WE SPOILED PONDICHERRY’S URBAN DEVELOPMENT
N.Nandhivarman
If you go to
Old Delhi you will be shocked by its irregular street pattern but in New Delhi
you will appreciate the concept of planned city. In old Pondicherry you can see
straight roads but in the suburban areas in post independence era all that
symmetry of streets is lost. How could such a legacy be thrown to winds? There
is a saying in Pondicherry. In Tamil they say “Veethi Azhagu undu, Neethi
Azhagu illai”. Veethi Azhagu means beauty of the streets. Who were the people
who laid down the blueprint for straight streets in Pondicherry? Some may think
it is local people. Some believe it is French. “ No, it is the work of the
Dutch, “ says Jean Deloche, Historian based at the Ecole Francaise d”Extreme
Orient at Pondicherry.
“ Some Indian
scholars consider that the town was built according to the principles of the
ancient Hindu treatises or architecture, particularly the Shilpa Sastra. French
historians, on the other hand, feel that the plan should be considered as an
achievement of French mind. In fact, the Dutch plans of Pondicherry preserved
at the National Archives at The Hague show that the orthogonal street pattern
of the town is a creation of the Dutch. The plans of 1693 show that, in
Francois Martin’s time, the streets or lanes were following an irregular
pattern, without any shape or symmetry, whereas in the plans drafted in 1694,
during the Dutch occupation, one finds the design of a large new town, with a very
regular geometric lay out, rectangular blocks of houses, separated by straight
streets, intersecting at right angles. This great urban project of the Dutch
company was adopted by the French who systematically carried out the extensive
straightening out of streets into a planned grid, during the first half of the
18 th century” This is how Jean Deloche summarizes the contents of his book
published in 2004 with 11 figures and 6 plates. “ Origins of the Urban
Development of Pondicherry according to 17 th Century Dutch Plans” is a
masterpiece placing truth in its right place. People must appreciate the French
Institution here and the French author who did not falter in placing truth
above all.
How did Pondicherry look
like in 1700 A.D. “ Like an active hive developing its honeycomb, the town
extended in a grid pattern along the left bank of the coastal river Uppar, to
the north west of its citadel which was still no more than a small rectangular
fort, Fort Barlong” This is how Professor M.Bourdart of the Lysee Francaise
narrates in his book “18 th century Pondicherry “published in 1992. There is
another map engraved as “ Map of Pondicherry” published by Nicholas de Fer in
Paris in the year 1705. There is another plan of Pondicherry of 1741, which
depicts Pondicherry, a year before the arrival of Dupliex. “ On this excellent
plan are already shown the principal monuments of the town which was riveted to
the Indian soil by the star shaped bolt of its fort, Fort Louis. The town’s
appearance was to alter but little with time, at least as regards its outer
contours. The fortifications would be leveled and would give place to the
boulevards that today encircle the town.”
Well there are other
evidences of that hoary past. One is the watercolor map of 1750 and the other
is drawing of. Le Gentil who authored “Voyage dans les mers de l’inde, and
visited Pondicherry twice in 1761 and 1769.
The Dutch evidences had
thrown more light on the History of Pondicherry’s Urban Development. The Plan
of the fortress and town “Poedechery” as it is currently being built on 20 th
November 1694, available with Dutch Museum not only gives authentic version of
the scene of those days but also spells Pudhucherri, the correct Tamil name
instead of the corrupted version of Pondicherry.
In his book “City Planning
and Architecture in Pondicherry “ P.Pichard thinks that the French adapted
“their plan to the natural conditions of the littoral. This was possible
because of the straight coast line was a very strong feature of the site and
has from the beginning, determined the general orientation of the buildings and
the direction of the streets, behind the dune, the low marshy lands and their
outlet, running parallel to the seashore, increased this trend.”
Ron van Oers is of the
opinion that Dutch colonial settlements were built on a “Strict geometrical
design to subdivide the usable area into building plots. All had a common image
of being neat and well organized.” On the orthogonal street model applied in
Pondicherry he says Dutch preferred this pattern since” it was symbolic of an
ordered, well managed society, hierarchical but democratic, it was emblematic
for the hard working god fearing Dutch Calvinists”
“French appropriated this
great design and that the extensive straightening out of the streets into a
planned grid, systematically carried out by their governors in the first half
of the 18 th century, was therefore the extension of the existing Dutch
orthogonal pattern into the rest of the town.”
Says Historian Jean Deloche who lives in Pondicherry A great scholar who loves Tamil lives here
unknown to fellow Tamils and he humbly refuses to get photographed because he
wants his works to speak for ages to come. The billion dollar question is “If French could
appropriate whatever good plans of the Dutch and beautify Pondicherry, who
misled and buried such a planned legacy in the post independence era while sub
urban colonies mushroomed here?” Let soul search begin.
1.
1700jpg:
Pondicherry in the year 1700
2.
1705jpg : Map
of Pondicherry by Nicholas de Fer in Paris (1705)
3.
Dupliex jpg:
Pondicherry before the arrival of Dupliex
4.
Waterjpg:Watercolour picture of Pondicherry
1750
5.
Drawing.jpg
:Le Gentil’s Drawings
