PROBASHI- A Cultural News Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2 | Page 39

Probashi- City

Making of New Delhi
Unsung Heroes of New Delhi
It is not fair to give all credit to Lutyens for
making of New Delhi. There were others with
similar talent and vision who contributed to
making of the new city

A sketch by Lutyens dated June 14, 1912 shows a plan and elevation of the
Viceroy’s House (now Rashtrapati Bhawan) and associated buildings.

that the plan he agreed to would
make it impossible for anything but
the dome of Government House to
be visible from below. He blamed
Baker, who designed the road
linking the Secretariats, for
miscalculating the gradient. Lutyens
was right: if you walk from India
Gate down Rajpath you’ll notice
that Rashtrapati Bhavan gradually
sinks behind the hill. Lutyens tried
to persuade Baker to change his
plans but to no avail. In his letter to
Baker, Lutyens said “a colossal
artistic blunder has been made, and
future generations will, I am
convinced, recognize this and
condemn its perpetrator.” Baker’s
defence centered on technicalities,
on the fact the Lutyens himself had
also approved of the plan. Lutyens
called this his “Bakerloo”.

of Indian and Western elements
for New Delhi. The North and the
South Blocks which are Baker
buildings are essentially European
with an Indian accent. He used
classical European forms, like
colonnades and renaissance- like
domes, and Indian decorations,
like arched porches and lattice
screens.

Lutyens, on the other hand, was
more committed to a substantial
fusion of styles. The result was
forms that stood out for their
originality.
His
crowning
achievement is the great dome of
Rashtrapati Bhavan, partly inspired
by the Buddhist Stupa in Sanchi
and the Pantheon in Rome. Robert
Byron, the famous British travel
writer and one of the first visitors
to New Delhi after the city’s
While neither was a fan of Indian completion, in an essay praised the
architecture, both wanted a blend dome’s design for its “individuality,
37

Robert Tor Russell built Connaught Place, the
Eastern and Western Courts, Teen Murti
House, Safdarjung Airport, National Stadium
and over 4,000 government houses.
E. Montague Thomas designed and built the
first secretariat building of New Delhi which
set a style for the bungalows.
Herbert Baker made seven bungalows and the
North and South Blocks.
The other bungalows of New Delhi are the
work of architects like W.H. Nicholls, C.G. and
F.B. Blomfield, Walter Sykes George, Arthur
Gordon Shoosmith and Henry Medd.
Lord Hardinge insisted on roundabouts
(Lutyens had initially designed the streets at
right angles) to break the sweep of the hot
winds, hedges and trees (Lutyens said the
trees wouldn't survive) and demanded the
Raisina Hill site for the Viceroy's House
(Lutyens preferred a more southern setting
closer to Malcha). Hardinge also insisted on a
Mughal-style garden for Viceroy's House
(Lutyens was keen on an English garden with
'artless' natural planting).
Using P.H.
Clutterbuck's list
of
Indian
trees, W.R. Mustoe, director of horticulture,
was actually responsible for the roadside
planting work for New Delhi's avenues. It was
Mustoe and Walter Sykes George who
landscaped and planted Lutyens' Mughal
Garden.
Swinton Jacob, advisor on Indian materials
and ornaments, suggested raising the ground
level of Rashtrapati Bhavan, on a carefully
studied contour plan.
Geological Department, Sandstone was
suggested by the geological department,
which got no credit but only received brickbats
for the sandstone's heat-retentive qualities.
Lutyens was opposed to use of sandstone and
even considered use of marble for the Taj
unnecessary.
Much later Lutyens did accept the contribution
of others to the Delhi plan especially that of
Lord Hardinge, he said "This new city owes its
being to Lord Hardinge”.

its difference from every dome since
the Pantheon.”
Despite differences Baker recognized
Lutyens’ superior talent. In a eulogy
written for Lutyens after his death in
1944, he argued that “in his talent for