Old Architecture In India, Old Architecture Related Positive News

Known as the seat of Rajput valour and glory, the birthplace of the majestic Maharana Pratap and a splendid ode to Rajput architecture, Kumbhalgarh is away from the popular tourist haunts of Rajasthan. All for the better, believes Saurabh Chauhan as he is regaled with a mesmerizing tale of the historical city, which he retells with his characteristic humour. Read also his previous travelogue of Orccha. They say a journey of ten thousand miles begins with a single step. Mine began with a piece of trivia – Where is the second longest single wall in the world? I am forever grateful to whoever posed this little query as it led me straight to the veritable treasure that is Kumbhalgarh. A 360 km drive from Jaipur and a mere 82km from Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh and its impregnable fort are little known gems of the Rajasthan tourist circuit. Kumbhalgarh sees perhaps a fraction of the tourist traffic that converges on its more illustrious cousins. [caption id="attachment_5561" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="A de-winged Mig-27 makes an interesting sight along Rajasthan’s state roads."]

A de-winged Mig-27 makes an interesting sight along Rajasthan’s state roads.

[/caption] The drive to Kumbhalgarh from Delhi, all 630 km of it, courtesy of Rajasthan’s fantastic roads, wasn’t particularly painful. In fact, Rajasthan is perhaps the only state where the state and village roads are in as good if not better shape than the carriageways of the NHAI. An evening stopover in Jaipur and we were on our way the next morning to intrepid Kumbhalgarh. Smooth roads paved the way and the kilometres rolled away quickly until we turned away from the moaning trucks and plumes of powdery grey smoke turning right into what can best be described as no more than a paved forest path surrounded by a thicket of local brush. The silence of the forest only broken by the sound of rubber on asphalt or the occasional call of a feathered friend. The last village bazaars only a few kilometres behind us seemed like a world away. Here there was only the wind blowing through the hives of Khejri trees, seemingly on vacation from the harsher climes of the Thar; where it grows as a lifeline to local communities. [caption id="attachment_5564" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Stepwell"]

[/caption] We drove through a stone archway, standing tall and resolute. The first sign of what men had reclaimed from the thicket of nature. A short distance away a sign board read “Kumbhalgarh Fort 1km”. We stopped next to the sign and what appeared to be a crumbling stepwell that perhaps once quenched the thirst of the fort sentinels. Its bottom was mostly arid except for some bright green moss that betrayed the presence of the water that must have once filled its 50 foot cavity. The final kilometre, an undulating serpent of grey, culminates in the road rising up much like a camel’s hump, and at its summit presenting the pearl that the surrounding hills conceal within their bosom. It was perhaps by design than by accident that this unimaginably large structure is not visible until the final one hundred metres, when it leaves you both spellbound and speechless, its majesty and magnificence beyond words and the sheer grit of its creator beyond the mere human. [caption id="attachment_5565" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The preliminary stone archway. A kilometre from Kumbhalgarh fort"]

The preliminary stone archway. A kilometre from Kumbhalgarh fort

[/caption] The walls of the Kumbhalgarh fort extend along the ridges of surrounding hills for as far as the eye can see. Thirty six kilometres of wall, fifteen feet at its thickest, enclose a fort that lies on the borders of the medieval kingdoms of Mewar and Marwar. Rich in both history and tradition, the ramparts of the fort can only be described as resembling the ample belly of a jolly halwai (sweet-maker). We stopped for a moment at the viewing platform that has been constructed at about a hundred metres from the fort from where visitors can take in the scale of this stone and mortar wonder. Perhaps fortuitously we had arrived here around sunset and as the sun got lower in the sky it splashed the rugged grey walls turning them orange and pink. A sight that no camera in the world can do justice to. [caption id="attachment_5567" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The first view of the great fort at Kumbhalgarh with its winding wall"]

The first view of the great fort at Kumbhalgarh

[/caption] The final hundred meters were traversed on foot and as we neared the stone hewn walls, the size and scale of each turret became clear. Each turret with a strong trunk and a wide pot-bellied base supported a column of the wall. From the Ram Pol (or Ram Gate, the main gate of the fort) we could look up and see a small hill within the fort atop which stood the palace of Kumbhalgarh. Through the Ram Pol was another unusual sight - open expanses of land with houses, temples, fields - a whole city within the bosom of this fortress. Over a plate of hot Maggi noodles, served at one of the fort eateries we got talking to a local gentleman who claimed to be the caretaker of one of the temples. He unravelled five hundred years of history, or his version thereof, for us. [caption id="attachment_5568" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Ram Pol or Ram Gate. The main gate to the fort (image courtesy: Wikipedia)"]

Ram Pol or Ram Gate. The main gate to the fort

[/caption] Legend has it he said, that when Rana Kumbha set out to built his majestic fort, one of eighty four he built during his lifetime, his first few attempts met with failure. He tried all nature of pujas (rituals done as offering to please religious deities) and havans (rituals making offerings to a consecrated fire) to appease the gods but none succeeded. On the verge of relinquishing his vision of the fort the Rana sat at the banks of a nearby stream drowning his sorrow. Here he chanced upon an old mystic. The mystic looked upon the Rana and smiled, gesturing him to sit beside him. The Rana, as if transfixed, complied immediately. The mystic spoke telepathically and told the Rana that the only way he would be able to find a perfect site for the fort was if he could find someone who was willing to sacrifice his life for the cause of the people of Mewar. Human sacrifice I thought, always a popular panacea for the medieval world. The caretaker continued – the sacrifice had to be carried out through decapitation and a temple was to be built where the head fell. The site of the walls would be indicated by the location of the remainder of the body. There is a lesson in this story for town planners from every era. A willing party was eventually found and a site commemorating his poor luck, in the form of a temple memorial still stands at the fort’s Hanuman Pol. [caption id="attachment_5569" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The temples inside the fort"]

[/caption] Built continuously from the 15th to 19th centuries the Kumbhalgarh fort is a true testament to the will of its founder Rana Kumbha; who also built what is perhaps the most refined symbol of Rajput architecture – the Vijay Stambh at Chittaurgarh. The fort fell only once in its entire history, owing to a prolonged conflict that led to an acute shortage of water to the combined forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar and three Rajput kingdoms. The fort, strategically placed, provided refuge to many kings and dynasties throughout its history, the most well-known being Maharana Pratap, who claimed the mighty fort of Kumbhalgarh as his birthplace and the founder of Udaipur – Raja Udai Singh - who also sought refuge behind its broad walls. The story of the caretaker was rudely interrupted by the announcement that the fort would be lit for fifteen minutes and all parties interested could make their way to the viewing platform. Our guide – very keen that we see this – promised to continue his tales when we returned. [caption id="attachment_5570" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Shiva temple in the foreground"]

[/caption] A half hour later, in considerable darkness, seated in the Shiva temple to which our guide tended, the story continued. He pointed to the large lingam, covered in vermillion and surrounded by the thick scent of incense, that rose from the centre of the circular room – “This, was specifically built keeping in mind Rana Kumbha” sure I thought, it was his fort, everything must have been built to his whims. As if reading my mind he shook his head “It is said that when meditating before a lingam, the top of the lingam must be at eye level when seated.” This lingam was a good two and half feet above my head even when standing. “Rana Kumbha was over seven feet tall and everything in this temple has been built to his scale” he continued. As we walked out of the temple he regaled us with tales of giant lamps lit at night to aid farmers in working on their farms all through the valley. “100 kg of cotton and 50 kg of ghee were burnt in each lamp every night” he claimed. Why would anyone want to farm at night, I wondered, when these were days devoid of unsympathetic managers and end of the month sales targets. As we parted ways he asked me my name. “Saurabh” I muttered. Not satisfied with “Saurabh” he insisted on my full name – “Poora naam. Poora naam”. “Chauhan” I said, “Saurabh Chauhan”. His reaction was sudden and immediate, almost as though someone had pulled some strings, he bowed his head, held my hand between his and touched it almost reverentially to his forehead and pronounced a loud “Jai Deva!” More staggered by this peculiar turn of events I managed to barely return the greeting, weakly smiling at him as we left. He waved enthusiastically till we were out of sight. [caption id="attachment_5571" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The palace within Kumbhalgarh’s walls"]

[/caption] Its tradition as deeply rooted as its expansive walls, the Kumbhalgarh fort is a delightful site that is perhaps better served by the thin tourist traffic it receives. Its obscure location is perhaps the only insurance against the decay that only the apathetic tourist can bring. The surrounding hills have defended their citadel well for hundreds of years and I left in the hope that this would continue. All Photos: Saurabh Chauhan (other than mentioned) Read his previous travelogue here.

Saurabh Chauhan (chau_s on twitter) is a travel aficionado who enjoys traversing the vast distances around India behind the wheel of a car. He uses the phrase "I'll call you back" with annoying frequency. His short term goal is to teach his dog Hobbes to "bow" like a samurai warrior. In his spare time he practices law.

Today, join us as we explore a mysterious ruins, and try to unravel the baffling secret that forced people living for five centuries in 82 villages to just pack up and leave overnight! Enter the world of the unknown at Kuldhara in Rajasthan. Shrouded in enigma, surrounded by myths, believed to be haunted and cursed, this is a place that lights up the darkest recesses of our imagination. A must-see! [caption id="attachment_6927" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

Kuldhara in Rajasthan is probably the only place in the world where an entire population of over 17,000 people vacated en masse, of their own accord, and disappeared into the thick of a misty night never to return.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6928" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

It was with a great sense of mystery that I visited the twin-villages of Kuldhara and Khaba, 30 kms to the west of Jaisalmer. These two, and 82 other villages, were deserted overnight by the Paliwal Brahmins after living there for over 5 centuries: from 1291 AD to 1825 AD.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6929" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

As a Rajasthani folk song about this mass migration goes, ‘Let’s leave the calves in the stables, let’s leave the cradles, let’s leave the milk boiling on the cooking fire; let’s leave all that we have here, never to come back again.’[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6932" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

The Paliwals were astute businessmen who controlled the trade on the Silk Route to Iran and the Arab lands. They were also visionary farmers who knew a lot about water conservation and rain harvesting, and miraculously cultivated wheat and gram in these harsh deserts.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6933" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

Then what made them make the supreme sacrifice of deserting their homeland, leaving behind the colossal wealth they had created over five centuries? Continue on to Page 2 to find out more![/caption]

Ashwin Mudigonda saw the BBC’s Human Planet, and was awestruck by the living root bridges of Nongriat (watch a video here). He decided to make a trip to Meghalaya and see the bridges. Here, illustrated by beautiful photographs, is an account of his thrilling adventure, which started with a flight to Shillong from Kolkata aboard a tiny turboprop.

Approaching Shillong, one can see why Meghalaya was named so - the abode of the clouds. One feels as if one is flying over an Amazonian rainforest, with the lush vegetation and languid fluffy clouds.

After spending the night at Shillong, I took a shared Sumo to the market in Sohra in Cherrapunjee. From here, I took a Maruthi 800 taxi to Cherra Resort. It is here that I was told that a stairway descends into the realms of the magical root-bridges.

The Cherra Market is a lively place where farmers, vendors from the area come together to sell their wares. The succulent oranges of the area are famous for their sweetness and distinctive taste. They burst in your mouth on contact and release the most delicious orange juice you have never tasted! I purchased a dozen to keep me satiated and hydrated for the journey ahead.

The farther you go away from the winding and maddening streets of Shillong, the calmer you begin to feel. After a point, it was just sheer poetry - the chilly mountain air, the rolling green meadows, the warmth of the Meghalayan sun suffusing you. Small wonder that the British christened Shillong - The Scotland of the East.

The single childhood geography trivia rushed to my head - I was in Cherrapunji, the wettest place on the planet. Yet there was not a drop of rain in sight. My slow ride to the Cherra Resort was peppered by these tidbits of information on giant boulders.

Not many of us know that there are more than 1300 monuments in and around New Delhi! And more importantly, there are only a few who care for the 3 World Heritage Sites, 174 National Protected Monuments and over hundreds of state protected monuments and several unprotected and lesser known monuments of this historical and epical city. Today we proudly feature someone who cares; presenting Vikramjit Singh Rooprai – the creator of www.monumentsofdelhi.com New Delhi, the national capital of India - its very name brings into mind the image of Red Fort, lanes of Chandni Chowk, India Gate and many other monumental visuals that are proudly associated with this city. What started as Indraprastha from the times of Mahabharata has now become the darling city in many chirpy songs and movies. It is believed to be established around 2500 BC and since then nearly 90 rulers from a dozen dynasties have ruled the throne through this city. [caption id="attachment_8518" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

Every monument of Delhi is a historical legacy![/caption] Each dynasty and ruler contributed to the architectural heritage of the city and today Delhi has not less than 1300 monuments within the boundaries of these historic cities, namely Indraprastha, Lal Kot & Qila Rai Pithora, Dar-Ul-khilafat (aka Siri), Tughlaqabad, Jahanpanah, Ferozabad, Deenpanah and Shergarh, Shahjahanabad and the Lutyen’s Delhi. This historical importance was enough for Vikramjit to work on an exclusive website www.monumentsofdelhi.com.

It is a website to spread awareness about the rich Heritage of Delhi. We had 1300+ monuments but less than 800 are left. Government of India controls only 174 and Government of Delhi controls around 300-400 of these monuments! Rest all are getting ruined due to heavy neglect. While the government agencies and several NGOs are doing active work to restore these forgotten masterpieces of architecture to their original glory, Monuments-Of-Delhi also wishes to contribute by taking the responsibility to introduce them to the world, so they are no longer ignored and lost in time. The website aims to talk about several ancient mosques, baolis, havelis, walls, gateways, forts, gardens and roads – all those monuments which define the spirit of Delhi.

Indeed, it sounds wonderful and very significant too. So how did Vikram think of working on these lines?

I am an ardent traveler. One day, I realized that I have seen half of India and around 8-9 countries other than India but haven’t been able to see Delhi properly. So I set out to discover and explore each and every monument and that was when I realized how ignorant we are! The city we live in has so much architectural treasure and we all keep neglecting or worse, spoiling it! So I took this initiative to spread the awareness.

[caption id="attachment_8519" align="aligncenter" width="310"]

Vikramjit Singh Rooprai[/caption] Vikram also runs a club called ‘Delhi Heritage Photography Club’. With this club, he takes people to unknown monuments once or twice every month. In the last 2 years, his club has done over 80 Photo-walks and one major exhibition at India Habitat Centre, the details of which can be found on their facebook page.

Delhi Heritage Photography Club has become my life now. I not only feel proud, but also blessed that I bring dozens of people closer to their own heritage. I was working in an MNC, which is one of the top 5 digital marketing companies of the world. I was heading the IT Research Division. But this heritage passion took over so much that I resigned from this lucrative job and started my own IT Company. Today, the company I started 2 years ago helps me pay all my bills and I spend most of my time reading books and exploring the streets of Delhi. Many of my office meetings are followed by some heritage hunt.

Vikram has located and correctly mapped over 500 monuments so far. He plans to find all 1317 monuments and spread the word about heritage in such a way that every child in Delhi will start loving this city. He candidly clarifies,

I am not preserving. I am just trying to spread the awareness. It was a pain in my heart for how careless we are about our own city. We just keep cursing agencies like ASI and Government of India but how much contribution are we doing except scribbling on the walls and pillars! My club is now having 2000 members and spreading awareness about heritage through their photographs. Every few days, I am contacted by some new person, who is interesting in helping the heritage of Delhi. I am inspiring people to write Blogs about heritage and lesser known Monuments of Delhi.

What makes his contribution so praiseworthy is the fact that all this has been done by him alone. Monuments of Delhi is a one man army. Sometimes, he is supported by a few philanthropists; but most of the time, he works alone. Recently, he even organized a Mehrauli Walk with his club members and conducted a Heritage Durbar, where they talked about the origin of Sufism and the 22 Khawajas of Delhi. Vikram had invited famous walk leader Asif Khan Dehlvi to give a talk on Sufism.

Monuments of Delhi website is supposed to contain each and every detail for every monument. These days, I am reading some old books and trying to build up a huge inventory. The website you see right now is just a mock site with dummy data. Real thing is coming up by the end of this year.

We cheer for the dedication and passion of Vikram and whole-heartedly support his cause. People like Vikram are true inspiration who enthuse everyone around to take care of our rich national heritage. Shouldn’t we all contribute a bit to this noble cause and work to bring back the glory of old Indraprastha?

This post was published on Halabol Voices, which is an initiative of Halabol – a platform for initiating change, and reprinted here with permission.

Mohan Rao is a Landscape architect at IndeDesign. He wanted to explore how to design cities with sustainable water management. On this quest, in Hampi, India, Rao uncovered a reservoir system dating to the Hindu empire of ancient Vijayanagra, circa 1000AD, that had sustained a population of half million (five lakhs) people for hundreds of years with very little rainfall. With the help of the Architectural Survey of India, Rao's work in Hampi has provided much needed models for water supply management in the development of cities and urban complexes around the globe. Rao's ancient discovery could promise to unlock the answer to the world's dwindling water supplies.

Watch this video to see what Rao discovered about Hampi's water management!

Hampi, India: Ancient Water For Our Future | Richard Yelland from Focus Forward Films.

Credits: Focus Forward Films

From the strategically placed Shivling to the legendary deities and folk tales, the stones of Mamallapuram have lives of their own. Know more about the mesmerizing stories behind this amazing World Heritage–listed and also learn about the new community of artists close by which is keeping the tradition alive!

The stones that came to life at the hands of the Pallava sculptors here have been breathing for the last 1,500 years.

And the stones that have just been given life by their descendants will be breathing for the next 1,500. That’s the living tradition of an artistic land called Mamallapuram. [caption id="attachment_16333" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Arjuna's Penance: a detail[/caption]

The whole village here is a World Heritage Site, with a small area of 8 sqkms and a miniscule population of less than 8,000. Around 200 of them carry forward the magical tradition of breathing life into stone.

And in many houses you will find three generations of sculptors chiseling under one roof; their chisels falling on granite rocks in an inherited symphony. It was at the sanctum sanctorum of the Shore Temple that I had the darshan of the best guide I had ever met. His name was C. K. Prasad, and he looked the most unlikely candidate for the job. He was well-dressed to a fault, and had a quiet presence that only comes with intense introspection. [caption id="attachment_16336" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Tiger's Cave[/caption] He was a retired civil engineer who lived in Chennai, and traveled 60 kms every day only because he was in love with Mamallapuram. He didn’t have a fixed rate for his service. He would be happy with anything that I gave him, he said, because he would have done it anyway for free! Later I was to realize that he was an encyclopaedia of Pallava art and history, and I really wondered if he wasn’t a descendant of a Mamalla king of yester-years. The Shore Temple was excavated by the British from the golden sands of Mamallapuram in the 1900s, but it went under the sand again in the dreaded tsunami of 2004.

After the second excavation, 80 guardian Nandis have been lined up to form a protective ring around the sacred Shivling here. But will they be able to protect the God of Destruction from the next tsunami? I wonder.

[caption id="attachment_16334" align="aligncenter" width="681"]

River Ganges descending a natural fissure[/caption] A unique feature of this temple is that the shivling here is so strategically placed that it is bathed in a golden sunlight, both at sunrise and sunset. Situated bang in the middle of what was once a busy sea-port, it is considered to be the very first example of the finely evolved Dravidian style of architecture. It is interesting to note that of all the temples in Mamallapuram, there’s only one that’s live: the Vishnu temple in the heart of the village. The others are all just architectural monuments: some rock-cut, some monolithic.

The most spectacular of the monolithic ones is Five Rathas. These are five temples in the shape of five chariots, each one carved in a different architectural style.

[caption id="attachment_16331" align="aligncenter" width="681"]

Five Rathas: a detail[/caption] Though they are named after the Pandavas, the deities inside are Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Indra and Surya. Then I saw an amazing cave with two dramatically opposite scenes enacted on either side of the cave: on the left was the gruesome scene of Durga slaying Mahishasura, and on the right was the tranquil, cosmic sleep of Vishnu reclining on the serpent Shesh Nag. Behind this cave is the light house of the Pallavas which was lit by a fireplace and not a lamp.

To its right is the world’s largest bas-relief sculpture measuring all of 100 feet by 40 feet, where the main visual is Arjuna standing on one leg and doing penance in Kailas.

[caption id="attachment_16332" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

The world's largest bas-relief sculpture[/caption] The natural fissure in this massive boulder has been incorporated into the sculpture itself. So in monsoon the gushing water that flows through the fissure looks like River Ganga descending from Kailas to the Earth.

To the north of this man-made marvel is a marvel of nature. A huge boulder with a height of 35 feet so precariously placed on a slope that it looks like it could be toppled by the gentle push of a little kid.

But village folklore has it that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not move it by an inch. For some strange reason, this humongous inedible rock is called Krishna’s Butter Ball. All these wonders in stone are sprinkled in a radius of just 2 kms. The only one that’s away from here is a piece that should not be missed. It’s on the Mamallapuram-Chennai highway, some four kms away, and is called the Tiger’s Cave. This is an open-air theatre, and the stage is lodged right inside the mouth of a sculpted tiger! Next to the cave is a watch-tower in the shape of an obelisk, from where on a clear day you could spot the enemy in the sea. [caption id="attachment_16335" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Krishna's Butter Ball[/caption] The many structures that are left incomplete here show that Mahabalipuram was still work-in-progress even after two centuries of chiseling. And the work couldn’t be completed because the chisels of the Pallavas were silenced by those of the Cholas who captured their kingdom. But when the dust of the battle settled, a new style emerged that was a blend of the Pallava style and the Chola style. A style that carried on the tradition of breathing life into stone.

Legend has it that once a sthapathi or a master sculptor in Mamallapuram created an idol so full of life that when the chisel fell on the deity’s hand, the hand started bleeding!

[caption id="attachment_16337" align="aligncenter" width="681"]

Cholamandal: a modern Indian idiom[/caption]

Cholamandal Artists’ Village: At a sculpted stone’s throw

When the Pallavas were vanquished by the Cholas, the art too underwent a metamorphosis. The robust Pallava style was tempered by a more lyrical Chola style, the epitome of which is seen in the sculpture of the dancing Nataraja. Inspired by this, K.C.S.Paniker, a pioneer in modern Indian art, established Cholamandal Artists’ Village between Mamallapuram and Chennai on the East Coast.

The idea was to have a community of artists living and working in the same place. Artists who wanted to break away from Western influences and search for a distinctly Indian idiom.

[caption id="attachment_16338" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Cholamandal: an organic sculpture[/caption] The result was a style that was an amalgamation of imagery from tantra, motifs from yantra, mathematical symbols, Indian mythology, and even Indian calligraphy. All of which was witnessed in the Madras Art Movement for the very first time in Indian paintings. When I walked into this idyllic art world, I was greeted by an affable lady who took me around. First to K.C.S. Paniker Museum of the Madras Art Movement, and then to the two adjoining art galleries. But the open-air international sculpture park was a unique experience. The sculptures here took on a different meaning altogether as they sprouted from the landscape like living organisms.

As I drove back to Chennai, a thought crossed my mind. Whether it is the traditional sculptures that are influenced by the Pallavas or the contemporary sculptures that are inspired by the Cholas, every stone in Mamallapuram has a life of its own.

[caption id="attachment_16339" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Cholamandal: art and nature in communion[/caption] TYPE: ART & HERITAGE BEST FROM: CHENNAI or MAMALLAPURAM YOU NEED: 2 DAYS When to go: Right through the year. Where to stay: Call 044 25389857 or visit www.tamilnadutourism.org for bookings.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

About the author & photographer: After 28 years in advertising as a writer and creative director, Gangadharan Menon quit the profession to take up his first and second love: teaching and travel. He has over 90 published articles that recount the joy of travelling in this amazing country. A member of Bombay Natural History Society, he is an avid wildlife photographer too. His first collection of travel writings titled Evergreen Leaves is now available. He can be contacted on wildganges[at]gmail.com

Despite being located in an earthquake-prone region, residents of Uttarkashi do not hesitate in constructing multi-storey houses. These elaborate buildings in Rajgarhi area of Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand are perfect examples of splendid architecture as well as earthquake-resistant engineering.

Called Koti Banal, these buildings have been named after a village in the district and have successfully survived many minor and major earthquakes in the past ten centuries.

Even the extremely disastrous earthquakes, in recent times the 1991 and the 1999 ones that killed thousands of people and caused immense damage to property including many concrete structures in the state, could not move these buildings. One such building in Guna has been standing tall for more than 728 years now. Koti Banal style came into existence about 900 years ago and is hailed as one of the finest specimens of architecture as well as of earthquake-resistant design. The houses are built using locally available materials like stone-filled solid platforms and there is an extensive use of wood, which offer special advantages over other materials during earthquakes.

The height of these houses is usually 7 to 12 metres above the base. The traditional houses usually have five storeys. Some of the key features of these houses include a simple layout of the structure; construction on an elaborate, solid and raised platform; incorporation of wooden beams all through the height of the building at regular intervals; small openings and shear walls. Extensive use of locally available wood was made in these homes since wood is an elasto-plastic material with the ability to absorb the brunt of an earthquake.

The sole objective behind the construction of these houses was safety and not much attention was paid to the comfort of the inhabitants. This reason has led to many such dwellings being abandoned in recent times.

People have also started destroying these structures in order to use the building material for the construction of new and modern houses. Lack of awareness is further causing the slow death of these traditional houses which represent a strong cultural heritage. Photos and inputs from : Dr. Piyoosh Rautela and Girish Chandra Joshi. Check out their full report on these extra ordinary structures.

Watch the video that explains more about the technique -

[embedvideo id="Q8sawbmx_tg" website="youtube"]

Featured image: www.worldfpa.org

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

This team of architects is making sure the urban poor get better homes with sanitation. Not only do they provide them with better dwellings within the city, they also create more income generation opportunities for the women living in the slums. Here's how they are rehabilitating slum dwellers and redesigning their living spaces. Shelter Associates, an NGO, works to facilitate access to better housing and provide basic services like sanitation, electricity, water, etc., to the urban poor. They do so by using technology to collect comprehensive data, which is further used for inclusive and effective planning.

Started in 1993 by architect Pratima Joshi, the NGO has worked extensively in Pune and Sangli, Maharashtra, on the design for relocation of 31 slums and rehabilitation of their inhabitants.

[caption id="attachment_18015" align="aligncenter" width="3504"]

Pratima Joshi (front) spearheaded the initiative to make slums a better place.

Pratima Joshi (front) spearheaded the initiative to redesign and improve living conditions in slums.[/caption] “Hardly 10 percent of the Indian population can afford architects. It is considered to be a profession for the elite. Hence, the remaining population is rarely served by architects – least of all the poor in the city. It made me think and I, along with two other architect friends, founded Shelter Associates. Our architectural training did not build capacities to work for the degraded areas of the city and hence we had to start from scratch,” says Pratima. She realized early on that lack of real time data was a major impediment to designing and implementing realistic projects on the ground. "So we started developing the poverty mapping aspect of our work by mapping the slums and getting comprehensive ground data, which included mapping existing infrastructure and getting detailed socio-economic data from each family residing in the slums," she says.

Using Google Maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Shelter Associates started to generate critical data on urban slums, which pinpointed the gaps in delivery of essential services.

[caption id="attachment_18017" align="aligncenter" width="4608"]

Shelter Associates' presentation to government bodies

Shelter Associates makes presentations to government bodies[/caption] GIS is a technique used to analyze data connected to a specific location. This data includes overall census information, as well as information about infrastructure and access to facilities such as toilets, water, etc. The team spent several years on the ground to get the right data and partnered with the communities as well as local, state, and central governments to start small projects like rehabilitating hutments. They later moved on to bigger projects. The major issue in urban planning in the country is the lack of up-to-date, comprehensive and detailed information about urban areas. This lack of information leads to the failure of various urban municipalities projects, according to Pratima. "In the absence of information and understanding of slums, these settlements are typically considered to be chaotic masses rather than coherent urban areas. They are easily ignored or are dealt with by programmes aimed specifically at slums, not recognising them as integral parts of the city," says the Shelter Associates team. The organization decided to address this issue through comprehensive data collection for inclusive urban planning. Their mission of getting a more accurate picture of the city's slums resulted in a slum directory, which is a powerful tool for integrating low-income settlements into the city’s development plans.

The team has mapped over 355 slums in Pune and Sangli – this initiative covers over a lakh families residing in these slums. The data is being used for better urban planning of settlements.

[caption id="attachment_18013" align="aligncenter" width="4608"]

Shelter Associates uses technology to map slums and make optimum use of space.[/caption]

“We believe in a collaborative and participatory approach where all stakeholders are involved in the decision-making and implementation of projects that will result in a better environment for the poor,” says Pratima.

Apart from the mapping and redesigning work, Shelter Associates has been extensively working to improve sanitation conditions in these areas. They have provided better sanitation facilities to over 50,000 urban poor in Maharashtra.

Shelter Associates also won a $250,000 award from Google Impact Challenge to make Sangli an open-defecation-free city by constructing at least 500 toilets in the city.

[caption id="attachment_18014" align="aligncenter" width="3240"]

Thanks to Shelter Associates, many houses in Sangli have their personal and clean toilets.[/caption] In Pune, Shelter Associates won another grant from Dasra foundation to build another 1500 individual toilets in slum homes. So far, over 700 toilets have been constructed and some of the slums have been made open-defecation-free, like the Rajiv Gandhi slum where over 95 per cent families now have individual toilets, and the rest have access to public toilets. This was done on a cost-sharing model where the families contributed 30 per cent of the total cost of the toilets. The organization has also constructed community toilets in Sangli and Miraj, which include accommodation for a caretaker and a biogas system. The biogas system converts human waste into energy, which is used by various families in the community. Shivrai Nagar is yet another locality which has benefited a lot from Shelter Associates' intervention. The locality lacked even the basic toilets, waste management and water supply facilities that are provided to slum-dwellers. 40 percent of the families Shelter Associates contacted had no toilet access. In fact, even the community toilet was located a kilometre away. This resulted in over 2,000 people defecating in the open. The team constructed over 105 toilets on cost-sharing basis and gave much needed relief to the residents.

In addition to their work in sanitation and planning, Shelter Associates has started a livelihood opportunity for women in urban slums.

[caption id="attachment_18019" align="aligncenter" width="680"]

The women from slums make bags out of old saris to get some extra income.[/caption] In the Sangli slums, only 30 percent of women were employed, compared to almost 70 percent in the slums of Pune. Through the Cloth Bag project, they are teaching women to produce environment-friendly, reusable shopping bags, which are sold both locally and internationally. They are also focusing on their sanitation project and want to get 2500 toilets constructed by 2016. “It is very important to bring everyone on board if you want to bring a substantial change. The approach should be data driven and very inclusive, only then can something as complex as urban planning can be successful,” says Pratima. Shelter Associates has given the urban poor a chance to live in better conditions and have access to basic facilities that they are entitled to. To know more about their work, visit their website.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

Chilly winter nights in Delhi should be a little bearable for about 125 homeless families in the city this year, as they will have some shelter to call their own. All thanks to one organization that has been distributing tents among the homeless.

“Many people tell us that we are promoting homelessness. But we are not. We don’t say that the homeless should be living on the streets. First of all, they shouldn’t even be there. But while they are on the streets and are losing their lives because of different reasons, including the weather, can we not do something to protect them?” says Swati Janu, Senior Designer at Micro Home Solutions (mHS CITY LAB), a social enterprise working for the homeless in India.

And so, keeping the larger problem in mind, the team at mHS went out in October last year to find a way of providing shelter to the homeless in Delhi.

[caption id="attachment_40017" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]

Women feel safe because of these tents.[/caption]

“We have been working with the homeless since six years now. We had also designed shelters for them with the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board in 2010. But since then, the government hasn’t really been building more shelters…and the requirement has increased. So, instead of waiting for the government to take action, we thought of doing something on our own -- something with a bottom up approach where we can work with people and enable communities to build shelters on their own,” adds Swati.

Thus began the 100 Shelter Project, with the aim of providing shelters to 100 families in Delhi. The team designed an easy-to-make tent that can be used as a temporary shelter at night. They began by distributing the tents in different parts of the city in August this year, and have distributed over 125 of them till now.

It is a crowd funded project, for which they raised money through donations in June this year.

[caption id="attachment_40015" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]

The tents can easily be set up on pavements[/caption]

mHS has created some very simple drawings, explaining how the tents are made, with a view to ensuring that the idea can be replicated by others who wish to help.

The tent-making process utilises three easily available materials – bamboo that is locally available, joints made of welded rebars (reinforcing bars) that can be fabricated by any local welder, and thick canvas that is used as the surface of the tents. The drawings are such that a welder will quickly understand the angles at which the attachments should be made, and the person responsible for bamboos can see how much length will be required.

The stitching has also been explained, and the team is trying to simplify the process for the next batch.

“This way, we can identify some local actors, and assign areas – like in X area, this welder and this tailor will be making the tents. We never planned on being the sole fabricators of these tents. The initiative needs to be taken up by the entire community, as well as some NGOs, who can then be responsible for distributing the tents,” says Swati.

mHS is an interdisciplinary group of designers, economists, policy makers, sociologists, etc., working towards the creation of socially inclusive cities. They design projects and services for construction in informal settlements across the country, and want to facilitate the process of self-construction in these communities. The organization is working towards improving the quality of informal housing. It was founded in 2009 by architect/urbanist Marco Ferrario and economist Rakhi Mehra. Being a very small team, they also partner with different NGOs to help with the ground work. “Initially, we wanted to protect people from the cold, but then we thought, why not make something that can be used all year round? These tents can be useful in all kinds of weather, and they are waterproof too,” says Swati. But more than that, the tents provide a sense of psychological protection to the families.

The most positive feedback the team has received till now has been from women who say that they are happy about finally getting some privacy. They also feel safe once their children are safely tucked inside.

The tents have mosquito nets too.

“Do you know why homeless people mostly sleep close to the roads? It’s because every time a car passes by, the wind helps keep the mosquitoes away. But that is very dangerous. So the mosquito net is a very valuable addition to the tent,” adds Swati.

Another important feature of these tents is that they are self-supporting. So people face no problem when it comes to anchoring them on the pavements.

A tent can also be folded in just a few minutes -- useful for people who live under flyovers or sleep besides roads, etc.

The idea of replicability is already picking up. Some organizations are getting in touch with mHS -- like an NGO in Kolkata that distributes food to homeless people. They now want to make these tents in large numbers. For the 100 Shelters project, mHS is working with an NGO named Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS).

“We face many challenges within the communities. There are people who may or may not need the tents and if you give one to someone who does not need any, he/she might just go and sell it. So we ask the community itself to nominate who needs the tent most. They usually nominate families with women and kids.”

In some areas, like in Jhandewala where there are 30 such tents, police officials have been interrogating the people about the tents. The organization hopes that once awareness spreads, the police will also understand that the tents are meant to be used only at night and will not harass the homeless. The areas where mHS has distributed these tents include Jhandewalan, Minto Road, the Kalibari Mandir area, Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, and Lodhi area. Members of IGSSS check with the people every week to see how the tents are being used.

For follow-up and feedback, mHS has created family cards with the details of all beneficiaries, their ages and pictures, etc.

[caption id="attachment_40012" align="aligncenter" width="800"]

Follow-up sessions[/caption] The material for construction of the tents costs Rs. 1,200, but the entire cost, including production and transport, comes to about Rs. 2,000. The team is trying to bring down costs. Presently, the organization operates mostly on donations and grants. According to a recent government report, 33,000 homeless people in Delhi died due to various reasons between January 2004 and October 2015. This winter, tents by mHS can save many lives, and hopefully the idea will be taken up and replicated all across the country.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

The dismal and decrepit state of most Indian museums is no secret. But architect and designer Abhishek Ray and his team are trying to change the experience of museum visits by creating spaces with appropriate exhibition displays, good lighting and graphics, and interactive audio visual systems that keep visitors engaged. Antiques trafficking, damage from seepage and other maintenance issues, lack of qualified staff – Indian museums suffer from many woes. A 2011 UNESCO report on Indian museums was also scathing in pointing out a long list of deficiencies, among them poor lighting and maintenance, incorrect signage and lax security. In 2012, a parliamentary committee report said, "Our museums are in a bad shape. Only 10% of the acquisitions are put on display and those are not even rotated regularly. Museum stores and galleries are in poor condition." Meet the man who is trying to address at least some of these issues. Abhishek Ray, an architect and designer, wants to make Indian museums more fun, interactive and inclusive.

“I want to change the way museums are perceived today. Museums tell a story and it should be an interesting one,” he says.

[caption id="attachment_26222" align="aligncenter" width="401"]

Abhishek Ray[/caption] Abhishek is the principal architect at Matrika Design Collaborative. Over the last decade, Abhishek and his team have been working on museum development projects from their inception to their execution. With comprehensive services – ranging from historical and art research to creating spaces using appropriate exhibition displays, lighting and graphics accentuated with interactive audio visual systems to keep visitors engaged in learning about our cultural heritage of India – the team has been changing the experience of a museum visit. [caption id="attachment_26220" align="aligncenter" width="762"]

The team works on providing better lighting and displays[/caption]

“We noticed that museums have not changed at all since decades in India. I have no living memory of visiting museums in my childhood and today we need to engage children with our museums and cultural spaces at a very early age. We work with the government and non governmental organisations to redesign existing cultural spaces and to develop new ones in order to conserve our heritage,” he says.

Matrika Design Collaborative is now developing one of the first dedicated textile museums that showcases the history and conservation of embroidery from the western region of Kutch, Gujarat at Bhuj.

The museum is a part of the Living and Learning Design Centre for local embroiderers and craftspeople, where visitors will gain extensive understanding of the rich heritage of embroidery from the communities themselves. Innovation, says Abhishek, comes through engaging the community in the development of the museum or cultural space.

"If we intend to showcase their culture and traditions it is imperative for us to involve them at various stages of inception. A classic example is how the LLDC museum in Kutch has been developing around documenting the lives of embroiderers by recording their oral histories, their art and lifestyles," he says.

[caption id="attachment_26223" align="aligncenter" width="697"]

They convert a museum from a boring place to an interactive place.

Abhishek and his team convert a museum from a static space to an interactive one.[/caption] They also recently commissioned a small exhibition for Godrej Industries, wherein they designed a humble exhibition focused on the pioneering work carried out by Shri Ardershir Godrej in developing India’s first safe, which, till today, is one of the mainstays of the products rolled out by the industrial giant. Coupled with a trivia based display on the events around the year 1914 (the year when the first safe was fabricated in India), they put together a host of rare documents that profiled the story of safe-making at Godrej.

Overall, by using presentations, online art guides, mobile apps, and making the places more comfortable for people with special needs, Abhishek and his team are making museums both physically and intellectually inclusive.

[caption id="attachment_26221" align="aligncenter" width="1016"]

The USP lies in the design of the museum which is also a challenge.

Their USP lies in museum design[/caption] They are currently developing a unique outreach programme, a Museum on Wheels for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai (formerly Prince of Wales Museum), where the self contained museum bus would travel to urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Maharashtra to spread education by means of an interactive mobile museum.

The bus is fitted with exhibition cases, audio video hardware, etc. It will cater to municipal schools, adult education camps and artists' conclaves in rural districts of India.

[caption id="attachment_26224" align="aligncenter" width="697"]

From improving the look of existing locations to coming up with new museums, the team has been preserving Indian heritage in amazing ways.

From improving existing museums to coming up with new ones, the team has been preserving Indian heritage in amazing ways.[/caption] The development of the Shastra Museum (Museum on Arms and Armory of the Sikhs) in Amritsar, alongside the Toshakhana (Royal Treasury), is a project that Abhishek and his team are proud of. It holds some of the most exquisite weapons used by the Sikh armies under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The narrative here builds around the development of traditional weapons and their transition to mechanised weapons and modern artillery in the late 19^th Century.

"We have designed unique solutions where children are given an understanding of the science behind weapons and fortification systems, categorically ruling out their association with violence and war," says Abhishek.

Innovation has found a new meaning through inclusion of children and people with special needs at the New Shri Pratap Singh Musuem in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.

The team has dedicated a complete gallery to children's activities. The 100,000 square feet museum is also completely accessible to people with special needs.

[caption id="attachment_26226" align="aligncenter" width="310"]

Abhishek is now working on coming up with more such interesting exhibition and museum ideas.

Abhishek and his team are now working on more innovative ideas.[/caption] The challenge for the future, says Abhishek, lies in demystifying the realm of heritage and culture for people at large. Implementation of unique ideas and changing mindsets of people who sit at the helm of affairs is going to be a big challenge.

"We need to redefine the experience of the cultural space by reinventing the narrative and this can be achieved when policy makers, curators, archivists, designers, and users come together in a collaborative format to work out the best ways to tell the story of our culture and heritage through tangible and intangible ways," he concludes.

To know more about the team's work check out their website - www.matrika.in

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

Recycled windows and doors from old demolished houses, walls made of metal pipe leftovers, flooring constructed from Burma teak rafters, interiors of fabric waste and colonial furniture – this is not just your ordinary house. 'Collage House' in Belapur, Navi Mumbai is as quirky and fascinating as its name. It is currently home to four generations of the Bhargav family. The construction of this home began in 2006 and the architect firm S+PS Architects from Mumbai led the project. The design, according to them, takes inspiration from Mumbai’s “frugality, adaptability, multi-tasking, resourcefulness and ingenuity.” Here are some pictures of this amazing dwelling:

1. Old windows and doors brought in from demolished homes

2. Metal pipes propped up to make an interesting wall

3. Solar panels on the terrace level

4. Walls made out of rubble

5. Headboards from waste plate panels

6. And also some mesh enclosures

These images were captured by: Sebastian Zachariah, Ira Gosalia, Photographix Pinkish Shah You an view the full album, here.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

The social, political and architectural history of India is dominated by men. The country's most famous monument, the Taj Mahal, is dedicated to a woman, yet very few people know that there are many beautiful historic structures that were commissioned by women in the past. This list celebrates 9 women from Indian history who left us some lovely monuments. It is time to bring their unsung contributions into the limelight.