Kiran S A T Y A B O D H Kalamdani
Born in Manama Bahrain 1963, brought up in Chinchwad, near Pune, schooled in the convent of St Ursula's and then the Hindustan Antibiotics School followed by Modern College and later the BKPS College of Architecture where I Graduated from the University of Pune. With a scholarship to complete a post graduate degree in Urban Design from the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi and an 18 month internship with K T Ravindran, I thought my education was over. But an opportunity to study at the University of York UK with a fellowship from the Charles Wallace India Trust I finally got an M A in Conservation Studies after which I returned to Chinchwad, Pune, India and started a Practice in Architecture Urban Design Conservation Valuation and Interior Design with my wife Anjali called 'Kimaya'. Since October 1989 we at Kimaya have completed about 200 projects in the above disciplines, trained more than 300 undergraduates, graduates and post graduates, held several exhibitions, lectured extensively across the country and abroad, written several books, articles and poems, participated in activism and voluntary programmes, made many friends and led a complete life. I am thankful to my family, city, state, country and this world for what it has made of me and hope to pass on the legacy of my forefathers, teachers, countrymen and world citizens to improve the quality of life of fellow human beings.
Supervisors: Parents Satyabodh and Pushpa Kalamdani, 1. Anant Shankar Gune (artist - teacher) , 2. Vaikunth Sardesai (Architect thesis guide Mentor), 3. Shrikant Shrotri (Structural Designer, artist, mentor) , 4. K T Ravindran (Architect Urban Designer friend philosopher), 5. R S Bodhani (Architect Teacher Father in Law Mentor), 6. Sir Bernard Fielden (Conservation Architect, Mentor) , and 7. Derek Linstrum (Course Director, IoAAS, York, UK)
Phone: 91 020 27354752
Address: Anant Bungalow, Shridhar Nagar, Chinchwad, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Supervisors: Parents Satyabodh and Pushpa Kalamdani, 1. Anant Shankar Gune (artist - teacher) , 2. Vaikunth Sardesai (Architect thesis guide Mentor), 3. Shrikant Shrotri (Structural Designer, artist, mentor) , 4. K T Ravindran (Architect Urban Designer friend philosopher), 5. R S Bodhani (Architect Teacher Father in Law Mentor), 6. Sir Bernard Fielden (Conservation Architect, Mentor) , and 7. Derek Linstrum (Course Director, IoAAS, York, UK)
Phone: 91 020 27354752
Address: Anant Bungalow, Shridhar Nagar, Chinchwad, Pune, Maharashtra, India
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Videos by Kiran S A T Y A B O D H Kalamdani
The site on which the Vishrambag Wada was built belonged to one Shri. Haripant Phadke. There was a garden or ‘baug’ on the site. Bajirao II bought that piece of land in 1799 AD and gave it the present name.
The work for the construction of the wada commenced in 1806 AD and when the opening ceremony took place after completion in Nov.’ 1807 AD, the cost amounted to about Rs.1,52,000/. The aqueduct and cisterns cost a further sum of Rs.8500/-. The palace was furnished at a cost of Rs.14,000 and an establishment at a monthly cost of Rs.400/- was kept to guard it and attend the Peshwa when he lived there.
The Conservation of the Building was commenced by the Pune Municipal Corporation.
the Maharashtra Government as a part of the Tirthakshetra Vikas Arakhada has built the ghat joining the older ghats as a flood protection measure to save the environment as well as for the use of citizens and pilgrims coming to Pandharpur.
We at Kimaya as a part of the PDG, a consultant group have made this video for general consumption.
Papers by Kiran S A T Y A B O D H Kalamdani
The site on which the Vishrambag Wada was built belonged to one Shri. Haripant Phadke. There was a garden or ‘baug’ on the site. Bajirao II bought that piece of land in 1799 AD and gave it the present name.
The work for the construction of the wada commenced in 1806 AD and when the opening ceremony took place after completion in Nov.’ 1807 AD, the cost amounted to about Rs.1,52,000/. The aqueduct and cisterns cost a further sum of Rs.8500/-. The palace was furnished at a cost of Rs.14,000 and an establishment at a monthly cost of Rs.400/- was kept to guard it and attend the Peshwa when he lived there.
The Conservation of the Building was commenced by the Pune Municipal Corporation.
the Maharashtra Government as a part of the Tirthakshetra Vikas Arakhada has built the ghat joining the older ghats as a flood protection measure to save the environment as well as for the use of citizens and pilgrims coming to Pandharpur.
We at Kimaya as a part of the PDG, a consultant group have made this video for general consumption.
KIRAN KALAMDANI
While the word 'heritage' was not included in any of the development plans that were made by planners in the 1980s and 1990s for the Pune Municipal Corporation or Pune Region, it was for the first time included under the JNNURM as a Heritage Toolkit that was not taken very seriously and completely ignored by PMC in the Smart Cities Mission its importance is growing in public consciousness as observed in all walks of life. To consider Heritage as a non-renewable resource and use it positively wherever possible is a value addition in any balanced development. Hoping the Smart Heritage embraces this aspect in future developments a day's workshop was held in the Bharati Vidyapeeth Campus by the Pune Smart Cities Development Corporation and INTACH along with several persons like our office. As a result of the Workshop a decision was taken to include Smart Heritage in the list of things to be done ore wholeheartedly included in the Smart Cities Mission.
Visitor Experience is always a prime consideration in driving projects and their details. Its assessment at various levels reveals the need
for inputs needed at those levels.
Visitor Experience is a function of the following aspects:
a) 2. Expectations of the visitor community
b) 3. Merits of the Conditions of the place(s) being visited
c) 4. Facilities available at the venue(s)
d) 5. Evaluation of the experience & its sharing with others
a) Expectations of the visitor community
1. Conditioned by cultural background, information given by media & people, predictability,
unexpected takeaways.
2. When compared to actual experience results in opinion-formation positively or negatively
leads to branding of the site or the experience
b) Merits of the Conditions of the place(s) being visited
1. Historic importance or Heritage Value explained concisely and accurately
2. Authenticity and scale of the experience
3. Time to be spent for exploration and aspects not elaborated in various media
4. Impact it makes on the visitor based on the cultural background
c) Facilities available at the venue(s)
1. Welcome experience
2. Sufficient information about time needed, physical effort, preparedness, meanings etc.
3. Aids available such as audio-visual, conveniences, ease and cost of ticketing i ncluding discrimination if any
4. Evaluation of the experience & its sharing with others
d) A result of comparison with expectations and the actual experience
1. Pleasant/unpleasant surprises, takeaways etc
2. Recording as speech, written words, audio-visual media, sketches etc.
The case studies used to demonstrate the ideas expressed included the 29 year old ongoing project of Shaniwar wada as a joint venture of the Archaeological Survey of India, Pune Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation which has achieved some successes though a lot remains to be done.
The ensuing discussion with the CEO of the Smart City Mission Dr Rajendra Jagtap evinced keen interest and long term commitment to inclusion of the aspects of Heritage in the agenda for smart cities. The vision statement submitted by Kimaya as a voluntary exercise for the conservation of Pune's Heritage (Built, Natural Material and Intangible) in
2008, using the Heritage Toolkit under the JNNURM, which has not received serious examination or commitment was once again reiterated. As the newly stipulated statutory backing to the cause of heritage and the 2% financial commitment to fund Heritage projects and programmes was a positive new development that the newly appointed Head of the Heritage Cell, Mrs Harshada Shinde was the right person to take the cause of heritage forward and expand the Heritage Cell into a Heritage Department with better staffing, systems and people's support.
SACRED GEOGRAPHY OF SPIRITUAL CITIES, NEW DELHI 7 10 2016 KIRAN KALAMDANI
Pandharpur occupies arguably the most important position among pilgrimage centres in Maharashtra besides the jyotirlingas of Bhimashankar, Verul and Aundhya Nagnath or the Ashtavinayaks (Eight Ganesha related places revived during the late 18th century) . The rich and multi-sectoral saints of Maharashtra have made the pilgrimage popular not only as a physical journey but also as a spiritual milestone over at least eight centuries if not more. Starting with Jnaneshwar, Namdeo, Eknath, Tukaram, Ramdas right upto Janabai, Kanhopatra, Gorakumbhar, Damajipant and several others, have interpreted and simplified complicated concepts and made them accessible to commoners. The cult of Vithoba and Rakhumai who are in fact a form of Krishna and Rukmini though not explicitly addressed as such, holds a very central place in the emotional sphere of the people in central India. The pilgrims or 'warkaris' walk 250-350 km from all parts of Maharashtra, coastal Andhra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in varying numbers four times a year for the Ashadhi, Kartiki, Chaitri and Maghi 'Waris' or pilgrimages. This walk is now a celebrated cultural event that touches each village and town on its way to spread the message of the saints among people, complete with traditional games, songs, hymns and sharing of experiences that is done by rich & poor alike.
The concept of Vithala as a godhead emerges from the Vaishnava Bhakti movement as a saviour cowherd who comes to the help of the dutiful, pious and needy cutting across traditional boundaries of caste and creed. While the temple precinct in Pandharpur is the final destination of the 21 day journey, the god is believed to live in the company of the warkaris, and a decided revolt against complicated rituals and erudite chants in favour of simple odes characterizes the direct and simple spirituality of this cult.
'Legends describe Vithoba coming to the rescue of his devotees in the form of a commoner, an outcast 'Mahar' "untouchable" or a Brahmin beggar. Mahipati, in his work Pandurangastrotra, narrates how Vithoba helped female saints like Janabai in their daily chores, such as sweeping the house and pounding the rice. He narrates how Vithoba came to the aid of Sena the barber. The king of Bidar had ordered Sena to be arrested for not coming to the palace despite royal orders. As Sena was engrossed in his prayers to Vithoba, Vithoba went to the palace in the form of Sena to serve the king, and Sena was saved. Another tale deals with a saint, Damaji, the keeper of the royal grain store, who distributed grain to the people in famine. Vithoba came as an outcaste with a bag of gold to pay for the grain.[Yet another story narrates how Vithoba resurrected the child of Gora Kumbara (potter), who had been trampled into the clay by Gora while singing the name of Vithoba '
The overall planning and administration of Pandharpur is locked in a battle to overcome insanitation, disease, overcrowding and river pollution to make it a clean and healthy place, but the world of films and literature or vocal music continuously picks up subjects, ideas and concepts related to Pandharpur to ensure that it continues to remain in the centre of public consciousness in Maharashtra. Development of the 11 ghats and Pundalik Mandir Area on the Chandrabhaga River, together known as the 'Valvanta Vikas', facilities for pilgrims, solid waste management and urban infrastructure of Pandharpur is now a seven year old project that is drawing to a close with a result that the Rs 512 Crore Wari Project begun in 2009 to commemorate 400 years of the birth of Sant Tukaram can post mixed results of success and failure. With the fast changes that are sweeping the country in economics, religious outlooks and culture as a whole the chequered history of Pandharpur is poised for yet another change in its inward and outward being. The spirituality and the best qualities of the place need to be retained in this transformation that is happening under the patronage of forces that recognize the force of spiritual powers and their use in co-ordination with physical changes.
The analysis of the timeline of events and patronage of the Bhakti cult and its related physical manifestations shows a pattern of correlation between the convergence of forces historically that yields multiple outpourings in fields of literature, theosophy, architecture and urban design. Practitioners in each area need to recognize this and respond to it.
The site is located on Reservation Nos. 18A, 18B, 18C, 39, 40 and 40B, as per the new Development Plan of Pandharpur (2011). The river has Eleven ghats or landings, three of which are unfinished. A decision has been taken to cancel the proposed road & the reservations.
The proposed development is being carried out under the G.R. formulated by the Planning Dept. Govt. of Maharashtra for infrastructure development of pilgrimage towns. It is included under No. 5.1 for Pandharpur – Development of Pundalik Mandir Parisar (6.39Crores) + Annexure 10 – Valvant Sudharna i.e. Development of Ghats on the Riverbank (25 Crores) + Remaining funds under Item 5.2. (10 Cr.) = 41.39 Crores being the total amount available.
OBJECTIVES
Clean and pleasurable riverfront with scope for maintenance
Accommodate large crowds, disaster management of crowd addressing the issue of safety
Sufficient access, Connectivity and ensure lateral circulation and uniform distribution of the crowd.
Conservation of the existing ghats and heritage structures along the river bank.
Provide a non-erosive edge to the river, alongwith preservation of the river edge.
Multipurpose usage and a good urban space for the town and its residents
Percolation areas (in the sandy ‘valvant’) and retention of its area for its intangible heritage
the same. On visiting the place and preparing preliminary drawings and estimates the owner realized that he was not able to bear the costs. This leads to the larger issue of conservation of privately owned heritage buildings that suffer from lack of resources and proper decision making, despite the best of intentions from the owners. In this case the decision of not taking any help from outside prompted the owner to abandon the decision to follow our advice for the work.
(Forum for Exchange and Excellence in Design) and the IUCAA (Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics) jointly brought together renowned architects Charles Correa, Charles Jencks and several leading architects and students from Pune to discuss the subject of science and architecture. Eminent scientists like Dr. Jayant Naralikar, Dr.
C.V. Vishweshwara, Dr. Yashpal and Dr. Ajit Kembhavi interacted with the architects to search for common ground in a given take of paradigms like the expanding universe, the black hole, quarks and broken symmetry which lie at the foundation of our understanding of the Cosmos.
Team members of Kimaya visited and completed ameasured drawing exercise of the place followed by proposals for completing the unfinished work over 230 years ago. This presentation gives the details of that proposal.