“When God was creating everything- there were some left-overs.
Architects can only use such left-overs to create newer things.” So says
Professor Sudarshan Raj Tiwari, quoting from the Vedas. And, “To do some
function, a man needs a certain physical environment. The making of this
physical environment is architecture.” This, of course, is his own opinion. Additionally,
the professor has much to say about many things, and in all this, his views are
quite original and revealing. And often, quite thought provoking. For instance,
about the ancient science of Vastu Shastra, this is what he says, “In addition
to the usual physical dimensions, there are some who also take into
consideration the psychic environment as an added element. Perhaps the ancient sciences do just that.”
The Academic
In Professor Tiwari’s opinion,
different societies have differing cultural ideas and so while creating a
physical environment, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to also take into consideration
the comfort aspect vis-à-vis the psychic factor as an additional part of
designing. At the same time he warns, “But it would be foolish to follow such
dictums without more exploration, because when such Shastras were being
written, people had limited sources of knowledge and we have to keep this in
mind. For example, it is not necessary that directions as prescribed in the
Shastras are universally true for all parts of the world.” Explaining further,
he adds, “And many of the references to direction have a religious aspect - for
instance, the north-east presumably pointing towards the region where God Shiva
resides, at least as seen from the place where the Shastra was written, and
pertaining to abundant flow of water. This direction of course cannot be said
to be commonly true for other parts of the world . Or in line with other
societies’ beliefs.”
As an academic who teaches in
many colleges besides the Institute
of Engineering Bangkok ) as one of the top
three engineering colleges in South Asia , the
professor credits it to the fact that IOE has a long history, and its faculty
have been well trained abroad. Besides this, and because of its reputation, IOE
has always attracted the brightest minds in the country. “You must remember
that in the 70’s and the 80’s engineering was considered to be a prime vocation
and so IOE received many bright minds. Our admission ratio was, and still is,
one out of ten applicants, so you can imagine that the college had some of the
best students in the country. In addition, many of them went on to do their
masters abroad and when they came back, taught here, bringing with them new
ideas and novel thoughts. This is one of the main reasons for IOE’s success.
And since success breeds success, IOE gained such a reputation that the brightest
continue to flock here.”
Writer, Preserver, & Historian
It is obvious that the professor
must be an exceptionally erudite teacher. It is also true that he is an extremely
knowledgeable one. Some idea of this can be discerned from the fact that he has
written three books titled respectively, ‘Ancient Sculpture of Kathmandu
Valley’, ‘Tiered Temples of Nepal’ and the famous ‘Bricks and Bulls’. Right now he is in the final stages of
completing a 300 page tome to be called, ‘Temples of Nepal’. “I wish the publishing
houses would have given more importance to marketing my books,” laments the
writer. “I would be happy if at least my books had been made available in major
libraries worldwide.” Anyway, this aside, it is apparent that the professor must
be really adept on information regarding
traditional architecture, history and heritage. “Well, you could say that,” he
concedes modestly. “As a consultant for the Department of Archaeology I have
been part of the Maya Devi Temple and the 55 Window Palace Conservation Teams in
Lumbini and Kathmandu respectively.” But
again, like in many other things, the professor has his own unique views on the
subject of conservation as well.
Professor Tiwari confesses that
he has always been advising organizations like UNESCO to use a different approach
towards preservation activities in Nepal . “For instance, here many of
the traditional heritage sites are ’season-related’. Most of them are focal
points during festivals which are almost all seasonal in occurrence. So it
would not be a good idea to approach restoration and other activities from a
purely ‘historical-year’ angle.” Well, this should give an indication as to the
workings of the professor’s mind. Tangential, no doubt. And maybe, this is as
it should be, considering that he is after all, before all else, an architect.
And as everybody knows, architects have to have equal measures of the
philosophic and the practical in their systems in order to answer to the call
of high creativity that this noble profession requires.
To a question as to how monument
zones here have managed to get themselves into the ‘Endangered List’, this is
what he thinks, “One reason could be that we have tried to include too wide an
area when zoning heritage sites. Long time residents living within the zones
cannot be expected to adhere to standards which will keep them apace from
modern development.” But then again, the
professor does concede, “However, since the surrounding environment is vital
when talking heritage sites, perhaps it is also right that a wider area has
been considered. Still, if so, we have to explore the causes of failure. Is it
that the by laws are not being followed? Or is it that the by laws are
unpractical? Is it that the laws are good from a western point of view but not
so from the poor residents’ perspective?”
Defending Tradition
Oh yes, Professor Sudarshan
Tiwari is just the sort of authority who can start the ball rolling as far as
important debates are concerned. It is also a fact that some of his opinions
appear to be rather simplistic at first sight. For instance, he says, “I don‘t
agree that we have to take into consideration the idea of ‘permanence’ when
doing restoration works.” Elaborating further, he explains, “I mean our
traditional architecture has been leveled before in times of great calamities,
but the same has managed to be rebuilt in surprisingly short times. So even if
a big earthquake were to bring everything down, so what? Vernacular
architecture has been proven to be highly resilient and possible to be rebuilt
again soon. Therefore, spending too much time and resources on such things are
not that important. And you can imagine, after a disaster just the question of
clearing up a steel and concrete mess would be impossible, leave alone the
question of rebuilding.” The professor has an optimistic prophesy as well, “A
time could come when conservation activities in South Asia
will be handled by Nepalese architects. We have garnered so much valuable
experience.” This will be in striking contrast to the time when foreign
consultants, even those with no experience whatsoever, were appointed for
restoration projects in the country. “For the Hanumandhoka Conservation Project,
John Sandy had been appointed by UNESCO to overlook the work. You can imagine,
this was the first such work by Sandy .
He had no experience at all!” he exclaims.
The Patan Museum Project is
another sore point with the professor. In his view, “What Gotz Hagemuller did
cannot be said to be restoration. Conservation sites are supposed to be conserved
by restoring authentically. What he has done is that he has laid most of
the emphasis on designing rather than on
restoring.” He asserts, “As far as the designing of a museum is concerned, no
doubt it has been done well but from a conservation point of view, the Patan Museum palace
of Lalitpur
Professor Tiwari is also quite
distressed at the so-called post modern architecture being practiced today, and
mourns, “This only shows that architects are now culturally deranged.” He is
also not too enthusiastic about the Rana palaces in the Valley, “Yes, they may
be grand and opulent, but they are certainly not great. There are much more
important sites that deserves to be conserved. And anyway, we mustn’t give
undue weightage to size. Good architecture includes so many other things
besides size. Nepali traditional architecture is something that is great yet
humble.” About the recently observed neo-classical revival in the city,
Professor Tiwari declares contemptuously, “This illustrates architectural
bankruptcy.” He adds, “At least in the
70’s and 80’s when brick exposed
buildings were being built, one could relate them to our traditional style.” Much
of the blame for architectural derangement he lays on the shoulders of
architects and states emphatically, “It is the architects’ responsibility to
give a conscious choice to their clients. And one must always remember that
‘modern’ does not necessarily have to mean ‘western’.”
Provoking Thoughts
Professor Sudarshan Tiwari can go
on and on when talking about a subject that interests him, but surprisingly, and
perhaps because of the sparks of wisdom that seem to accompany his words, most
listeners come away with the feeling of having spent the time well. And of
having learnt much in the way of history, culture, preservation, and of course,
architecture. Consider this, “Our traditional architecture was all inclusive. For
example, even if roofing tiles could have been made impervious, we let them be
because we wished the rains to soak into our roofs and cool our environment. We
built systems, such as a layer of mud over the timbers, to prevent seeping
water from rotting the wood. Modern
architecture is totally water exclusive and we are now making environments that
are desert-like.” Consider also this, “We all know that stone is harder and
better for flooring than are bricks. But we built brick courtyards because we
wanted to ensure that water was retained in our soil so that our underground
reservoirs were replenished continuously.”
The listener also comes out a lot
wiser on the philosophical aspects of much that concerns our everyday lives. Consider
this for instance, “Have you ever seen your own face? It is only because of the
mirror that you think you have. You will never really be able to see your own
face. All you will ever see is a reflection.” Let’s chew our cuds on that.
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