Four things put a spanner in the works when it comes to verifying the line, ‘Sare jahan se achha, Hindustan hamara.’ One, the air in our cities sucks. Two, the summer months in most parts of India are gruelling. Three, urban planning is a mess with whole neighbourhoods literally concrete jungles. Four, our residential buildings, at best, are banal, at worst, downright ugly. The solution for problem one, we’re not really interested in. That for two is not possible unless we gain the wherewithal to make the climate outside our homes and offices better. Three can be fixed. But, again, no one really cares beyond the ‘showcase’ neighbourhoods. But four is possible.
Creating striking residential buildings – and not just the special temple here and official building there – is a sure-sign symbol of wealth and taste. Great cities don’t have a handful of wonderful buildings – apartment buildings or otherwise – but whole localities. Casually marvelling at them is a sign that man-made beauty exists in the here and now and to be admired freely. Indian cities need to grow vertically, yes. But that hardly hampers builders and architects to build apartment blocks with handsome, even striking, facades. While your indoors in SoBo or Lutyens’ may be the insides of a Swiss chalet, it’s time the outsides become worthy of stares and quiet gushes.
