VOHRA HOUSES in GUJARAT I

1. VOHRA HOUSES IN GUJARAT i

Balkrishna V. Doshi i i Vastu Shilpa Fundation t Associates I Muktiraj Chauan i Pragnesh Parikh

Dawoodi Vohras are Shia's of the 4 Mustalian division of Islamic sect, numbering more than a million in India and abroad. As early as 765 an A.D., upon the death of Jaafar Sa- dik, the sixth Imam, dispute arose regarding the successor. Among them the majority supported Musi Kazim, the second son of Jaafar and become known as Isna-Ashari. Later, the supporters of Musi's ne- phew started a distinct Ismaili group in Egypt, rose to great power and flourished untill 1094 A.D.. There are two differing beliefs re-

garding the origin of the Vohras in t India. According to some histo- rians, the eighteenth Imam, Al Mu- stansir Billah, sent his Dai-ul- Mutlaq, Maulai Ahmed to India in Hijari 467 (1047 A.D.) to propogate IS

I' This religious complex is located between the old and the new Vohrwards at Siddhpur. Among the twenty settlements visitedfor this study, it is only at Siddhpur that all the community buildings occur as a group. The complex comprises a mosque, a lecture hall for religious discourses,a hallfor community -i gatherings on social occasions, a travellers lodge and the local priests house with an admini- 1 strative officefor community institutions. The buildings have came up at intervals and there- fore, the complex does not show attempt at any kind of organization. The following is a brief It note on the buildings in the complex. The mosque is approachedthrough a gate in the eastern wall of the complex. The gate issitua- ted along the central axis of the mosque which remains constantly in view as one approaches it. The approach terminates into a flight of steps leading to the high plinth of the court. Beyond this court is the spacious prayer hall. The ground floor of the prayer hall is used by men anda mezzanine level is used by women. Earlier the mosque had two minaret on either sides. A third minarete of similar design has been recently added in the centre. Jamatkhana - Community hall the Community hall is located along the southern wall of the mosque. It is generally usedfor community dinners. A large court in the middle houses a drin- ,. king water place. The kitchen is situated along the eastern wall. This hall isfrequently used on social, religious as well as cultural occasions. the practice of community dinners indicates the strong ties of unity in Vohra community. (Fig. 68). Vohrwad entrance gate. (Fig. 69). III

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Kapadvanj is located 60 kms east of Ahme- Approach to both these. Vohrwads is dabad. As is the case with Siddhpur, from through a massive double gate with two ar- Kapadvanj too, most Vohras have migrated ched entrance. to larger urban settlements. At Kapadvanj, A large occurs before the gate. Above this the Vohra dwellings are grouped in two di- gate is the local priest's house and as can be stinctly different clustering patterns. Of the- seen in the plan, community buildings are lo- se two clusters, the earlier one, Nani (small) cated right next to it, accessible from both Vohrwad's growth was adhoc and it has a the streets. The commanding position of the more organic character with meandering priest in community thus finds a physical gtreets. espression in this case. An internal link un- Voti (large) Vohrwad which came up later der the gate facilitates movement between Teems properly planned with sub-streets the two Vohrwads when the gates linking branching out at perpendicular to the main with the town are closed. (Fig. 70) street. A clock tower above the entrance port to the mosque dominates the street in the 4oti Vohrwad. A drinkmg water place is si- A street in old vohrwad, Khambhat. (Fig. tuated near the porch where the street wi- 71). dens.

53 the religion in the eastern countries. The Dai landed at Khambhat, then a prosperous port town of Gujarat. He stayed here for a long time and studied the local language, culture and religion. Influenced by his wisdom, Balamnath and Rupnath, two Hindu boys travelled to Missr (Egypt) with him on his return jour- ney. There they were converted to the Islamic faith and baptised as Abdullah and Nuruddin respective- ly; and educated to propogate Islam in India. According to another be-

Street facade, Ahmedabad. (Fig. 72). Entrance portico, Siddhpur. (Fig. 73). Facade detail, Siddhpur. (Fig. 74). This 80 years old house is an archetypalexample of the space divisions evolved by Vohras within a row house system. Note the use of screen and a shifted entrance axis to the inner domain from dehli and light wooden screens to divide the spaces. (Fig. 75). A navkhand, niche of nine squares always found in a Vhora family room. (Fig. 76).

54 I I

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55 lief, during the reign of Al Mustan- sir Billah, it was decided to send missionaries beyond the valley of Sindu and two eminent Dais, Mau- lai Abdullah, were sent to India from Egypt via Yemen. Their tombs at Khambhat are visited by the Dawoodis even today as places of pilgrimage. Maulai Abdullah subsequently set- tled at Khambhat, learnt the local language and acquired the knowled- ge about lifestyles, culture and reli- gions of the native Hindus. In those P days, a Hindu saint was the object of general faith. Opposing him was dangerous, so, Abdullah became his disciple. His wisdom impressed the saint and he was allowed to re- fer holy books on Hinduism. Through his study of Hinduism, Abdullah prevailed upon the saint on religious premise, and converted him to Islam. Following this, many of the saint's followers adopted the .4 new faith. Later, witnessing more $~ miracles, even the ministers of the i king, and the king himself adopted :r{ Islam. This, accelerated the rate of conversion. As observed by Satish ,, _, Misra, in his book 'Muslim commu- R nities in India', 'the first penetra- tion of Islam in India was peaceful and the rise of this new community was imperceptible'. It is difficult to establish correctly the actual number of early converts in Gujarat. According to Mausam- i-Bahar, on a single day at Patan, 260 pounds of (Janoi) sacred Dertail of stair railing. (Fig. 77). threads worn by Hindus were taken Right above. House of shamsuddin adenwala, vadodara, 1880. This two bay wide house off upon their embracing Islam. shows a definite improvement in the plan organization: at the groundfloorthe spaces are con- strainedby the heavy masonry walls; however at first foors the use of wooden partitions al- ofnumber new converts kept lTheows to make large and small rooms as specifically required. (Fig. 78). rising continuously for the next 250 years, untill about 1380 A.D.. Most of these converts were from the poor and middle class strata of the society. The democratic premise of Islam with an emphasis on equality among people had a greater ap-

56 peal to the lower castes and other subcastes, of the Hindus. Since Islam had originated among the prefeudal trading classes of Mecca and other desert nomads of Arabia, maturated in feudal environment of Persia, the Islamic sect imbided many a progressive element of the religious and cultural outlook of these regions. While in India, the Hindu traders were having conflicts not only with the feudal lords but also with those who were lower in the caste hierarchy, like the untouchables. As a result, the traders were more inclined to adopt Islam with its strong sense of equality. This could be the main reason for conversions mainly among the trading castes. To transact or to trade in the local language means 'Vohr- vu' and, people engaged in trade became to be known as Vohras, also written as Bohras. From the scruti- ny of some of the social practices of this community and from Mirat-i- Ahmadi, a book written in the 17th century, it is found that the Brah- NOO.ii or a I 1 5A:=NOasENALA.VAOOVAAfhPl1 min and bania traders were also converted to this new faith.

Right. House of Shabbir Jilal, Surat, 1864. Among the one bay houses this is the largest one. Its extra width has allowed location of Habitat characteristics. several additional stairs independent of the rooms. This has facilitated undisturbed use The residential zones in traditional of rooms and easy linkage between the Indian settlements comprise distinct floors. (Fig. 79). neighbourhoods linked by the city's thorough-fares. These neighbourhoods are characteristed by an introvert organization with an entrance gate. Religious and other com- -~~~ · , l' m.,- I munity buildings, large and small <-L2~~ iae open spaces for festive occasions are located within the neighbourhood to enable a full social life wi- m mI thin it. I-: i: W ax l - I Such an introvert, physical layout ; IF1 ~_ i=TT evolved as a response to the general insecurity in the mediaeval times. Amongst the Hindus these neighbourhoods were formed on the ba-

57 7

As above, court-wellfrom the ravas on thefirstfloor. (Fig. 80). A. sis of castes and sub-castes. This ved in all the settlements visited for ments fall in two categories based meant, that in each neighbourhood, this study in the Gujarat state. on their physical layout. er+ the inhabitants would be persuing The Vohras are a minority commu- One, an organic development cha- ra the same occupation, as well as the nity in India and the need for secu- racteristic of the traditional city ex social and religious practices pecu- rity is strongly felt by them. Their pattern and, the other, a gridiron m liar to that sub-caste or occupation. socio-cultural and religious practi- layout based on the right angle geo- se Physically, these neighbourhoods ces also demand the location of metry. However, both the develop- se are a closed system of streets ap- their houses in the close vicinity of ments still maintain a closed-system ac proached through a gate from the their priest's residence, the mosque of streets, substreets and small open fr city throughfares. Two to three sto- and the community hall. As most of spaces accessible only through a ga- st reyed houses open directly into the them are traders, and frequently te linking the city thoroughfares la meandering narrow streets which travel to other towns for business, and the over all urban fabric. widen at intervals to form spaces they prefer that their family mem- Almost all the Vohrawads which TI for the community activities and the bers should stay amongst members are more than 100 years old, evol- sq community buildings. of their community. All these fac- ved organically within the confines di It was natural for the Vohras to tors gave rise to the 'Vohrward' as a of the available land in the fortified a form their own neighbourhoods, distinct sector of a town. It was ob- city. h, known as a Vohrwad, in such a con- served during the study that the In the second half on 19th century, ci text. Distinct Vohrwads were obser- Vohrwards from different settle- the Britishers consolidated their

58 As above, the kitchen court from above. (Fig. 81).

hold in India and relatively peaceful of the local priest, the first ten days dwelling the typical space organiza- environment prevailed. The Voh- of Mahorram or the anniversary of tion is as described below. ras' contacts with Britishers, and a saint etc.. At the ground level one enters the exposure through travel abroad, house through a portico raised must have led to the creation of the about 75 cms above the street level. second category of Vohrwads. The- The House Through the main door, one steps se newer Vohrwads generally occur A typical Vohra house is distingui- into an anteroom, known as 'Delhi' adjacent to an old Vohrwad on the shed by it's facade decoration, the separated by a light screen from the fringe of the settlements. Not con- treatment of the openings and rich inner court to ensure privacy inside strained by the shape and size of the materials of construction. Apart the house. This space usually hou- land, Vohras could lay out these from a typical space use pattern di- ses a stair which directly leads to the clusters in a gridiron pattern. scriminating between the private upper floors. Visitors are directly The main buildings include; a mo- and semi-public domain, the basic led upto the formal sitting room on sque, the assembly hall for religious plan of a Vohra house is found to the first floor from here. Next the discourses, the local priests' house, be very much similar to that of Hin- open to sky court houses all the ser- a travellers' lodge and community du house which, conforms to the vices on its side walls. hall for cerimonial occasions espe- general pattern of a mediaeval town The space immediately after the cially the commensal dinners on va- houses in a row, sharing two walls court is fully open on the courtside rious occasions such as the birthday with the adjoining units. In a Vohra and refered to as 'baharni parsal',

meaning external portico. This is Neighbourhood showing house of Rupawa- at la. (Fg. 82). followed by a room known as 'ante darni parsal', meaning internal por- House of Zohar Rupawala, Ahmedabd, c( 1730. Located next to a mosque in a cluster tico. Such a seemingly incongruous of Vohra houses known as. Saifee mohalla A designation of these space is with the plan exibits an interesting solution to the I w site conditions. The entrance gate to the clu- reference to last room of the house, ster has on its upper level a house beloging to known as 'ordo' which is the sanc- the mosque. (Fig. 83). u! tum of Vohra family's life. Ilc For all practical purposes on the ground floor, the Vohra family only uses the spaces which are after 'I the inner court. And, with this as reference, the space immediately w following the court becomes an ex- ti ternal portico, followed by an inner b, portico and then the family room- t} ordo. Is The upper floors are normally orga- cc nized as independent rooms on ei- r ther sides of the court around which in the services are located. In case of a C¢ house with more than one upper T floors the stair is also found to be te located in the area around the fr court. This space is known as 'ra- G vas'. On the top floor, the ravas t? area becomes a terrace seperating T the rooms in the front and at the le back. A double lean-to roof over tr both these rooms allows an attic gl space underneath which is known as w 'daglo'. rc Contrary to the other communities, T the Vohras rarely use the raised, 1/'ii fr street side portico. While it is used F extensively by other communities st . .- I for various activities like by elders c to while away their time and the ul children to play, the Vohras desist Staircase to the first floor is located well as the baharni parsal are used A from this. This may be due to grea- here which directly leads the guests for dining and lounging. All dome- v¢ ter confinement of the women folk to first floor sitting room. On the stic activities are also carried out he- vi in the social set up of Vohras. ground floor, beyond the ante- re. 'Bethak', a large wooden plat- hi Once inside, the anteroom serves as room, is the family domain into form with storage underneath and a d, the second buffer between the inner which only the close relatives and soft cushion on the top is a domi- t: domain and external domain. Gene- family friends are invited. nant piece of furniture in this space. in rally light wooden screens are pla- Open to sky court situated next, Family's elders while away their ti- m ced to avoid a clear view into the helps ventilate the whole house besi- me here in the midst of the domestic h; house from the street. This also ser- des letting in light on all floors. The activities. These spaces actually are It ves as brief meeting point between kitchen and other services are loca- the hub of the family world and se the men folk and the casual visitors. ted around the court. The court as used throughout the day. Next, the di . 60 wa- andarni parsal, being covered, ex- well as of the initial converts. In rich Hindus in the region and, the tends the use in monsoon when the these facades variations of Euro- Vohras adopted in en masse. By the 'ad, court is unusable. pean styles are dominant. mid 19th century, the Britishers had ster alla Andarni parsal often has a swing The first converts continued to oc- consolidated their political and eco- cupy the Hindu houses with margi- o/u-the which is a popular device in hot cli- nomic hold over large parts of India to mates to keep cool. This space is nal changes within, hardly affecting and as partners in trade, Vohras used predominanty as a family the facades. As their trade fluori- identified themselves with the Briti- lounging space during the hot after- shed their dwellings and particular- shers and broke the Hindu roots of noons. Beyond the andarni parsal, ly the facade manifested their pro- their habitat. Eclectic adoption of the house ends in a room, which is sperity. At that stage, the model various European styles of facades the family's living room. Known as available for the Vohras was the at the new Vohrwad, Siddhpur built 'ordo', this room is richly decorated dwellings of rich Hindus. Predomi- between AD 1890's to AD 1930's is with seating arrangements in tradi- nant use of wood and finely carved a clear evidence of this process. It tional style on the floor. The cup- elements of facades; columns, brac- was learnt during the survey for this board on the extreme rear wall of kets, railings, window frames etc. study, that they even had Britishers this 'room' is always designed in can be observed in the house more advising them during the design and Islamic traditions representing the than 150 years old at Surat, Kapad- construction of these houses. This concept of nine squares known as vanj and for example, in case of probably affected the choice of ma- 'navkhand'. Such a cupboard with Rupwala house at Ahmedabad, terial which is no longer wood, but intricate carvings is an inseparable where the decoration is very much brick masonry with stucco. component of a Dawoodi's house. Hindu. In conclusion, our study shows that This space is generally used to en- However, this only helped the Voh- the Vohra houses have naturally tertain close relatives, and family ras to distinguish themselves from evolved in the context of the region friends and for sleeping. the poorer households but, not a and it's traditional habitat pattern. Generally a service lane separates community following a different re- Being Hindu converts, this evolu- the next parallel row of houses. ligion; being a minority communi- tion appears to have been a slow This barely ensures ventilation. The process of modifying the space or- level of natural illumination is ex- ganization and objects, and ele- tremely low in this room on the ments of daily use, within the social ground floor. In case of a house values and religious beliefs of their with a back yard, the light in the new religion. room is satisfactory. This process of evolution has been The first floor is reached by a stair more of an additive nature, particu- from the anteroom at ground floor. larly in the basic plan of the house From the first floor upwards, the and the arrangement of the decora- stair is often provided near the tion and elements of interior spaces court, allowing for an independent and furniture which acquired sophi- use of the rooms on its either sides. stication in design and detailing. As above, vwew of the court and baharnmpar- ;ed A large room at the back on this le- salfrom Dehh. (Fig. 84). This is easily noticeable in the later ie- vel is generally used as a formal li- day house facades, furniture and le- ving area and guests are entertained fixtures, treatment of openings, in- at- here. The windows generally have ty, an urge for such manifestation ternal partitions and false ceilings. i a double shutters, one of wood and must have been very strong for This superimposition of external ni- the other of stained glass. The room them. and internal changes on the basic ce. in the front is generally used as a Discovery of European and British plan can be attributed to the British ti- multi-purpose space and sometimes facade treatment during their tra- influence on the Vohra community tic has a covered balcony. vels abroad, as well as in the colo- due to their trade relationship and Ire It is in facades that the Vohra hou- nial architecture in India, provided an exposure to the British life style nd ses built early this century largely them an opportunity to further di- in Europe. .he differ from the Hindu houses as stinguish their dwellings from the In the planning of the neighbour-

_ _I 1_1__ I hoods the introvert, security con- scious make up of the Vohra community and its Hindu origin are ex- plicitly manifested. Unlike the Bri- tish colonial neighbourhoods, one house per a large plot on the out- skirts of existing mediaeval towns in India, the Vohras always built hou------ses in close-knit clusters in a row house system. These were often, physically integrated with the existing random patterns of the old Vohra neighbourhoods to obtain a socio-economic interdependance and the social security. The Vohra neighbourhood is found to be similar to Hindu ones rather then the British, indicating the lack of any major change in their outlook to life and living. It is also an indica- tion, that the British influence was perhaps superficial. For example, due to their exposure ------. to the outside world Vohras laid new residential development on a el .I,,A. ...- ..,.0 er ' rectilinear basis. In few instances tl- the row houses even had controlled H Four houses in kutbi mohalla, Ahmedabad. 1750. (Fg. 85). street facades. With the exception t- of few erstwhile princely rulers who t- planned their towns on European el models, these Vohrwards were then H the only neighbourhoods in Gujarat sturbance. This indicates the low spite of its larger width and location IC laid out geometrically. priority given to degree of privacy facilitating three open sides. As a t- The British house was large in size within the family unlike the colonial result even such a large house beco- ti, and its verandahs adjoining the pe- house. Since privacy vis-a-vis outsi- mes 'twice' the traditional house. It sa ripheral rooms opened towards the ders is of greater concern to Vohras appears that the strong colonial in- garden. The Vohra or the Hindus than Hindus. And this is indicated fluence is only manifested in the de- house on the other hand was inward by a screen between the internal coration of the interiors and the looking, towards the small internal court and ante room, from where furniture for identity purpose only court. They had limited external the visitors are directly led upstairs to express their contact with the ex- openings confined by the two thick to the formal sitting room. Apart ternal world, which dealt in busi- party walls. from these minor, localized addi- ness and economic status. Yet, basi- By and large, independent use of se- tions, the basic plan organization cally the inner beings of the Vohras veral rooms is possible in case of the remains the same as it's Hindu ori- remained the same. colonial house, where as in the Voh- gins. As observed in the chart, the Hin- ra houses similar to the Hindu hou- Even when opportunities were avai- dus and the Vohras, being situated se, all rooms occur along a single lable, as in the case of house of Ta- in congested old city fabric, had to axis of movement, leaving only the herbhai Madraswala at Siddhpur, build houses with several storeys to last room free of the general move- there is no effort at evolving a more meet the area requirements. For ment which can be used without di- sophisticated plan organization in- light and ventilation, these houses

62 STREET FACAO HOUSES Or

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Street facade of Dawoodi Vohra dwellings at Ahmedabad. (Fig. 86).

employed an open to sky court tion in a hot humid climate. ments of European architecture via through all the floors similar to old It can be said that over the centu- the British influence. However, the Hindu houses. On the other hand, ries, Vohras have defenitely evolved influences have only been skin the Britishers spread their houses on a house character which is largely deep. No radical changes took place the vast plot available to them and distinct from that of other houses in in the Vohra's social values and reli- eliminated the internal court yards. the region. The space use lattern, gious beliefs and, this is reflected in However, there are examples of co- the treatment of the facades and the their habitat which basically re- ion lonial houses where, by differing decorations are characteristically mains very much the same as the sa the ceiling heights, better ventila- different from a Hindu house. That Hindu one of their origin, reflecting :co- tion and light have been achieved to Vohras, in their search for a separa- the strong adherence to their tradi- :. It satisfy the need for greater ventilate identity, judiciously utilized ele- tional way of life and thought. in- de- the nly ex- Jsi- asi- ras

[in- ted ito ;to For ses