Reflections of Post-Modern Culture in a Post-colonial Context:

Selected Experiences from Contemporary Architecture in India

[Published in: Bhumi, Special Issue March 2013, pp.1-14. ISSN: 2012-5720]
Author: Ar. Arjun Mukerji
Research Scholar, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India
e-mail: arjun@arp.iitkgp.ernet.in
Co-Author: Dr. Sanghamitra Basu
Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India
e-mail: sbasu@arp.iitkgp.ernet.in
Abstract: Post-Modernism evolved as a voice of dissent in reaction to the
inadequacies of Modernism, as well as in response to post-Modernity
the emergent socio-cultural scenario of the post-industrial age.
However, due to contradictions within the discourse, and subversion of
the critical stance, most present practitioners disassociate from the
Post-Modern, considering it as either abstruse or out of fashion. This
research re-examines the domain of the Post-Modern, and inspects
contemporary Indian architecture in the light of a selective re-reading
of theories, thereby identifying evidences of the Post-Modern. It
employs interpretations and arguments established with illustrative
examples. The research findings recognize the relevance of Post-
Modern theories in offering useful perspectives of the socio-cultural
phenomena of the post-industrial era, and ways in which contemporary
culture affects the built environment. It also notes several ways in
which Post-Modern in the Indian context is different from the Euro-
American Post-Modern.
Keywords: Post-Modern, Post-colonial, Contemporary architecture, Culture,
Indian Identity.

1. Introduction
The Post-Modern is essentially understood in relation to the Modern, which refers
to the era in the aftermath of the industrial revolution and the enlightenment
movement (as against modern, which is the present or contemporary)1. By the late
twentieth century, there was rising discontent with the inadequacies of the Modern
approach and failures ascribed to Modernist practices. The pro-Modern school of
thought continued to identify Modernity as an incomplete project (Habermas,
1981/1998), and advocated a reformed Modernist approach as the relevant and valid
mode of cultural production. However, theoreticians and practitioners of several
disciplines professed a paradigm shift towards Post-Modernism, which was to be a
critical voice of dissent in response to the perceived inadequacies of Modernism.
Also, since the late twentieth century, the world has arguably stepped into a new era,
existing and operating in an environment significantly different from the Modern era.
Post-Modernity signals the emergence of a period of multiple changes in society,
involving information advances, consumerism, the omnipresence of simulations, and
the rise of a post-industrial order (Brooker, 1999, Featherstone, 1991, as cited in
Bloland, 2005:123).
Especially in architecture, the Post-Modern movement occupies a significant position
at least in the Euro-American perspective as a critical stance in reaction to the
perceived inadequacies of the dominant Modernist paradigm, and in response to the
emergent issues of post-Modernity. However, the Post-Modern approach itself places
significant importance on context, and India a south-east Asian, post-colonial,
developing nation is expected to have a context quite different from the developed
western world. This means, the Post-Modern in India cannot necessarily be
understood as similar to the Post-Modern in the west; it needs a parallel discourse. As
Mehrotra (2011:303) noted, India (and perhaps all of South Asia) requires a
continual negotiation and mapping of differences in order to present a clear picture of
the emerging landscape. This research attempts to employ the Post-Modern critical
approach to identify the underlying intentions of a few selected works of
contemporary Indian architecture, in order to understand what is being done, and why
it is being done so.
To begin with, the methodology adopted for the research is outlined, and the
objectives and scope are explained (Section2). The understanding and definition of
Post-Modern as adopted by this research is then presented, based on a selective
review of Post-Modern theories which articulate the attitudes and the context (Section
3). The evidences and effects of the Post-Modern in Indian contemporary architecture
are then discussed and interpreted through selected illustrative examples (Section 4),
and finally, the conclusions drawn from the research are outlined (Section 6).
2. Methodology and scope of the research paper
This is an interpretive research involving theorization of observations. A selective
reading of Post-Modern theory is undertaken to outline the domain of discussion, and
illustrative examples are analysed in the light of theory to present evidences of Post-
Modern practices in contemporary Indian architecture. The objective is to investigate
the relevance of the Post-Modern and to identify some of its unique features resulting
out of the post-colonial context.

The review of Post-Modern theories is selective and not exhaustive: important aspects
like humour, irony, reflexivity, deconstruction etc. have not been discussed in detail.
The objective of the paper is not to give a comprehensive account of Post-Modern
theories, but to present the most relevant ones, in the light of which the Indian
contemporary architectural practices being discussed may be best understood.
Also, The works cited in this paper significantly employ a selection of Post-Modern
architectural tropes like ornamentation, juxtaposition, layering, metaphor, symbolism,
deconstruction, irony etc.2 However, these have not been highlighted as the objective
of this research paper is not to dwell on architectural or stylistic tropes per se, but
instead discuss the effects of post-Modernity and intentions and resolutions fostered
by a Post-Modern stance.
3. Defining the Post-Modern
The present research considers the Post-Modern in a broad sense beyond, but
including, its stylistic applications in architecture; this section articulates this
approach. The different issues associated with the definition of the Post-Modern are
first analysed (2.1), followed by a selected reading of Post-Modern theories (2.2)
which establish the context. Finally, the approach of this research towards defining
the Post-Modern is articulated (2.3).
3.1. Issues with the Post-Modern
The problems in engaging in a dialogue dealing with the Post-Modern stem from two
primary issues: (a) confusion and conflict over what constitutes or does not constitute
a Post-Modern approach, and (b) the subversion of the Post-Modern from a critical
voice to a fashion, subsequently resulting in a narrow representation. These may be
elaborated as follows:
3.1.1. Confusion and conflict
Margaret Rose (1991/1996: xi) noted that the definition of Post-Modern varies on the
basis of a variety of understandings of the terms modern [] and post3. In
architecture, for example, Post-Modernism may indicate approaches as varied as
Portoghesis historicism, Venturis complexity and contradiction, Jenckss return to
communication, or Eisenmans deconstruction, to name a few (a detail discussion of
the various approaches and definitions is beyond the scope of this paper). There have
been debates over relative importance of particular approaches, la communication
versus historicism4, as evidenced in the 1980 Venice Biennale. Again, Charles
Jencks identified Deconstruction as Neo-Modern, while Mary McLeod established it
as essentially Post-Modern5. Also, as Jencks (2011a:9) noted, the term Post-Modern
has proved to be cannibalistic, consuming various new appellations like
altermodern6 and critical modern, and assimilating them within its domain. Thus,
with the inherent pluralism and extending boundaries, the domain of discourse often
becomes contradictory, and might seem abstruse.
3.1.2. Subversion: from critical voice to fashion
Postmodernism as an architectural style was soon appropriated by consumer-
capitalism to use as a centre-endorsing device of commoditization, thus subverting its
original intended role of dissent and critique. In this manifestation, with primary focus
on the flamboyant and trendy architectural vocabulary and diminishing focus on
3

critical intent, it became a fashion, as was identified by Christopher Benninger

(2011:141) in his appraisal of the Post-Modern as effetism. As is the fate of all
fashion, it soon became clich, and was subsequently dismissed as outmoded. There is
a growing tendency amongst contemporary practitioners of architecture to
disassociate themselves from anything tagged as Post-Modern.
However, there is more to the Post-Modern than this particular stylistic application.
Charles Jencks (2011a:11) tried to resolve the ambiguity with a new set of
nomenclature: Post-modern (with an initial capitalisation) for the conscious cultural
movement, post-modern for the general social condition, and PoMo for the pastiche
and commercial version of the cultural products (Fig.2.1.2). The general distaste is in
fact in relation to PoMo, and many practitioners comfortably continue with the
agenda of Post-modernism, and even employ characteristic Post-Modern architectural
tropes, minus the stigmatised appellation (Jencks, 2011b:15).

Fig.2.1.2: Swan Hotel, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA.
Note: A strikingly kitsch project by Michael Graves for the Disney Corporation, who
especially fostered PoMo, designated as Entertainment Architecture.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swan-hotel.jpg. Permission for copying and
distribution granted to under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

3.2. Selective review of Post-Modern theories

A profusion of architectural discourse on Post-Modernism involves the various
stylistic tropes, which are obviously important to analyse the manifestations of the
intentions. However, what is of more significance is to analyse the intentions
themselves, and the conditions which prompt them. The two characteristic aspects of
the Post-Modern include (i) counter-modernism, negating the tenets of modernism in
reaction to their perceived inadequacies, and (ii) responses to new systems and orders

of the post-industrial society. An understanding of the significant issues relating to

both aspects is obtained through a selective re-reading of Post-Modern theories from
various disciplines, as elaborated in the following sections.
3.2.1. Counter-modernism
As Jean-Francois Lyotard (1979/1993:72) noted, the modern Enlightenment
movement aspired to arrive at essential universal truths through objective rationality,
thus generating grands rcits. The Post-Modern attitude involves incredulity
towards such meta-narratives, instead favouring petite histoires and legitimacy of
alternative perspectives and traditions.
In the process, firstly, with the dismissal of the utopian universal standard, there is a
return to subjectivity, and the importance of context becomes emphasized7. Allan &
Turner (2000:364) noted that Post-Modernism may be understood as a challenge to
the rationalization of space and the imposition of a strict and systematic order on
daily life; and, in its place, some Post-Modern architecture makes space more
personalized through the use of pastiche, the blending of styles, and the inclusion of
historical references.
Secondly, the inclusion of other perspectives advocates cultural pluralism and
difference. The Post-Modern response to pluralism is not either/or but both8, and
the Post-Modern cultural products have complexity and multi-valence9.
A closely aligned paradigm of legitimising alternative perspectives is that of post-
colonialism, which seeks to topple the fabricated hierarchy of superior colonial
cultures and inferior native cultures. Anjali Roy (1996:383) noted that the post-
colonial decentering approach is itself a Post-Modern phenomenon.
Another step towards Post-Modern inclusiveness involves the breaking down of the
barriers between high and low cultures (Huyssen, 1987/1995), and ceremoniously
employing that which is popular or even kitsch. Further, negating the modernist tenets
of purity and the artists individual heroic originality (FAT, 2011:21), collage, inter-
textuality, shared authorship and imitation become important Post-Modern devices10.
However, Appignanesi et al. appraised the resultant eclecticism as a superficial
attitude of anything goes, and identified it as a false11 postmodernism
(Appignanesi, Garrat, Sardar & Curry, 1995/2007:46).
3.2.2. Post-industrial socio-cultural phenomena
With the information revolution and the omnipresence of media, there is an increased
presence of global influences, and cross-cultural referents. As a result, an individual
has access to, and employs, floating signifiers12 detached from what they might have
signified in the originating cultures. Jean Baudrillard (1983/1998:346) noted that as
the representational relation between the signifier and the signified breaks down, the
signifier achieves its own pure existence as a simulacrum. The resultant
indeterminacy of the hyper-reality is sometimes supplemented with immanence of
new meanings: a phenomenon identified by Ihab Hassan (1987/1993:281) by the
neologism Indetermanence.
However, the increasing cultural contact does not result in a global mono-culture, as
often predicted, because each individual makes a choice in identifying with any set of

combinations of such cultural symbols and practices what happens is a profusion of

eclectic, hybrid cultural identities, resulting in an individualised self (Allan &
Turner, 2000:374), not particularly moored to a homogeneous cultural group, but
displaying multiphrenia (Gergen, K. J., 1991, as cited in Allan & Turner, 2000:375).
Also, with the overwhelming flux of information, there is a resultant fatigue and a
condition best identified as schizophrenia (Jameson, 1984/1991:27), wherein the
involvement is intense but temporally disjointed13.
The dominance of media also brings about the dominance of the image, and culture
itself becomes a commodity: the chosen device of late capitalism. Forces of
legitimation (Appignanesi, Garrat, Sardar & Curry, 1995/2007:51) continue to be at
play, surreptitiously dictating what is to be accepted, regarded, coveted, or
consumed14.
3.3. The Post-Modern as defined in the present research
The initial capitalisations of the terms Modern and Modernity has been adopted to
distinguish it from the understanding of modern as contemporary. In line with
Jencks proposed nomenclature, the initial capitalisation of the term post is avoided
in post-Modernity as it relates to the general socio-cultural condition, while the
capitalised form is adopted for the term Post-Modernism which indicates the
cultural movement. This research adopts the term Post-Modern to allow the
simultaneous co-existence of Post-Modernism and the effects of post-Modernity, as
recommended by Natoli & Hutcheon (1993:2).
In response to the pluralism and contradictions, the research recognises all the
different relevant approaches as valid Post-Modernisms, depending on their
intentions, without debating their relative importance or resolving their internal
conflicts. Further, Post-Modernism is defined as a critical practice (self-conscious or
not) in response to the perceived deficiencies of Modernism, and not merely some
characteristic stylistic tropes, as exemplified by PoMo architecture.
Post-Modernity is defined as a periodizing concept, in line with Fredric Jameson
(1984/1991:3), involving various effects of the emergent socio-cultural scenario (as
discussed in section 2.2.2), and the responses it generates.
Thus, evidences of the Post-Modern would include incredulity towards meta-
narratives, decentering and deconstruction, advocacy of difference, inclusiveness,
contextualism, popular culture, eclecticism, simulacrum, floating signifiers and
indetermanence. The same are identified and analysed in the following sections.
4. Post-Modernity and Indian architectural practice
The presence of the Post-Modern is experienced at two levels: (i) as a part of a
conscious critical practice or cultural movement and (ii) as an unconscious expression
effected by the socio-cultural milieu. Both affect contemporary Indian architectural
practice in different ways, as analysed hereafter.
In this age of information revolution and the overwhelming presence of global
influences, there is a continual quest to resolve the dichotomy of being both
contemporary and having an indigenous identity (Brown, 2009:162). The problem is
compounded in a post-colonial context, like India, where responses to the effects of
colonialism are ambivalent, because of the inheritance of modernization and
economic development received in conjunction with cultural humiliation. The

effectiveness of Post-Modern stances in resolving these issues may be identified as

follows:
4.1. A Problematic unity of identity and Post-Modern approaches of resolution
When Nehru envisioned a new architectural image of the independent, modern, Indian
state, it was imperative for him to abandon the British colonial legacy, and look
towards international modernism, which posed itself as rational and ahistorical, and
appeared to offer the correct counter-colonial position(Prakash, 2010:262). Le
Corbusiers Chandigarh, and the resultant Chandigarh style has been identified as a
post-colonial act of Third World Modernism15. However, it is interesting to note that
this did not emerge as the architectural vocabulary for a contemporary Indian identity,
in the absence of which the colonial architectural icons like Gateway of India,
Mumbai, and Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata (Fig. 4.1), continue to be the most
potent identities with which the great Indian cities are associated in the citizens mind
(Bandyopadhyay, 2010:5).

Fig.4.1: Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, India.

Note: The British colonial monument is an unambiguous display of Imperialist power and
dominion, but no post-colonial architecture in Kolkata, India, can match its iconic value.
Source: Rishabh Sharma. Reproduced with permission.

The issue of evolving an architectural identity for India brings us to a quandary can
the question who is an Indian? ever be satisfactorily answered? As Sunil Khilnani
(1997/2004:151) noted: The truncated colonial territories inherited by the Indian
state after 1947 still left it in control of a population of incomparable differences. []
it suggested no common identity or basis of unity that could be reconciled within a
modern state. There were various nationalistic attempts to define a common historic
identity on the basis of religion, mythology and cultural interconnections, but most
were exaggerated and romanticised, and none proved to resolve the issue16. The
continual demands for distinct cultural and political recognition from all corners of
the nation bear witness to the failure of reconciliation to a unified identity of Indian-
ness: an identity which is only somewhat realized in relation to foreign cultures that
may appear relatively more alien than that of a different Indian community.
However, an idea of India does exist, and it is best explained as a collage of multiple
cultures sharing Wittgenstein-ian family resemblances17. There is no transcendental
singular trait which may bind the diversity of India together; its unity is to be sought
through a Post-Modern inclusive stance of both. Some of the more successful
practices in providing a fragmented but rooted identity to contemporary Indian
architecture may be outlined as follows:
4.1.1. Context and regionalism
The modernist approach towards building a pan-Indian contemporary identity, which
proved to be neither easily accessible to the diverse cultures, nor representative of
their contexts, was countered by a Post-Modern regionalism, with an architectural
language employing vernacular vocabulary, iconography and symbolism. It at once
celebrated a Post-Modern plurality and a post-colonial cultural regression.
Arna-Jharna, Jodhpur (Fig.4.1.1a), the desert museum of Rajasthan conceived by
folklorist Komal Kothari, and designed by Anu Mridul, is entirely vernacular in
morphology and building technology, while Appakuttam Nair and Narayan Raos
Kalakshetra Theatre, Chennai, employs the vocabulary of vernacular architecture of
Kerala in a modern building typology. Charles Correas Craft Museum, New Delhi
(Fig.4.1.1b) may be cited as particular example of a neo-vernacular Indian
architecture showcasing various regional architectural and crafts traditions. Jiran
Resort, Shantiniketan (Fig.4.1.1c), uses vernacular mud, bamboo and thatch
architecture of Bengal, not merely as a tourist attraction, but to foster an indigenous,
rural, environment-sensitive way of living. Each of these proves to be more accessible
and meaningful in their Indian-ness, while preserving their distinct regional traits.

Fig.4.1.1a: Arna-Jharna: The Desert Museum of Rajasthan, Jodhpur, India.

Source: http://www.arnajharna.org/images/Arna-Jharna-Museum.jpg.Rupayan Sansthan.

Fig.4.1.1b: Village Complex in Crafts Museum, New Delhi, India.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crafts_Museum_New_Delhi_3_Sep_2010-
1.JPG. Released for use in public domain.

Fig.4.1.1c: Jiran Resort, Shantiniketan, India.

Source: Somnath Sinharoy. Reproduced with permission.

 4.1.2. The effectiveness of kitsch

There is, however, one aspect which effectively communicates with the common
Indian citizen throughout the nation: Indian pop-art and kitsch. Unlike in the west,
where kitsch primarily served the purpose of irony and toppling the hierarchy of high
and low art, Indian kitsch additionally becomes the vehicle of an accessible pan-
Indian-ness because the widest section of the Indian populace is regularly and closely
exposed to its elements in daily life, and these elements are also not regionally
concentrated. Indian calendar art and Bollywood imagery have enjoyed wide
popularity in the design of graphics, apparel, products, and interior spaces as Indian
kitsch. Similarly, when Khosla Associates and tsk-design use street art, Warholesque
portraits of cine-stars and an auto-rickshaw for the MTV India office, Bangalore
(Fig.4.1.2), or Hirsch Bedner & Associates use vintage movie posters for The Park
hotel, Chennai, they are employing icons which are readily identifiable by any Indian
as part of his cultural identity.

Fig.4.1.2a: Interiors of MTV Office, Bangalore.

Note: a remodeled auto-rickshaw becomes the reception desk, while the wall features
graphics reminiscent of Indian street art and a Warhol-inspired montage of popular South
Indian actors portraits.
Source: http://www.tsk-design.com/space/interior/images/MTV-5.jpg
When Architectural Digest launched its first Indian Issue (March-April 2012)
featuring New Indian Living, the cover prominently framed an image of a leading
Bollywood actor (Fig.4.1.2b). Ms. Padukone was arguably more suited in
communicating the Indian-ness of the issue than any contemporary architectural
work, but ironically, her pose draws attention away from any visible architecture. In
short, it seemed more like an attention grabbing strategy (though it did feature a piece
about the celebrity creating her new home). The problem with the popular is in its
vulnerability of being easily commercialised and subverted.

10

Fig.4.1.2b: Cover:
C Arch
hitectural Digest,
D Indian
n launch isssue, March-A
April 2012.
Source:http://mumbaibooss.com/wp-ccontent/uploads/Deepikaa6EDIT.jpg

4.1.3. Salvatioon of traditiions

Other than direct com mmunicationn of contextt and identiity ( be it tthrough matteriality,
neo-vernacular vocabuulary, or kitsch-pop),
k there is a renewed interest in seeking
traditional knowledge and wiisdom as alternativee post-coloonial persp pectives,
advocated by the Postt-Modern spirit of peetite histoirees (sectionn 3.2.1). Insspiration
was soughtt from space syntax off the traditio
onal Indian settlementss and the caanonical
shilpaic traaditions.
B. V. Doshhis IIM Baangalore, annd ARCOP Design Grooups Hotell Mughal Sheraton,
Agra (Fig.44.1.3a), draaw inspiratiion from Mughal
M pattterns and laayouts likee that of
Fatehpur Sikri.
S Raj Rewals Asian
A Games village, New Dellhi (Fig.4.1 1.3b), is
reminiscentt of traditioonal Indian towns with
h communiity squares and shaded d alleys.
Charles Correas
C Citty Centre, Kolkata (FFig.4.1.3c), is a hybridd between the air-
conditionedd shopping mall and the t tradition
nal Indian market
m of aalleys and squares:
providing a contempoorary shoppping experience whichh is subtly informed with w the
ways of expploration, communication, and com mmunity-innteraction off the Indian
n bazaar.

11

Fig.4.1.3a: Hotel Mughal Sheraton, Agra, India.

Source: http://www.delhitourism.com/images/agra-itc-mug-b1.jpg

Fig.4.1.3b: Asian Games Village, New Delhi, India.

Source: http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/PCD.2286.1012.0904.027.jpg Raj
Rewal.

12

Fig.4.1.3b: City Centre, Salt Lake, Kolkata, India.

Note: Sit-outs for customers extend into the pedestrian passages like traditional community
spaces in an Indian bazaar. The overall layout creates the effect of an urban fabric, rather than
a single commercial block, complete with groves, balconies, steps, terraces, etc.
Source: photography by author.

On the other hand, Correas Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, and Jawahar Kala Kendra,
Jaipur, visibly employ interpretations of the Nava-graha Mandala from ancient Indian
cosmology, and Darshan Kumars Bubbar Methodist Centre, Mumbai, uses the
Chandita Mandala and an indigenous system of proportions. The demand from clients
for following recommendations of the Vastu-shastra the ancient Indian texts on
building principles is omnipresent, as would be ratified by any Indian architect, and
sensitive practitioners have gone beyond the words of the scriptures, seeking the
rationale behind the principles, providing useful insights into energy-conserving,
climatologically sound, and healthy ways of living in the Indian cultural context18.
However, sensitivity to context and indigenous identity are not the sole objectives of
all contemporary Indian architecture. As already noted, globalisation and information
revolution has resulted in socio-cultural tendencies which seek to diverge from

13

cultural rooted-ness towards a cosmopolitan individualised self. The reflection of this

and the ensuing conflicts may be outlined as follows:
4.2. The reflection of global influences and effects of post-Modernity
As already noted, in the present socio-technological scenario, the multiphrenic,
schizophrenic, individualised self is able to freely adopt floating signifiers, and this is
well witnessed in many Indian contemporary architectural projects resulting in
exotic pastiche. However, instead of being summarily dismissed as inferior, as is most
often the case, this variety of architecture needs to be analysed beyond its
superficiality scrutinising their nature in the light of post-Modernity.
4.2.1. Exoticism and borrowed trends
There are plenty of examples of exotic architectural vocabulary in contemporary
Indian architectural practice, as in houses emulating Spanish Villas in Bangalore
(Fig.4.2.1a) and Scottish Villas in Gurgaon. Whereas historicism in the west
communicated a presence of the past (Jencks, 2011b:17), the referents of these
exotic historic styling essentially European pre-modernist regional antecedents
have no nostalgic value for India, thus nullifying their communicative power. Thus,
these may be interpreted as floating signifiers, where the relation of the symbol and
the signified has broken down and the signifier is devoid of meaning. However, the
elements now represent luxury and power as the ability of acquiring that which is
exotic and foreign, thus displaying indetermanence.

Fig.4.2.1a: Vakil En Casa Spanish Villas, Bangalore, India.

Note: Though the value of the image relies on exotic historic styles, the buildings do not seem
to be honest in their employment of such style
Source: http://content.sahipasand.com/images/89/8984001913.jpg

14

It is noteworthy that architecture has historically been used as a vehicle for asserting
power and supremacy, as is evident from imperial palaces and triumphal arches, and
these projects follow the same trend, only employing a new mode of expression of
power.
Again, Hafeez Contrators Hirandandani Gardens, Mumbai (Fig.4.2.1b), like many of
his other housing projects, and Vijay Mallyas Classical penthouse in the sky,
designed by Antonio Sofan, employ Greek and Roman Classical orders. These may
appear less exotic due to the legacy of British Colonial architecture, but in a post-
colonial context, the intention of referring to any past glory through a colonial
vocabulary seems dubious. Rather than evoking nostalgia through pastiche, once
again, the primary purpose of these are as symbols of power.

Fig.4.2.1b: Hiranandani Gardens, Mumbai, India.

Source: http://www.indiabuildnet.com/arch/ahc-87.jpg
In the Infosys Mysore campus, Hafeez Contractor employs the formal hermeticism of
deconstruction for the Software Development Block-4 (Fig. 4.2.1c). However, in the
same campus, he uses a classical faade juxtaposed with modern minimalist blocks
(evoking images of the great American universities) for the Global Education Centre

15

(Fig. 4.2.1d). One wonders which of the two very different theoretical paradigms the
architect subscribes to: reinforcement of meaning through symbolism and historicism,
or the deconstructivist approach of dissolution of all meaning?

Fig.4.2.1c: Software Development Block-4, Infosys Mysore, India.

Source: photography by author.

Fig.4.2.1c: Global Education Centre, Infosys Mysore, India.

Source: photography by author.

16

It may be argued that the fragmentation of society, impossibility of cultural

consensus, obliteration of meaning, and disillusionment with structuralism which
were the major aspects being expressed through Deconstructivism in the Euro-
American context (McLeod, 1989/1998:690) are not truly experienced in India.
Thus, architectural deconstruction in India is a trend which appears to be only
superficially borrowed: inspired by the novelty of form in its western counterpart, but
not its theoretical paradigm. However, even if the architecture is not an honest attempt
at deconstruction, the very phenomenon of borrowing the formal trend is evidence of
the Post-Modern simulacrum.
Moreover, in some cases, the cultural imports are successfully hybridised with Indian
symbols, making them appear less exotic, and the resultant complexity successfully
communicates different values, to a wider audience. The first project discussed in the
next section exemplifies this phenomenon.
4.2.2. Complexity and multi-valence
The new Terminal-3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi (Fig.4.2.2a), is
a case in point, where Indian iconography of mudras (hand gestures), in a gigantic
scale, noticeably infuses a traditional Indian identity to the otherwise modernist
machine-aesthetic of the space. Thus, the architects HOK juxtapose technological
advancement and allegiance to tradition, which were often considered as either/or
stand-points. Their approach of freely employing diverse aesthetics is typical of Post-
Modern eclecticism. Of course, in the process, it also negates modernisms Loos-ian
taboo19, by employing ornamentation.

Fig.4.2.2a: Ayush Kasliwals installations at the T-3, IG International Airport, Delhi

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mudra-artwork-at-IGIA-T3.jpg. Permission for

copying and distribution granted under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

17

The Belgian Embassy Complex, New Delhi (Fig.4.2.2b), by Satish Gujral, also resorts
to multi-valence by simultaneously depicting India as a colonial ruin, cited in
manicured gardens in the manner of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India)
monuments, while relating to disparate temporalities through its materiality and
form Harappan, Mauryan, Gupta, and even Louis Kahn influenced Modern (Brown,
2009, p.90). Thus it successfully ties up references to ancient Indian heritage, critique
of residual colonialism, and the modern Indian vernacular of IIM Ahmedabad,
without being explicit.

Fig.4.2.2a: Belgian Embassy, New Delhi.

Source: http://dome.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.3/58186/149808_sv.jpg?sequence=2

5. Inferences and conclusion

In the preceding sections, we have witnessed how the questions of identity have found
responses in Indian architecture through pluralism, contextualism, regionalism, neo-
vernacularism, mass culture, and post-colonialism. These in turn were reflections of
the Post-Modern incredulity towards meta-narratives, advocacy of difference,
inclusiveness, and deconstruction of power structures. It is inferred that the evidences
establish the presence of Post-Modernism in contemporary Indian architectural
practice.
Also, several effects of post-Modernity have been identified and discussed, viz.
eclectic exoticism, simulacrum, floating signifiers and indetermanence. Thus, it is
inferred that Post-Modern theories continue to offer useful perspectives of the socio-
cultural phenomena of the post-industrial era, and explain ways in which
contemporary culture affects the built environment.
However, owing to the difference in context, there are some unique characteristics of
the Indian Post-Modern. Some notable points of difference are as follows:

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 1. Regression, historicism and neo-vernacular approaches have been identified as

false Post-Modernism (Appignanesi, Garrat, Sardar & Curry, 1995/2007:46)
in the western context but these become relevant approaches to critique in a
post-colonial milieu because they are employed as decentering devices.
2. Historicism and pastiche employing colonial referents in a post-colonial
context is better understood when interpreted as displays of power than as
devices for the purpose of evoking nostalgia.
3. The purpose of Indian kitsch goes beyond breaking the barrier of high and low
art, though it effectively does that too. In addition, it serves the purpose of
invoking a pan-Indian identity easily accessible to the greatest number of
Indian nationals.
4. There is a superficial borrowing of formal characterictics of Deconstructivism,
and it is best understood as a borrowed trend a Post-Modern simulacrum,
rather than a critical practice in line with theory.
Thus, it is concluded that Post-Modern theory continues to be of relevance in
explaining some of that which is happening in contemporary Indian architectural
practice and why it is happening so.
6. References
Allan, K. & Turner, J. H. (2000, autumn). A formalization of postmodern theory. Sociological
Perspectives, 43 (3), 363-385.
Appignanesi, R., Garrat, C., Sardar, Z. & Curry, P. (2007). Introducing Postmodernism (2nd
Ed.). Thriplow, Cambridge: Icon Books Limited. (Originally published as
Postmodernism for Beginners, 1995).
Bandyopadhyay, A. (2011, spring). Modern architecture in India in search of identity.
Abacus, 6(1), 1-6.
Benninger, C. (2011). Letters to a Young Architect. Pune: CCBA Pvt. Ltd.
Bloland, H. G. (2005, March-April). Whatever happened to postmodernism in higher
education? No requiem in the new millennium. The Journal of Higher Education, 76 (2),
121-150.
Baudrillard, J. (1998). The precession of Simulacra. In J. Natoli & L. Hutcheon (eds.) A
postmodern reader (pp.342-375). Albany, NY: Sate University of New York Press.
(Original work published in 1983).
Brown, R. M. (2009). Art for a modern India, 1947-1980. Durham, NC: Duke University
Press.
FAT. (2011, September-October).Post-modernism: An incomplete project. Architectural
Design, 81 (5), 18-23.
Habermas, J. (1998). Modernity an incomplete project. In H. Foster (ed.) The anti-aesthtic:
Essays on postmodern culture (pp.1-15). New York, NY: The New Press. (Originally
published as Modernity vs. Postmodernity, 1981).
Hassan, I. (1998). Toward a concept of Postmodernism. In J. Natoli & L. Hutcheon (eds.) A
postmodern reader (pp.273-286). Albany, NY: Sate University of New York Press.
(Original work published in 1987).
Huyssen, A.(1993). Mapping the postmodern. In Natoli, Joseph & Hutcheon, Linda (eds.) A
postmodern reader (pp.105-156). Albany, NY: Sate University of New York Press.
(Original work published in 1979)

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Jameson, F. (1991). Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism Durham, NC:
Duke University Press. (Original work published in 1984).
Jencks, C. (2011a). Preface: Post-modernism the ism that returns. In C. Jenks (ed.), The
Post-Modern Reader (2nd Ed.) (pp.131-132). Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley &
Sons Ltd.
Jencks, C. (2011b, September-October). Introduction: What is radical post-modernism?
Architectural Design, 81 (5), 14-17.
Khilnani, S. (2004). The idea of India. New Delhi: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. (original
edition published in 1997).
Lyotard, J. (1993). Excerpts from the postmodern condition: A report on Knowledge. In J.
Natoli & L. Hutcheon (eds.) A postmodern reader (pp.71-90). Albany, NY: Sate
University of New York Press. (Original work published in 1979).
McLeod, M. (1998). Architecture and politics in the Reagan era: From postmodernism to
deconstructivism. In K. Michel Hays (ed.), Architecture Theory since 1968 (pp.680-702).
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (Original work published in 1989).
Mehrotra, R. (2011). Architecture in India since 1990. Mumbai: Pictor Publishing Pvt Ltd.
Prakash, V. (2010). Epilogue: Third World modernism, or just modernism: towards a
cosmopolitan reading of modernism. In Lu, Duangfang (ed.), Third world modernism:
Architecture, development and identity (pp.255-270). London: Routledge.
Rose, M. A. (1996). The post-modern and the post-industrial: A critical analysis. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. (Reprint of the original work published in 1991).
Roy, A. (1996). Postmodern goes native: Decentering narrative in recent Indian fiction. In
Kirpal, Viney. (ed.), The postmodern Indian English novel (pp. 383-399). Mumbai: Allied
Publishers.

1
The implications of Modern are thus global: as experienced by all societies and cultures that
subscribed to the enlightenment philosophy and the industrialized way of life. Of course, every culture
or society has its own particular modernity, but these are essentially Modern when they are aligned
with the global Modern.
2
Interested readers will find discussion of post-modern stylistic tropes in Indian contemporary
architecture in: Mukerji, A. & Basu, S. (Spring 2011). A search for postmodernism in Indian
architecture. Abacus, 6(1), 11-20.
3
Dr. Roses seminal work discusses all the major theories, categorizing the different approaches as (i)
deconstructionist theories, (ii) double-coded theories, and (iii) alternative theories. It is recommended
as further reading, to gain insight into the controversial issue of defining the post-modern.
4
The Venice Biennale, 1980, the first international exhibition of architecture showcasing the post-
modern, had a strong inclination towards historicism, championed as presence of the past by Paolo
Portoghesi (director of the architecture section of the exhibition). The role of architecture as a
language, and its responsibility to communicate with a diverse audience was the other important issue
which arose at the same pavilion, as championed by Charles Jencks. Lea-Catherine Szackas essay,
Historicism Versus Communication: The Basic Debate of the 1980 Biennale, Architectural Design,
81 (5), 98-105, is recommended for further reading.
5
In spite of the plurality, the different post-modern stances can still be identified as parts of the same
movement. Mary McLeod (1989/1998) noted how the dialectically opposed positions share a
common territory of debate []: meaning and its dissolution, as against the modernist tenets of
programme, function or structure.

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6
Altermodern, a term defined by Nicolas Bourriaud, featured in the title of the Tate Modern's fourth
Triennial exhibition. It described art produced in today's global context, as a reaction against
standardisation and commercialism.
7
As Lyotard (1979/1993, p. 72) noted: There are many different language games a heterogeneity of
elements. They only give rise to institutions in patches local determinism. Thus, there is a need for
subjective evaluation with the local context as the operative criterion.
8
The either/or vs. both/and is a typical post-modern debate on inclusiveness witnessed in various
disciplines, most popularly noted in the domain of architecture by Robert Venturi in his book titled
Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, 1966, The Museum of Modern Art Press, New York.
9
The most notable advocates of complexity include Robert Venturi and Jane Jacobs, and multi-valence
was championed by Charles Jencks.
10
It may be further argued that as a result of the information revolution, digital media and computer-
aided designing, copying has become relatively easier, thus fostering imitation.
11
In contrast, the real Post-Modernsim was said to have three issues in its agenda: (a) representation
in the wake of Late Modern abstraction and non-presentation, (b) the dilemma of reproducibility in the
age of mass consumerism, the cannibalized image and hyper-reality, and (c) the (most important)
question of legitimation in the absence of rules or categories
12
Though Claude Lvi-Strauss originally used the term to define words which are essentially void of
meaning, the usage here refers to signifiers which have subsequently become void.
13
Jameson clarifies that the post-modern schizophrenia is not a clinical usage of the term, but a
descriptive one.
14
The problem of legitimation remains a central issue of the post-modern theories, because even
critical de-centering approaches are usurped and converted into centre-endorsing tools by the
institutional powers, as is evident in the use of PoMo architecture for forwarding the commercial
purposes of late capitalism.
15
Vikramaditya Prakash (2010:266) argues that the post-coloniality of the Chandigarh style lies in its
ability of undoing colonial asymmetry: as there is a Western modernism, there can also be a Third
World Modernism, not as a derivative project, but as an equivalent project.
16
Khilnani (1997/2004) provides a detail historical account of the various post-independence attempts
in seeking and establishing the Indian identity, and critically discusses the related problems and issues.
17
Wittgensteins theory of family resemblances was also employed by Prashant Parikh in resolving
the essential quandary of the post-modern plurality. For further reading, refer: Wittgenstein, L.
(1986). Philosophical investigations (3rd Ed.). Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd. (Original work published
in 1953); Parikh, P. (1996). In lieu of an introduction: A precise account of why Postmodernism is
vague. In T. Patel (Ed.) Proceedings from international conference on art objects in a postmodern age
(pp.1-7). Mumbai: Mohile Parikh Centre for the Visual Arts.
18
Recommended for further reading on the underlying principles and contemporary uses of the
Vastushastra: Pillai, P. S. H. (2010). Identifying and establishing linkages in architecture: Traditional
to modern. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur,
India.
19
The Austrian modernist architect Adolf Loos famously condemned ornamentation as a degenerate
practice in his 1910 essay Ornament und Verbrechen (Ornament and Crime). His views later became
fundamental towards the development of the Bauhau aesthetics.

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