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Who was the architect of the Belgian Embassy building in New Delhi?
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Answer: Option B — Satish Gujral
Detailed Solution
Satish Gujral (1925-2020) was an Indian painter, sculptor, muralist, graphic designer and architect. He designed the Belgian Embassy building in New Delhi, completed in 1983. Its unusual design, made of brick and granite and inspired by natural forms and Indian traditions, received international praise. The International Forum of Architects selected it as one of the 1,000 best buildings of the 20th century.
About Satish Gujral:
- He was born in Jhelum, in Punjab (now in Pakistan).
- An illness in childhood caused him to lose his hearing at the age of eight, but he did not let this stop his artistic career.
He studied at the Mayo School of Arts, Lahore, and the Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai, and later in Mexico, where he worked with the famous muralists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros.
His early paintings dealt with the suffering caused by the Partition of India in 1947.
He worked in many media, including paintings, murals, sculptures, collages and burnt-wood art.
He received the Padma Vibhushan in 1999.
His elder brother, Inder Kumar Gujral, served as the 12th Prime Minister of India (1997-98).
Other famous Indian architects:
- Charles Correa: designed the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya (Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad), Jawahar Kala Kendra (Jaipur) and Bharat Bhavan (Bhopal).
- V. Doshi: the first Indian to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize (2018); designed IIM Bangalore and Aranya housing (Indore).
- Laurie Baker: a British-born Indian architect known for low-cost, sustainable buildings in Kerala, called the "Gandhi of Architecture".
- Le Corbusier: a Swiss-French architect who designed Chandigarh.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Charles Correa designed the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya and Jawahar Kala Kendra.
- ✗Laurie Baker is known for low-cost buildings in Kerala.
- ✗V. Doshi won the Pritzker Prize in 2018.
Quick tip
Remember: Belgian Embassy, New Delhi = Satish Gujral (1983); B. V. Doshi = first Indian Pritzker (2018); Le Corbusier = Chandigarh; Laurie Baker = Kerala.
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Art & Culture Personalities — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Art & Culture Personalities, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the people behind India's art and culture: classical and folk dancers, vocalists and instrumentalists, painters, sculptors, theatre and film personalities, and the gurus who founded or revived art forms. Questions also cover the art form each person is known for and the honours they have received. Exams typically name a person and ask for their art form, or name an art form and ask who popularised it. Recent Padma award winners from the arts appear often, so link each name to the field and state the award was given for. Since award lists change every year, always revise from the latest official list rather than relying on older notes. Practise the art and culture personalities questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.