Inauguration: Monday 30 October 2017 – 06.15 pm
On display till Friday 03 November 2017 from 10.00 am to 06.00 pm
The project Chai and the City, dovetails into England’s celebration of 70th anniversary of India’s Independence this year. It comprises two exhibitions linked together organically. We would be interested in bringing the photography exhibition of the Indo-Saracenic architecture in India to the Nehru Centre.
The Indo-Saracenic architecture in India, designed by British architects, is the topic of an evocative exhibition of photographs of Vadodara’s impressive Indo-Saracenic heritage. Rahul Gajjar a well renowned Indian Photographer has been documenting these sites for nearly a decade.
Rahul Gajjar’s photographs capture the grandeur of the architecture and the fine understanding that an English architect brought to selection of materials and design that corresponded to Indian weather conditions that were totally contrary to that of Britain. The exhibition is also a sensitive documentation of the British legacy in India that precariously survives the ravages of the elements and the tumultuous nature of socio-economic changes that can be disastrous to the survival of built heritage.
The Indo-Saracenic Revival (also known as Indo-Gothic, Hindoo or Hindu-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal) was an architectural style movement by British architects in the late 19th century in British India. Indo-Saracenic designs were introduced by the British colonial government, incorporating the aesthetic sensibilities of continental Europeans and Americans, whose architects came to astutely incorporate telling indigenous "Asian Exoticism" elements, whilst implementing their own engineering innovations supporting such elaborate construction, both in India and abroad, evidence for which can be found to this day in public, private and government owned buildings.
Various architects designed major and minor palaces, University/college buildings, hospitals, museums, libraries, markets, government office buildings, clock towers. Together, these constitute the architectural ‘face’ of Vadodara city, and constitute the best examples of Indo-Saracenic buildings in India