Renowned conservationist and architect Kulbhushan Jain, underlined heritage and weather as two strong points of Mysuru around which tourism can be promoted.
Prof. Jain who is also Emeritus Professor of Architecture at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, also said that there was little that Mysuru can imbibe or learn about good practices from rest of India with respect to conservation of core heritage areas though it could perhaps emulate the Amsterdam model in which the old area has been maintained.
In an interaction with the media here on Saturday, Prof.Jain - who was invited by the Wadiyar Centre for Architecture for a symposium - said Mysuru was both fascinating and beautiful and has tremendous potential to draw more tourists. But this potential could be converted to a large advantage if there was some kind of tourism plan with focus on specific destinations within the city.
As far as old areas were conserved that are part of living heritage of a city, the challenge was greater, according to Prof. Kulbhushan Jain. Old areas or old cities cannot be turned into a museum but a via media approach with regulations without changing the essential character of a place can be adopted.
On the debate on conservation vs development in the context of Mysuru, he said demolishing old structures and rebuilding them with the same appearance or façade does not make them heritage structures. If they build something new it may as well reflect contemporary style. But the connectivity with the past should not be eroded and the original should also be conserved
On the debate over development vs conservation with respect to Chamundi Hills he said this was a debate the world over and one has to build around nature. It should be conservation and development instead of conservation vs development. However, he agreed that when such development reaches a critical threshold it becomes problematic.
With respect to conservation of heritage buildings in the private domain, the issue remained unresolved in India though the government could subsidise the owners of such property to an extent. But as they are unprotected the owners feel free to sell them and the demolition of unprotected heritage properties continues unabated.
In reply to a question on Mysuru’s quest for world heritage city tag on the lines of Ahmedabad which was inscribed by the UNESCO as a world heritage city in 2015, Prof. Jain said there was no tangible benefit apart from the tag at least in case of Ahmedabad.
