of the fluidity or flexibility of anything. They have fixed ideas. You will notice that even when they talk green or sustainability, even there their ideas will appear suffocating and too harsh and you will subconsciously know that this is not what you need but overtly you wlll not know how to reject or criticise. I mean soft in their lexicon may actually be ghastly and ghostly, I’m telling you. Their thick skulls plunder you with rigidity and stiffness. You will get confused. Don’t let anything get imposed upon you. Therefore, Uttarakhand should take its own time in rebuilding and allow the organic process to take charge rather than force harsh, shortsighted, eyesore type decisions. I am serious, you may see unnecessary concrete stuff etc. The idiocy can go a long way actually, it's not only the concrete. Bamboo may be used for immediate temporary structures. (Bamboo? - not really delved into this really, is bamboo available in UK.?) Anyway, this opens up the design.
Coming back to the temple, someone rightly said that the journey is supposed to be tough, it is not supposed to be easy. This stems from common sense, I mean some things should not be touched. Some things should just not be touched. Tourism, tourism, to hell with your goddamn tourism. Handle the fallout of this frankenstein monster. Your land is ravaged. Your demography is getting changed. And you Uttarakhand do not realise the importance of retaining sanity in at least some part of India. Rebuilding and reconstruction should be only in your own hands. The centre should provide you with funds only and easily dismantleable temporary structures or shelters (environment friendly). Let this be an opportunity to tell the world that rebuilding the green way was accomplished like this or that or whatever! :-) You want me?, I'll come. My heart beats for the mountains, the mountain spirit. Thump, thump...
The link to the article:
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/thoughtful-construction-style-saved-kedarnath-from-serious-damage-a-month-since-the-uttarakhand-disaster-113071400510_1.html
My response:
The barrier that is being talked about may not be opaque completely. It could be a designed structure that could resemble a railing. This is to prevent the boulders from intruding. As far as the flood waters are concerned, there could be a provision of channels starting from before the temple facing the mountains and then going underneath the ground and turning at the same time so that they run along the sides of the temple complex. Hope this is possible. These channels will not be open to fall into but suitable railings shall be provided. Also, there should be terraces. Let this be an opportunity also to add terraces which are an intrinsic part of Hindu temples. So the channels will disappear at some point and there will be terraces above them. I write as I think. Never been to Kedarnath, only seen pictures and relying on description given in this article. I am saying that the reconstruction has to be seen as an opportunity to further beautify, but only vernacularly. Only funds should be provided by the Centre. The Uttarakhandis themselves shall design and rebuild. If my help is needed, we are only too eager. I mean that this should not be an opportunity for the construction mafia across the board to encash since they are only interested in lootpaat and gandagee. So many darn UPites have only tarnished the state. So many Haryanvis have gone there not to add on to the peace but to colonize with their demeanour. Punjab state has also used their heads and displaced Uttarakhandis from their lands and made them into drunkards. Anyway, to cut a long story short, what I am saying is that this is an opportunity for Uttarakhand itself to realise that outside interference in their state has only hurt their overall "state ambience", if I can use that term. I don't understand why they don't have police personnel of their own. They don't have to import traffic police from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. These imported louts do not understand the mountain spirit. "What's that?" They are destroyers of a kind, the ugly kind. They don't understand "innocence". Uttarakhand stands for "innocent cosmopolitanism" (goodness, been looking for a prefix with cosmopolitanism for Uttarakhand for a long time! - there, I coined something.) or really true cosmopolitanism. Saaf safaayee, upkeep, maintenance should be handled by Uttarakhandis themselves and not allow the marauders from Chhoraa Ganga Kinaare Wala or the lath maar from Haryana to uproot their culture. Yes, I have strong sentiments. Your crispness will further erode Garhwal, Kumaon. Be careful. So, coming back to design.
In so far as help from public enterprises is concerned, I don't know. Most of them have closed rigid skulls without much understanding of the fluidity or flexibility of anything. They have fixed ideas. You will notice that even when they talk green or sustainability, even there their ideas will appear suffocating and too harsh and you will subconsciously know that this is not what you need but overtly you wlll not know how to reject or criticise. I mean soft in their lexicon may actually be ghastly and ghostly, I’m telling you. Their thick skulls plunder you with rigidity and stiffness. You will get confused. Don’t let anything get imposed upon you. Therefore, Uttarakhand should take its own time in rebuilding and allow the organic process to take charge rather than force harsh, shortsighted, eyesore type decisions. I am serious, you may see unnecessary concrete stuff etc. The idiocy can go a long way actually, it's not only the concrete. Bamboo may be used for immediate temporary structures. (Bamboo? - not really delved into this really, is bamboo available in UK.?) Anyway, this opens up the design.
Coming back to the temple, someone rightly said that the journey is supposed to be tough, it is not supposed to be easy. This stems from common sense, I mean some things should not be touched. Some things should just not be touched. Tourism, tourism, to hell with your goddamn tourism. Handle the fallout of this frankenstein monster. Your land is ravaged. Your demography is getting changed. And you Uttarakhand do not realise the importance of retaining sanity in at least some part of India. Rebuilding and reconstruction should be only in your own hands. The centre should provide you with funds only and easily dismantleable temporary structures or shelters (environment friendly). Let this be an opportunity to tell the world that rebuilding the green way was accomplished like this or that or whatever! :-) You want me?, I'll come. My heart beats for the mountains, the mountain spirit. Thump, thump...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to drop a line.