Tradition And Tradition Essay

One generation takes from their ancestors their knowledge and adds their own findings and experiences. It is only the ‘right’ and ‘wise’ practices of a society which withstand the test of time and survive; these practices are often the most beneficial for its people. This is what contributes to tradition.

Through the ages architecture in India has always been extremely rich in tradition and character. It has always been moulded by the people’s lifestyles and thoughts. The builders of the past possessed a great deal of flexibility and did not stagnate. They were successfully able to incorporate ideas from outside the country into its indigenous architecture.

Being a citizen of a ‘third world’ country, the average Indian often suffers from an inferiority complex. As a result, being, or appearing western has become fashionable. The architectural trends in the country also senselessly try to ape the west.

About this Mahatma Gandhi reasons, ‘What is good for one nation situated in one condition is not necessarily good for another. One mans food is another mans poison.’

This gives an alternative, to look in the past, into the designs by our forefathers who overcame problems in a way so as to create environments conducive to social and cultural harmony combined with physical & psychological comfort and visual beauty. Their design strategies were not centric to any single idea but used to address multiple issues simultaneously.

This makes us realize the contribution that tradition can make towards understanding and may be even solving contemporary problems. Shahjahanabad, in old Delhi was an example of a setu...

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...onomic Concerns about affordability and sustainability is practiced not only through the construction with local material but also seen in traditional institutions like the waqf associated with mosques that leases lands to commercial establishments to generate revenue for the upkeep of the mosque.

-Environmental: As discussed under the aspect of technology, the materials used in construction have low embodied energy due to their local availability and the buildings are climatologically designed. This makes them environmentally benign.

Thus, to address all problems faced by contemporary development, a traditional approach that is receptive to data from all these dimensions addressing the quality of architecture or cities would have to be adopted to deliver a wholesome living environment that is people centric without compromising the natural environmental factors.