A facelift for monuments

tracks a restoration project in Jaipur.

The Amber Fort and Palace, just 11 kilometres from Jaipur, is one of the finest blends of Hindu and Mughal architectural styles.

The 16th century fort, the capital of the Kachwaha dynasty until Sawai Jai Singh II shifted it to Jaipur in the mid-18th century, is made of red sandstone and marble, and has a number of unique attractions, most notably the Sheesh Mahal.

But until recently the fort, like many others of equal or more historical importance all across the subcontinent, was in poor shape, the result of lack of maintenance and degradation caused by thousands of tourists flocking to it.

Over the past year and a half, however, the fort has been the scene of a massive restoration exercise undertaken by the government of Rajasthan, a project that will cost Rs 45 crore or so.

And leading the conservation project is Professor Minakshi Jain, principal partner in Ahmedabad-based Jain Associates. Jain, and her husband, Kulbhushan, are, it would perhaps not be an exaggeration to say, among India's leading conservation architects today.

Their speciality is forts. In Rajasthan, Minakshi has worked in Nagaur (for which she received the UNESCO award for excellence in 2002) and now Amber, Gagron, Mouborda and Dalhanpur (a tender for these last three in Jhalawar district is to be floated on September 11), while Kulbhushan is more famous for his conservation work in Jaisalmer and, for the last 12 years, in Jodhpur's Mehrangarh.

The Jains have also worked on adaptive re-use of structures of somewhat less historical importance for hospitality ""the Bambora fort in Udaipur, Balsamand palace hotel, Jodhpur, and extending the Jawahar Niwas palace hotel in Jaisalmer by 20 rooms.

Forts and historic cities have been an area of active professional interest for Kulbhushan, who is honorary director of the School of Architecture at the Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT), since the late 1960s when he'd take students to Jaisalmer and Fatehpur Sikri on field tours. But the first real project came his way quite by chance.

"Satish Dawar, who was based in London, had conducted a number of studies on Fatehpur Sikri," Kulbhushan tells the story.

"He'd also applied to a number of government departments to come up with an integrated development plan. Finally, in the late '70s, the tourism department came forward with funds for the project. As Dawar was an individual, the National Institute of Design was engaged to prepare this plan. However, before work could begin, Dawar passed away and I stepped in."

This was also the first time such preservation activity was being undertaken by anyone other than the Archaeological Survey of India, he adds.

As NID consultant, Kulbhushan has worked on similar heritage conservation-cum-development plans for Hampi, the Chidambaram temple complex, the Danish colonial architecture of Tranquebar in Tamil Nadu, and Brajbhoomi. Jaisalmer came about in the mid-'80s when INTACH asked him to prepare a report on the state of preservation of the 12th century fort. In 1997, Kulbhushan also worked on the conservation of Rani ka Mahal funded by the World Monuments Fund.

"But we are out of it now," he says with a laugh. "For one, there's too much tourist pressure there and the families who live there have been exploiting the place."

This, of course, is the story everywhere of conservation in India "" working against government apathy and neglect, complete ignorance and, worse, destructiveness on the part of tourists who throng historical monuments in hordes but think nothing of leaving behind litter or defacing its walls.

The Jains, however, believe that tourism, controlled somewhat, is essential for these monuments to survive. Kulbhushan likes to cite the example of the Mehrangarh fort, where revenue-generating measures like an entry-fee, a restaurant and a museum shop have helped finance much of the conservation work.

"But then a private body [the Mehrangarh Museum Trust manages the fort], is more likely to have the basic vision than a government official who knows he's likely to be around for no more than a few years."

Having worked with the government for so long, Minakshi Jain feels the other problem with conservation projects funded by the state coffers is with the costing. "Until I actually start to chip at the plaster, I can't make out the extent of the damage and give an estimate of how much it will cost to repair it."

The Jains' conservation philosophy, especially since they work under immense budget constraints, is to first ensure the structural stability and safety for the tourists, and then look at the decorative aspects, add lighting and so on. This is also in keeping with the much more rigorous conservation theories developed in the West.

"The conservation architect has to have a precise understanding of the original historic plan, its architectural speciality and then exercise his judgement to free the structure of elements that might have been added at a later date," explains Minakshi.

This sometimes leads to controversies like a recent one regarding the demolition of a staircase at Amber. But such interventions need not always be attritional "" in Nagaur, her team discovered the entire drainage network and a system of 90 fountains, 35 of which are now working using the hydraulic system used originally.

It helps, say the Jains, that much of the traditional craftsmanship employed in building the forts survives in Rajasthan. "For example, there we used the local stonecarvers' remedy of lime mortar strengthened with gur, gugal and methi." But to the Jains' credit, they have married tradition with modern technology in their conservation efforts.

In Mehrangarh, Kulbhushan has championed the use of audio-guides, which has greatly liberated the tourists' experience, allowing them to linger in places that interest them; while in Nagaur, Minakshi is working on a virtual museum, taking off some of the tourist pressure, hopefully.

Conservation architecture being a new area of specialisation, both the Jains have lectured and written "" both books and monographs "" extensively about their work, also mounting exhibitions and making films to spread the word.

With two schools, the CEPT in Ahmedabad and the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, introducing special courses in conservation, they hope that it will be that much easier to keep up the good work.