In pursuit of expanding our settlements, the roots of our inheritance are often forgotten. Each discipline has its elementary principles to sustain through progression; nevertheless they are overlooked as the journey ages. In today’s ever-developing world, these forgotten rudiments lead to a shift from the sown intention and objectives.
When we say “heritage” at present, it fundamentally materializes itself in the form of flashing images of the historical monuments and grandeur. However, heritage also refers to tangible valuables such as the enactment of ancestral practices and the information bequeathed from one generation to the other with the passage of time. With a close perspective to “heritage”, the “culture” of the people from the past has influenced the spaces they create and subsequently the settlements they shape.
Located in Bhilwara District of Rajasthan, The Gacha Basti is one such assemblage of indigenous dwellings with its discerning mud walls and thatch roof accommodating the values, economies and ways of life of the culture that produce them. These dwellings with all its many different sub-groups together form a complex, interconnected, and evolving sys-
tem of communities, each embracing their ancestral practices and imprinting knowledge passed on from one generation to the other in due course of time. The settlement is nurtured by a cycle of symbiotic relationships between the members of communities, working together for an orthodox yet sustainable livelihood. Comprising the dwellings and all other buildings of the Gatcha Basti, related to their environmental and social context lays their history.
Understanding this historical context of any settlement is an integral part of comprehending its present dynamics, after all communities narrate the languages inherited from their past, With a history spanning over 400 years, the residents of Gacha Basti live in societies with compounded cultures, religions and traditions that has not been created momentarily.
Gacha Basti came into existence after the catastrophic battle of Haldighati, which was fought on June 18, 1576 between cavalry and archers supporting Maharana Pratap the King of Mewar, a region in southern Rajasthan and the Mughal emperor Akbar's forces.
The aftermath of war led to the Mughals gaining victory over Mewar. They inflicted significant casualties among the Mewaris, but failed to capture Maharana Pratap. Although the battle ended in defeat for the forces of Mewar, Maharana Pratap continued his valiant resistance against the Mughal Empire in the shadows.
The forefathers of the residents of Gacha Basti, under the reign of Maharana Pratap swore neither to return back to Mewar until they recapture their sovereignty. After fledgling from the Mewar’s reign, the iron smelters who forged weapons for the kingdom migrated from one place to another on bullock carts. These carts were called 'gadis' in Hindi and thus they were entitled as Gadiya Lohars. They made puckers and tools for their mundane earnings and constructed provisional tents wherever they migrated.
For the Basti’s socio-ecological systems, culture and nature interfere in the society's biophysical structure. This structure at present got developed through the evolution of interlinked stories encompassing social genocide, migration and skills passed down through the timeline.
The Gatcha basti is populated with more than 100 families, nourishing their regular livelihood which exists due to the mutual cooperation between 3 different communities of different social production which inhabit the region.
This social transition resulted in the formation of the three provincial societies:
1. GACHA : Basket weaving through splicing of bamboo fibre.
2. Gadiya Lohar: Iron smelters, the ancestors of the military built by na Pratap during the war of "Haldighati".
3. Kalbeliya : Production of wood coal and farming in nearby areas.
Gacha village experiences arid climate throughout the year as the temperature remains low during winter seasons while summers are characterized by hot and dry weather. With just an annual Precipitation of 606mm, the region is drained by very scarce rainfall during the monsoon. The Settlement lies at a distance of 4.3 kms. From Ummed Sagar dam which is a key factor for its existence, along with a pond at a distance of just 400m from the settlement which supports the local livelihood including Household chores, agricultural, production, and recreational activities. As a major transportation asset gacha basti is well connected via a state highway running in a close proximity of 600m.
Each community inhabiting one of the three parallel streets with dwellings and production units running on each side creates a heterogeneous multitude embracing social cohesion between a triad of distinctive yet interdependent communities. In the midst of this area lies an abundant open space characterized by grassland which acts as an commuting space, a space for storage of waste & leftovers.
The settlement predominantly consists of ‘Kaccha Houses' built by the communities using locally available material like mud and bamboo. Nearby infrastructure includes a local school, community space for functions and a cemetery space.
This cooperative coexistence in which communities are fabricated together in an institution of economy, society and geography has a primordial characteristic. Built with mud and cow dung for floor and wall along with bamboo for thatched roofs, Gatcha Basti is a classic example of indigenous dwelling moulded in a form of cooperative coexistence between these divergent communities.
Though these three communities are socially and physically divided in their discreet geographical positions, on several occasions they are economically interdependent with each other. The settlement of Gacha Basti with its indigenous dwellings constructed using vernacular materials can be figuratively addressed as a well spun fabric of communal interdependence by virtue of their co-operative orientation and inclination among themselves.
Each of the three castes has a specialized occupation. This specialization leads to the exchange of services within the residents of Gacha Basti. The functioning of the co-operative societies goes a long way in improving the conditions as a wholesome rural set-up.
All three communities are interdependent in a complex chain of give and take. The basti has a higher majority of young women. Activities like basket weaving, wood collection, coal production and iron smelting are done simultaneously in the same neighbourhood predominantly by women. Skilled women have made huge gains for the welfare of the settlement. Women are responsible for the production and men for marketing.
The ironsmiths gather scrap iron and they work by heating pieces of wrought iron or steel until the metal becomes soft enough for shaping with hand tools, such as a hammer, an anvil and a chisel. Heating generally takes place in a forge fuelled by propane, natural gas, coal, charcoal, or oil.
The tools produced by them are further used by the bamboo workers to make hand-woven baskets. Bamboo is divided into strips of different sizes that vary in width, this process done using a sharp knife. The strips are made thinner by peeling the top layer and the bamboos are split into flat thin strips. Artisan arranges the strips in circular manner to make the basket. These baskets are used for the storage of ‘charaas’ for the cattle as it neither gets rust, nor is toxic for animals like plastics and has sufficient air flow without letting dirt or germs enter.
The Lohar’s tools including the axe used to cut down the trees are also used by the Kalbeliya basti to produce coal. They also use the Gacha’s baskets for storage of wood and coal. This coal fuels the fire that forges Lohar’s tools.
The farmers and the shepherds are also largely dependent on the 3 communities’ products like tools for cultivation, coal for cooking, baskets for storage. The obvious balance is maintained by the food which is provided to the later by the cultivators. Such communities working together ensure more productivity, ultimately resulting in more goods for sale and ameliorated transactions. Insuring money is not being spent on materials that can be recycled, through design strategies. Organic fertilisers made through compose pits under toilets and by waste management of organic materials used to plan Bamboos saving money on raw materials
All these factors have fed into one another and help to explain how a focus on local production, local economies and/or locally based socio-cultural constellations helps to understand the complex dynamic of the Gacha village
A system is defined as a group of interrelated elements or parts that collectively both include and transcend the parts individually, creating a unique whole. Our families along with our communities with all the multitude of roles people hold collectively working together are all systems that we engage with in various ways throughout our lives. Due to the increasing ecological, social, cultural, technological and economic pressures society is placing on humanity and our planet, we now live in a time of systems change.
The Gacha Basti is one such assemblage with all its many different sub-groups together comprising an amazingly complex, interconnected, and evolving system. As a species, humanity has a unique capability to be consciously aware of our individual and our collective impact on the world around us; our actions shape the future by how we live today and we can observe these impacts in real-time. We have the capacity to make sense of our place and time in history, to reflect on where we are today in the evolution of our society and where we may be heading.
Their lifestyle reflects on the monuments in form of art and architecture, and study of it tells us about the people of the past, their interests, living practices, morals, the evolution till our present existence and other customs. When the human species came into existence on earth they started to live with their knowledge. They tried to adapt themselves with their vernacular context, where their values and culture were shaped according to the
nature of the natural environment around them. This molded culture inspired from nature became their identity, with a variation according to the diverse biodiversity across the world. Hence the “cultural heritage” that has influenced architecture across the world has its major inclination towards nature. Since existence architecture has been a part of human effort where the environment has been the selfless provider of building materials.
At present, there are buildings surviving for hundred years persisting at their place. It's only possible because of the accuracy of understanding the essence of the natural environment. Their preferences of building materials can be seen dominated by the natural elements, and the health benefits associated with engaging with nature. Humans are symbiotic with other life forms and with the environment.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/the-community-of-gadiya-lohars-dastkarihaat-samiti/oAKSSgWQAXKhKg?hl=en
2. http://dsource.in/sites/default/files/course/visual-ethnography-designers/samplereports/file/Visual%20Ethnography%20-%20Gadiya%20Lohar.pdf
3. Book: Battles of Rajasthan by Frederic P. Miller, Agnes F. Vandome, John McBrewster
4. Book: Rima Hooja, History of Rajasthan, Rupa, Co. New Delhi
