The use of space, stone and scene that gives the institution a unique synergy, a combination that only a great like Charles Correa could achieve.
And great he no doubt was. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) described him as ‘India’s Greatest Architect’ when it awarded him the Royal Gold Medal and on his death, the tributes that poured in had only superlatives to describe him.
Correa’s architectural prowess took him beyond India. His creations can be seen in USA, Canada, Portugal and other countries. Yet, however, far his work took him, Correa always had a soft corner for the land of his forefathers. He returned to Goa and designed the Kala Academy and the Cidade de Goa, and then took charge of the Task Force drawn up to draft the Regional Plan for Goa. It was to be his gift to Goa, but sadly certain forces have not allowed that gift to become a reality.
It’s perhaps something that Correa rued. In an interview published in Herald earlier this year, Correa spoke extensively on the future of Goa, what he called ‘the new Goa that is struggling to get out’. He spoke about the vast open spaces and said Goa still being feudal, where people live in the village either because they own land there or till somebody else’s land there, and then he asked, “Have you ever wondered why Goa looks so different from the rest of India? It’s the lack of crowds.”
For Correa the architect, crowds were perhaps what he disliked most. Not for him multi-storyed buildings enclosed in glass, but his ‘open to the skies’ architecture in vast spaces that gave a unique look to the area.
Despite being an architect, Correa was guarded on construction. In the same interview he said, “We should not allow mindless construction anywhere and everywhere. There just isn’t enough landscape left in Goa to mop up all the excess black money sloshing around in urban India. People who add to Goa’s value, from carpenters to organic farmers to bookshops, should be encouraged. But not just mindless additions.”
That idea is perhaps what he had in mind when chairing the task force on the Regional Plan and what directed the path the plan would take. He had very specific ideas of what Goa should focus on in the future and tourism was not part of his plan. “Goa deserves a better future than that,” he said, referring to tourism and suggested a major medical centre or an educational hub. He wanted Goa to be what “Boston is to the USA, and increasingly, to the world. So when young students anywhere in India are asked by their parents: where do you want to go to study? They reply: Goa!”
Goa would do well to heed Correa’s advice.
