Barakhamba under art attack to celebrate ‘last bungalow’

That’s precisely what an art installation has done: an uprooted tree hanging from a crane suspended from the roof, celebrating open spaces and decrying trees being cut in the name of development.

“In all the buildings on Barakhamba Road, this was the only one which looked anything similar to what this stretch had looked like decades ago,” Gobind Singh, biologist and organiser of the 48oC festival, said. “We wanted to celebrate the fact that this building had failed to turn into another multi-storey — it has a lawn, and it has breathing space. It reflects an identity it had hung on to.”

The ongoing festival seeks to celebrate and link art with ecology.

The building’s curator, Rajendra Singh, 65, has seen Barakhamba Road change. “There were only bungalows in this area when I came here 30 years ago,” he said. “The bungalows looked more or less like each other in their design. Then, the Kanchenjunga office complex came up to the left of this building; the Hans Hotel followed.”

After that, one bungalow was razed after the other, giving rise to multi-stories.

Singh doesn’t oppose development but enjoys the stately air the old bungalows exude: “The Metro coming to this road is good. Before that, too many cars jammed the way. But look at this bungalow — it’s old, but now the most different.”

The creeping commercialisation, though, is reason why the bungalow can no longer be residential. “We have hung on to this property for a long time,” owner R K Gupta said, “but this is a commercial area. We will sell this space so it can gradually become an office building.”

Gupta said he “could not say no” to the festival’s offer to use his property: “I strongly support the cause of environment. I believe trees should not be sacrificed for development. I was excited about this festival, and I couldn’t say no.”

He insists there is another bungalow in the vicinity which retains the old architectural style. “It’s a bungalow in a corner of the road,” Gupta said. Perhaps Delhi can find it, if it looks really hard.