The scion of the erstwhile Mysore royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar underlined the imperatives of ushering in policy changes to save historic structures from demolition and for heritage conservation.
Making a virtual address at a conference on Market as Living Heritage: The Case of Conservation and Revival, in the city on Saturday, January 6, Mr. Yaduveer said that the process of tendering for any construction at the government-level does not take into cognizance the concepts of conservation and restoration.
It was only concerned with demolition and rebuilding he said, reiterating the importance of intervention to get the policies tweaked to explore the path of conservation and restoration.
The conference was jointly organised by the Wadiyar Centre for Architecture Mysuru, INTACH Bengaluru chapter and Esthétique Architects.
Regarding Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building both of which are condemned for demolition, Mr. Yaduveer said not only do the two markets have a slice of Mysuru history entwined with them, but they were more rooted to the cityscape and were part of the tangible heritage.
The two markets which are over 120 years old reflected the concept of sustainable living and in a way defined Mysuru’s character, aesthetics, and identity, he added. These are pointers enough to restore them to their original glory and preserve the cultural identity of Mysuru which is rooted in heritage, he added.
Pointing out that the people of the city were environmentally conscious, Mr. Yaduveer said conservation through restoration was sustainable and hence more environmentally friendly while demolition and reconstruction was antithetical to it.
Meera Iyer of INTACH Bengaluru drew from the experience of conserving the Attara Kacheri in Bengaluru when it was proposed to be demolished in the 1980s. But citizens’ activism and the opinion of a British expert that restoration intervention could help save the historic structure for another 150 years, helped save the edifice, and hence all was not lost for the traditional markets of Mysuru, she added.
Dr. Shikha Jain, conservation specialist and Founder Director of the Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts, and Heritage (DRONAH) in an online address spoke about the restoration of more than a dozen traditional markets in Jaipur.
“The economy of Jaipur depends on the cultural heritage which are in the core of the city,” she said. Accordingly, the government agreed to restore these traditional markets which are now active, dynamic economic centres in Jaipur city, she added.
Prof. Sanghamitra Basu, a conservation architect who recently retired from IIT-Kharagpur and was a member of the National Monuments Authority, Ministry of Culture, GOI, made a strong pitch for conservation-led development and said market conservation was not merely about saving buildings but was also an opportunity to revive an entire area entwined with the local economy.
She shared the example of the restoration of Byward Market in Ottawa, Canada and the New Market, Kolkata
Prof. Anand Krishnamurthy, principal, WCFA, Yashaswini Sharma, founder architect Esthetique Architects, NGOs, stakeholders from the city and students of WCFA were present.
