Visit to the inauguration ceremony of India Art Architecture and Design Biennale (IAABD) @Red Fort, New Delhi
There was huge traffic on the roads, the craziness of old Delhi Chandni chowk, honking of cars, mushrooming of auto rickshaws near the red fort metro station, and the humbling feeling of being a small human being in this large mass of Indian population, when in my official car, accompanied by my husband, I was trying to find my way to the Delhi Gate of the Red Fort. It was chaos all over, all big, important cars were being directed by the police force, security guards and officers, it was, as usual, maddening; and yet there was an excitement in the air when we reached the Lal Qila (Red Fort), on Friday morning to witness the inauguration of the first India Art Architecture and Design Biennale (IAABD). The year 2023, was running at an extremely high pace, and we were almost at the end of this “recovery from COVID” year, which was almost about to end. What could be a better way to end this year long journey than to see the work of Indian artists, architects and designers, to see the revival of Indian crafts and to hear the PM speak on India’s cultural heritage and Indian knowledge systems; and of course, what could be a better place than the Lal qila, which is such an iconic and monumental glory on the Indian lands.
It was wonderful to know that IAADB would showcase different theme-based exhibitions on each day of the week:
Day 1: Pravesh (a hindi/Sanskrit word meaning ‘entry’)- Rite of Passage: Doors of India
Day 2: Bagh-e-bahar (Persian / Urdu words meaning – ‘the garden of/ during the spring season’): Gardens as Universe: Gardens of India
Day 3: Sampravah (From Hindi sam= equal / continuous (in this case) pravah = flow, meaning continuous flow ) : Confluence of Communities: Baolis of India (Baolis are step wells, which were ingeniously designed water reservoirs, executed with artistic flair and finery)
Day 4: Sthapatya (from Sanskrit meaning construction or architecture): Anti-fragile algorithm: Temples of India
Day 5: Vismaya (from hindi / Sanskrit meaning ‘wonder’): Creative Crossover: Architectural Wonders of Independent India
Day 6: Deshaj (from hindi – meaning indigenous) Bharat Design : Indigenous Designs
Day 7: Samatva (from Sanskrit meaning equal or equality/ uniformity): Shaping the Built: Celebrating Women in Architecture
The posters and banners of the event were placed all around Delhi. It was a proud moment for us. It made my belief in my thought processes even stronger. To think that we were proudly a part of this huge Indian diaspora that believes in the traditional knowledge systems and encourages the handcrafting traditions of India, was very reassuring. The Indian Institute of Crafts and Design had participated in the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, scheme to promote languishing crafts. We keep doing this on our own, but being a small institute, probably, it does not come to notice as it did now. The craft of Tumba, was chosen by two of our students, Vidhi and Chetan from the final year of Hard Material Design Department, and their mentor, our faculty member, Mr. Rajesh Kumar. The students worked on it for six months along with the artisans, under the guidance of their mentor to design modern age and contemporary products from this dried vegetable from Chhatisgarh. We at IICD always encourage research in the areas of craft and design. Art is an integral part of our ventures. Now that our honorable PM,Shri Narendra Modiji, was to inaugurate the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design (ABCD), at the red fort, where our student work was displayed along with other student projects from NID, IIT and other NGOs, was a wonderful feeling of pride, we were all overjoyed.
It was a privilege to be in the midst of a large number of foreign delegates, ambassadors of different countries, Indian design institutes, artists and curators, who were invited to the red fort, for the inauguration.Architect, Diana Kellogg, was the chief guest, other personalities that graced the stage were – Mrs Meenakshi Lekhi, Mr Arjun Meghwal and Mr G. Kishan Reddy. There was of course a long wait before the PM arrived, but once he did there was a vibrant energy in the atmosphere. His speech was very motivating and inspiring. The fact that he emphasized Indian traditional knowledge systems to be brough out and showcased, was very close to the agenda mapped out by the NEP 2020 (the New Education Policy 2020). The vernacular skill and knowledge need to be showcased and feeling of confidence and pride in our systems and processes, needs to be encouraged.
In his speech, Modi ji, recalled the glorious past of India, something that we are all proud of, the ‘sone ki chidiya’ (golden bird) that our land was called. He said that even today, we attract many tourists, which is a fact. I feel here that like other nations, we too have our monuments and UNESCO sights that attract tourists, but we need to improvise, we really need to understand that if we are to promote this among the youth, it must come of age. I totally believe in the soft power of our nation, and we must promote it. I believe IAADB is a step in that direction. Modi ji talked about a lot of other biennales, here I felt that a mention should also have been made of the Kochi Biennale, which happens in India and attracts a lot of people. Nevertheless, this is the first government initiative, and it needs great applause and push to keep going!
My heartiest congratulations to all those who made this possible!
Toolika Gupta
(Director – IICD)
