CITY PLANNING OF JAIPUR & JAISALMER

18AR37_ AYAAN MOOSA 18AR47_ TAHESIN PATHAN 18AR67_ UZAIR Z SHAIKH

CITY AND ITS EVOLUTION REASONS FOR MAHARAJA SAWAI JAI SINGH TO CHANGE HIS CAPITAL FROM AMBER TO JAIPUR:

INTRODUCTION ●

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Jaipur lies at a distance of about 200 miles from Delhi, 150 miles from Agra and 84 miles from Ajmer. Capital city of Rajasthan is located amidst the Aravali hill ranges at an altitude of about 430 m above sea level.

Latitude – 26 55’ Longitude – 75 50 The eastern Rajasthan, lying to the east and south east of the Aravalli divide includes the modern administrative districts of – Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Banswara, Dungarpur, Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Jaipur, Tonk, Dausa, Dholpur, Karauli, Bharatpur and Alwar.

The current district of Jaipur lies in Eastern Rajasthan, in the Banas River basin and forms a part of Eastern Plain of Rajasthan. The region is drained by a number of seasonal rivers of which Banganga, Dhundh and Bandi are prominent.

MILITARY REASONS ● ● ●

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Defence was an important consideration.

A site at the South of Amber ensured greater distance from Delhi the out skirting hill ranges (Nahargarh hills) shaped as a horseshoe would allow the new city to expand only in the South.

It was an open plain bounded on the north-west and east by hills.

GEOGRAPHICAL REASONS ● ●

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The rocky terrain of Amber restricted expansion.

Jaipur had the potentialities of developing into a city with adequate drinking water due to the presence of a perennial stream nearby and good drainage system.

Its rugged hills also ensured a constant supply of building material

HISTORY ●

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From the 10th century onwards, the district referred to as Dhoondhar, formed one of the four distinguishable politico-cultural regions of Eastern Rajasthan, in addition to Mewat, Hadauti and Mewar. Dhoondhar region was roughly comprised of current districts of Jaipur, Dausa and Tonk, with Jaipur and Amber further constituting Dhoondhar subzone within the larger tract of Dhoondhar region.

In Aryan epics, Dhoondhar region (called Matsya Desh/ Mina Wati) was the shortest trade route between north India and rich port cities of Gujarat and Malabar. The region was held by Badgujars, Rajputs and Minas till the 11th century.

From the 11th century onwards, however, the Dhoondhar region was increasingly under the power of Kachchwaha dynasty of Rajputs.

The Kachchwaha Rajputs trace their descent through the solar dynasty to Kush, one of the two sons of Lord Rama.. According to local tradition and popular bardic chronicles, Dulha/Dhola Rai (whose reign is accepted as being from 1006-1036 AD by most historians) one of the rulers of this clan, laid the foundation of Dhoondhar kingdom in 967 AD and made Dausa his capital.

Kakil Dev (1036-1038) who succeeded his father Dulha Rai in 1036 AD, seized Amber from Meenas, laid the foundations of the Amber Fort and built the temple of Ambikeshwar Mahadev – one of Amber’s earliest extant monuments. The capital of Dhoondar was shifted from Dausa to Amber between 1179 and 1216 AD. By the 17th century, the Kachchwaha Rajput clan became known for political clout and importance in the Mughal administration. Raja Man Singh (1590-1614) and Mirza Raja Jai Singh (1622-1667) contributed to the financial and cultural wealth of Dhoondhar through political alliance with Mughals.

Sawai Jai Singh II (1700 – 1743) who outlived five Mughal emperors and tried to prop up the Mughal Empire from 1707 – (Aurangzeb’s death) to sack of Delhi by Nadir Shah (1739) established the city of Jaipur and strengthened the boundaries of Dhoondhar.

The Kachchwaha Rajputs trace their descent through the solar dynasty to Kush, one of the two sons of Lord Rama.. According to local tradition and popular bardic chronicles, Dulha/Dhola Rai (whose reign is accepted as being from 1006-1036 AD by most historians) one of the rulers of this clan, laid the foundation of Dhoondhar kingdom in 967 AD and made Dausa his capital.

Kakil Dev (1036-1038) who succeeded his father Dulha Rai in 1036 AD, seized Amber from Meenas, laid the foundations of the Amber Fort and built the temple of Ambikeshwar Mahadev – one of Amber’s earliest extant monuments. The capital of Dhoondar was shifted from Dausa to Amber between 1179 and 1216 AD. By the 17th century, the Kachchwaha Rajput clan became known for political clout and importance in the Mughal administration. Raja Man Singh (1590-1614) and Mirza Raja Jai Singh (1622-1667) contributed to the financial and cultural wealth of Dhoondhar through political alliance with Mughals.

Sawai Jai Singh II (1700 – 1743) who outlived five Mughal emperors and tried to prop up the Mughal Empire from 1707 – (Aurangzeb’s death) to sack of Delhi by Nadir Shah (1739) established the city of Jaipur and strengthened the boundaries of Dhoondhar.

TWO SIGNIFICANT FACTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ORIGIN OF THE CITY AND ITS SUBSEQUENT LAYOUT: 1.

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The need of a new capital for 18th century Dhundhar as the earlier one of Amber built on a hill was getting congested.

Sawai Raja Jai Singh’s vision of the new capital as a strong political statement at par with Mughal cities and as a thriving trade and commerce hub for the region.

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SITE :a valley located south of Amber and the

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plains beyond, a terrain that was the bed of a dried lake,dense forest cover to the north and the east of the city.

PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS : Hills on the north that housed the fort of Jaigarh and the Amber palace beyond, and the hills on the east, which contained the sacred spot of Galtaji.

WATER SUPPLY : the Darbhavati river in the north was dammed to create the Jai Sagar and Man Sagar (that later housed the Jal Mahal) lakes.

Later the Jhotwara River in the north west was diverted through the Amani Shah Nallah and a number of canals were channelised through Brahmapuri and Jai Niwas to supply water to the city.

The site with the natural east west ridge and the surrounding forts as defense feature

MAHARAJA SAWAI JAI SINGH

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PLANING OF THE CITY I.

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Unlike Dausa and Amber, the two previous capital cities of the Dhoondhar region established on hilltop, whose planning was guided by topographical structure of the areas, Jaipur city was revolutionary both in terms of its grid-iron pattern planning and its location at the base of the hills.

There was also a significant economic shift from an agricultural base in Dausa and Amber to trading in the capital of Jaipur The layout of the city of Jaipur wonderfully links the concept of a Shastric city with the practicalities of the chosen site.

First, the straight line of the ridge suggested itself as the route for one of the main east-west thorough fares and building a road along its crest makes best possible use of the topography for the purpose of drainage.

What followed then was to regularize the Amber-Sanganer road as a north-south route at right angles to it.

The point of intersection would be one of the city’s main cross-roads (chaupar) Although the location of the axes was determined, their extents were yet to be defined. The southern boundary of the city had to lie within the line of the Agra-Ajmer road.

So by extending the NS road as far as possible southwards gives the first fixed dimension, the length of a side of a square and so establishes the size of the unit or module of the city.

A road cutting the plain from N to S linking Amber,the capital to Sanganer, the principal trading town. This road had to be preserved and controlled and therefore had to fall within the city’s boundaries A second road ran E to W between the Mughal cities of Agra and Ajmer and placing the new city on this already established communication line would help secure its economic success. However since this was an imperial road that could not be encroached on, thus the city had to be contained to the north of this line.

Also, a natural ridge runs across the plain, N of the road and parallel to it, in a roughly EW alignment (with a slight deviation of15 deg. from the cardinal axes).

The area to its S is flat while that to its N slopes down gently. In Shastric terms, this is an ideal arrangement as declivity towards the north-east Is considered the best site. In practical terms, the ridge too had to be accommodated.

CONCEPTUAL PRASTARA PLAN OF THE CITY ●

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It is a model of town planning- the first planned city in India. It is based on Hindu systems of town planning and followed the principles prescribed in the Shilpa-shastra, an ancient Indian treatise on architecture .

According to this shastra the site should be divided into grids or mandalas rangung from 2x 2 to 10 x 10.

Planned according to the Prastara type of layout, which gives prominence to the cardinal directions.

Thus plan of jaipur is a grid of 3×3 with gridlines being the city’s main streets. streets 55 ft. wide & the smaller ones 27ft. wide The central axis of the town was laid from East to West between the gates of the Sun(Suraj pol) and the moon(Chandpol) This was crossed by two roads at right angles dividing the town into nine almost square, almost equally sized blocks, which were further sub divided by lanes and alleys all at right angles.

But by building the western boundary of the city right up to the hill’s southern apex, it provided a continuous line of defense.

The mandala could not be complete in the NW due to the presence of the hills. ● ●

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URBAN FORM & ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY OF THE CITY

On the other hand in the SE an extra square has been added that plugged the gap between the city and the eastern hills.

South of the main road were four almost equal rectangles. The rectangle opposite the palace has been broken up into two equal and smaller rectangles by the Chaura Rasta.Thus altogether there are now five rectangles on the south of the main road called Chowkris.

On the North of the main road from West to East are the Purani Basti, the Palace and Ramchandraji.

The principal bazaar leads from the western gate in the city wall, The Chandpole, passing in front of the Tripolia Gate, to the eastern city gate, the Surajpole.

The palace building covered two blocks, the town six and the remaining ninth block was not usable on account of steep hills. So this North-West ward was transferred to the South-East corner of the city, making the shape of the plan as a whole asymmetrical rather than square The city’s division into nine wards was also in conformity with the Hindu caste system, which necessitated the segregation of people belonging to different communities and ranks.

Even the lanes were named after the occupations of inhabitants such as Maniharon ka Rasta, Thatheron ka Rasta & many others.

Following the directions of the Hindu Shilpa shastra, width of the main streets & other lanes were fixed. Thus the main streets of the city were 111ft. wide, secondary

● WHY IS THE CITY IN PINK. Jaipur

is known as the Pink City, a rather idealized description of the terra-cotta-colored lime plaster that coats the old part of the city’s walls, buildings, and temples.

The reasons for painting the town pink are unknown, but various theories have been tossed about, from using pink to cut down glare, to Jai Singh II’s apparent devotion to Lord Shiva (whose favorite color is reputedly terra cotta). Others believe Singh wanted to imitate the color of the sandstone used in the forts and palaces of his Mughal emperor-friends.

The most popular reason (spread no doubt by “Britishers” during the Raj era) is that pink is the traditional color of hospitality, and the city was freshly painted and paved with pink gravel to warmly welcome Edward VII for his visit here in 1876.

CITY PLAN

PRASTARA PLAN

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THE TOWN HAS AROUND IT A MASONRY WALL, 25FT. HIGH & 9FT. THICK, WITH EIGHT GATES

NEW GATE

CHAR DARWAZA

ZORAWAR SINGH GATE

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The palace building covered two blocks, the town six and the remaining ninth block was not usable on account of steep hills. So this North-West ward was transferred to the South-East corner of the city, making the shape of the plan as a whole asymmetrical rather than square.

The city’s division into nine wards was also in conformity with the Hindu caste system, which necessitated the segregation of people belonging to different communities and ranks.

Even the lanes were named after the occupations of inhabitants such as Maniharon ka Rasta, Thatheron ka Rasta & many others.

Following the directions of the Hindu Shilpa shastra, width of the main streets & other lanes were fixed. Thus the main streets of the city were 111ft. wide, secondary streets 55 ft. wide & the smaller ones 27ft. wide.

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CHANDPOLE GATE

AJMERI GATE

GHAT GATE

● South of the main road were four almost equal rectangles. The rectangle opposite the palace has been broken up into two equal and smaller rectangles by the Chaura Rasta.Thus altogether there are now five rectangles on the south of the main road called Chowkris. ● On the North of the main road from West to East are the Purani Basti, the Palace and Ramchandraji. ● The principal bazaar leads from the western gate in the city wall, The Chandpole, passing in front of the Tripolia Gate, to the eastern city gate, the Surajpole.

SANGANERI GATE

SURAJPOLE GATE

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To the NW of this lay the Jai Niwas. Given that its royal association meant that it had to be within the palace compound, the site of the palace was established. Indeed, given the wish to locate the palace centrally, the position of the brahmasthana was also established. A wall surrounds the palace buildings.

The serving class occupied the peripheral areas.

Another constraint was the position of the lake, which formed a part of the pleasure garden around which the city was built. This lake lay close to the hillside. In the original design it fell outside the main block of the city; but due to Jai Singh’s wish to include the old garden in the city, the lake was made the tank of palace garden.

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URBAN FORM & ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY OF THE CITY ● ROAD NETWORK IN THE CITY

● BAZAARS IN THE CITY

Jaipur’s road network follows a definite hierarchy. The major east-west and north-south road ,form the sector boundaries and are called Rajmarg as they lead to the city gates. These measure 33m. wide.Next there is a network of 16.5m wide which runs north-south in each sector linking the internal areas of the sectors to the major activity spine.An orthogonal grid of 8.25mx4.00m roads in the prastara-chessboard pattern further divide sectors into Mohallas.

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PUBLIC SPACES IN THE CITY ● CONCEPTUAL PLAN - CHAUPAR CHAUPAR – It’s a square that occurs at the intersection of east west roads with three north south roads. Each chaupar is around 100m x 100m. Were used for public gathering on festive occasions. The distance between two chaupars is about 700m which is ideal for pedestrian movement. It has controlled façade treatment enveloping it.

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View (above) of a main bazaar street – III. the width of the main roads was kept 39 1/4 gaz – 108 feet, secondary roads are half this size – 54 feet, the tertiary roads are 27 feet and the inner mohalla streets are 13 feet wide.

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Original markets in the city include Kishanpole bazaar, Gangauri bazar, Johari bazaar, Sireh Deorhi bazaar, along the main north-south and east-west axes that intersect at Chhoti and Badi Chaupars.

Typical architectural features of the bazaar streets are – use of chhajjas (sunshades) resulting in strong horizontal lines, projecting vertical blocks on brackets, a modular system of arches filled with delicate latticed screens to cut direct sun and glare of reflected sun in the street.

Bazaar streets have temples above shops with wide staircase starting from pavement to the temple level. Space above shops at first floor level originally functioned as galleries for watching royal processions, religious festivals and public celebrations On the main streets strict control was exercised on the street façade, along which were located shops and arcades- one storey high, but beyond the frontage the buildings could be of any height or any shape, some built with flat roofs & others with traditional chattris.

SECTION THROUGH THE RAM GANJ BAZAAR IN JAIPAUR

Defined street façade at a chaupar with sunshades and latticed colonnades at upper floors and shop fronts on the ground floor.

● PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INTERFACE IN THE CITY

The main markets, havelis and temples on the main streets in Jaipur were constructed by the state in the 18th century, thus ensuring that a uniform street facade is maintained. The widths of roads were predetermined Junctions of the main axial streets formed the two square civic open spaces called chaupars (Badi chaupar and Chhoti chaupar). The width of the square chaupars was three times that of the main street.

Historically, the chaupars were outlets for intense social use with water structures connected by underground aqueducts, supplying numerous sources of drinking water at street level. Presently, the centre of each chaupar has square enclosures with ornamental fountains.

The streets and chowks (central open squares in a town) of the internal chowkries (sectors) with numerous clusters or mohallas were not predetermined; hence show a mix of grid iron and organic pattern, with the basic unit of built form being the rectangular haveli.

View of a chaupar today

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HISTORY ● ● ●

Left Punjab to avoid pressure from islamic power 5th King - Maharawal Jaisal of Bhati

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800 years after that, the town gradually developed, due to the security of being in desert 15km from Lodhurva - Constructed a new town - JAISLMER Despite rocky hill and large depressed ground and being in the desert.

INTRODUCTION ●

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Jaisalmer is located in the arid plains of west Rajasthan in the midst of the vast Thar desert.

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It is a region of deficient rainfall averaging about 15cms a

ORGANISATION

623 AD

10th CENTURY AD

1156 AD

year and therefore only sparse vegetation is found.

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The groundwater in the greater part is impregnated with salt thus making it unsuitable for human consumption. The main source of water was Gadisar lake, just beyond the outer fortification on the south side until the Indira Gandhi Canal was introduced in the 1970s. J

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aisalmer developed as one of the most interesting towns dominated by the trading community. Because of the wealth in the town, its architecture was rich and elaborate.

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The city was founded in 1156 AD by Rao Jaisal as a military fort and trading post for the east-west route. Presence of water and wonderful hunting area surrounding it attracted the Maharaja of Luderva.

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The city developed as a transit base to transport silks, spices, indigo, opium, and so on, through these routes connected to the Silk Roads.

Some ruins of the old town of Luderva, which was given up due to its vulnerability to attack and lack of potable water, still exists about 15 kms from Jaisalmer. Connected by a meter gauge railway to Jodhpur city which is about 270 kms east, the town of Jaisalmer is about 900 kms south west of New Delhi.

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Extending between 26 degree 4 minutes and 28 degree 23

JAISALMER

minutes north latitude and 69 degree 30 minutes and 72 degree 42 minutes east longitude, it is surrounded on the northern and western side by Pakistan bordering at about 70 kms from the town.

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Acquired the old city of Lodhurva Due to repeated attacks and insufficient water sources Searched for a new land

Trades route through Thar Desert into Indian Subcontinent existed even before existence of Jaisalmer.

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On the eastern and southern side, it adjoins other districts of Rajasthan like Bikaner, Jodhpur and Barmer.

Built entirely out of yellow sandstone, on top of a hillock and its slopes, with nothing else in the vicinity, the city is a dense mass with little sense of scale when viewed from a distance.

With strong circular bastions of the fort wall, the city stands in the middle of the desert like a piece of sculpture. It is difficult to visualize that it is so porous and harbouring life, because it gives an impression of solidity. As one gets closer, one feels that the city is carved out of a solid stone rather than constructed piece by piece with stone over stone.

However once inside the city the experience shifts to the buildings and the details, and a strong sense of scale prevails.

1570 AD

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Jaisalmer is named after Maharaj Rawal Jaisal. Later, he built the Jaisalmer Fort on the Trikuta Hill which has now become one of the most popular heritage sites. Jaisalmer played a major role as the gateway to Persian countries, encouraging a flourishing trade during medieval times.

Jaisalmer was merged into the state of Rajasthan, there was no important change in the area of the state.

On October 6,1949,the region was given the status of an independent district in Jodhpur division.

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This ensured their peaceful existence leading to economics and cultural prosperity which is highlighted in their 17th & 18th century Art and Architecture.

Marriage of Maharawal Harraj’s daughter and Akbar.

Came into prominence with the Muslim invaders and their subsequent rule that followed in the Indian Subcontinent.

Jaisalmer was at the crest of its prosperity as relay station of East-West trade.

Resulting in greater trade relations with Muslim kingdoms of Persia, Arabia, Egypt and Africa.

MID OF 17th Century

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Port cities built by Britain such as Bombay and Calcutta was rapidly developing.

Thus new trade routes through sea were established lowering the importance of easier ones through the desert city resulting in decline of prosperity in Jaisalmer.

Historical trade routes popularly referred to as Silk routes long acted as routes for transformation of technology, culture and civilization apart from trade These routes extended from central Asia to all directions joining a major integrated land mass of the continent of Europe, Africa and Asia,.

A geological introspection also suggests its expansion along the extents of desert stretches extending from Northern parts of Africa into west-Asia,central Asia till Central China, Thar Desert in Indian sub-continent defining the south-eastern extent of this league of deserts.

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TOWN PLANNING PLANNING PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN IN THE TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE • The study focuses on the sandstone havelis (urban courtyard houses) of the desert city of Jaisalmer, north-west Rajasthan, India.

While the city has been much admired by contemporary Indian architects, their understanding has been a Modernist one, based largely on the idea of 'spatial organisation'.

• Three distinct architectural schools, or shaili, are then identified.

1)THE SOMPURIYA SHAILI (the Sompuras are traditional temple builders) has its roots in the medieval architecture known from surviving temples.

2)THE MUGHLAI SHAILI is influenced by the imperial Mughal style.

3)THE ANGREZI (ENGLISH) SHAILI brought an influx of western Classicism.

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The fort and town of jaisalmer was founded by maharawal jaisal in 1156 a.d. in arid plains of western rajasthan, in midst of vast thar desert.

One major reason for selection of this site was the availability of subsurface water.

The fort was built on the hill top, generally following is triangular geometry.

Surrounded by protective fortifications, the house and places were approached through narrow street.

With influx of population from the surrounding areas, the fort was in time completely built up and further expansion of the settlement took place at the foot of the hill.

The lower city developed after 1722 in the region of maharawal Akhai Singh, all the buildings in it were constructed in and after 18th century.

As the town prospered with more population, the medieval citadel became insufficient to accommodate them.

It was in 1750 that the ramparts surrounding the entire city were completed by Maharawal Mulraj.

Even so, there are differences between the citadel of jaisalmer and the surrounding lower town, in which the streets pattern is a little more like a grid, showing a gap between construction period.

URBAN FORM & ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY OF THE CITY ● WHY IS THE CITY IN YELLOW. Jaisalmer is called the “Golden City” because the yellow golden sand gives a golden shadow to the city and its neighbouring areas. The town also stands on a fold of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, picturing the town “Yellow” or “Golden”.

CITY PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE ● ●

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CONNECTIVITY ● ● ● ●

The district is well connected with other cities of the state and India.

The district is traversed by National Highways; NH 68,NH-114.

There is a good network of state highways, major and minor district roads for the inter district connectivity.

Air connectivity is from Jaipur and jodhpur,Jodhpur Airport and is at about 285 km from the Jaisalmer city, civil airport is also situated at Jaisalmer.

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In its overall shape, Jaisalmer is an irregular polygon with a double line of fortification. It is a city within a city.

The inner city is more protected with a stronger wall and is set on top of a hill about 100 meters higher than the surrounding area. The city is triangular in shape due to the shape of the hill on which it is built.

The Royal Palace with the Royal Square forms the nucleus of Jaisalmer. There is only one entry point to the fort, leading to the Royal Square through a series of checkpoints in terms of gates (pols).

The Royal Square was the arrival point for traders and visitors to the city. Compactly built, the city has many tall buildings, up to seven stories high, giving it a fairly dense and vertical effect.

The city structuring manifests itself in two strong ways : the location of the Royal Quarters on top of the hill with the strong fortification and secondly the dispersal of communities is affected by caste groupings making distinct residential zones of different communities.

However there is little evidence of class distinction which is evident from the manner in which some of the houses of the rich and the poor are dispersed in both the upper and the lower cities.

The market square with its bazaar structures in the lower city and the Royal Square with the temples holds the upper city together. Streets act as linkages, activity and interaction spaces. The city when viewed from above gives the impression of cubical grains arranged in close proximity.

Courts and terraces expose the sides of these grains. Though very solid looking, the city has porosity, somewhat comparable to a honeycomb due to a certain uniformity and fineness of the textural quality. This is also due to the constancy of building modules used all over the town. The cubical grain of the city is contrasted by the cylindrical bastions of the fort wall.

There is a very strong sense of order and harmony in the whole town though it is not exactly known how this was accomplished.

One wonders if it was the result of regulations or the spirit of the people who sought for an environment which responded to the forces of nature. The order is not the result of construction of this town only. It actually is the result of culmination of efforts for refinement over a period of time.

Similar, though simpler, constructional order exists in settlements of earlier times.

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PUBLIC SPACES IN THE CITY ●

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STREETS OF JAISALMER .

Public spaces in Jaisalmer may be classified according to their types. The major categories are : The Royal Square in the center of the upper city ; public spaces like Gandhi chowk and Gopa chowk ; community spaces at the level of residential clusters.

The Royal Square is a very well conceived space forming the core of the upper city as well as the Royal quarters. It has a high quality of architectural order. On reaching the entrance to the square through a winding and well guarded path, one sees very few buildings; actually one views the horizon just above the fort wall.

Only on turning around does one find the richly ornamented Royal Palace and the temple exhibiting exquisite craftsmanship. Visitors and traders met the king and the community in this square. The king's throne occupies one corner of the square at a diagonal, overlooking the square. ●

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The square acts as a key linking element and as a nucleus in the upper city thus holding it together.

Market squares, such as Gandhi Chowk, Gopa Chowk etc. are all located in the lower city.

These squares build part of a sequence of spaces and streets forming the main bazaar.

Starting with Gandhi Chowk, just inside the western wall of the lower city, one is lead through the main bazaarwith Jindani Chowk along the way to Gopa Chowk, the latter being the main market square Gopa Chowk is closely linked with the entry gate to the upper city and has a very informal quality due to the diversity of activities that take place there. Cluster space is quite frequently found, particularly in the upper city. It is either a space which connects streets on two or four sides, or it is made by widening a street at a particular point.

In any case, each space serves a group of houses for their immediate activities. One such space included here, called Holingda (because the space is used for lighting the Holi pyre, a significant festival in Rajasthan), is within the Kothari pada area.

Connecting four streets it is very active for most parts of the day. About twelve houses open directly in to the space while many other houses from adjoining streets make use of it. Platforms, one to two meter wide, extend into the square from in front of the houses, forming the key activity elements within it.

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Jaisalmer is a compact network of streets rarely too long. In negotiating the terrain, the streets have become quite interesting. With fairly high buildings and width of streets rarely more than three meters, one can move around the town in cool shade.

Thus one can probably term Jaisalmer as a pedestrian town with very little and limited vehicular traffic. There is a significant difference in the street patterns of the upper and the lower city. The radial pattern in the upper city is contrasted by the somewhat irregular grid iron pattern in the lower city It will be wrong to call the growth of the city as organic as may be the case with many other Indian cities.

Location of certain squares in very strategic places and a very well developed and definite order of streets and buildings make Jaisalmer a city well organized and planned.

The major part of the lower city is divided in to somewhat rectangular blocks with closely built buildings.

These blocks show continuous facades of exquisitely carved elements behind which are the open courtyards and terraces thus making the building plan a fairly porous one.

Streets have at times strong pauses, but generally they are moulded with subtle curves enhancing the view of the richly ornamented buildings and also not exposing the entire view of the facade all at once, thus making a walk through the town an interesting one.

The upper city also has similar qualities but the street pattern is radial in character. In general the variation of any hierarchical order are too little to be of any consequence. Jaisalmer streets are more than mere paths - they are public spaces too.

Although streets harbour activities which are comparable to public spaces, the streets as a space has a different character. Not only is the comparison more linear, it is also more limited in terms of activities.

The desire of the people to 'participate' with the street is strongly expressed through certain elements between two dominant realms - residential and public. Platforms (otla) with entry steps are the key transition elements evoking the extension of some house hold activities.

Here, however, womenfolk are more restrained and these platforms are used more by the children and the older men. In tune with the need for privacy for women, facades are characterized by small openings often in the form of jharokhas, elements essentially generated by social customs of allowing women to peep out without being seen.

Thus women are able to 'participate' in the outside activities and yet maintain their privacy. Besides, the streets are used by children to play and by adults to socialize. Jaisalmer being essentially a pedestrian town, people know one another and there is little evidence of social anonymity.

HOUSE FORM IN JAISALMER . ●

The architecture of the city displays a strong sense of anonymity which is essentially a cultural trait. In some of the oriental cultures it is part of life and comes naturally to the people. This expression is found specially in domestic architecture. The spaces aquire non specific character. They change in their use as the morning changes to noon and the noon changes to evening. They are also used differently in summer and in winter. The interior open spaces like courtyards, terraces and balconies have special significance under such situations. They accommodate variety of activities during different seasons and different times of the day.The whole idea of a house in Jaisalmer is developed around the idea of 'privacy'. This has generated very specific elements and expressions. The ground floor has no openings facing the street except the entrance door. A kind of platform called otla is developed in front of the houses where people do not have such a strong notion of privacy. The house starts to open up as one moves inward. Although the need for privacy from the house across the street is less as compared to from the strangers passing by on the streets, but even that has been carefully worked out by inclining the stone jali work of the jharokhas down at an angle of 45 degrees.

With compact organization, the house and the streets become very close to each other, so the most natural thing was to close the house to the exterior and open it to the interior thus making the courtyard an extremely important feature of the house. The idea of an inward looking house is also reinforced because of climatic reasons. Almost every house is built of yellow sand stone in dry masonry within an order that prevails over the entire settlement. Grown out of a modulation at the domestic scale, dictated by the limitation of stone construction, the town presents a picture of an unique order. Yet, it is not regimental.

A minimum house is generally a two bay house with one of the bay containing the courtyard. It is the number of bays that start increasing as the house starts becoming bigger. The bastion houses that are on the periphery of the upper city i.e. along the fort wall show some difference in character. These

7 AIKTC SOA / SEM VII / 2021-22

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7 AIKTC SOA / SEM VII / 2021-22

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