Session chair A. Srivathsan, academic director CEPT, Ahmedabad, tied the query “What is it to live in a city?” to the bigger question, “What is a city?” Examining the first, he proposed, will automatically lead us to the second. Presentations by M.D. Muthukumaraswamy director, National Folklore Support Centre and Rohan Shivkumar, Mumbai-based architect, illustrated multiple perceptions of village and city.
“We carry our identity,” noted Muthukumaraswamy. A Tamil has his ooru in initials embedded within his name. The village god, Ayyanar, is located on the rarely visited border of the village, coming alive only on religious occasions. Contrarily, within the city, religious processions, dance and song transform spaces within its busy roads and precincts. The city dweller finds this an obstruction.
Meanwhile, at a Koothu on Usman Road, “a stunned Draupadi” is challenged to perform the Mahabharatha within constricted spaces. Liminal expressions are ushered, carving the marginalised from the city realm.
Drawing parallels between city and film space, architect Rohan Shivkumar talks of the 1956 film Jagte Raho starring Raj Kapoor. A simple-minded villager arrives in Bombay. Thirsty, he enters an apartment complex only to get trapped for the night. The maze within reveals every kind of corruption. At sunrise in a garden, a woman gives him water. “This garden to me is the village and the building represents the city,” says Rohan. To garner comfort, we try to find our place in community or familiar customs. Boundaries shift as the city space is re-imagined. The local interpretation of Benares is different from the geographical map. “Benares is a spiral or a circle within you,” says Rohan. The village enters the city by role-playing. The Republic Day Parade, Chhath Pooja and Gokul Ashtami are all festivities by which cultural space is bodily reclaimed in the city. The city is made of many villages. “The village inside the city can be an exhilarating experience,” inferred Muthukumaraswamy.
