City Landmark – Charles Correa’s Tara Apartments, Kalkaji Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - June 1, 20231 Dream architecture. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Up, down. Right, left. Wherever you see. The place is swamped with staircases. Each stringed into zig saggy flights of steps. Some suspended in mid-air, almost. Tara Apartments is a fantasyland of stairs. Otherwise perched politely on earth, it is among the most soothing pieces of architecture in the entire Delhi region. It’s 3pm, peak summer, yet the air here is not uncomfortably hot. May be because the harsh afternoon light has softened on entering the edifice. Shades and shadows too are plentiful. While the friendly concrete is smoothly fusing into the leafy trees, the long twisty vines spilling playfully about the red brick walls. Solicitous of Delhi’s soil and climate, Tara is the creation of the late Charles Correa. The capital’s prominent Correas include Jeevan Bharati (1975-1986) in Connaught Place, Crafts Museum (1975-93) in Pragati Maidan, and the British Council (1987-1992) on KG Marg. Being a housing complex, Tara (1975-78) in Kalkaji is more inaccessible. Its curious design wraps it in a further layer of inaccessibility. Whereas most buildings explicitly flaunt their look, Tara is an introvert. Its face is set within, overlooking a central courtyard—a garden no less. In its inwardness, Tara resembles a centuries-old baoli, or step well, that keeps its exquisite details deep inside its belly. Indeed, these staircases conform to the decorative baolis of Gujarat and Rajasthan, similarly imaginative in their jugalbandi with staircases. This weekend afternoon, the courtyard is empty of humans but feels full, as if these numerous staircases are alive with a soul. Each staircase seems to have sprung up organically as a response to every other staircase (like a barbershop’s facing mirrors multiplying a reflection to infinity). You would think that the architect had doodled very many staircases on a notepad during a boring office meeting, which he ended up liking so much that he linked them into floors and flats. Now, a sweaty man in shorts enters the courtyard. Indifferent to the surroundings, he heads towards a pretty staircase, and disappears into… oh no—a lift! Staircase haven 1. 1a. 1b. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. FacebookX Related Related posts: City Monument – Rani Tara Devi’s Derelict Grave, Nicholson Cemetery Mission Delhi – Tara, Sector 31, Gurgaon City Landmark – Old Staircase, Connaught Place Home Sweet Home – Abdul Rahim’s Bedroom Window, Kulcha Tara Chand, Old Delhi City Landmark – The Gloomy Staircase, Near New Delhi Railway Station
Dear Mr Mayank A Soofi ( aka DW the lone grover ) , heaven knows how many smiling Gandhi ji lakh thank-you’s for the years & years of keeping my mind & soul intact, especially “when the ground beneath my sore feet & heart” have been elsewhere besides in the world since. Just to let you know , my Grandmother Nora Darley-Bentley lived & loved ( tea & coffee ) in South India and Ceylon of the day , and endlessly told me as a child, that she cherished both countries dearly and commenced to subtly brainwash me . Moving forward I escaped Hastings & the English Channel aged 24 …. Kandy at last . Eventually l arrived to board the 2nd to last Tallimannar ferry across the Palk straits to Rameshwaram in the autumn of 1984 . The Tamil war had begun . I”ll skip 40 years…..excuse me ( PS ; l paid in her memory homage in Kandy & Mysore ) Good morning properly Sir Delhi Walla …from my bath tub in Zurich alongwith Darjeeling & ready salted crisps as breakfast company .. l agree but “what to do ? “ .. And so , this is where you step in … just when l began to think that my ever disagreeable hamstrings had no more up /down steps to stretch anywhere else in Old & New Delhi , YOU .. who else ? ( needless to ask ) Triumphs with this gem of a monastery~esque treat… Correa Gonpa no less . The Jama Masjid minarets( left hand facing one ( uncaged ) was my first treat beyond the initial arrival rooftop views of Parahganj in the aftermath of India Gandhi,s October 31st 1984 assassination . Ladakh has been my home from home since 1998 .. Gonpa steps galore , hamstring stretching paradise . .. not to mention other splendid wonders ( especially the Ladakhi’s. Heading back up & over the the western Himalaya towards the foothills and plains towards Delhi , my thoughts usually wander to a peaceful teatime reunion chat with SUNNY at his resting place in the excellent tree and parrot filled sanctuary of Parahganj Christian cemetery . He was born a few months after me but lived just a handful of monsoon months ☀️. And to you Mayank warmest cheers & Chai’s on day ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️