Opinion Higher,taller,richest?

Consequently,in pre-skyscraper eras,for a long time so-called records were held by pyramids,inching up to 146 m. The Pharos lighthouse in Alexandria came close,but fell short of the record,as did Jetavanaramaya stupa in Anuradhapura. After all,information wasn’t that freely disseminated then. Had the two Ptolemys (Soter and Philadelphos,builders of Pharos) known about pyramids and their heights,they might have aspired for the record. It is even more unlikely that Kings Mahasena and Maghavanna (builders of Jetavanaramaya) knew about pyramids. The Great Pyramid of Giza held the record till 1311 ACE,after which,assorted cathedrals and churches (England,Estonia,Germany,France) held the record till 1884 and we inched up to 157 m,not much progress towards heaven in several centuries. The Washington Monument (record from 1884 to 1889) took us up to 169 m and the Eiffel Tower (record from 1889 to 1930) up to 300 m. Then skyscrapers (and TV towers) took over.

Other than the traditional rivalry between New York and Philadelphia,there is clear correlation between economic growth (citius) and building tall (altius). The US built the Empire State Building (15th tallest now),Chrysler Building (34),American International Building (63),Trump Building (72) and GE Building (120) in the ’30s and several more in the ’60s and ’70s. Russia produced Moscow State University (199) in 1953. In the list of the world’s tallest buildings,several are now in east Asia (Taiwan,China,Hong Kong,Malaysia,South Korea,Thailand,Japan,Singapore,Macau,Philippines,Indonesia) and the Middle East (UAE,Saudi Arabia,Kuwait,Bahrain,Qatar). Australia,Russia,Canada,Panama,Turkey,Germany,Spain and Israel also figure in the top 200. Most of these were built since the ’80s,particularly since the ’90s. If North Korea plans to build the 29th tallest building (a hotel) by 2012,one cannot presume economic development is the sole explanation and clearly some countries have proclivities towards building tall.

Nevertheless,there is no denying some element of national aspiration cum pride,fuelled by economic growth. This is more evident if one also looks at buildings under construction,rather than those already completed. For instance,in addition to the countries mentioned,Vietnam and the UK also figure in the construction list. As of now,India is 153rd on the list,with two residential Imperial Towers in Mumbai (149 m) under construction (to be completed in 2010). India Tower (a hotel,301m) in Mumbai will also be completed in 2010. Because of building restrictions,most high-rise buildings in India are concentrated in Mumbai. Nothing in the under-construction list (in Mumbai,Bangalore,Ahmedabad,Kochi) takes us beyond 301m,though there is an Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Tower in

Hyderabad that might take us up to 450m. The proposed Kochi International Trade and Exhibition Centre (500 m),Bengaluru Turf Tower (660m) and Noida Tower (710 m) will take Indian skyscrapers into a different global listing league. And one shouldn’t forget the Maharishi Vedic Vishwa Prashasan building (678 m) proposed near Jabalpur.

Human height is not entirely genetic. It is also influenced by the environment. Stated more correctly,an individual’s height is determined by genes. But a population’s average height increases with better medical care and nutrition and may even be influenced by changes in dietary patterns. There is some evidence that economic growth in China and resultant effects led to an increase in average heights,more pronounced in urban areas. Percentage of under-weight children consistently figures as an indicator of human deprivation or ill-fare. However,increases in height (and with caveats,weight) can also be indicators of welfare. There don’t seem to be any similar studies for post-1991 India. But if these were to be done,presumably findings would mirror Chinese ones,that is,average Indian height has increased in segments where growth has occurred. Subject to building laws (and other government policies that inhibit construction),increases in building heights seem to mirror increases in human heights. Economically,it is impossible to give a precise figure as to how far ahead China is. But forced to pin down a figure,most people will come up with something like 25 years. 25 years ago,we were in 1985. If one looks at China’s high-rise construction skyline then,it is not very different from what India’s high-rise construction skyline is today. 25 years from now,we will get close to Burj Khalifa.

The writer is a Delhi-based economist

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