Virtual Tour and thoughts on Urban Aesthetics

We as Indians whenever see a beautiful place in India, we go, “It’s so wonderful, it doesn’t feel like it's India.” This shows we Indians do not identify structural beauty and cleanliness with India. Of course, we do have beautiful and diverse terrain, architectural marvels like temples, caves, palaces, forts, and mausoleums. But the beautiful terrain is nature’s gift, not our creation. Apart from some wonderful structures, we really have not created much to admire. Our towns or cities overall doesn’t have that aesthetic beauty which we try to seek in our foreign tours.

Now, I have never travelled beyond India. I have never been to the lands which I aspire to visit someday. But during this pandemic lockdown, I found a way to tour the world from my home using my computer. There are several virtual tour videos on YouTube available in 4K resolution. Watching them on my 21.5-inch LED screen with headsets on stereo mode gave me an illusion of being there. Through the internet, I have toured many cities around the world like Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Prague, Singapore, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Tehran, Colombo and Phnom Penh and Rio de Janeiro. I have noted some points that stand them out from Indian cities, and how each of them has a unique aesthetic style. This style does not necessarily have to be classical; it can be contemporary too.

Before you think it has to do with the country’s economy, poverty rate, historical events or geography, let me tell you: I am trying to avoid the factors that are not in our control. Every geography has a unique town planning and architectural style and it has to stay that way. Urban areas can be divided into a business district, an old part of the town, commercial centre, residential town & suburbs. The business district is where you get to see skylines and towers made from glasses. The old part of the town generally has classical or traditional architecture that is most of the time termed as heritage sites. Commercial centres are where there are malls, restaurants, pubs and other places to chill. Residential areas and suburbs are where apartments or row houses exist, sometimes with boring architecture, sometimes better. World regions are divided into two parts: The Old World that existed in pre-colonial times, and the New World that was a result of colonisation. Eurasia and Africa are part of the old world, while the Americas and Oceania are part of the new. In the new world, all commercial hubs, business districts, residential suburbs, and old towns are completely separate. In the old world, you may find a mall next to an apartment.

Europe

Some parts of their cities go back to the Renaissance period and even beyond. Hence, much of their well-maintained Gothic, Romanesque, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical structures are still standing today. It is said that they too had some haphazard townships built during the industrial revolution, but those were destroyed during the world wars and were replaced with a well-planned modern one. Fewer populations and better geography save them from excessive trash and dust in the environment. Therefore, their usual buildings are better maintained than even our colonial heritage sites.



a street in the UK

North America & Oceania

Countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others have a style distinct from Europe. They belong to the newly discovered world which was colonised and settled much later. Hence, most of its cities were formed after the industrial revolution. Their cities have a well-planned grid pattern with a downtown full of skyscrapers, and suburbs with infinite row houses. They all look so much alike that after a point it becomes monotonous.


Chicago Skyline

The Gulf States and East Asia

East Asian cities have a style different from ‘the west’ even in their modern buildings. Out of other nations, Japan has maintained its distinct style the most. Their streets, buildings and town plan display that evidently. But cities like Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Dubai seems to have overdone their ‘development’ and seems more of a futuristic theme park. They seem unnecessarily giant and unreal. One does not see ‘culture’ in their aesthetics.


Shinjuku city street, Japan



Dubai Skyline

South America

South America seems quite like India. I remember virtually touring through the streets of Buenos Aires, it felt like I was walking in a street of Bandra. Its tropical climate could be another reason for this feel. Rio de Janeiro also had some areas which had poorly maintained buildings and slums that felt relatable to areas in Mumbai. But yet their main town was well maintained.


A street in Buenos Aires, Argentina

India’s immediate neighbourhood

Being closer to India, Iran possesses some sort of similarities with Indian towns. Although it does have its distinct style, Iranian city like Tehran also has buildings with boring architectures for pure functional value. Their shops and bazaars also bear a close resemblance to Indian markets. But as their population is in control, the city looks neat and clean. Even their streets and footpaths are well made. Similar can be said for the Southeast Asian cities like Bangkok and Phnom Penh. Tehran, Bangkok and Phnom Penh have mosques, temples and shrines after some distances making it more relatable to India than the streets of Europe and the Americas where one giant church makes up for it. But by far the closest city to bear a resemblance to Indian towns can be found in Sri Lanka. Colombo literally looks like how Indian cities would look if they were clean, well-constructed and clutter free.



A street in Tehran, Iran




A street in Colombo, Sri Lanka

So why Indian cities are not as good?

It is not just town planning; it is the design and architectural styles that display the aesthetics of that place. Dust level can be a result of its geography and the pollutants in the air through emission, construction, and population. But cleanliness is a result of people’s attitudes. Considering some social factors, let us ignore the cleanliness and dusty environment. Let us also ignore hundreds of tiny shops encroaching the footpath area considering it as a result of overpopulation.


A clutter in South Mumbai

But it is only in India where one can find such a clutter of advertisements on shops, buildings and every other place that you can see. Poorly constructed roads, some in tar, some in concrete, some in paver blocks, and some an insane combination of the three can be seen only in India. This has nothing to do with poverty or economic condition. It is purely corruption and apathy on the part of administrators. Barring colonial heritages, ultra-new mall complexes, and high-class residential townships, most of the cities look bland. This attitude towards aesthetics might be cultural as 18th century Scottish painter James Wales of pre-colonial era mentions in his journal that Indians make such beautiful temples, why can’t they make their houses as good? Looking at the current state of the nation’s aesthetic sense, we have a long way to go.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Talk | Uday S. Kulkarni | Historian | James Wales: Artist & Antiquarian https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=EG5NU-MZkR0&t=956s [16:00 to 16:55]