Hampi to be 2-colour city
Officials feel it will help in conservation activities as well as add ‘uniqueness’ to the region
Heritage cityHampi will soon have buildings in just two colours. The Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority ( HWHAMA ) is testing colours and will come out with a design, where households and offices in the core and buffer zones use only the two prescribed ones.
“In a first in the state and a major move on the heritage and conservation front, Hampi will be the first bi-coloured city, in which the entire core and buffer zone areas will be in two colours in uniform pattern. The ground work has already started. The decision will be out soon once we zero in on colours and finalise on the process of implementing the initiative,” Dr R Gopal, commissioner, HWHAMA told Bangalore Mirror.
The proposal would cover all households, commercial outlets and government offices in 29 villages which fall in the buffer zone and four villages in core zone of Hampi. While the core zone of Hampi extends to an extent of 41.8 sq km, the buffer zone extends up to 262 sq km.
The move, the brass maintained, will help both in conservation of the heritage city and attract tourists with its added uniqueness. ‘’With no specific colour theme now, the identification of heritage and non-heritage areas is not easy,’’ a source maintained.
Though colours are still being finalised, green and saffron are ruled out, as they have religious and political connotations, while grey is the colour of rocks and stones, and so will not be used. Other colours – a primary one and a shade -- that suit a ‘ heritage city’ are being considered.
Colour shades are being tested in virtual3D imagery of village structures and samples will be presented before the HWHAMA brass. “We, along with other government departments, are using virtual images of structures in these villages and are painting different probable colours. The best, approved by all stakeholders, will be finalised,’’ Gopal added.
The painting will start with state government offices and other structures. ‘’Then, we would set the timeline for realisation of the initiative in phases and residents will be given time. Once through, it will make identifying the core-buffer zones easy and sensitise people on conservation front.
“Even common folks can intimate us if somebody attempts to alter anything – through activities like digging, construction or destructions in these bi-coloured areas. This will basically make people more responsible, conscious of the areas they live in and help conservation initiatives and also better management,” Gopal added.
COLOURS AND CITIES
Three cities in India that are popularly known by colours are in Rajasthan. The three - blue, pink and gold cities areJodhpur , Jaipur and Jaisalmer .
» The blue houses in Jodhpur are said to be an outcome of caste-based segregation, with Brahmins using blue to differentiate themselves from other castes and belief systems.
» Jaipur is believed to have got the pink city tag for two reasons - the structures were painted pink to welcome and commemorate the visit of Prince of Wales in 1876. Since then, the buildings continue to be painted pink. The other reason is said to be the extensive use of pink sandstone in most of structures.
» Jaisalmer is called gold city because of the yellow sand and the yellow sandstone used in most of architecture in the city, giving it the golden tinge.
Heritage city
“In a first in the state and a major move on the heritage and conservation front, Hampi will be the first bi-coloured city, in which the entire core and buffer zone areas will be in two colours in uniform pattern. The ground work has already started. The decision will be out soon once we zero in on colours and finalise on the process of implementing the initiative,” Dr R Gopal, commissioner, HWHAMA told Bangalore Mirror.
The proposal would cover all households, commercial outlets and government offices in 29 villages which fall in the buffer zone and four villages in core zone of Hampi. While the core zone of Hampi extends to an extent of 41.8 sq km, the buffer zone extends up to 262 sq km.
The move, the brass maintained, will help both in conservation of the heritage city and attract tourists with its added uniqueness. ‘’With no specific colour theme now, the identification of heritage and non-heritage areas is not easy,’’ a source maintained.
Though colours are still being finalised, green and saffron are ruled out, as they have religious and political connotations, while grey is the colour of rocks and stones, and so will not be used. Other colours – a primary one and a shade -- that suit a ‘ heritage city’ are being considered.
Colour shades are being tested in virtual
The painting will start with state government offices and other structures. ‘’Then, we would set the timeline for realisation of the initiative in phases and residents will be given time. Once through, it will make identifying the core-buffer zones easy and sensitise people on conservation front.
“Even common folks can intimate us if somebody attempts to alter anything – through activities like digging, construction or destructions in these bi-coloured areas. This will basically make people more responsible, conscious of the areas they live in and help conservation initiatives and also better management,” Gopal added.
COLOURS AND CITIES
Three cities in India that are popularly known by colours are in Rajasthan. The three - blue, pink and gold cities are
» The blue houses in Jodhpur are said to be an outcome of caste-based segregation, with Brahmins using blue to differentiate themselves from other castes and belief systems.
» Jaipur is believed to have got the pink city tag for two reasons - the structures were painted pink to welcome and commemorate the visit of Prince of Wales in 1876. Since then, the buildings continue to be painted pink. The other reason is said to be the extensive use of pink sandstone in most of structures.
» Jaisalmer is called gold city because of the yellow sand and the yellow sandstone used in most of architecture in the city, giving it the golden tinge.
