Vernacular architecture of bohra houses

Vernacular Architecture of Bohra Houses, Gujarat

With courtesy to all the source of Information

Link for Video Lecture
https://youtu.be/OHGJkwHIqoo

1. VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF GUJARAT
BOHRA HOUSES
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN
REGIONS OF INDIA
Form, Spatial planning, Cultural aspects, Symbolism, color, Art, Materials of
construction and techniques
Ar. S.BalaHariKrishnan, Assistant Professor, PMIST

2. MUSLIMHOUSESOFGUJARAT

3. LargepercentageofGujaratiMuslims,likethe
Khojas,theMemonsandtheVohras areconverts
fromHinduism.
Theyadoptedcertaincustoms followedby
Muslimsandretainedsomeoftheirprevious
traditions.
Asaresultchangeinlifestylewhichreflected
intheirdwellings.
Thehouseplanwasalteredinitsproportions
andtheyvirtuallycreatedanewplanandan
altereddomesticatmosphere.
Thischangeinusageandmodificationofan
establishedhousetypebytheMuslimsiscalled
the‘Muslimhouse’.

4. TherearefourkindsofMuslimhouseswhich
havebeendistinguished,notaccordingtotheir
regionaldistribution,butaccordingtotheir
functionalcategories.Theseare
-Theunmodifiedhouse
-Themodifiedhouse
-TheMuslimHaveli
-T-planhouse

5. THEUNMODIFIEDHOUSE
HOUSES OF VOHRAS
HOUSEPLANNING
ThetraditionalVohrahouse-planwasvery
similartothatofNorth-Gujarat.Such
housesappearedintownslikeDholka,
KapadvanjandpartsofSurat–whereone
findsNorthernpracticesinaSouthern
region.
Siddhapur–adifferencecamein–
anextremelydeepplotofnarrowwidth
andabackexitopeningintoabackyard.
InfluencedfromtypicalSouthGujarat
arrangement.ThisiswasduetoDawoodi
Vohraswhosecustomsinfluencedall
others.
ThedeepplotretainedtheNorthern
sequenceofroomsandhaddeepkhadki
roomsand2or3roomsintherear.
TheVohrahousewasusedinquiteadifferent
wayfromtheHinduone.
Themainroomforthevisitorswasordo .
Thisrearmostroomwasfurnished with
expensivemattresses,coverletsandcushions,
thewallscarriedreligiouspicturesandguests
wereentertainedhere.
Anotherreasonfortakingtheguesttotherear
wasoncetheywereallowedtodhivankhanuof
upperfloortheywouldoverlookthechowkand
thekitchenwherethewomenatworkallthe
times.
Thiscomplicatedusageofthedwellingseems
tohavearisenbecauseMuslimsocialcustom
wassuperimposeduponaHinduhouse-plan.
Theuseofordovirtuallythedhivankhanuof
thehousemadeitessentialthatitbewell-
ventilatedandwell-lit.Theseleadtoprovision
ofwindowsopeningintotheback-yard.

6. AtKapadvanj,theorientationofthe
housewasreversed sothattherear
partwiththedecorativeordofacedthe
mainlane.
Theentrytothehousewasfromthe
sidelaneattheback.
Topreventthestrangerslookinginto
theordotheplinthlevelwasraised.
Thusthewindowswerehigherthan
head-heightatroadlevel.
AtSuratthechangewhichoccurredwas
thatmuchof domesticlifewas
transferredtothefirstfloor,including
thevisitorsarea.
Aguestcouldnowbeconductedfrom
theGroundfloordelistraightuptothe
firstfloorwithoutpassingthroughthe
kitchen.Butthevisitorsroomcontinued
tobeatthebackofthedwelling.
Otherchanges:Fromtheordothegrain
storageswereshiftedtofront Khadki
roomarea.
This further led to two developments:
HOUSES OF NON-VOHRAS
Thistypeofhousewerefoundmainlyinthe
GodhraandDabhoiarea .Theplotswere
relativelydeepwithbackyardsandrearexits
-featurescommontoSouthGujarat.
TheGroundfloorwasdividedintotwo
spaces,onewiththeproportionsofanordo
wasfortheKitchenattheback andtheother
tookupthewholeofthedeepplanand formed
asingle,longhall.Thiswasthereception
roomforthevisitors.
InthiscasethewomenworkingattheKitchen
wasinvisibleandtheprivacywasmaintained.
AlsotheKitchenhadtheseparatestaircase
bywhichthewomencouldreachthefirst
floordirectly.
Thefronthallhaditsownseparatestaircase
whichthemenused.TheFirstfloorwasnow
themainprivateareawherethefamilyslept
andwherewomenspenttheirfreetime.

9. The enclosed spaces within the house
also reflect their efforts to maintain a
distinct identity from other religious
groups and a sense of seclusion and
privacy from outsiders.

10. SIDDHPURBOHRAHOUSES

11. THE UNMODIFIED HOUSE
HOUSES OF VOHRAS
SETTLEMENTPATTERN
Thehousesaregroupedtogetherinspecific
wardsorpolswhicharecalledlocally
vorwardorBohorward andwhichin
earliertimeshadgatesclosingthemoffat
night.
UnlikepolsofNorthGujarattheroadswere
straight,withoutcomplicatedtwisting
lanesandoffsets.Thehouseshaveplots
ofalmostequalsizeanddepth,neatly
alignedwitheachother.

12. HOUSES OF VOHRA OR BOHRA –FLOOR PLAN AND SECTION

13. At the ground level one enters the house
through a portico raised about 75cm above the
street level. Through the main door, one steps
into an anteroom, known as dehliseparated by
a light screen from the inner court to ensure
privacy inside the house.

14. The dehliusually houses a stair which directly
leads to upper floors. From here visitors are
directly led up to the formal sitting room on
the first floor. Next the court, open to the sky,
houses all the services on its side walls.

15. The space immediately after the court is fully open on the courtside
and referred to as baharniparsal(external portico). This is followed
by a room known as adarniparsal(internal portico). Such
seemingly incongruous designation of these spaces is with reference
to the last room of the house, the ordo(family room), which is
sanctum of bohrafamily’s life.

18. The upper floors are normally organized as
independent rooms on either sides of the court
around which the services are located. In the case of
a house with more than one upper floor, the stair is
also located in the area around the court. This
spaces is known as ravas. On the top floor, the
ravasbecomes a terrace separating the rooms in the
front and at the back.

23. Contrary to the other communities, the Bohrasrarely use the raised, street
side portico, which is used extensively by other communities for various
activities such as sitting space for elders and play area for children. This could
be attributed to the greater confinement of women in the social set up of the
Bohras.

24. FACADES
ItisinthefacadesthatthevariationsofEuropean
stylesbecomedominant.Thesefacadesarea
mixtureofmanystyles,frommanyplacesand
periods.
FancifulformsofRenaissanceandBaroquestyles
arefreelyusedtodecoratethescultpuresque
elements,particularlycolumns,pilastersand
entablatures.
Aneffectofgreatrichnessisproducedby
integratingthemoldingswiththecapitals,
decoratedpanels,deepcornices,irongrillsand
woodendoorworks.
Surprisinglythefacadesdonotdisplayany
Islamiccharacteristicsexceptforasenseof
privacythatpervadestheinteriorandthelackof
figurativeuseofanylivingbeings–manoranimal
–aspartofthedecorations.
Thedecorationsextendovertheentirefaçade,
differingfromhousetohouseinformaswellas
colour.However,averydefinitecontrolis
achievedbytheinterrelationofkeyelementssuch
asfloorheights,plinthsandtheroofline; other
smallelementsareusedtoharmoniseandbindthe
entirefaçade.
Thecolourrenderingsareinpastelshadeswith
lightgreen,lightyellowandpinkasfavorites .
Thematerialsusedareaacombinationofstone,
woodandplaster.

25. WINDOWSANDDOORS
Betweenthepilastersareplaceddoorway,thewindowsandthe
decoratedpanels.Thewoodandirongrillworkisusedforthedoor
andwindows,theirshuttersconsistingofsmallerpartsand
operatingseparatelyandhelpingtoretainprivacy.
Onareassuchasthewallabovethesillofawindow–thereareano
openings–plastereddecorativepanelsareplaced.Thedecorations
areinthenatureofEuropeanshieldsorplaqueswithflowersand
ribbonsandthenamesoftheowners;thedateofconstructionis
writtenindarkershadesbelow.

29. REFERENCES
•https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/vI9m3071k3aTO5H5nDzpJL/Mix-
amp-Match--Bohra-houses-of-Gujarat.html
•https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/fresh-perspectives/a618-the-
marvelous-dawoodi-bohra-homes-of-the-understated-city-of-sidhpur-
in-gujarat/
•https://implosion.architexturez.net/015AcrobatArchives/Desai00H/Des
aiArchPlates.PDF
•https://www.scribd.com/document/280070317/Expressing-an-
Architectural-Identity-Bohra-Houses-of-Gujarat
•https://www.tripleostudio.com/dawoodi-bohras-of-sidhpur/
•https://sudhagee.com/2015/03/06/travel-the-grand-and-empty-
vohrawads-of-sidhpur/
•http://indianquarterly.com/perfect-ghosts/
•https://issuu.com/dicrc/docs/tvb_research_plates
•https://issuu.com/iab_archives/docs/iab_july_2013/63

30. End of Presentation
Thank you