Landscape Lecture Series

Dated: 23/04/21

The Lost Paradise

Evolving Origins
It seemed as if man never accepted his expulsion from Eden, and altered landscape to remind him of The
Lost Paradise, where once he gardened, and where once he was owned. He justifies his authority by
demarcating the vast horizons, only to satisfy the position he was once assigned.
The mystical formations of Australian rocks or celestial layouts of Stonehenge echo man’s intellect to
anchor landscape as a medium of narration. Being a specie of curiosity and possession, the aboriginal
man tied symbols and signs to demarcate both religious and political territories. But, despite him being a
Chieftain or a hunter, humans elevated nature to a divine status; thereby being in symbiosis with its spirits
and elements.
Transitioning from a nomad to a settler wasn’t just a matter of permanence and inhibition but ecological
concerns. Migratory patterns, coherent with seasonal variation now challenged the natural capacity as
available resources become a utility of everyday life. The Agrarian Man now viewed land as an asset to
possess; a commodity to utilize.
Ecology & Economy
A leap through time shows the calamities this new man constructed in spite of evident warnings. And here
we stand, on the threshold of economic monopolies, facing a dilemma between ecology and economy.
His ventures for fantastical ideals have threatened biomes, endangered species and affected indigenous
communities.
Our thirst for mass consumption and popular interface has hindered us in viewing the long-term impacts.
But why do we bother? As we dwell on a charter of progress and development, labeling the aboriginal
man as primitive. But where this attitude has dragged us, is evident enough. The capitalist regime has
altered the course of our thinking. Viewing sepia framed images of romantic idylls is absurd, we can
reclaim what we have lost.
The problem stems from our very definition of Landscape. Having never seen the former beyond being
pretty and rosy, we will continue to do so, if we don’t amend our statements. Harking back on
civilizations for the sake of nostalgia is a pretense in its own. Landscape holds more power than just
manicuring lawns.
A patch of land holds a tangible authority. It is visual, it can be conceived, perceived and consequently
challenged. It can become a power ground for political debate. It can become a realm of socio-cultural
exchange, like the Maidan of Isfahan, which penetrates into the public sphere as a beacon for socio-
political and cultural discourse.
Its up to the gardener, to either tame the topiary or to let it unravel in its own accord.
Disneyland Analogy
While ambition does fuel creativity, when in loads, the fuel may altogether destroy. Examples in the
Middle East, where Bedouin communities overshine both topographical and rational constructs. The
Palms of Jumeriah, Deira or Jebel may have surpassed human engineering but are colossal marvels of
geological irrationality. These statement pieces literally lie as shallow dimensions of economy and
politics. Their plastic nature is evident in the fact that they are already sinking beneath water. This may
sound amusing but the Bible quotes that the foolish built on sand, and when rain came down, so did his
house.
Why go far when our own authorities were adamant of making Patriata the new Murree. Negating any
forestry regulations or local biodiversity, this naïve incentive to develop the virgin area into an economic
generator has unraveled its consequences; deforested patches metaled with roads and hotels have
disturbed the native species their habitat altogether.
A New Lahore
“Cities are engines of economic growth”. We get pass environmentalists and economists with such
statements, unaware of its consequences in the years to come. The former statement, that cities are viewed
as engines of growth has to be revamped in its entirety, similar to our understanding of landscape. Cities
are parasites of a region, implying the fact that they don’t operate in an isolated manner but are
interdependent on surrounding settlements. Hence, any change in the nucleus will inevitably affect the
whole cell body. Therefore, a single sheet of paper proclaiming itself as a masterplan doesn’t justify its
relation to the whole. A series of plans need to be developed for us to conclude at a feasible node.
Amid much debate and argument lies the masterplan of Lahore which opens a tangent to its various
stakeholders. Involving the inhabitants in an act of participatory methods has enlightened a previously
ignored facet. But even then, an act of display is not the same in its implementation. And such was the
emerging instinct when the plan laid contrary to the rising regulation laws. Such strategies are what
account to dire conditions.
Staking environmental concerns for us to be classified under development and progress. Our bureaucracy
needs to underline and establish its definition for development first, if it is to happen. Standardizing goals
based on first world countries isn’t a viable option. Opting for sumptuous flyovers and paraded mass
transit systems won’t solve the problem.
Relying on imported goods and burdening under debts is what our current state is doing. We often quote
the paradigm, what is the paradigm? Is it rooted on pre-conceptions of progress while we consume
beyond our capacity.
Encountering with the current pandemic, or heated issues of climate change, we need to set our
reservations against further exploitation. The vision for a pedestrianized city needs not to be romanticized
a lot but its implication has to be grounded to reality-based solutions.
“Combining landscape as a decorative motif on its Ravi won’t suffice, we might stop digging deep in
order to get out of the hole.”
Of course, Lahore needs to be a city of cultural and civil development, but it needs to redefine its stance
as a cosmopolitan. And if being a parasite might align in its current state, than any amendment in its
urban fabric has to be stretched across a regional chart.