Experiencing architecture is about our response to many stimuli at the same time. It is a sum total of small and big sensory experiences fusing together at that moment when you encounter architecture.
Corbusier in his 'Towards new architecture' says, "The purpose of construction is to make things hold together; of architecture to move us."
What moves us is the five-sensory drama that unfolds when we encounter the built environment. Our mind, in a lightening speed, registers the play of light and shadows, scale of the buildings, patterns emerging out of columns and windows, open spaces within and without, air quality in that space, trees, people, wafting smells in the air and so much more.
In December of 2017, we covered eight cities of
Rajasthan in nine days on the
Royal Enfield Tour of Rajasthan. On most days we left the tarmac connecting big cities and rode through village roads soaking in the rural landscape. Snapshot memories of our ride brings back the sensory drama I talked about earlier. Instantly, I remember small children squealing in joy and waving good bye to bikers. Their smiling faces in contrast to the hot, dusty lanes they inhabit. Tall stone walls flanking both sides of the small street giving nothing of what is inside except for a glimpse of a courtyard through partially-open doors. The door opens up another world which seems disconnected from the streets. Inside, women in colourful garb quietly go about their routine, cowshed in one corner, clothes hung to dry, a boy scribbling something on the cow dung floor, cantilevered stone steps leading up to the flat roof, Neem tree providing cool shadow on the courtyard floor, a world full of life. A place to escape from the harsh climate and dusty landscape. A place for the whole family including the cattle to rest.
This experience of architecture through lanes of Rajasthan was my '
jane kya dikh jaye' moment in Rajasthan tourism advertisement, I saw a different facet of the built environment, one removed from the much publicized monuments and
Havelis. Houses built by people by fine-tuning building practices over generations. Built environment responding to natural environment. There are no excesses, just sometimes, a quilt like appearance, having been built over generations to accommodate increasing family.
As we traversed from flat lands to mountainous regions, every 100 kms architecture changed. It says a lot about people, how they live and respond to the climate. Even though houses in a hamlet look very similar they bear signature of the family that occupies it. Little details of entry, paintings on the walls, compound wall reveals a lot about the family that occupies it.
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| Mud House in Thar Desert, Picture cortesy- Rajasthan Tourism |
On our way to the
Fateh Sagar Lake in
Udaipur, this house caught my attention at one corner. The houses in Udaipur are packed together, white in colour with those little balconies projecting over the small lanes. This one was jostling in the little space it had, trying to adjust to the new ways of life, bearing hoardings and peeping through the electric wires. One little blue window shouting to get some attention, "Hey! I'm here." When I look at this house I think, may be the family owns this shop, aligned above the shop is the blue window with symmetrical niches on both sides, this could be the main part of the house. The room on top looks like an addition for a newly wed member of the family. Had the door been open, I'm sure I'd have had the glimpse of the courtyard and may be some colourful paintings that adorn interiors of the white-washed walls of the courtyards.
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| House on a corner, Udaipur |
The beauty of architecture by people is that it has warmth, familiarity, and its on a scale that one can relate to and very importantly, they are part of community. From afar these houses form a tight woven fabric of sameness but at the eye level each strand stands out with its unique qualities.
Look at the sandstone houses in Jaisalmer, they seem to emerge from the sand, beautifully camouflaging in the desert. One notices terraces, lack of ornament, orthogonal openings, houses forming walls around the fort standing like formidable warriors. The same city from up close is so different in the picture of a residential lane. Again, closely packed houses to keep heat of the desert out. The formidable warrior giving in to the softer, human side. Raised Otlas (platforms) shaded by narrow lanes for men to sit outside and catch up, delicate elevated
Jharokas for women to enjoy the breeze away from prying eyes of strangers, detailing of jaalis and wooden doors, built in harmony with the climate and social etiquette.
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| Jaisalmer houses and Fort |
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| Night view of a Lane in Jaisalmer |
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| Wooden Door Detail |
The contrasting images of traditional houses and the new buildings mushrooming in Rajasthan cities brought about some very crucial questions. Why are we creating nameless, faceless houses for people when they themselves are capable of creating perfect built environments? Why are small towns where land is available giving into multi-storied concrete houses? Is it because skilled builders of the community are dwindling in numbers or are concrete houses more aspirational?
When we step out of architecture colleges, we're only thinking about designing buildings when actually architecture goes beyond that. It is about creating solutions not necessarily through buildings. It is more about working closely with the communities to find how they live and learn from age old practices for harmonious built environment. Is it possible to look at mud in a different way? Is it possible to reinvent old materials to suit today's lifestyle?
Why would one want to go live in a place where all the houses look the same. Where's the shout out of the blue window gone?
Bibliography:
http://tourism.gov.in/gallery-images/83
https://royalenfield.com/rides/
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