Geddes, Capra & Ancient Indian Town Planning

Overview

• The text explores Patrick Geddes' work on ancient Indian town planning and its relevance to modern sustainable city development, drawing lessons from historical examples like Madurai, Kanchipuram, and Dholavira.

Fritjof Capra's Influence

• Fritjof Capra is known for "Tao of Physics," which explores science and mysticism parallels.
• He advocated for an interconnected systems worldview, influenced by new physics.
• Capra admired Leonardo Da Vinci's systems-based approach to science, contrasting it with Newton and Galileo.
• Da Vinci's city planning ideas emphasized an organic view of buildings and their metabolism.
• Da Vinci's town planning, emphasizing biological and human-ecological dimensions, was not adopted by mainstream Europe.

Patrick Geddes: An Heir to Leonardo?

• Patrick Geddes (1854-1932) was a Scottish polymath interested in biology, town planning, geography, and humanism.
• Sister Nivedita introduced Geddes to Swami Vivekananda and J.C. Bose.
• Geddes toured Indian temple-cities, particularly in South India, and studied their planning systems.

Systems View of Indian Temple Towns

• Geddes was fascinated by Madurai's temple-centric design, even as it was disintegrating under British influence.
• Paripāṭal, an ancient Tamil text (8th century), describes Madurai as an organic lotus-shaped city originating from Vishnu's consciousness.
• Geddes found the comparison of a city to pollen grains to be truthful, not just poetic.
• From 1914 to 1925, Geddes worked in India and Palestine, with limited enthusiasm from the colonial government for his ideas on Indic city planning.
• Geddes advocated for narrow lanes opening into squares with shade-bearing trees, allowing for courtyards and gardens.

Tel Aviv and Kanchi

• Geddes admired Kanchipuram's drainage and sewage management, linking them to local gardens.
• His sketch of Kanchipuram highlights the importance of the metaphysical city center.
• Geddes planned the extension of Kanchipuram, noting its fractal structure of communities centered around temples.
• He applied insights from Kanchipuram in his design for Tel Aviv, replacing temples with secular gardens.
• Geddes also visited Srirangam, interpreting its constructions and paddy fields with the principle that "Life at its simplest runs parallel to life at its highest.”

Geddes' Impact and Vision

• A.V. Ramachandra Ayyar organized an All-India Sthapatya Vedic conference in 1918 to study Indian architecture and town planning, inspired by Geddes.
• Geddes aimed to integrate traditional Indian architecture with modernity but found limited support, except from Gandhi.

Sacred Festivals for Secular Town Planning

• Geddes defended the Hindu car festival (Ratha Yatra) as a beneficial civic institution, maintaining broad streets free of encroachment.
• He suggested re-establishing car routes to improve cities by combining temple authorities and municipal planning.
• In Indore, Geddes used the Deepavali procession to combat filth, pollution, and honor sanitary workers.

Lineage and Influence

• Radhakamal Mukherjee continued Geddes' tradition, emphasizing the sacred in Indic town planning, such as orchards receiving house sewage and tree-lined streets maintained by car processions.
• Geddes was also influenced by J.C. Bose's work on plant communication.

Democratizing the Sacred Space

• Geddes advocated for democratizing spaces in harmony with ancient designs, suggesting temple towers become learning centers for languages and sciences.
• He wanted to include the poor and casteless in urban development, preventing "slumdom."

Conclusion

• India can use its past to build futuristic cities, remembering Patrick Geddes' work on ancient Indian town planning.
• Indian temple-city planning offers principles for sustainable cities considering biological, psychological, ecological, and spiritual dimensions.
• Dholavira, a 4500-year-old Indus Valley site, exemplifies mathematically precise town planning, inspiring modern urban planners.