On a business trip to Pakistan, Deutsche Bank MD, Makarand Khatavkar, decided to visit the ancient cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. He completed his journey with Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat, and ended up collecting images never seen before. Manish Gaekwad quizzed the banker on the freeze frames
On a business trip to Pakistan, Deutsche Bank MD, Makarand Khatavkar, decided to visit the ancient cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. He completed his journey with Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat, and ended up collecting images never seen before. Manish Gaekwad quizzed the banker on the freeze frames
Even as their insides look scooped out and mute hollow, the remnants of the past seem to echo through
ADVERTISEMENT
Makarand Khatavkar's photographs, of a time and place, lest we forget the cradle of the Indus Valley civilisation. The Managing Director of Deutsche Bank, in his endeavour to document the Indus cities, has become an amateur historian-guide to India's great beginning.
What we gauge from your photographs and what we have read about these cities shows that a lot of the architecture was achieved through systematic planning, without losing aesthetic appeal. Does any
a well at Harappa
current city in India boast of such well- planned architectural splendour?
Chandigarh is top of mind. When I look at cities when they were being built, the old structures of Hyderabad and Pune depict a sense of good planning mixed with architectural elegance.
Seeing the simplicity with which ancient people lived walled cities without warfare, does modernity imply decay?
It's not as if in that period people were not modern in their outlook. People were civilised; they had trade links to Mesopotamia and Iran. They worked no different from any city you see now, but much is undocumented because this was in the proto-history period. I am sure basic human behaviour like anger, violence was all the same, but I think what sets them apart is that their values were different. They were a peace-loving people. Though they live in walled houses, no warfare equipment has been traced from that time.u00a0
Was the architecture of the period a symbol of unassailable power that kept cities from being plundered?
When you see the seals of that period, symbols did play a very important role in their life. Roughly about 10 clans were present in the cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, each clan having a totemic symbol that varied from an unicorn to a hare. Historians believe these clans were closely-knit through the common space they shared. Their unity in every aspect of city planning and development insured they were united within those very walls they erected to self-sustain their cities in. This made invasion impossible as they were no factions within themselves.
Do you feel certain aspects needed improvisation?
No. They are faultless nothing seems out of place. With the kind of techniques used in bead-making and bath house kiln, they have shown us the way forward. I am not an archeologist; my interest lies in history and heritage and these places helped me get a better perspective of our past. The pictures that we have seen in history textbooks are antiquated. So, I took it upon me to bring these images and exhibit them in a gallery for everyone to get a better insight on
our civilisation.
As a civilisation, were people back then happier?
Requirement of families was incorporated with private and public space in mind. Given the chaos we see around us now, I would have to believe they were more peaceful. If that translates into happiness, I guess so.
At: Nehru Centre art gallery, Dr Annie Besant Road, Worli.
Call: 24964676.
Timings: 11 am to 7 pm.
Entry: free.
Till: May 11
manish.gaekwad@mid-day.com
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
