DIGITAL COPY ON MAGZTERBy Gautam Bhatia
Delirious Delhi
a ciTY, iTs aRT aND THe aRTisT flow iN aND oUT of
eacH oTHeR iN THe ReleNTless PURsUiT of MeaNiNG,
aN UNDeRcURReNT THaT sHaPes aND DesTRoYs, as
iT sees fiT, THis iNexPlicaBle THiNG calleD iDeNTiTYBlueprint for a Chief Minister, Gautam Bhatia, 2012, 12" x 36", Pencil on PaperC
ity life is a messy, gut-wrenching,
tiresome, demanding, enriching and
contaminating experience. It breaks
against you like a cold wave against a sea cliff,
just to shock you and let you know all that is
possible in a hurried breathless retreat along the
sidewalk. It shows you as many ways of living
as of dying. Its mean streets are stalked by two
divided groups – an agrarian underclass that
moves between sewer pipes and the low huddle
of slums and flyovers, and an instant aristocracy
that rides in BMWs and Jaguars on the way to a
mall or a club, invariably stuck behind cows and
camel carts. The rush to eradicate old histories
thrives in both hearts. The city’s oldest enemies
desperately need each other, but protect their
turf with shot guns and prayers, baksheesh and
back biting.Delhi’s legacy of contempt has many takers.
Everywhere you look, there is something being
performed for you; people cooking, sleeping on
the sidewalk, hanging laundry on the divider,
groping on a park bench, someone molesting,
another being run over, a man receiving a bribe.
Pitiless and demanding, the enormous refugee
settlement reminds you daily who you are. In
you sightline is someone worthy of emulation,
someone else in desperation, another in a state of
humiliation. A woman in a gold sari walks past
a labourer openly defecating on the sidewalk, a
legless man with open sores raps his knuckles on
a Mercedes at the traffic light. The proximity of
these reminders no longer baffles but leaves you
cold, acutely aware of all the economic and social
collisions that are part of the daily life of Delhi.Architecture(^100) / ARTS ILLUSTRATED / FEB 2016 - MAR 2016 / IAF - Delhi Connecting Art