A.K. Jain

Lutyens’ Delhi

by A.K. Jain, Bookwell Publishers, New Delhi, p 202, Rs. 1195/-

The Connaught place, Central Vista, Parliament House, India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Secretariat, Lodhi Garden, Jantar Mantar- these are some of the names known all over India as the icons of Delhi. King George V proclaimed Delhi as an Imperial Capital of India in 1911. With this Delhi became the centre-stage of power, politics and progress. Edwin Lutyens, its architect ,created a panorama of India’s greatness in building of the New Delhi, kaleidoscope of India’s unique heritage and new vision.

This book on ‘Lutyens’ Delhi’ traces the history of the last 100 years and evolution of the capital of India. It discusses how the classical city embraced the rapid expansion of Delhi after the Independence and conservation efforts through the successive Master Plans starting with interim General Plan of Delhi in 1957.The forces of ‘development’ posed serious challenges and it was the Prime minister Indira Gandhi who created Delhi Urban Art Commission in 1973 to conserve ‘the only surviving garden city of India’. Thereafter in 1988, Rajiv Gandhi as a Prime Minister put a full-stop to conversion of bungalows into group housing in Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, covering about 26 sq.km and 3000 bungalows.

The author gives an interesting account of the planning, development and conservation of New Delhi. He underlines that the Lutyens’ Delhi being the national pride can not be conceived as a ‘property’. This is an interesting book for those concerned with conservation of the heritage and Indian city.