Over the years,the destruction of Pondicherrys heritage has been rapid. The PWDs recent declaration of five buildings as unsafe must be viewed in this context
Over the last 43 years,I have had a very special relationship with Pondicherry (now Puducherry),a bond which my wife Rupika shares equally. This article is meant to convey not just facts and statistics,but also a sentiment that we are on the edge of something that may actually lead to the destruction of Pondicherrys unique heritage. Pondicherrys heritage belongs not just to those who happen to live there but to the rest of us as well,just as one could say that Ajanta and Ellora,or the endangered tiger,or the Jarawa tribe,or our oral traditions,belong to all of us and should arouse our concern if threatened by neglect,accident or design.
Even then,in 1979,there was pressure on land. There was a proposal to pull down some iconic buildings and put up something bigger and taller a commercial hub as it were to establish that Pondicherry had,after two centuries,become modern. The odds were against me. But by good fortune this information reached the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from other concerned people. The PM shot off a letter to the chief minister. I remember one decisive line wherein she stated that the character of the Boulevard Town must be allowed to remain inviolate. That put an effective end to the impending construction of a glass-fronted tower in the middle of the French precinct. Over the years,a few old buildings continued to be nibbled away furtively. However,since 1995,the destruction has been quite rapid. In 1995,there were about 1,800 buildings listed by INTACH as heritage buildings in Pondicherry; today,just about half are left. Most of the buildings lost have been in the Tamil part of the town. In the French part,the destruction has been less harsh; from the 300 listed buildings in 1995,about 270 now remain.
In 2002,during my second posting in Pondicherry,I was fortunate to also have in my charge the culture department. That enabled me to focus,once again,on the preservation of what remained. I organised a heritage summit in 2001. Prior to the summit,and with the active assistance of the PWD,the Pondicherry Chapter of INTACH,as well as many concerned citizens,we restored the upper wing of the Town Hall (Mairie) built in 1871. Friends of Pondicherry,such as Francis Wacziarg and Aman Nath,who own a hotel in the Boulevard Town,gave a donation with which we were able to restore the Mairies period artefacts. With this restoration,our heritage summit got a boost,the restored Town Hall became its pivot,and the effect was that several people in Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu were encouraged to embark upon restoration of their properties.
It is in this context that the recent declaration by Pondicherrys PWD that five buildings are unsafe must be viewed. The five include the house occupied by the famed freedom fighter and Tamil poet Subramanya Bharathi,where he sought refuge from the British in the then French territory,as well as the imposing,collonaded Town Hall. The Pondicherry government has addressed the Archaeological Survey of India who have carried out a preliminary survey. If these five buildings are also declared unsafe by the ASI,then it is only a matter of time before the remaining buildings in government ownership will be similarly given the death warrant,because they all belong to the mid-19th century.
The argument of being unsafe may hold water,but only if the buildings cannot be restored. The ASI is not short of structural engineers,architects and restorers and there are many others who constitute a large reservoir of expertise. The Sri Aurobindo Ashram itself owns about a fourth of the buildings of the same period,and all of them appear perfectly safe and are in daily use. Wacziarg and Nath have restored exactly such a building,safely and sensitively,which is now the Hotel de lOrient. Indeed,the argument that the Mairie needs to be pulled down may stretch at a future date even to the Raj Niwas nearby. (Incidentally,the Cabo Raj Niwas in Goa,built in 1594,stands perfectly erect.) Therefore,the Pondicherry government,the ASI and the available reservoir of resources,should turn their focus towards preservation.
At a time when earlier achievements in architecture and beauty are being ignored and the cityscape is deteriorating,the Pondicherry Chapter of INTACH has also shown the way. In collaboration with the Pondicherry government,it took up,a few years ago,the task of conserving this very same heritage with the aim of boosting tourism. This project helped restore and preserve 10 private buildings under a matching grant scheme. In the Tamil town,facades of a stretch of Vysial Street were restored to demonstrate the charm of Tamil vernacular architecture with its continuous verandas. This project got the UNESCO Asia Pacific award in 2008. The Pondicherry Asia Urbs Programme also received international recognition in 2010,when the Shanghai World Expo showcased this project as one of the 50 best urban projects from around the world.
Today,Pondicherrys old town is highly urbanised,its population has tripled in the last two decades,leading to severe stress on existing infrastructure facilities and urban amenities,deterioration of the environment and quality of life. Such rapid urban transformation is gradually destroying the Boulevard Towns fragile heritage. The transformation includes uncontrolled changes in terms of land use,property division,demolitions and alterations,urban skyline,streetscape character,high vehicular traffic,etc. The government of Pondicherry must review its existing floor area ratio,so that in the near future Pondicherry does not take on the character of one of Delhis colonies,where there is little symmetry or proportion in design.
Instead,we should look in the direction of seeking UNESCO World Heritage Status for the French precinct. All the basic ingredients are available cultural history,charming architecture and spiritual roots. Pondicherry,with its cosmopolitan flair and multi-cultural population is a city chosen by Subramanya Bharathi and Sri Aurobindo as their home. It could become a city dedicated to culture,education and spiritualism. There is no doubt the selection criteria to acquire world heritage status are arduous,but there is also no reason why Pondicherry should not be the first city in India to achieve this.
The writer is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India
