Drawing forgotten heritage architecture

DRAWING FORGOTTEN HERITAGE ARCHITECTURE An ethnography novel of a typical traditional house and its appropriation in Indore’s old city

THE OLD CITY

FORT CITY & SIX SQUARES

THE HOUSES

The Physical Elements

JAIN HOUSE SINCE 1920S

The Social Spaces

MORNING

EVENING WIN DOW

WI N DOW

- p art of domest ic act iv it ies

p a rt o f e c o n o mic & s o c ia l a c t iv t ies

Mornings are full of personal domestic activies reflected on the housefront where a man brushes teeth on otla, more cows & less people on street, reading newspaper &drinking tea by the window.

Evenings are full of social and economic activities on a market street. Lot more movement of people, shops are open, windows and otlas become space of recreationl activities.

OTLA THROUGHOUT THE DAY 6:00 a.m.

7:00 a.m.

space - as aprivate space

After shop is closed the children come out to play

Window Usually at this time when otla is the most active social space

The cows arrive in the morning to eat

The outside space is regularly cleaned

9:00p.m.

10:00a.m.

11:00 a.m.

An active street edge with shops open, people walking by etc.

9:00p.m.

Usually after dinner a kulfiwala would arrive which children enjoy eating on otla

Almost around noon before shops open. Elephant ride was a common activity on a less active street.

2:00p.m.

7:00p.m.

Women putting remaining food on the corner

Brushing teeth

Otla in the morning as a domestic

6:00p.m.

Sitting around otla with fire during winters nights after dinner was a common way of spending time

Slowly the street activates with vendinghere women vendor selling clothes

11:00p.m.

As night approaches, the street becomes silent again, dogs are barking and rarely any human avtivity occurs

This is how the day ends...

Ethnographic Study

INTRODUCTION TO THE HOUSE J e w e l l r y s h op

Li v i n g r oom

Stai r case

St ore room

Main Kitc hen

S t o re ro o m

G ro und f lo o r

Ot l a

Kitc hen extens ion

The house room size follow pattern of 2:1 where after every two large rooms of 3.18m X 3.18m is one smaller space of 2.1m X 2.18m

Ba i th a k

Rasoi ghar

Chowk

B h andh ar gh ar

3.8m

F irst f loo r

D u ka n

B e dr oom + L i v i ng r oom

Stai r case

St ore room

Bedroom

Kitc hen

S t o re ro o m

25. 6m

Pooja ghar

bahi khata

The big alcoves in the first room are used for keeping things related to shop where one alcove is dedicated to god as a small place for worship next has bahi khata (accounts registers), keys hanging, and one last is for general use. Size is 45cm X 20cm

The small alcoves on the top usually had diyas

HINGE An intricately carved wooden knob Pointed cinquefoil arched alcove

The frames are place on the walls at certain angle.

C alendar C lothes Thela ( bag) L alten ( latern) are s ome objec ts hanging on khunti

Khunti

FRAMES

As soon as we enter the first room is a jewellry shop and baithak for men. It is pleasant to sit by the window gazing at the outside street activites

ALLIYE

J ewellry sh op

ALCOVES

DUKAN

BAITHAK ALCOVES

The big alcoves store general items which are frequently accessible. Its size is 60cm X 30cm

The small cureved rectangular alcoves store items rarely used. Its size is 20cm X 30cm

An plain wooden knob

Three pointed arched alcove

HINGE

NICHED ALMIRAH

Bhandariya

KHUNTI

The second room is baithak or living room for women and used for taking afternoon naps after lunch.

The use of room is not specific it was both a meeting place & resting place

ALLIYE

Li ving ro om

Radio with its c as s attes & Pop ular books , magazines , keys , objec ts related to dau to day routine like oil, toys , p hotoframeof diety, diyas etc .

This is used to store clothes, shoes, peti, baksa(storage boxes)

RASOIGHAR

RASOIGHAR

K i tchen

E xtensi o n o f k i tc hen & c how k OUTSIE KITCHEN

Kitchen is towards the back of the house along with a chowk as an opening for ventilation. The main kitchen was also a space of dining.

An extension of the Kitchen close attached to it is the chowk.

Therefore the cooking which required use of chula happened here.

BHANDHAR GRAH S to re ro o m This is where the wood for cooking was stored along with other household storage like old items etc.

There were two store rooms the first room was for household & other for kitcehen storage.

CHOWK

Story of urban transformation

STREET SCENARIO IN 1960S

In this illustration, one can observe the change in the streetscape of the Pipli Bazaar. The buildings of this market have retained their mixed-used typologies; however, its features such as the spatial elements and material have drastic changes due to the people’s changing lifestyle. The otla (outdoor verandah) presence was an essential feature in the housing typologies of the time. It reflected the social life of the residents since it witnessed several activities, conversation and daily rituals on the bustling street. Residents enjoyed sitting on the otla and interacting with their neighbourhood, feeding the animals, or simply observing and relaxing with a newspaper. Otla was essential to the everyday mundane activities and routines.

STREET SCENARIO IN 2020S

Today, these scenes have evolved with increasing presence of automobile and regulated traffic and parking obstructing the previously thriving activities. This reflects the changing social life of people where residential activites are replaced by commercial ones evident in the drawing below when compared with 1960s scenario. The drawing is highlighting the impact of the changing streetscapes on the lives and conduct of the people.

Graphic novel by: Shubhangi Saxena Guided by: Mansi Shah Victor Ciborro