Historical networks and networking through history

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'I am History: of two lost centuries
Of centuries lost in the time of the colonial
Of centuries lost in the time of the colonized'

KKT

After a hectic few weeks of conference organisation, thesis marking and general end of term assessment duties I finally have the space to write again. Despite the whirl of work here I have been keeping track of events in my old home Shimla and was interested to hear of the Sri Lankan president’s wife’s remarks on Shimla the other day. Reportedly, when asked what she intended to do while In Shimla she replied “This town holds links to a common history and I would like to visit all the heritage places during my stay here,”. This set me thinking about the way that the unique history of Shimla adds value to the present at the same time as connecting it with other places.

I have been reading lately a lot about Actor Network Theory, or ANT for short. This argues that it is useful to look at the world topologically. By which it means in terms of flows and connections. It is therefore argued that, because of the flow of people, ideas and commodities between Delhi and London, Delhi is topologically closer to London that it is to Shilong. Thinking of the world this way therefore complicates notions of a bounded Nation State.



Returning to the comments of the Sri Lankan visitors to Shimla I cannot but wonder at their choice of emphasising shared historical connections over present day connections and I wonder where this leaves ANT. Perhaps more importantly it reminds us that the sign on Shimla Mall which proclaims our built heritage is our identity is only part of the story. Shimla’s built heritage is not only important for the identity of Shimlites but also for that of others.

I began this post with a stanza by the Assamese Poet, Kamal Kumar Tanti, the poet envisages the colonial period as a period of lost history. That is to say not that the colonial history is lost to the present, but rather that in the story of the collective history of Assam, 200 years of organic development was robbed from the Assamese people. It is as if the Colonial period was a period of 200 years torn out of the timeline of the Assamese who disappear from history for this period only to reappear again after the colonial period has ended. This view of history seems to be in direct contrast to Shiranthi Rajapaksha’s understanding. In her vision Shimla is not so much an alien interruption in the history of India as an important site, which facilitates connection with the history of India and a broader history that includes Sri Lanka.



I would like to conclude today’s musing by turning my thoughts away from Shimla and back to London, or at least Oxford. For, it has always seemed to me that the past network flows between the British Isles and the Indian subcontinent have also left a historical trace on the UK. This is the topic of discussion in the forthcoming Oxford conference Bharat Britain: South Asians Making Britain 1870-1950. As part of the conference they will launch a more permanent exhibition and database that I will certainly be keen to explore as soon as possible.Maybe we can discover more about how Shimla has shaped the UK.

Is Shimla’s landscape a churchscape?

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'A people without history
Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern
Of timeless moments. So, while the light fails
On a winter's afternoon, in a secluded chapel
History is now’

T.S. Eliot

I was listening today to a speech by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, delivered at Lincoln Cathedral. In this speech he suggested that the church building is a witness of dependability: a place that speaks of a longer time scale and vision than most people work with. Given the way my mind works this of course set me thinking about Shimla and the way that the churches there create a sense of continuity with the past. In my previous post we discussed the way that interactions with heritage buildings give people a sense of rootedness and some of the problems with modernist architecture. It seems to me that the churches are particularly good at this form of Witness even though many of those most involved with them are unaware of this.

In thinking about such things I am reminded of Greenage’s book New Jersey Churchscape, in which he argues that New Jersey (known as the garden city) should really be known as a Churchscape, because the most iconic and eye catching feature of the landscape is the churches. Now, in Shimla as well the churches form a key aspect of the heritage landscape. Christ Church can be seen from virtually every angle on the mall and people are drawn to it.



But it also stands in dialogue with St Andrew’s, the former Scottish Church, which is today the Himachal Pradesh University's centre for evening studies. St Andrew’s Eastern alignment has been cleverly manipulated, by moving the tower to the side, which furthers the sense that the two churches are talking to each other across the expanse of the ridge.



St Michael’s by contrast is more tucked away at Ripon place, yet it is on a key route to the mall from the buss stand and along the mall from IIAS, as such it is something that you stumble upon through the trees, on your way to and from the mall like a hidden gem.



Is Shimla then also a city of Churchscapes? When people walk along the mall are they more drawn to secular buildings, such as Gaity theatre? Or is it the mass of Jakhoo hill, with the unseen presence of the temple atop, that calls to them? Or, are people drawn to the timeless mountains, snow-capped in winter, that tower above Shimla from afar?

If the continuing growth of modern architecture threatens to ruin the landscape of Shimla, is it the old Colonial architecture that makes it? Or, is this also something that intrudes on the true beauty of Shimla, which is the Himalayan peaks and forests?

Heritage and Identity

Everyone knows that Shimla mall has a special landscape; it evokes, provokes and draws people from all over the county. In Shimla there is a wonderful sign which reads ‘Our built heritage is out identity’. But what identity does Shimla’s built heritage give? And how does it fit with wider national identity? I remember asking this one afternoon to a wonderful, wise, old resident of Shimla as we strolled along the Mall, after taking some cardamom tea in Honey Hut. He was very uncomfortable with the question and became unusually irritable: in nearly a year of acquaintance the only time I had seen this side of him before was when I talked of holding a football training session on a strip of grass near his house. I am still a bit puzzled today as to why he was so reticent to discuss this, but I also feel that there is something about the question that is unsettling. I will mull on this over some supper and perhaps post more on it soon.