- This book explores and celebrates the life and work of the Indian
modernist architect Aditya Prakash through a series of visual essays,
augmented reality audios, videos and lavish illustrations- Featuring
many previously unseen pictures and maps- Also enhanced with augmented
reality audio interviews, video interviews and slideshows, available
through the custom-made BooksPlus appVikramaditya Prakash (1924-2008)
belonged to the first generation of Indian modernists that came into its
own in the Nehruvian era. Built around a multi-disciplinary oeuvre that
was unique amongst his peers, Prakash's life was dedicated to finding
the 'one continuous line' which linked art - as the search for the
beautiful, architecture - as the enabler of life, and planning - as the
ethic of protecting the interests of poor.Interspersed with a series of
visual essays, this book is conceived as an introduction to Prakash's
vast body of work. Besides practicing architecture, he was an academic,
a prolific painter, sculptor, furniture designer, stage set-designer,
poet and public speaker. This volume documents Prakash's education as an
architect in Delhi and London, his early modernist works, his deep
artistic impulses, his love of theatre, and his efforts to rally a
culture of academic inquiry. The narrative describes his successes and
failures, his arguments for and against modernism, postmodernism and
globalization, and his passion for sustainable urbanism, the animal and
the acoustic. The book concludes with an interpretive essay on Prakash's
life and legacy, along with lavish illustrations of a portfolio of
select works."More than just a biography, this book is a critical
assessment of Aditya Prakash's oeuvre as a designer, painter and
philosopher" - Mark Jarzombek Professor of History, Theory and
Criticism, MIT "At once deeply moving and seriously informative, this
book details a life in architecture in post-Independence India dedicated
to social service, education, and environmental reform." - Anthony
Vilder, Professor of Architecture at The Cooper Union "This book charts
the intellectual odyssey of the pioneering artist, architect and urban
planner, Aditya Prakash, a multi-talented renaissance man." - Partha
Mitter, writer & historian on art & culture "An intimate, revelatory
analysis of a life that exemplified the cosmopolitan modernism and
national commitments of India's founding, Nehruvian generation." -Sunil
Khilnani, Avantha Professor & Director, King's India Institute, King's
College London
