The magazine has had an impact on the profession (Page 1)

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Nineteen eighty-four Was arguably a Watershed year for Indian arts and letters. Among the significant initiatives that marked the year Were the establishment of three seemingly disparate institutions that re-defined the cultural milieu of the country. In January 1984, the Indian National Trust for Art and cultural Heritage (NTACH) was established; later in July, the first feminist publishing house in India, Kali for women, began its operations, and at the end of the year (November December 1984), the first issue of A+D, was launched. What links them is the fact that they were conceived at the cusp of a transforming India which was shedding its insular worldview with increasing
self-confidence and hope - a spirit that permeated all three initiatives. I was also fortunate to have been associated with all three.

I am a founding-member of NTACH and have over the years, been a committed protagonist in the conservation studies and seen how it has transformed the
conservation scene in the country. My association with Kali for women (established by my wife, Ritu Menon and her colleague, Urvashi Butalia) is perhaps more tangential, though I designed their iconic office Space, which for several years was in our garage and, since then, I have only been at the periphery of its activities. My involvement with A+D has been as an outsider, first as an interlocutor on the magazine's contents for Manju Dube and Razia Grover, its first editors, and later, over the years, as a frequent contributor to the magazine. some of my key ideas were first published in its pages.

INTACH and Kali for women have undoubtedly lived up to, if not exceeded, their initial promise; both are now important players in their respective fields. Has A+D been as influential in mediating the development of architecture in India? This was the benchmark we hoped Menon that the magazine would aspire for during our exploratory discussions 25 years ago. It was also hoped that it would fill a palpable intellectual void.

I cannot claim to have made a detailed analysis of A+D's accomplishments, but it would be fair to say that the magazine has had an impact on the profession, if not society-at-large, at least in the production of a certain type of architecture. This type represents the image of 'Shining India', which has caught the imagination of many successful architects and project proponents. While the magazine has been open to all shades of opinion, the predominant impression it conveys is that of an advocate of the elite segment of architecture in the country.
(Continues...)

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