An Approach for the Holistic Conservation of the Non-Classified Built Heritage of Delhi

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An Approach for the Holistic Conservation of the Non-Classified Built Heritage of Delhi

Abstract : Delhi is an illustrious canvas of Islamic heritage dating back to 12th century. Of these three are the World Heritage Sites; numerous are listed under the protection of central and state government agencies. However, there is large number of heritage structures interspersed in the modern urban sprawl of the capital city, that are lesser known and not protected by any agency. These heritage structures falling under the category of mosques, tombs, madrasa, mahal, etc., are in a dilapidated state with severe structural distress and subjected to vandalism due to encroachments. Pressure of urbanisation and demographic shifts in the recent history has created a situation where these structures are seen as obstructions by the local residents. Local residents do not associate with these structures and has expressed for the removal. However, these heritage structures are important markers in imparting continuity to the much altered heritage fabric by the modern development. Also, as the city of Delhi is preparing for the coveted status of the World Heritage City, it is important to conserve this anonymous layer of the heritage. Conventionally, in most of the cases where conservation of heritage is undertaken, the attempt is to repair and restore the structure and the fabric of the monument without addressing the need of holistic conservation. As a result these structures are again subjected to the abuse and neglect, reversing all the restoration work. The situation becomes more explicit to these lesser known monuments situated in various localities surrounded by the residential and commercial quarters. Whilepreparingtheconservationreportforfiveoftheseheritage structures as the pilot project for the Delhi state government, the author as the project in charge devised conservation approach for the holistic conservation of these monuments. The dimensions of 1. socio-cultural relevance, 2. economic augmentation and 3. ecological enrichment, were added to the physical restoration of the structure. Through the approach of holistic conservation, the author aimed at imparting relevant and sustainable life to the restored structure.

Keywords: Conservation, heritage, holistic, socio-cultural

Journal of Architecture

I. IntroductionThe present metropolis of Delhi sits on a large repository of built heritage. This magnificent heritage belonging to various dynasties of rulers represents the architectural and historical evolution of not just Delhi but the entire country. There are three monuments, viz. Qutub Minar, Humayun Tomb and Red Fort – recognised as the world heritage sites by the UNESCO. A number of 174 monuments are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India in Delhi. Moreover, there are large numbers of heritage structures punctuating the urban-scape of the city which are not protected. The exhaustive listing compilations by Maulana Zafar Hasan in the 1920s and later by Intach enlists 1317 and 1200 structure of heritage significance in Delhi illustrates the vast magnitude of this heritage with unprotected status. The deterioration of these heritage structures can’t be checked primarily due to the absence of any framework dealing with the conservation of these non-protected structures.

II. The Case of Non-Classified HeritageThe rapid expansion of Delhi in past few decades due to the residential and commercial needs of the growing population resulted in the emergence of colonies like Sunder Nagar, Lodhi Colony, Jorbagh, Safdarjung Enclave, Green Park, South Extn, Defence Colony, Vasant Vihar to name a few. These new colonies were occupying the hinterlands of Shahjahanabad and Lutyen’s Delhi, thus surrounding the already existing smaller settlements like Hazrat Nizamuddin, Mehrauli, Chiragh Delhi, Hauz Khas and many more. This interaction of urban development over the existing settlements adversely affected the situation of many heritage structures like tombs, mosques and other typologies. Since there was no protection at any level for this large number of heritage structures, it resulted in these structures being encroached upon, subjected to abuse and neglect; furthering the dilapidation.

About the Author

Nisar Khan is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central Government University), New Delhi. He completed M Arch with specialisation in Architectural Conservation from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. Nisar Khan has a multi-faceted experience in academics, research and practice. He has published research papers in various International Publications and Conferences across the globe. He is working on various architectural conservation projects in Delhi and other parts of India for various agencies.

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III. SignificanceThis non-classified heritage completes the fragmented layer of history of evolution of Delhi over the millennia. Conservation of these structures will reclaim the glorious history of the city as well as country. A majority of these heritage structures belongs to Sultanate dynasty. They illustrate the phases of architectural evolution of Sultanate architecture, which is very different of Islamic architecture compared to that of successive Mughal architecture.The claim of Delhi as a World Heritage City will be strengthened with the conservation of this anonymous heritage

IV. InitiativeAn initiative is taken by the Govt. of NCT of Delhi to protect this non-classified heritage. Government selected a group of 50 structures for restoration under newly found agency Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC). The author has prepared detailed restoration reports for five heritage structures selected on pilot basis on behalf of SRDC. Following are the five monuments for which reports for the conservation and site development are prepared: 1. Jharna Garden, Mehrauli (Later Mughal) 2. Tomb of Sheikh Ali, Defence Colony (Lodhi) 3. Tomb of Syed Yasin, Arab ki Sarai (Lodhi) 4. Mosque, Arab ki Sarai (Mughal) 5. Tomb, South of DPS Mathura Road (Lodhi) The projects are under the stage of implementation. The following write up describes the peculiar situation of this layer of heritage which is interspersed across the urban expansion of Delhi and why a much evolved and integrated approach was required than just restoration. The emphasis is laid down on discussing the formulation of approach.

V. IssuesAuthor carried out surveys with the SRDC team in order to primarily assess the state of these selected 50 structures, in order to shortlist the smaller group of 5 heritage structures to take up on the pilot basis. While conducting the surveys, the author found these heritage structures are situated in the narrow alleys or back lanes of many residential colonies of the city, often tough to locate. They were in a varying state of dilapidation due to both neglect and abuse, most of them requiring urgent restorative mitigation. The Mosque and Tomb of Syed Yasin (Fig. 3) located inside the ITI campus Arab ki Sarai are examples of severe neglect. Then, many of these structures were encroached upon, altering the structure and surroundings, like the case of Tomb of Sheikh Ali in Defence Colony (Fig. 4), which is now occupied by the local RWA as their office. However, the bigger issue identified was not physical but social. The local inhabitants see these heritage structures as an

Figure 2 A Lodhi era structure standing in the narrow alleys

Figure 1 A tomb structure surrounded by modern development in South Delhi

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object hindering the expansion of their living spaces. They wish for the removal of these structures in their neighborhood. This hostile psychology of local inhabitants, who otherwise should have been a stakeholder in the upkeep of the heritage, is very disturbing. In such a circumstance any act of physical restoration will not guarantee the protection from the vandalism and encroachment at the hands of local inhabitants. In fact it has been seen in the past that post-restoration, it takes few years for the monument to retain the dilapidated state due to neglect and poor upkeep.

VI. Dialogue for the Conservation ApproachThere are many questions often posed by not just the local inhabitants but also the people from RWAs, local corporators and

various agencies directly or indirectly responsible for the upkeep and protection of these structures. Some of these questions are as below:• This structure looks out of place in the modern urban

development.• They are often considered as the defunct real estate.• Why waste funds in their restoration, they are not Taj Mahal.• What use they have for future generations?• They are spots for anti-social elements like drug peddlers,

drunkards, etc.• In many cases it is not known as to who the tomb or other

structure belongs to. These questions together with the identified issues become vital idioms in formulating the conservation approach. The conservation approach lies in the answer to these questions.

Figure 3 Tomb of Syed Yasin at Arab ki Sarai

Figure 4 Tomb of Sheikh Ali in Defense Colony encroachedasRWAOffice

Figure 5 A Lodhi era tomb in Zamrudpur being encroached and used as cattle shed

Figure 6 Demolition at the hands of locals

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FOR PROOF READING VII. ApproachThe dialogue above makes it very obvious that a mere physical restoration process may not be the effective long-term solution to save this non-descript heritage. The issues were beyond the physical restoration or its inherent fundamentals of authenticity, integrity, etc. The approach has to be towards evolving a holistic method of conservation by converging the dimensions of socio-cultural relevance, economic augmentation and ecological enrichment (Fig. 7).

(a) Local heritage – association and identity

This group of heritage does not carry a potential to act as built heritage resource at global or national level. Therefore the focus should be upon creating a “Local Heritage”. The heritage structure will be used as the symbol of local identity. This approach will help in including the local inhabitants as the guardians of the heritage structures by inculcating a sense of association. The heritage structure can be used as the symbol or logo in the signage and name plates of the local colony, resident welfare associations, wards and individual houses. This small step will lead to the establishing a relevance for the hitherto redundant heritage structure. Gradually the hostility of the local inhabitants will convert into a sense of pride as there colonies will be identified by that structure. The signage will also carry the historic information about the structure in order to generate the awareness among the locals. As part of the project, the author gave prototypical signage designs including the logos of the local heritage structure. Below is the scheme and design of the signage for the Tomb of Sheikh

Ali located in Defense Colony. They are fabricated in matt finish steel with laser engravings.

(b) Creation of socio-recreational spaces

Delhi is lacking in open and social spaces. Many of these structures are surrounded by the open land, which is either used as a dump yard or encroached in various ways. These portions of land can be appropriately developed into active socio-cultural spaces. Local inhabitants can use them for multiple activities like morning walks, sittings, yoga. These spaces will be much used by the children and the elderly. Further this strategy will be much effective in preventing the encroachments as well as the anti-social activities in the premises. In the case of

(c) Ecological spaces

The premises of heritage structures may be used as ecological spaces by doing appropriate landscape layout. This will result in the creation of breathing space amidst congested neighborhoods. Moreover, provisions of rain water harvesting will augment the water table benefitting the neighboring colonies. On the city scale these benefits can be multiplied by replicating the model. This approach of creation of socio-recreational–ecological spaces was adopted by the author in all the five projects he undertook. Figure 9 shows the layout of landscape at the site of the mosque at Arab ki Sarai. These layouts confirm with the concepts of barrier-free environment for the accessibility of the challenged and senior citizens, safe recreational spaces for elders and young alike.

(d) Economic spaces

In order to attain a state of financial sustainability, the opportunities of revenue generation considering the real estate value of the properties should be explored. This, however, has to be done in a way, so that the integrity of the monument is not compromised.

Figure 7 Approach to conservation

Figure 8 Signage

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FOR PROOF READINGFigure 9 Scheme and design of signages

Figure 10 Landscape layout at Mosque Arab ki Sarai showing the provision for multiutility spaces and other facilities

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As it is envisaged that the monument precincts will also act as multi-activity socio-cultural spaces, heritage walks, light and sound shows and other events may be allowed to take place on various occasions. Public amenities in minimal kiosks form like restrooms, cafes, art galleries, mother dairies, convenience stores, information centre, etc., may be proposed in the regulated area (Buffer) of the monument. Again the induction of such a facility has to conform to the integrity of the heritage component. The induction of these facilities enhance the footfalls on the monument site, thus preventing the neglect and abuse over a period of time, also, generates the awareness about the heritage together with revenue, while furthering the cause of conservation. Appropriate locations and situations for inducting these facilities are worked out in the proposals given for the five projects along with their design solutions.

VIII. ConclusionsBuilt heritage is not limited to only monuments, while the subject matter of conservation is not restricted to mere physical restoration. It is important to evolve innovative conservation approaches that are sustainable and long term. In the case of lesser significant heritage equal emphasis should be laid down on establishing a connect with the social,

economic and ecological aspects. Conservation programs in such cases can only work when contemporary relevance is established with the context and surrounding. Conservation of heritage should be for the present and future not limited to only the past.

References 1. Hasan Zafar, Monument of Delhi, Delhi. 2. INTACH Listing of Delhi Heritage. 3. Venice Charter: Article 4: It is essential to the conservation

of monuments that they be maintained on a permanent basis.

4. Venice Charter: Article 5: The conservation of monuments is always facilitated by making use of them for some socially useful purpose. Such use is therefore desirable but it must not change the lay-out or decoration of the building. It is within these limits only that modifications demanded by a change of function should be envisaged and may be permitted.

5. Venice Charter: Article 13: Additions cannot be allowed except in so far as they do not detract from the interesting parts of the building, its traditional setting, the balance of its composition and its relation with its surroundings.