In his biography of architect and urban planner Charles Correa, Mustansir Dalvi lets us into the life and practice of another kind of nation-builder

by Mustansir Dalvi I National Herald I Published on: Oct 20, 2024

Title Charles Correa: Citizen Charles / Author Mustansir Dalvi / Publisher Niyogi Books / Pages 204 / Price Rs 299

In 1948, when Charles Correa left for the US, India, newly independent, was still reeling from the trauma of the Partition and the assassination of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. When he returned to Bombay in 1956, the country had consolidated into a republic with a new Constitution, the first General Election had been held in 1951, and the new institutions of an independent state were steadily being established. The image of the nation state was, very substantially, being crafted by Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. His vision for the modern nation was pitted against the baggage of the past, both colonial and pre-colonial, and the burdens of tradition, ritual, and belief.

Read the full article here Book Extract: Architecture of the Nation state