Underlying ethos in Indian architecture: critical regionalism in the age of globalisation

Professor Kurula Varkey has identified eight “psychic-cultural constants” which he believes have been manifesting themselves, in various ways, in Indian architecture throughout history. His eight constants are examined in this paper and a ninth constant is derived, which the authors posit underlies all of the eight constants of Varkey. The ninth constant will be seen to be sympathetic to the contemporary developments in Indian society, which are exemplified by the writings of the anthropologist, Arjun Appadurai in his ‘Modernity at large’. The paper also questions the possibly superfluous concern, advanced in recent times by most contemporary writers and practitioners of architecture in India, that of losing one’s architectural identity in the wake of globalisation. Varkey’s eight constants and this authors’ ninth one will also demonstrate and support the possible application of Tzonis and Lefaivre’s interpretation of Critical Regionalism to solving the contemporary issues of identity constructions in Indian architecture. However, the paper does not posit that Tzonis and Lefaivre’s Critical Regionalism is the best and only solution for solving the problems of identity constructions confronting post-independence contemporary architecture in India — rather, it anticipates a possible solution.