Patna's mysterious modern-era landmark 'Ekta Bhawan' demolished

Patna: Endowed with a striking design that reflected a peculiar architectural vocabulary of the modern era, Patna's nearly 40-year-old 'Ekta Bhawan', which drew both awe and curiosity from local residents, has been demolished.

Dubbed by many as a 'satellite building' owing to its iconic facade, the concrete exposed structure that stood on the banks of Ganga near Gandhi Maidan in the heart of the city, was pulled down a few weeks ago to make way for the upcoming 'Patna Haat'.

The recent move by the Bihar government has drawn criticism from a section of conservation architects and several residents of the capital city, who also suggested that the building could have been incorporated into the new project instead of erasing a structure that "stood out as a landmark".

The foundation stone of the 'Indira Gandhi Ekta Bhawan', opposite the Patna Commissioner's Office, was laid on September 9, 1986, by the then Vice President R Venkataraman, who had also delivered a speech on the occasion, according to archival records.

While the main structure of the building was erected over the years, it was never really finished in terms of its interior design and other civil-electrical work, due to which it stood along the historic Ashok Rajpath as a "modern monument of curiosity".

Majority of the local residents either were unaware of its name or struggled to recall it, even when it stood strikingly on the city skyline.

PTI spoke to many veteran architects based in Patna, Mumbai and other big cities where modern buildings with similar architectural style are in use, to piece together its story. It is still not available in public domain as to who was the architect of this "unusual building" in the Bihar capital, with some arguing that a "firm from outside of Bihar" had designed it.

And, with its dismantling, the mystery about the "curious structure" has further deepened.

Conservation architect Diptanshu Sinha, 30, currently pursuing his master's degree at a German institution in Berlin, said, he was "shocked" to learn that this modern building was razed instead of preserving it as a "unique specimen of architecture, perhaps in whole of Bihar".

"While the school of architecture that was used in the construction of this building has not been officially recorded, so to speak, but it falls somewhat in the category of brutalist design," he told PTI from Berlin.

Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that evolved in the 1950s in the UK following World War 2, and later spread to other parts of the globe.

Brutalism employs raw architecture, focused more on functionality rather than ornamentation or excessive embellishment.

Sinha, a Patna native, who had earlier worked for Delhi-based heritage NGO INTACH to save the centuries-old landmark Patna Collectorate, which was razed by the Nitish Kumar government in 2022, lamented that even "post-independence architecture seems to have no place in Patna".

"First of all, the plot where the building stood is not very big to accommodate a Patna Haat, which ideally should have been built on a sprawling piece of land, a little out of the city, so that people could have an outing. But they want to site every project in the core of the city, by replacing old buildings," he argued.

Sinha also said the demolition of a 40-year-old building that stood strong was also "against the idea of sustainability".

"It should have been reused, and included in the Patna Haat project at least. Why the hurry to raze buildings," he questioned.

Patna resident, Rummanul Faizy Yusuf, a retired government officer, who was in his 20s, when the building was being constructed in the 1980s, also lamented its demolition.

"It was a very unique building, and whenever we used to pass by it, it would draw us towards it. Due to its sharp geometric features, it had a resemblance to a 'satellite'. It was like a 'satellite building' as many perceived its unique design. Now, after demolition, it will remain a mystery," he told PTI.

According to many experts in this field, some of the buildings that fall under the brutalist architecture category include the NDMC Headquarters building in central Delhi and a few buildings located in south Delhi area.

Anupam Bansal, co-founder of Delhi-based architect firm, ABRD, says, buildings carrying brutalist designs have been known to invoke strong reactions from people.

"These structures have sharp features and geometric designs, and once built, they appear as if they had virtually fallen from the sky, owing to the unusual design, at times also drawing shock," he said.

The veteran architect who has worked in the field of modern architecture since the late 1990s, said, a holistic approach should be taken when dealing with legacy public buildings.

In Patna, urban planning experts, historians and heritage lovers have been urging the government to preserve heritage buildings of the city and rest of Bihar, including colonial-era structures, through a comprehensive policy on their conservation, restoration and adaptive reuse.

Fulena Rajak, veteran conservation architect, who retired from NIT-Patna, said, "We had visited the Ekta Bhawan site when it was being constructed, it should have been preserved".

The state government's tourism department has planned to build the 'Patna Haat' at a cost of Rs 48 crore, which will showcase the art, culture and handicraft of the ancient Magadh region, officials said.

The government had already set up a 'Mithila Haat', which was inaugurated a few years ago in Madhubani district of north Bihar, and plans are afoot to also establish a 'Bhojour Haat' in Rohtas district reflecting the culture of the old Shahabad region, they said.