An Australian Architect & Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Center

Recently I was approached by a Aussie architect who was bidding for a new language and cultural center in Singapore. The Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Center. This Center has a deep and distinguished place in Singapore's tamil education history. I was excited about this new center. I agreed to help provide the Australian architect some much-needed social history and context. My hope was that it would help in shaping his bid.

1. The original school was built in 1946 by the Kadayanallur Muslim League. It was named after a Muslim poet called Umar. The Tamil word "pullavar" in the school's name refers to not just a poet. But a cultured scholar who is well versed in Tamil literature and language. All of this entirely escaped the Aussie architect who kept telling me of his vision to build a cultural institution like the Arab center that he had seen in New York etc.

2. I knew alot about the school and its history, its values and spirit as my mom was its Vice-Principal for 23 years. I remember running up and down the stairs in the school as a little girl. My mom was very happy in the school - she worked hard and had a solid set of teachers and friends in that school. She even told me the story of the school servant who used to live in the school and how he died suddenly when his wife was out marketing. My mom cried when the government decided to close down the school as a high school and convert it into a language center. Drawing on personal stories of people connected with the school's history would deeply enrich the bid. But that was not to be.

3. This Aussie architect who had approached me asked me some really superficial questions about the school. He had hardly any interest in building a new center that honors the school's history and its essence while looking to the future. A bridge between past and future - that is what I thought was the key. Not just a modern building with no reference to its history - which was colorful and beautiful.

4. The fact that he had very little knowledge about Tamils or Tamil language/education/history also compounded the problem. Tamil is a highly poetic and sensual language and there are many rich possibilities that architects can play with. There are beautiful poems celebrating nature, intellect and arts. A good Tamil consultant well versed in the language and it poetic sensibilities would have been an important asset.

5. I had sent the architect an article written by a top educationalist in Singapore on Singapore's bilingual policy and Tamil language role in it. This of course is critical since the school existed and operated within a multicultural and multilingual educational setting in Singapore. He had taken that article entirely out of context and started to build a concept called "reservoirs of knowledge" around it. He claimed that it translated well into Tamil as a reservoir or pond. Huh? He claimed that it was a common gathering places in temples and villages in India where people washed and chatted. Yes, maybe so in India - but what relevance is it to Singapore? No one gathers around any pond in Singapore - now or historically. In fact none of the mosques or temples in Singapore have a pond on their grounds.

6. Morever, a pond or reservoir of knowledge does not translate well into Tamil culture and identity. A pond is one of the lowest forms of water bodies in the Tamil literature. A waterfall or ocean in contrast is majestic and celebrated in Tamil poems and literature. Not a common pond. To link the concept of a pond to a center of scholarship and creativity is deeply flawed and is forcing a western concept onto a Tamil philosophy. It is like oil and water. A bad fit.

7. There were other rude shocks in store for me in the proposal he sent me a day before the bid submission deadline (which was unprofessional). It was filled with random images of public institutions in Delhi and quotes from western scholars on Indian architecture. Another dead give away that this is a sloppy job. India is incredibly vast and diverse. North India has its own architectural vocabulary and culture which has no nexus to the South Indian architecture. Trying to elevate the proposal by dropping by Western names on Indian architecture also seemed unauthentic. Why not quote some of the founders (who are still alive) or their dreams for the center. The most intelligent thing to do is to look at Kadayanallur - the place in Tamil Nadu where the school's founders were from and study its motifs and forms.

8. It was evident that he had done little research. His sole defense - the Ministry of Education in Singapore who is on the selection panel - are clueless too and therefore he does not need to present a solid and well researched proposal. The Blind leading the blind. How enlightened !!! In any event he was mistaken I found a well researched article - a speech given by MOE Minister in 2002 about Umar Pullar and its distinguished history.

On a personal level it pains me to see how Singapore institutions are being approached with such little regard for our unique Singapore-Tamil culture, identity and history. I had hoped that independent professionals like architects could help make a positive impact. With this architect after I have fed him with tonnes of research ideas and critiqued his bid heavily he revised it overnight. But I had by that time lost all confidence in him and his bid. He also failed to acknowledge my contribution to his revised bid. He had made significant revisions based on all my comments and research that I had given him. This struck me as both unprofessional and unethical.

Architects have the opportunity to play such a pivotal social role. It saddens me when they fail to balance their profit goals with their social role. Minorities cultures like the Tamils in Singapore (4% of the entire population) look to their public buildings as a source of cultural pride and identity. When they see key public buildings celebrating Tamil built with no reference to their culture, language or identity it can have a deeply alienating impact on us. Western architects should slow down and think through some of these cultural issues and admit to their inadequate personal cultural knowledge before rushing in to submit bids. Have some humility - consult some experts in the minority space. Do the people who will use the building some justice. Demonstrate some cultural sensitivity.