3. IN SILENCE, THEY REST

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12. CITIES OF THE FUTURE

IN SILENCE, THEY REST -Keerthi Kallanja

Within the calm of the crest of the Malabar hills, a posh area with skyrocketing rates for residential homes, lay in silence the famous cemetery of the Parsi religion: The Towers of Silence.

Life and Death. Stages that transcend beyond the mere existence and perishing of a being, manifest intimately for the Parsi community. The city’s Parsi community continues its 3000-yearold tradition of disposing the dead by exposure to scavenger birds, as a corpse is considered to be impure, both physically and spiritually, and cannot be buried either in land, sea or burnt. This form of a valedictory ritual for a demised person has its history, consequent practice and present difficulties. Built in the year 1672 by Seth Modi Hirji, a wealthy Parsi businessman, the towers of silence are circular structural precincts, spread across 55 acres in Mumbai. The word ‘tower’ gives the impression of a massive, imposing structure. But in contrast, the rather wide towers form a distinctive backdrop to the laid back landscape and residences. The towers are regarded as a space of holy and sacred importance. The approach with rising steps lead to the entrance porch of the tower. The roof of the tower, lower in the middle than the outer area, is divided into 3 concentric circles where the bodies are placed. The dead bodies are placed on stone beds with a pit in the center. The vultures drop off the bodies in the same pit, after they have eaten of the flesh. The bodies then disintegrate and decay naturally after added lime, washed off with rain water through filters of coal and sand, that finally reach the sea. However, this customary ritual is slowly going out of practice due to the depleting number of vulture population. Moreover, the surrounding mushrooming of high rise towers in the area allows people to see the Towers of Silence and the decomposing corpses within, giving an unsettling feeling to the residents, that in turn, mounts extra pressure on the community to redevelop the site. This makes the age-old tradition quite dormant and these structures, as a result, are still standing without much use, as the Parsis today prefer other methods of cremation.

‘This form of a valedictory ritual for a demised person has its history, consequent practice and present difficulties.’

Courtesy: Shabbir Raza

To revitalize the surrounding, conservationists have proposed to construct breeding-aviaries to boost the number of vulture population. Also, architects have planned to build enclosures that conceal the disturbing visuals within the towers. The Towers of Silence in Malabar Hills is a place of solitude and tranquility at the same time. It is in the interests of the Parsi community, that their valedictoryritual is respected; the stakeholders of our society must establish means of dealing and striking a balance to sustain their customary practice without any forced encroachment. Time will only, however, decide the fate of these silenced-towers.

AHMEDABAD: REVITALIZING A HERITAGE PRECINCT THROUGH URBAN INSERTS -Ar. Anand Shah, Alumni of ACA

The thesis looks at the heritage precincts in the Historic City of Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad, is inscribed in the world heritage list of UNESCO under the living heritage city with cultural significance for humanity. Some of the most significant attributes of its Outstanding Universal Value are its built and urban heritage: unique monumental architecture representative of Gujarat Sultanate idiom; building and crafts traditions; traditional Settlement Planning based on community linkages and social mores; traditional house form with its exquisitely carved wooden facades exhibiting cultural associations as well as climate responsive design.

Plan showing Hertiage walk path

These values have increasingly come under pressure from the forces of globalisation, rapid urbanisation, changing socio-cultural scenario, general ageing of the building stock and modern intervention resulting in negative impacts on the tangible and intangible cultural heritage assets.

Courtesy: Anand Shah

The aim is to ensure protection and enhancement of the Outstanding Universal Value of Historic City of Ahmedabad while developing new layer of modern intervention over the heritage layer.

Integrated built form to depict the Heritage and Culture of the City is of vital importance. By proposing an integrated built form over one particular heritage precinct with highest density of Outstanding Universal Values will help in maximising the

heritage experience of a global as well as local tourist. It will cater to needs and requirement of local community as well as tourist people and help in xship between both of these stakeholders (Tourists and Locals).

“ This intervention intends to add an informal dimension to the proposal, which is experienced as a continuation of the existing in terms of materialistic and non-materialistic value. ’’

‘‘ The key goal of this project is to make the proposal less formal, more porous and fluid in the context of its relationship with the context and its people. “

Courtesy: Anand Shah

The intent is to create a journey by experiencing different tangible and intangible attributes of the Heritage City. The idea of the design is not to integrate all the functions at a single point rather distribute it all along the Heritage precinct over the proposed Heritage Walk.