[Urbanstudy] Reply to Curt Gambetta, Yashdeep Shrivasta and Sebastian

[Yashdeep Srivastava]

Thank you Curt and Ipsita for reading and commenting on my article. I do 
hope I get as many considered and valuable opinions once it is published.

In response to both your comments, firstly I agree, that the phrases you 
have both picked to comment on - 'robbing the city of diversity and
difference' and 'papering over differences' were misleading if not 
altogether clumsy. I describe them as such because I do not think they 
conveyed my thinking. I hope to express it more clearly in this email.

First Ipsita, your observation that malls and multiplexes "...sharpen 
already existing differences by forming homogeneous units for different 
classes through the dual process of 'concentration and segregation'". I 
generally agree with, however my reference to difference is not strictly to 
economic class distinctions that are embodied in and inhabit the 
architectural object. I think that is rather obvious. Having said that, I do 
believe that malls have the potential to 'iron' out those differences in the 
same way that a commuter train in Mumbai does by throwing people of all 
classes into the one space, united, as it were, by purpose. This is why I 
cite Dipesh Chakraborty, who refers to the bazaar as a space of suspended 
difference which malls, I believe, are not. As you have pointed out 
eloquently in your second post ("The mall's 'heterotopic nature is most 
strongly exemplified in
its reference to global and universal spaces and experiences of consumer 
capitalism, and its apparent severance from the immediate local 
environment."), it is the architectural expression and spatial difference 
that I think is being smothered by the universalised hyperspace of the mall. 
The spontaneous theatre of the street is superscribed by the privately 
regulated environment of the mall.

I liked Curt's suggestions to you regarding the possibility of understanding 
the nature of change in retail trade in Delhi and how difference is thus 
produced, through your fieldwork. I think he raises a very important issue 
about accepting malls for what they are. One cannot simply wish away malls 
and one must embrace differences that arise as a consequence. The normative 
tenor of my article notwithstanding, I would offer that the difference so 
generated is driven by an elite demand to distinguish itself from the 
'other'. To cite John Harriss in a recent EPW, who quotes Sankaran Krishna - 
“one of the existential realities of being a middle class Indian is an 
inescapable desire to escape the rest of India”. The process of 'othering', 
I suggest, results in the papering over of difference amongst the elite, 
closing ranks and united, as it were, by the purpose to 'other'. Harriss's 
own argument that middle class domination of 'civil society' is a projection 
of middle class values on lower class problems seems to support the view 
that difference is suppressed in the face of dominance.

As a practicing architect, I am often concerned at the lack of sensitivity 
displayed by many in the profession to the political consequences of our 
professional actions in the wider social realm. The article is my attempt to 
draw it to the attention of others of my ilk.As Lefebvre has said elswhere, 
architects are obsessed with the visual.

Best wishes and many thanks again for a very invigorating discussion,

Yash Srivastava


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ipsita sahu" <ipssahu18 at gmail.com>
To: <urbanstudygroup at sarai.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 10:52 PM
Subject: [Urbanstudy] Reply to Curt Gambetta,Yashdeep Shrivasta and 
Sebastian


> In reply to Curt Gambetta, Yashdeep Shrivasta and Sebastian.
>
> Thank you all for your responses. The comments and suggestions have
> been very interesting and I'll keep them in mind as I carry on with my
> research. I apologize for my late reply but I had not been online for
> a while since my first posting, and so had not seen your mails.
>
> Yashdeep, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article. Thanks for
> sending it. In the light of what Curt Gambetta had to say about your
> concluding remarks about malls 'robbing the city of diversity and
> difference' and 'papering over differences', I would agree with you in
> that these fortified premises are built for the elite classes and as
> such do not cater to poorer classes and therefore are indifferent
> towards the diversity in society. But as you said these are also
> 'divisive' in nature and by 'concentrating' the elite consumer classes
> in special niche zones, such as the malls, the multiplexes-and one
> specially takes notice of their political incorrectness for these are
> 'public spaces', they sharpen already existing differences by forming
> homogeneous units for different classes through the dual process of
> 'concentration and segregation'. In this sense then they do not iron
> out differences but etch it out and make it more 'visible' in the
> urbanscape through its built environment. In the suburbia, real
> estates perform a similar function as they build mini townships,
> (Aquapolis, Sun City in Ghaziabad in the pipeline) which are like
> 'concentration camps' for the super elites. These fortified enclaves
> are self-suffient, very exclusive and autonomous units- with their own
> malls, golf courses, sports complexes, luxurious apartments etc. A
> little less magnificent are the neighborhoods with cheaper apartments
> and meant for the middle class. Hence 'clannish' settlements are
> created which are distinct and distinguished through the lifestyles of
> its inhabitants. The poor in this process are relegated to the
> peripheries and alienated spatially, economically and psychologically.
> In all these ways, suburbanisation in terms of its built environment
> leads to social stratification.
>
> In reply to Sebastian's queries, about malls devouring small
> businesses/markets, it is true that this problem is also seen in the
> Ghaziabad area, mall development has definitely affected the local
> traders- the vendors, grocers, fruit sellers etc and also small
> departmental stores. The hypermarkets in malls like the Big Bazaar and
> Spencer offer a variety of items ranging from clothes, accessories,
> food items, vegetables, fruits, cold meat, dairy products, and at
> rates cheaper than the markets outside. Consumers definitely prefer to
> buy it all from one place at cheaper prices and in a comfortable
> environment.  As for small businesses/ markets, in a situation where
> there is a lot of competition and supply has far exceeded demand,
> these large multi-formats seem to be gobbling up fast the smaller
> centres. For instance mini malls and shopping complexes are not
> surviving. Similarly the mall and multiplex combo has become so
> popular and convenient that a format that lacks this combo does not
> survive.
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