In the spirit of Rajiv Sethi's masterplan,
Puran's design for a sustainable artist community uses circles as the central motif so that the focus remains inward.
The round homes with central courtyards are for extended families…
…and the centerpiece is an amphitheater fed by two pedestrian walkways that spiral down to the bleachers.
Since the 1970s, there've been dozens of articles, news items, blog entries, and films made about this place…
…and the common thread seems to be that the community is like a fading movie star…
…waiting for her close-up before she vanishes into the mists of time.
Yet there is a real dread in the air here these days.
Men are coming from the outside with clipboards, asking questions like:
what's your name?
how many people live here?
how old are you?
what's your caste?
what's your sub caste?
They've taken a census of every family here and collected thumbprints as signatures from those who cannot write Hindi or Marwari.