Reflections

aside a few dilettantes, most architects felt truly responsible and accountable to
society.
Returning to India was a revelation. Here, form followed the client. It was not his
superior knowledge or longer experience, but his position that was doing the dictating.
In cases where the architect could manage to outwit the client with his seductive
drawings or smooth talk, form followed the architect or to be more precise, his whims.
In recent years, with post-modernism hitting the West and with our desire not to be
left behind, our tempting drawings and clever talk have become even more
sophisticated. In the past, we spoke about means and needs. Now we talk of culture
and aspirations. Building designs come wrapped in cultural images and long wordy
explanations as though buildings are dumb and unable to speak for themselves. The
emphasis nowadays is on style rather than substance. The parallels with the
advertising world here are obvious, where the packaging is more important than the
product itself.
In my view, these forays into our cultural past should be made cautiously. The
educated have a special responsibility to do some soul-searching. Culture is our
collective experience. To the extent that it helps to create a better tomorrow, it must be
used. But to dig into the past and mindlessly appropriate forms, images and symbols,
without understanding and explaining how it is relevant to a better tomorrow is not
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