The problem

2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus school of design that turned a corner and defined itself by walking a new trajectory of thought and appropriate action. One that spoke a new language intended to be inclusive and all embracing, meant to be fair and a leveller of disruptive disparity. Five score years down the line we celebrate that initiative which broke fresh ground in ideas and ideologies, in shape and form, in material and texture, in the partnership and sharing of skills and aesthetics. It was a worldwide endeavour to bring diversity together and salute a binding ethic as the agent for change, growth and egalitarian development.

India was an active participant in that inter- national movement of thinking out of the box, of learning from, absorbing and assimilating the onslaught of alien and experimental notions, in a profound effort to keep alive and respect the core values of the larger cultural frame for a new generation and the future beyond.

An astounding number of individuals played a salutary role in creating this fabric that made us an intrinsic element in the larger scheme that had begun to influence the world and its multiple legacies and socio-political and cultural strands.

Aesthetics and design live in the DNA of humankind, constantly changing and transforming the tangible and intangible. That is the excitement of space and time, of ideas and experiment. To restrict and control, suppress and dictate, contain and compel, can only dilute and destruct the genuine human spirit with its inherent creativity and exploring mind. Indians participated actively in this ‘revolution’ across all professional disciplines and created their own bridges to enter a world of new ideas.

The intangible essence of the ‘modern’ entered ancient dance forms, music traditions, literature in many languages, all rooted in this subcontinent. It infused a fresh vitality into compelling experimentation and risking the breaking of new ground. Themes changed as did discussion and debate on socio-economic and poli-tical issues that led to new formulas and narratives. Habitats, space and the living environment became concrete symbols that represented the many conversations that were transformational. Design, shape, form, motif and material were at the centre of this metamorphosis.

Many partnerships helped embody a tactile and energetic sensibility of ‘modernism’ in various professional disciplines and domains. We too were partners in change. We too walked the trajectory. We defined modernity in tradition and injected a serum into the landscape that empowered change, resilience and growth in this new world. We felt the palpable shift and created India Modern, looked for more sources that helped ratify new truths, and reinforced its forward movement.

At the start of a millennium where conversation is rare, where communication is through an abbreviated sound bite, where potted information rules the mind, we are reminded of Rabindranath Tagore, a leader of modernism in India, and Santiniketan its symbolic manifestation, along with much else we live with. Today, as we mark the centenary of Bauhaus, when the manifestations of modernism embraced the world and its diverse peoples, Tagore’s memorable and often recited poem, ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’, resonates in content and spirit.

This issue of Seminar brings together the many strands that became the warp and the woof of twentieth century modernism in the subcontinent.