The agraharas of mysuru

Anjana Vasant Biradar1, Sapna Papu2 1,2 BMS School of Architecture, Bengaluru, [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract: Mysuru a city in Karnataka, India, renowned for it’s stately monuments and urban planning, has a horde of little known residential buildings that are indicative of the cultural and societal makeup of the populace contributing to the architectural heritage of the city. One such residential typology fairly ubiquitous in Mysuru, the “agrahara” is quintessential to the Brahmin community and consists of houses that are relatively simple in style compared to other residential typologies found in the city, but the dynamism that comes to the fore when organized as a settlement is of considerable social dimension. The houses impose close proximity of the neighbours but there exists clear boundaries between them, which are defined by physical or visual architectural features. This paper looks at the influence of social customs on spatial composition of the “agrahara” and the architectural manifestations that in turn promote human relationships, religious practices and interaction with natural environment. The research shall focus on the relation of the public street to the private house addressed by a transitional space called the “jagali” that plays an important part in extending the house to the street, which in turn becomes an integral part of community life.

Keywords: Mysuru; agrahara; jagali; community. 1. Introduction Mysuru, (formerly known as ) the erstwhile capital of the Wodeyar dynasty in the state of Karnataka, has a historical background that dates back to the 14th century and the customs, traditions and religious beliefs are upheld by the society and promoted by the Royal Wodeyar family even in present times. The built heritage is often a window offering glimpses of the cultural heritage of a society and as such has a uniqueness that is identifiable with the place. Of the several residential typologies or mane (house) such as the ara-mane (palace), thotti-mane (courtyard house), angadi-mane (house with a shop) or colonial bungalow, the agrahara, consisting of numerous row houses with shared walls, is unique in building configuration and socio cultural significance.

Traditionally the agrahara, found in South India (also called “” in the neighboring state of ) is an “exclusively Brahman residential street or quarter”1 “assigned to them by royalty for their maintenance”. 2 The Sanskrit word “agra” – first and “hara” – garland (of houses, usually around a temple) 3 is literally translated into the built form, where the houses are arranged linearly in parallel

Revisiting the Role of Architecture for 'Surviving’ Development. 53rd International Conference of the Architectural Science Association 2019, Avlokita Agrawal and Rajat Gupta (eds), pp. 451–460. © 2019 and published by the Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA). 452 A.V. Biradar, S.Papu rows or in a ‘U’ formation which may or may not have a temple at the open end. Many agraharas were built in Mysuru in the 1900s such as Devamba, Nanjamamba, Devajamba, Laxamba, Kempamajamba, Cheluvamba, Lingamba, Krishnarajendrapura, Laxmivilas and Ramavilas.4 2. The tale of two agraharas Of the two cases presented in the paper, Devirammanni agrahara and Rajaram agrahara, are the older settlements and the latter has been documented with measured drawing. The two are varied in ownership rights; built configuration and size that provides a comparison but still maintain the character of the agrahara.

“A traditional house in an agrahara is typically long and narrow; it has a relatively small frontage on the street but behind the front door extends a long way. At the front is the veranda, the door at the back of the veranda opens on to a courtyard partly open to sky, surrounded on three sides by a hall. At the back of the hall in a corner is a cupboard – the domestic shrine or puja shelf containing small images or pictures of the deities. Behind the hall is the kitchen and behind that is the second portion, a storeroom for food known as the daughter – in – law’s room. At the rear section are a cowshed and a garden, extending to the far end of the site, where there is a back door. In a large house, there may also be extra rooms of the hall, a separate shrine room, a separate granary, and so on; the biggest houses have an upper storey as well.”5

2.1. Devirammani agrahara Regarded as the one of the oldest agraharas it is situated in the heart of the city, next to the royal palace complex. The linear configuration of 24 row houses owned by the residents, of varied sizes is arranged in parallel rows on either side of a secondary street, at the end of which is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Ganesha. (Figure. 1)

Figure 1: Devirammani agrahara, Mysuru.

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Originally the houses in Devirammanni agrahara followed the typical rectangular configuration, with a narrow front comprising of the covered verandah known as “jagali” in the local Kannada language and built of brick, timber and black half cylindrical clay tiles for roof called the “nada henchu” (nada = country and henchu = tiles). Behind the jagali, the house extends linearly and ends abutting a street at the back. Although most are demolished to accommodate RCC framed multistorey apartment units, the few houses that retain the traditional character and the street emphasize the social space of the community. The street plays a dual role of a connector and a communal gathering area during festivals, religious events in the temple and ceremonial events like weddings etc. (Figure. 2)

Figure 2: Devirammani agrahara – Street with few original houses.

2.2. Rajaram agrahara According to one resident Mr. Aradhya (72) whose father also lived in the same house and other permanent residents, Rajaram Agrahara, was built to provide housing to the upper class Brahmins in 1935. The patron Rajaram Modaliyar with the consent of the ruling Wodeyar king constructed this housing society for a price of Rupees 15000, with a rental of Rupees 2 per annum and the proceeds used to run a milk dairy that provided milk to the citizens, gratis. The municipal corporation now owns it and charges a rent of Rupees 20 per month and tenancy now includes not only Brahmins but Lingayats (another Hindu caste who worship Lord ) as well. (Figure. 3)

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Figure 3: Rajaram agrahara, Mysuru.

Set in a land parcel measuring almost an acre (3611 Sq. M), 31 houses are arranged in 5 rows forming a U and the enclosed, densely landscaped central space of an area of 950 Sq. M has a small shrine worshipped by the community. Accessed from a community street through the ‘jagali’, the houses are constructed with brick walls, Kadappa stone or cement flooring and timber roof, covered with Mangalore terracotta tiles. (Figure.4) The typical housing unit of 18’ x 28’ (5.5 x 9 m) originally consisted of a living area, one bedroom and a kitchen that gave way to an open to sky but enclosed backyard with a toilet and a bath. The backyard further opened into a back street.

Figure 4: Rajaram agrahara – Street, jagali of original houses and park.

The central park in Rajaram Agrahara constituting 26% of the total land area is a defined social and leisure space for members of the community and serves as a playground for children. One senior citizen recalls that before the advent of the television, a “radio room” built in the park played popular songs in the evening to entertain residents gathered out on the jagali. This “radio room” was later converted into a shrine where religious rituals are still carried out. Indigenous trees and flowering plants in the park help keep the ambient air temperature lower.

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3. Social customs and spatial compositions Comparisons between both agraharas reveal similarities that indicate influence of age-old social customs on the spatial compositions. The agrahara street was never a main thoroughfare road, but an exclusive one that led into the agrahara thus eliminating the possibility of non Brahmans and other lower caste people from entering the agrahara inadvertently. Brahmans were the priestly class and as such the temple in the agrahara was integral to the community to practice their faith. The members diligently maintained the temple and monetary donations were also contributed for its upkeep. The main façade of the house is deceptively small concealing the numerous spacious spaces at the rear, which were arranged in keeping with the social dictates of the Brahman community.

“In the past, the space of a Brahman house was clearly graded according to it’s relative purity as well as markedly gendered. The veranda, outside the front door, was the least pure area, where visitors, including non – Brahmans, were received. Men mainly stayed on the verandah and in the hall and women remained in the kitchen, storeroom and back half of the house. The kitchen was also the pure center of the house, which was closed to anyone of lower status, including members of the family suffering pollution, especially menstruating women who were secluded in the back yard. As women did not go to the front of the house, they had to use the back door.”6 “Non Brahman and Adi Dravidar (Dalit) labourers came to the back door of a Brahman house to collect their wages.” 7

And hence the back of the house opens into a utilitarian back street that supported household service activities such as goods delivery or refuse collection, and provided access for women and non- Brahman servants. In present times the rules governing the way of life are not as rigid but the agrahara houses retain the spatial components of which the jagali is diversely employed and the back street is rarely used. 4. The Jagali The relation of the public street to the private house is always in conflict – and the ‘jagali’, or ‘jagali katte’ - a feature found in the Agrahara house - is similar to a roofed verandah and an effective transitional element. It is a low height platform on either side of the main entry door, and the pathway leading to the door is level with the street. The Jagali does not have a physical barrier in the form of a railing or parapet, and the seamlessness is inviting and does not enforce a psychological barrier to maintain distance. As the housing units are typical and arranged in a row, the Jagali in front are connected and form a continuous corridor, only interrupted at the pathway leading to the main door. One house shares the Jagali space with two neighbours on either side, but there are clear boundaries created with choice of paint colour and at times cladding on the walls. Though at one arm of the ‘U’, sloping topography has influenced the siting of every two houses on a level below the preceding unit, creating a stepped Jagali. This stepped profile adds another dimension to the boundaries between houses, which the adults are mindful of, though not so much the children.

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This platform of 4’ (1.2m) depth and height of 18”(varies) is also a space that is conducive for multiple uses by multiple users of diverse age groups and hence has a daily chronological dynamism as seen in Rajaram agrahara.

4.1. An aesthetic platform. The row houses in Rajaram agrahara are of identical plan and size with no physical boundary between the houses motivating residents to identify individual houses in creative ways and to place a virtual edge for their space. The covered jagali is the main façade of the house and consequently the walls, plinths, timber columns and beams supporting the roof of the jagali are painted with bright colours that distinguish one house from another. Planters built along its edge and the auspicious ‘Tulsi’ plant is seen on many a jagali. Rangoli (patterns drawn with rice powder) is another traditional and cultural art practiced on a daily basis at dawn in front of the main door, on the jagali and also extends to the street. The Rangoli design in front of each house is inherently different, with the size and complexity in patterns proclaiming the artist’s talent that also singularizes the residence. (Figure. 5)

Figure 5: Rajaram agrahara – Entrance to a house.

4.2. The leisure lounge. It is first and foremost the conversational platform between family members or neighbours. Visitors and strangers are entertained mainly on the jagali, before they are welcomed inside. The author witnessed residents reading newspaper, sewing, conversing over the phone and sharing lunch with neighbours on the jagali. The jagali is ideally suited for young children to play out – of – doors that is a safe extension of the house and the wooden furniture of armchairs and benches positioned on the jagali is popular for morning or evening coffee time. (Figure.6) Most often it is a space for the elders to rest in the afternoon or late evening and watch the mundane activities of the community and thus a system of monitoring and security is enforced.

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Figure 6: Rajaram agrahara – Multiple uses of the jagali.

4.3. A domestic dais. As much as the jagali portrays and encourages the culture and lifestyle of the residents of the community, it is most decidedly used for utility purposes. Footwear, which is not worn inside the house, is stored in cabinets on the jagali. Clothesline for drying is a regular feature; grains and spices are also dried for storage. At times the jagali converts into a parking space for bicycles and motorbikes.

4.4 Micro climate regulator The covered jagali is a proven microclimate regulator shading the wall façade and openings keeping the masonry mass and interior of the houses cool. The shared masonry walls and high timber roofs with terracotta tiles (4.5 M from floor level), linear cross ventilation and day lighting primarily from the street side and backyard are other factors that contribute to the thermal comfort.

4.5. Transition sphere Transition spaces that connect two programmatically (street and house) or climatically (indoors and outdoors) different spaces are relevant in architecture as they influence both physical and physiological behaviour of users. In the case of the Jagali, a person coming in from the street shall stop here to discard shoes, park his bicycle, hang up an umbrella before entering the house, indicating the transition in physical movement and activity. The partly shaded Jagali helps physiologically to adjust a person’s eyes to light while entering or exiting the house. Hierarchy of architectural features used on the Jagali also contributes to the essence of transition. (Table 1) In Rajaram agrahara, the author attributes the duality of the Jagali as a transition space and an extension of the household to the low platform and roof, proximity of the internal street and the central courtyard. The Jagali straddles both the outside and inside sphere, but interconnection with indoors as seen in Figure 7 is greater; and hence activities of the house spill over to the Jagali and subsequently to the street in an uninterrupted manner giving rise to the perception that space beyond the walls of private residence is also within it’s sphere.

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Figure 7 Plan of typical unit of Rajaram agrahara

4.6. Regional feature. The jagali is a building element also commonly found in agrarian communities in rural Karnataka and hosts a variety of activities. During the day the women dry grains, crops, food and clothes on it. In the evenings, the jagali is often a magnet to pull people off the streets for a brief conversation with the neighbours, and for the men to engage in leisure activities of playing dice or smoking beedis (rolled tobacco leaf cigarettes) It also transmuted into a sleeping area for the menfolk and children during the warm summer seasons. 5. A comparative analysis A comparative analysis between the Devirammanni and Rajaram agrahara is attempted in Table 1

Table 1 Comparisons between Devirammanni and Rajaram agraharas

Similarities Differences Features of transition Both Agraharas were built for the Devirammanni agrahara has a single The lean to timber-framed roof of Brahmin community and features a central street with houses across the Jagali offers shelter from natural temple. street having direct visual contact. elements on the street indicating Rajaram agrahara is built in U the transition from street to house. formation creating two ribbons of Inversely, it is a transition from the road enclosing a central courtyard enclosed shadowed interiors to that obscures direct visibility. partly open day lit exterior spaces.

The row housing typology is Devirammanni agrahara houses are The low roof with it’s exposed approached by the front street and larger, some with accessible attic structure also acts as a prelude to opens into a back service street. spaces. The jagali is deeper than the climbing roof of the interiors. that of Rajaram agrahara. On the other hand, it forms an Rajaram agrahara houses are typical effective transition element from single storied units. the high roof of the house to the open outdoors.

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The Jagali is roofed – an extension of Devirammani agrahara Jagalis may The raised platform of the Jagali at a the sloped roof of the house. have featured either a parapet or a higher level than that of the street wall to separate houses. Jagali are indicates a transition from outdoors also of varied heights and some are to indoors. even enclosed with wood lattice The activity of walking in from the screens. At the time this study took street transforms to temporary place, the recent transformations sedentary postures of either eclipsed the original construction. standing or sitting in this space Where as in the Rajaram agrahara, before accessing the house. Jagalis are of uniform depth and connect to each other to form a continuous corridor. Interestingly, at one arm of the U form, the topography breaks the monotony of the continuous corridor and creates a stepped profile.

The Jagali is low height, adjoins the Individual resident owns the house The flooring material of the Jagali is street and is used for multiple in Devirammanni agrahara. rough textured (granite slabs and/or activities Mysuru municipal corporation owns red oxide) compared to the smooth the Rajaram agrahara and leases it stone tiles used inside which implies to tenants. a transition from indoors to outdoors. Or vice versa – denoting a transition from street surface to structured flooring of the Jagali. 6. Conclusion By design the jagali of the houses face each other and overlook the street that virtually renders the street wider facilitating visual connection between the opposing houses (though in Rajaram agrahara the visual connection may be minimized owing to a larger central landscaped space. (Figure. 8)

Figure 8: Cross section through Rajaram agrahara.

In both cases, as the jagali is physically easily accessible from the street, the psychological demarcation between the two is nebulous, presenting a transition area that is easily navigated and manifests as a lateral extension of the private household.

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The community thrives on the social interactions of its members in everyday routine activities or in elaborate religious or social functions. The socio cultural component is highly visible and practiced in the agraharas where the settlement patterns and architecture showcase the Brahman lifestyle and accommodates the inevitable changes brought about by the passage of time. The agrahara exemplifies the idea of a community that safe guards it’s culture, encourages harmonious associations with neighbours – although privacy between neighbours can be non existent – and reverence to nature by way of central community park or the courtyards and backyards enclosed within the house which have culturally significant trees and plants. Agraharas are a microcosm for an urban sustainable city emphasizing the importance of interlinking indoors with outdoors, intermediary areas that effectively facilitate transition from indoors to outdoors, inclusive street scapes, community spaces which are the responsibility of all the stakeholders ensuring hygiene and safety providing a stage to nurture cultural lineage thereby preserving the cultural and built heritage.

Acknowledgements My heartfelt and sincere thanks to Mysuru residents Prof. Ananda Rao B.C., Mahadeva Swamy and Visveshwara Aradhya for their help and support in conducting this study. References 1, 5, 6 &7 Fuller, C.J. and Narasimhan, Haripriya. (2011) The agraharam: The transformation of social space and Brahman status in Tamilnadu during the colonial and postcolonial periods, in Bergunder, Michael., Frese, Heiko. and Schroder, Ulrike. Ritual, caste, and religion in colonial south India, Primus Books, Delhi, 219 – 237 2, 4 Issar, T. P. (1991) Agrahara: Ramanuja Road, in The Royal City, Marketing Consultants & Agencies Ltd, Bangalore, pp. 146 – 147 Swamy, Chidambara and Shankar, B. (2012) Architecture and heritage resources of Mysore city, International journal of modern engineering research (IJMER), 2(2), pp. 139 – 143 3 “mail – archive.com” (2005) Available from: Sanskrit Digest, Vol. 23, Issue 18, email query https://www.mail- archive.com/[email protected]/msg00425.html (accessed on 5 November 2017) Photos are by author and drawings drawn by author and students of Acharya NRV School of Architecture, Bengaluru, India.