Almost as it was a symphonic, beautiful coincidence, recent back-to-back stories that I had worked on, shone a light on two visionary designers who took it upon themselves to celebrate and merge design that blended the local with the modern. The first was Charles Correa. Of course, he doesn’t need an introduction when it comes to showcasing his body of work and legacy. But as we stumbled upon his design for a cricket stadium in Ahmedabad that was named after the Iron Man of India—Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel—our respect for the man increased manifold. No, this is not the current stadium that is the world’s largest to host cricket matches, but a relatively smaller one that he built in the early 1980s. It hosted only one One-Day International, and rather unfortunately, lost out its position to host cricket matches to another in the city. The stadium fell to ruin after years of neglect and lack of proper conservation methods. But then, thanks to a global conservation platform that specialises in protecting architectural sites—both modern and ancient—who stepped in, they were able to regenerate the importance of this landmark.

They worked closely [despite the pandemic] with local municipal bodies and also roped in the heft of research experts from one of India’s premier technical institutes, and thus were able to table a study on its current state and future health. As I browsed through the work that was done, one aspect came to light in a big way. The concrete masterpiece, when it opened, stood out for its unique zig-zag design of its stands and underlined the idea of a modern, emergent India. Correa was also fully aware of the crowd factor, and hence ensured ventilation was given major importance across this modern-day Colosseum. Likewise, in perhaps a hat tip to the commerce and industry of Ahmedabad, a city that was dear to him, and where he also designed the Gandhi Memorial Museum, one could easily see the focus of progress written all over its design. It was a great reminder of how even a sporting arena can be an amazing site for design when an inspired mind is at the helm of things. One can hope that the plans for the future [using it for other sporting activities apart from cricket, like skating, which is a popular sport in the city] outlined by the conservation body, are implemented by the local authorities so Correa’s grand statement of a modern Ahmedabad, and by default, a modern India, is allowed to remain in the public eye and imagination.