State of Housing in the Medieval Indian City
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International Journal of Research e-ISSN: 2348-6848 p-ISSN: 2348-795X Available at https://pen2print.org/index.php/ijr/ Volume 06 Issue 2 February 2019 State Of Housing in the Medieval Indian City Probuddha Mukhopadhyay 1 Affiliation : M.Arch (urban design), KRVIA, Mumbai email : [email protected] Abstract This paper inquires into the state of the neo- glories and intricacies in craftsmanship of the cities globalized ‘heritage’ Indian city, built on principles in the arid west of India. The acts and charters drawn driven by beliefs, rituals and craftsmanship. It to work with the nature of conservation deemed fit intends to highlight shifts and modulations in for such cities often tends to paint a rosy picture. morphology with respect to the transformations However, there persists a threat to the historic cores, pressured, by the surge in the acts of driven by a constant movement of people beyond the commercialization and heritage tourism, upon the fortifications to accommodate their justified traditional urban form. A broader understanding of aspirations and needs for expansion. The paper here, the nature of transformation and the variants to be is an attempt to draw parallels between the rationale considered in mitigating the dilapidating state of behind planning in the medieval-imperial Indian housing in such historic cores, is crucial to such cities and the commercially driven postmodern cities to preclude chances of desolation. Jodhpur, the alterations to the traditional urban form. Jodhpur, the capital of ancient Marwar, in Rajastha, and currently capital of ancient Marwar, in Rajasthan and currently one of the largest fortified cities along the transect of one of the largest fortified cities along the transect of cultural tourism in India, has been considered as a cultural tourism in India, has been considered as a study site to understand its state of housing. There study site to understand its state of housing and persists a threat to the historic core, driven by a methodologies in urbanism resulting in the exodus. constant movement of people beyond the fort walls to The discourses as discussed in the paper are accommodate their justified aspirations and needs empirical and based on conversations with for expansion. Adaptations and transformations are stakeholders, part of an urban design graduate methodologies resulting from the shift in the image, curriculum conducted at KRVIA, Mumbai. The seen as mechanisms of growth, but intrinsic factors intent for the study was to cognize mechanisms of leading to gentrification and structural squalor. The transformations based on the tangible and intangible discourses as discussed in the paper are empirical associations of citizens. It also aims at understanding and based on first hand observations and the positive and negative effects of tourism on conversations with stakeholders. Qualitative historic urban fabric. The question here is- "What is assessments have been made using subsequent GIS the state of housing in the historic cores of most mapping techniques, to arrive at an understanding of traditional Indian cities taken over by tourism, and the associative and value based attributes the trends in transformation driven by the movement responsible for the structure of housing in the of the residents?" The methodology of the study historic Indian city. involved visiting and carrying out extensive mapping exercises to arrive at conditional assessment and Keywords probabilities for the inner core of the city of Jodhpur as a whole. urban form, morphology, affective tourism, conservation, transformation 2. Historical Background 1. Introduction Founded by the eminent Rao Jodha of the Rathore dynasty, Jodhpur has witnessed, acts of building and For years, there have been multiple studies adaptations from time to time, with many Rathore documenting Rajputana architecture. There have also kings commissioning building of palaces and been books and research publications highlighting the temples. With Mughal regime, Islamic elements were Available online: https://pen2print.org/index.php/ijr/ P a g e | 372 International Journal of Research e-ISSN: 2348-6848 p-ISSN: 2348-795X Available at https://pen2print.org/index.php/ijr/ Volume 06 Issue 2 February 2019 incorporated into the Rajputana architectural style, city's economy. This has supplemented revenue which further morphed into the intriguing Indo- through the market streets flourishing along with the Saracenic style during the British reign. [Jain, 2000] booming tourism industry following the transect Jodhpur city was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, a connecting Mehrangarh fort, Jaswant Thada, Ghanta Rajput chief of the Rathore dynasty. The city was Ghar and Umed Bhavan palace, where the royal located on a route linking Delhi to Gujarat, that family currently resides. enabled the city with opportunities to profit from trade in opium, copper, silk, sandalwood and other 3. Traditional Urban Form goods. The city was annexed by the Mughal empire A historic fortification in the mid-1400s and after the death of Rao Chandrasen Rathore, a subsequent expansions to accommodate a larger successor to the throne, making Jodhpur one of the demography, meant to be protected from the most strategic annexes of the Mughal dynasty. After continually warring tribes, called for the second ring the decline of the Mughal empire in 1707, brought of fort walls to have been established in the 1600s. about years of treatises and negotiations and was Strategically and historically located along a vital finally entered into the British regime in 1818 under trade route, the economy of the town was further an alliance with the Marwar reign [Singh, 1994]. strengthened by subsequent migration of traders from Colloquially referred to as the blue city & sun city, nearby towns and villages, settling within the Jodhpur, marked by the majestic Mehrangarh Fort, is fortification. With the fort walls and bastions, came hemmed in by houses uniformly painted in hues of about the establishment of gates suitably blue to reflect the harsh sunlight and effectively keep nomenclated with respect to their axes to the the interiors of homes cooler in the day. The built connecting towns, like Mertia Gate, Nagori Gate, environment here, is of a typical Rajasthani town, Sojati Gate etc, which now seem to be oversaturated constructed using locally available stone being cost with needs for expansion catering to the inhabitants effective, easy to transport and hence, the most and their aspirations. [Jain, 2000]. In addition, widely used building material. Internal courtyards to following the traditional Indian urban hierarchy of houses and exquisitely carved jharokhas and stone public spaces, the public spaces in the inner city can relief works on facades, passed down through be classified at various levels – city squares, generations of artisans and master craftsmen are chaurahas and neighborhood squares. Sardar Market, commonly found attributes of the urban character. being the largest public square, is followed by Feeder streets emerge onto squares or chowks, having smaller junctions or chaurahas, at intersections of elaborate bazaars and eateries to complement them. streets governed by the inhabitant communities [Jain, The arid conditions made it essential to have a fabric 2000]. The chauraha is typically oriented by a as compact, as one could conveniently traverse temple, school or a stepped well. Traditionally lined through most of the city by stepping down or over by informal clubs known as hathais which act as the terraces consecutively aligned to further act as third places for citizens, the chauraha is further healthy social spaces over the winter months. Careful serviced by informal cart vendors parked under consideration has also been given to the need to trap shades of trees flanked by sitouts. At the water from sources using aqueducts and from rainfall neighborhood level, the public space is further curbed runoff, which led to the king commissioning the by scale and restricts itself to the built form and building of reservoirs located at critical confluences smaller artefacts. For instance, areas around Gulab and water shed areas. [Jain, 2000] All the reservoirs Sagar and Umed Chowk have drinking water are connected using concealed aqueducts to form a facilities referred to as pyaaus, where people gather homogenous level of water below the sub-stratum in around seated, or waiting to pick their children from the inner city houses. The handicrafts industry has in school or to simply socialize. Institutional, social and recent years gained momentum, bringing about religious buildings open onto the streets, creating manufacture of textiles, metal utensils, glass bangles, alterations in the facades of the residential fabric. cutlery, carpets, leather and marble products to the Overall, the median width of primary streets doesnot Available online: https://pen2print.org/index.php/ijr/ P a g e | 373 International Journal of Research e-ISSN: 2348-6848 p-ISSN: 2348-795X Available at https://pen2print.org/index.php/ijr/ Volume 06 Issue 2 February 2019 exceed 7.5 m with secondary streets ending up to 5m are ones with shops below and houses on the upper wide with areas acting as bottlenecks with widths as floors. Prior to 1990s, before the widespread low as 3m. These are areas that pose major problems liberalization of the country’s economy, families for the residents in traversing across the inner city. would live on the higher floors of such houses and open shops along the streets on the ground floors, as The citadel posited atop a hillock is perpendicularly an additional source of income. However, with time, intercepted by a clock tower, built during the British the shops have remained, but the residents have been era, at the centroid location of the inner city. Initially moving out of the inner city for better economic conceived for purposes of beautification and for prospects and the crumbling infrastructure, leading to dispensing royal orders and announcements meant a haphazard transformation or in some severe cases for the public, the Ghanta ghar as it is referred to, has abandonment, in such market places of the city.