The current Indian government replaced Edwin Lutyens’ bust with freedom fighter C. Rajagopalachari’s at Rashtrapati Bhavan, framing it as decolonisation. But symbolic gestures don’t dismantle colonial mindsets embedded in governance, caste, and institutions. Geethu Gangadhar raises an important question: whether this removal is a way to eradicate colonial baggage or systemic removal of history.
The current Indian government replaced Edwin Lutyens’ bust with freedom fighter C. Rajagopalachari’s at Rashtrapati Bhavan, framing it as decolonisation. But symbolic gestures don’t dismantle colonial mindsets embedded in governance, caste, and institutions. Geethu Gangadhar raises an important question: whether this removal is a way to eradicate colonial baggage or systemic removal of history.
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Gender. Hysteria. Architecture.
Aditi A.’s research work (as a part of the CEPT Writing Architecture course) traces a genealogy of care that quietly mutated into confinement. It begins with a refusal to treat “female hysteria” as merely a mistaken medical diagnosis of the nineteenth century. Instead, it approaches hysteria as the name given to a much older spatial logic—one that had already learned how to isolate, manage, discipline, and erase women long before psychiatry offered language to explain it.
Brutalist India
Brutalist India is a photo-essay series curated by Bhawna Dandona in collaboration with ArchitectureLive!, to explore India’s Brutalist architecture, a stylistic and material expression that emerged in the post-independence period. This initiative aims to highlight both iconic and lesser-known architectural works from across India, offering insights into their history, contexts, design principles, and techniques. In light of the recent demolitions of concrete buildings, the series seeks to raise awareness and foster a deeper understanding of the importance of safeguarding India’s architectural heritage from the recent past.
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Architectural Heritage in India
Conversations on Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration series by ArchitectureLive! aims to shed light on the complex issues surrounding architectural heritage in India by drawing insights from a diverse array of experts across India.
Sense of Itihasa; Architecture and History in Modern India
Jaimini Mehta shares a three-part series essay previewing his book “Sense of Itihasa; Architecture and History in Modern India”. The book analyses the works of several contemporary, post-independence Indian architects to demonstrate that since independence, they have revitalised traditional architectural elements and techniques, drawing inspiration from India’s itihasa.
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