Theory & Method 4

Reappear
Devansh Khare
160BARCHI074

ASSIGNMENT 2 Delirious New York

Reflecting upon New York and its evolution, write an essay on the evolution of Gurgaon
(or your home city) over the past 50 years.

Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan is an interesting review of

modern architecture and urbanism, setting a commemorative account of the surreal ‘culture
of congestion’ found in Manhattan. It was written while Rem Koolhaas served as a visiting
professor at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York, and was first
published in 1978 - during a period of financial crisis in the city, with the city government
marginally avoiding bankruptcy via a substantial federal loan. At a time when confidence in
the city was at rock bottom, Koolhaas promotes Manhattan as a prototype of the modern
metropolis, a collaboration of visionaries that strive to develop the life in the city a ‘deeply
irrational experience’.
Pronouncing himself as the city’s ghost-writer, Koolhaas narrates the story of Manhattan,
which he terms as a ‘mythical island’ and setting of an urban experiment in which the city
becomes a factory for man-made experiences, a laboratory to test the limits of a modern
lifestyle. He strongly believes that ‘Manhattanism’ is the one urbanistic concept that
celebrates ‘hyper density’ and is fuelled by the brilliances and miseries than come along with
the urban condition of man-made living. ‘With Manhattan as an example, this book is a
blueprint for a culture of congestion.’ On similar principles, this essay will aim at analyzing
the evolution of Gurgaon over the period of 50 years and dissect both the positives and
negatives of its evolution.
Gurgaon, known as the millennial city of India, puts on a welcoming show with grand tall
glass buildings and state of the art roads as one drives from the Indira Gandhi International
Airport and enters the city via the famous Ambience Island and Cyber Hub. But is this true
for the rest of Gurgaon, which was just an agglomeration of several small Haryanvi villages
in the 90s. What kind of effects does sudden urbanization at such a rapid pace imparts on a
city and its citizens?
Only a handful of people knew of the city of Gurgaon, or Gurugram, back in the 90s. It was a
city that despite its rich heritage, reaching all the way back to Mahabharata, was only known
for its proximity to the National Capitol. Now it has established itself as the hub of North
India, having over 250 corporate offices of fortune 500 companies. 268 km southwest of
Chandigarh and 32 km southwest of Delhi, this once agricultural wasteland has grown into
the millennial city.
Gurgaon bears the legacy of a glorious history. The origin of the city's name is saturated with
Hindu folklore. Originally Gurgaon was named Gurugram or Guru Gaon, which means the
village of the teacher. The Sanskrit language defines Guru as teacher, and Gram or Gaon
translates to village. The teacher alludes to Guru Dronacharya. This is said to be the land
where Guru Dronacharya taught archery to the Pandavas. As per the eminent epic The
Mahabharata, this land was given over to Guru Dronacharya by Yudhisthir to show fighting
and the utilization of arms to the five Pandavas when they were youthful.
The path of the Gurgaon district can be traced back to the time when it was only a broad
realm under Rajputs of Yaduvanshi. The account of development of Gurgaon starts from
1947, when this city turned into a piece of autonomous India under Punjab. Going ahead to
the time of 1966, the city went under the organization of Haryana.
Not long after turning into a piece of Haryana organization, Gurgaon began to form into a
colossal millennium city. The financial development of the city started with the entrance of
car maker Maruti Suzuki into the part of the city now known as Udyog Vihar. Soon Gurgaon
began to create interstates, metros, shopping centers, markets, housing societies and more.
These allured companies to set up bases in Gurgaon. The city's sudden explosion was the
result of big conglomerates setting up offices and residential complexes in order to gain a
foothold in what was considered the symbol of rising India. Thus, Gurgaon’s growth is
credited to private companies rather than government bodies. The relaxation of Industrial
laws led to expansion of multiple sectors of the economy, which created a need for rapid
development in the national capitol, yet Delhi was saturated and land was required to sustain
this growth. Gurgaon became a viable option for all companies due to its proximity to Delhi
and its relative undeveloped state.
In a city barely existing two decades ago, now there were over 26 shopping malls, seven golf
courses and luxury shops selling Gucci and Prada. Audis and Jaguars shimmered in multiple
automobile showrooms. Apartment towers are sprouting like concrete weeds, and a futuristic
commercial hub called Cyber City houses many of the world's most respected corporations.
The design of corporate structures, private units and shopping centers of Gurgaon are known
to individuals living in Delhi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida for their extensive use of
glass. Overall, there are roughly 1100 residential high-rise buildings in the city. Knowingly,
the Aralias, Hamilton Court, World Spa South, Magnolias and Raheja Atlantis are few such
buildings which have attained prominence throughout the years.
Regardless of the numerous residential units, the city hadn’t lost its hand on greenery.
Biodiversity parks, societal parks and gardens have added more to the greenery of the city.
For example, the Leisure Valley Park of Sector 29 covers 15 acres of land with greenery. The
city now has an amplitude of events and activities consistently during a year. Festivities like
Holi, Dussehra, Eid, etc., are celebrated with vigorous zest and zeal. Epicenter and Kingdom
of Dreams are frequented for entertainment and performing arts. The residents invest
wholeheartedly in sporting events like half marathons, yoga, mixed martial arts, etc. It is
home to some of the domestic as well as international schools and institutes such as
G.D.Goenka Public, The Shri Ram Aravali, Ansal Institute and Amity University.

Gurgaon has developed into a center point of business sectors, shopping centers and eating
joints. Shopping centers like Ambience, Metropolitan, City Center, Lifestyle and Sahara,
grandstand a great deal of degree for style and adornments, these are additionally among the
most encouraging and unmistakable momentous shopping centers of the city.

On the transport side, the city has established multiple conveniences. Auto rickshaws, taxis
and even bicycle appointments are booked over telephone. The progressing improvement of
rapid metro and Delhi metro, alongside railway lines is constantly connecting holes between
different urban communities of NCR. The NH 8, NH 48 and NH 248, alongside state
interstates has brought about quick driving and shorter traffic courses. The proposed
Gurgaon-Bombay interstate and the under-construction flyover at Badshahpur are set to
create new standards for road travel.

The unprecedented growth of Gurgaon left much to be desired. The lack of red tape for land
acquisition started the chain of privatization that soon spread across all aspects of the city.
“The first thing you notice when you come to Gurgaon is the number of skyscrapers. The
second is the pigs.” - The Guardian. Gurgaon has in abundance not only shopping malls but
also heaps of uncleared garbage, leaky pipes and broken roads riddled with potholes. The
companies have created a city to suit their needs. Many say that the growth of the city has
grown despite the government rather than because of it. The sudden appearance of the city
led to a dearth of services as there was no infrastructure to support them. Company buildings
stood tall before basic amenities were established.
Companies refused to wait for the infamously slow Haryana Urban Development Authority
to set up services required and resorted to using boreholes and diesel generators. Wealthy
residents of colonies such as DLF Phase 4 consolidated funds for repairs and regular
maintenance. Faith in the government body was absent from Day 1. The brunt of this was
borne by villagers, the natives of the land. Pockets were created of mass unsanitary
accommodations for the poor. Lack of services bore fruit and multiple pockets such as these,
e.g. Tigra came up.
In spite of it being the millennial city, Gurgaon, after all is a result of rapid urbanization, and
rapid urbanization brings with it several undesired effects. One of the most evident effects of
rapid urbanization is visible as the cultural differences that exist between the locals and the
immigrants. This sudden urbanization has left many pockets of old villages that fail to merge
amongst the new urban landscape. This has resulted in a city that appears modernistic on the
outside but has poor infrastructure and unplanned drainage system etc. on the inside.
Even some of the best roads in Gurgaon like the Golf Course Road lacks proper drainage and
floods within minutes of rainfall. Some U-turns are very poorly placed, where one has to
drive several kilometers just to take an exit, with no regards to any form of pedestrian
accessibility to cross these roads. Furthermore Gurgaon, in my opinion appears to be
completely out of context with only glass buildings provided throughout which is a very poor
choice for the extreme weather conditions that prevail in Gurgaon. The city also seems to be
designed around cars and fails to provide pedestrian friendly infrastructure anywhere in the
city with the exception of some walkable markets like the Galleria, Central Plaza and the
Bani Square which are also only accessible via a vehicle. Also there seems to be no relevance
to the age-old identity of Gurgaon in the modern times, its culture and history have been
completely thrown out of the window which results in a lack of character unlike Delhi which
has preserved its heritage over the years.
Rapid urbanization has resulted in haphazard growth throughout the city which has resulted
in Gurgaon being an agglomeration of mini cities whose borders were these areas of poor
infrastructure and waste accumulation. It served as an urban utopia in certain areas yet
remained stuck in the Mahabharata era in certain parts and this division is quite evident. This
difference also gives rise to the crime that Gurgaon is infamous for. Therefore, I strongly
believe that urbanization should happen in a planned and sustainable manner for a city to be
truly urban and cater to its citizens.