Thesis: The Attitude Towards Landscape: The Courtyard Dwelling as a Theme of Response.

The Attittude to Landscape: The Courtyard Dwelling as a Theme of Response

Sneha Ramani

Guide: Prof. Neelkanth Chhaya

FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, CEPT UNIVERSITY

The Attitude Towards Landscape The Courtyard Dwelling as a Theme of Response.

Sneha Ramani UA 3107 Guide- Prof. Neelkanth Chhaya

The dissertation studies the response of the architectural configuration of the courtyard dwelling within the traditional settlement, on account of the landscape relationships derived from its political, social and sacred constructs, hereby contextualizing the courtyard in the totality of the landscape.

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

Dedicated to, my parents and my sister, Drashti.....

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

Contents Introduction......................................................................................................1 Aim Objectives Hypothesis Research Questions Research Methodology Scope and Limitations 1.

Relation between Man and Nature........................................................7 1.1.

1.2.

1.3.

1.4.

2.

Approach to the study of man and nature 1.1.1. Non-environmental deterministic 1.1.2. Environmental determinism 1.1.3. Possibilism 1.1.4. Probabilism 1.1.5. Cognitive behavioralism The nature of culture The concept of culture in geography The cultural landscape

Man, nature and settlements................................................................19 2.1.

2.2.

2.3.

2.4.

Multiple origins of agriculture Variable determining farm production 2.2.1. Site characteristics 2.2.2. Cultural preferences and perception 2.2.3. Geographic situation or relative position Farm and village 2.3.1. Distribution 2.3.2. Field systems 2.3.3. Structure of village and farmstead Landscape relationships and house typology 2.4.1. Landscape 2.4.2. Power relationships and organization of society 2.4.3. Architectural configuration

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

Contents Introduction......................................................................................................1 Aim Objectives Hypothesis Research Questions Research Methodology Scope and Limitations 1.

Relation between Man and Nature........................................................7 1.1.

1.2.

1.3.

1.4.

2.

Approach to the study of man and nature 1.1.1. Non-environmental deterministic 1.1.2. Environmental determinism 1.1.3. Possibilism 1.1.4. Probabilism 1.1.5. Cognitive behavioralism The nature of culture The concept of culture in geography The cultural landscape

Man, nature and settlements................................................................19 2.1.

2.2.

2.3.

2.4.

Multiple origins of agriculture Variable determining farm production 2.2.1. Site characteristics 2.2.2. Cultural preferences and perception 2.2.3. Geographic situation or relative position Farm and village 2.3.1. Distribution 2.3.2. Field systems 2.3.3. Structure of village and farmstead Landscape relationships and house typology 2.4.1. Landscape 2.4.2. Power relationships and organization of society 2.4.3. Architectural configuration

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

3.

Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu...............................................37 3.1.

3.2.

3.3.

3.4.

3.5.

3.6.

3.7.

4.

Criteria for selection of case-study.

Overview of the Kaveri valley 3.2.1. Geography 3.2.2. History 3.2.3. Land-revenue administration 3.2.4. The place of nature in Sangam literature Nallur: General Background 3.3.1. Location 3.3.2. Topography 3.3.3. Climate 3.3.4. Vegetation 3.3.5. Historical and sociocultural background Impressions of Nallur Landscape relationships Settlement pattern House Typologies 3.7.1. House- 1 3.7.2. House-2 3.7.3. House-3 3.7.4. House-4

Analysis and Conclusion.....................................................................79 4.1. Analysis 4.1.1. Landscape 4.1.2. Settlement 4.1.3. House-form 4.2. Conclusion

Appendix- I: Glossary Appendix- II: Historical Background of South India (2nd century- 9th century).

Appendix- III: Historical Background of South India (10th century- 20th century).

Illustration Credits Bibliography Acknowledgements

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

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Introduction

Introduction.

Introduction Aim Objectives Hypothesis Research Questions Research Methodology Scope and Limitations

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THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

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Introduction

Introduction “Occupancy patterns sum up….the nature of man’s rapport with the earth….” – Kniffen Landscape is “an area made up of a distinct association of forms, both physical and cultural”- Carl Sauer “Landscape is never simply a natural space, a feature of the natural environment. [E]very landscape is the place where we establish our own human organization of space and time.” - John B. Jackson

Natural elements are evidently the primary components of the given, and places are usually defined in geographical terms (here place means something more that location). The man-made parts of the environment are first of all the ‘settlements’ of different scale, from houses and farms to villages and towns, and secondly ‘paths’ which connect these settlements, as well as various elements which transform nature into ‘landscape’. Buildings are related to their environments, by resting on the ground and rising towards the sky.

Finally man-made environments comprise artifacts or ‘things’, which may serve as internal foci, and emphasize the gathering function of the settlement.

A ‘space’ becomes a ‘place’ when it is given meaning, and has an associative value. The word settlement indicates to the geographers all man-made facilities resulting from the process of settling, including the organization of the settlements, the linkages that connect and, the territories that part them. The functions and forms of settlements express different cultural differences. The study of settlements has a strong historical component: it views the present as an amalgam of old and recent forms, reflecting different phases of social organization and technical skill, or even a succession of cultures, hence reflecting cultural values and associations.

Landscapes combine elements of space and time, and represent political as well as social, sacred and cultural constructs. As they have evolved over time, and as human activity has changed, they have acquired many layers that can be analyzed through many perspectives like historical, archaeological, geographical and sociological. Hence, when one explores (reads) the landscape one can find these layers based on the perspectives chosen for the study of the landscape. Further, it is in relation to the political, social, sacred and cultural construct of the landscapes that evolves architecture, within a particular kind of landscape only a particular response of its architecture is possible and these responses vary across different landscapes. Therefore, the study, taking a geographic, sociological (to a certain extent) and partly historical perspective attempts to contextualize the architectural configuration of a place in the totality of the landscape.

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Aim To study the response of the architectural configuration of the courtyard dwelling within the traditional settlement, on account of the landscape relationships derived from its political, social and sacred constructs, in order to contextualize it within the landscape.

Objectives • To study the role of physical components, in a landscape setting, in order to understand the patterns evolving from their relationships with respect to the political, social and sacred constructs reflecting in the landscape of the settlement.

• To study the organization of the settlement (or cluster) with respect to the pattern evolved by establishing relationship between the physical components of the landscape setting, in order to understand the response of settlement organization with respect to the landscape constructs.

• To study the architectural configuration of dwelling as a theme (of response to the physical as well as the social components of the landscape setting), in order to understand its partial response to the landscape setting and meanings that the act of definition of space has.

Hypothesis The land sub-division the settlement of Nallur in the Kaveri basin is based on water distribution and this affects different aspects of settlement and house form.

Research Question To study the relationships between the farmlands, tree groves, settlements, and water (physical components within the extent of a settlement), in order to trace a pattern, which establishes relationships between the settlements, the human occupation and the natural features.

With respect to the topography, what is the pattern evolved?

Based on the topography, what form does controlling water takes, accordingly how is the land sub-divided or structured? Who controls the flow of water and to what extent?

What are the organizational principles (physical and social) that help to institute the social needs and in what way are they related to the above land sub-division?

What are the tools used in defining power-relationships in a landscape setting (settlement)?

What is the nature of activities in all the house typologies? How does

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

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Introduction

the activity play a part in the derivation of the house typology? What is the hierarchy of spaces within the dwelling and the organization of functions, that helps in deriving the architectural configuration of the courtyard dwelling?

Research Methodology • The first objective will be achieved by studying the response to physical components of the landscape like topography, vegetation and water to the landscape setting, and tracing patterns of relationships between these components by reading the landscape, and deriving meaning from it.

• The second objective will be achieved by studying the territoriality, linkage patterns within the settlement and the settlement organizational relationships, looking at the settlement response with respect to the landscape construct.

• The third objective will be achieved by looking into various aspects of the dwelling like its organizational relationship and its territoriality within the house, hence looking at the architectural construct in the totality of the landscape.

The study will be based on selected case-studies of different house typologies of a traditional settlement. The first part of the thesis (observation of the landscape setting) will be done by tracing the elements of the landscape setting like roads, water-channels, waterbodies, rivers, lakes, vegetation settlement-plots and farmlands, based on documentation in the form of photographs, sketches, onsite observations, and interviewing different professionals, involved with the region and the topic. The second part of the study will be done by site-observations, interviewing the local community, sketches and photographs. The third part of the thesis will include studying the houses by documentation in the form of drawings, photographs and interviews of the people of the house.

Scope and Limitations • A traditional settlement and its associated landscape will be chosen for case study, as the settlement shares cultural behavior patterns and also a common perception towards the landscape, which results in apt and definite observations.

• The extent of a settlement is determined not by the place from which something stops, but is determined by the place from which something (other settlement) starts.

• The study will be based on first hand documentation carried out by the author and supported by documentation done under the R.S.P. programme at Nallur in December 2012.

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CHAPTER 1- RELATION BETWEEN MAN AND NATURE

Chapter- 1.

Relation between Man and Nature 1.1. Approach to the study of man and nature 1.1.1. Non-environmental deterministic 1.1.2. Environmental determinism 1.1.3. Possibilism 1.1.4. Probabilism 1.1.5. Cognitive behavioralism

1.2. The nature of culture

1.3. The concept of culture in geography 1.4. The cultural landscape

This section of the dissertation studies interactions between man and nature and extends to understand the impact of culture in nurturing the human society.

The section is divided into four parts. The first part of the section deals with different approaches to the study of the relationship between Man and Nature, thereby briefly describing five theories of human behavior, namely, non-environmental determinism, environmental determinism, possibilism, probabilism and cognitive behaviorism. The second, third and fourth part deals with the study, taking a perspective of cultural ecology.

The second part explains the significance of culture in human societies, while the third part deals with different studies involving cultural geography. The fourth part briefly explains studies involving cultural landscapes.

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1.

Relation between Man and Nature

1.1.

Approach to the study of man and nature

“The human is living from nature. This means: the nature is the body and the humans have to stay in a permanent process with it in order to survive.” (Marx, translated by Scholz)

Man experiences and explores nature’s basic pattern of organization, through which matter cycles continually and all ecological cycles are sustained by the continual flow of energy from the sun.(Orr 3) It is through these experiences that man becomes aware of how he is a part of the pattern of organization of nature, and over time experience of ecology in nature gives us a sense of place. Hence becoming aware of how he is embedded in an ecosystem; in a landscape with flora and fauna; in particular social system and culture.

“When he changes nature…..he changes in own nature.” (Scholz 6) “Man ‘receives’ the environment and makes it ‘focus’ on the buildings and the things. The things thereby ‘explain’ the environment and makes its character manifest, hereby making the things meaningful.” (Norberg and Schulz 11)

A “space” becomes a “place”, when it is given meaning, and has an associative value. The structure of a place can thus be analyzed by two categories “space” and “character”. The former aspect “space” denotes the three dimensional organization of the elements which make up a place, and the latter “character” denotes the general “atmosphere” of any place. The latter has a “gathering” and “focusing” function. Thus, by tampering with the character of a place, Man attempts to gather the space and makes it focus on things, thereby the thing characterizes the environment of the space, and hence the space becomes a place by acquiring a meaning and an associative value.

Places are assemblage of social functions and natural processes.

A place, thus, is not only a part of an ecosystem with a variety of micro-systems, but also a landscape with particular flora and fauna.

Its inhabitants are a part of social, economic and political order: they import and export materials, energy, water and wastes; they are linked by innumerable bonds to other places. It’s a complex mosaic of phenomena and problems. Hence, places cannot be understood from a vantage point of a single discipline or specialization.

Conventionally, the interactions between man and natural environment can be understood based on two approaches. The first approach deals with man as a creature living in physical environment, which not only satisfies his biological needs, but also imposes physical limitations on his health and well-being. This type of investigation dealing with biological considerations of man-environment systems can be grouped under human ecology. The second approach to

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the study deals with study of man-environment relationships from the view point of cultural ecology. Julian Steward coined the term “cultural ecology”, which is the study of the relationships between cultures and their natural environment. Steward’s theory rests on the idea that cultures develop as a result of the environment, in which they are set.(Kolras and Nystuen 372) Another perspective on the study of Man-environment relationships

by Harold and Margaret Sprout describes as:

“As far as we can determine, environmental factors (both human and social) can affect human activities in only two ways. Such factors can be perceived, reacted to, and taken into account by the human individual or individuals under consideration. In this way and in this way only, environmental factors can be said to ‘influence’, or to ‘consider’, or otherwise to ‘affect’ human values and preferences, moods and attitudes, choices and decisions…..In the later context, environmental factors may be conceived as a sort of matrix, or encompassing channel, metaphorically speaking, which limits the execution of undertakings. Such limitation on performance, accomplishment, outcome, or operational result may not- often do not- derive from or depend upon the environed individual’s perception or other psychological behavior. In many instances, environmental limitations on outcome or performance may be effective even though the limiting factor were not perceived and reacted to in the process of reaching a decision and initiating a course of action.”

(Sprout and Sprout 11)

In other words, the way we feel, whether we are optimistic or pessimistic, energetic and industrious or lazy and slothful, deceitful or honest, is not derived from the type of natural environment in which we live. On the other hand, our crops may fail, our bodies may deteriorate and we may starve or grow fat according to our ability to cope with circunstances in the natural environment which surrounds us. Furthermore, we need not always know the forces and events coming our way in order subsequently to be affected by them.

The studies in human behavior involve five theories, namely, nonenvironmental determinism, environmental determinism, possibilism, probabilism and cognitive behaviorism.

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1.1.1. Non-environmental deterministic theories of human behavior Human behavior can be explained in many apparent manners. One of the modes of thought to it can be described as deterministic theory.

It means “simply that all empirical phenomena of the system under consideration (be it mechanical, biological or social system) can be predicted by reference to some set of causal laws.” (Kolras and Nystuen 373) Basic to all religions and psychologies, man’s behavior, thinking and feelings are forced by various stimuli coming together upon him. This is the hypothesis of the theory of determinism. If things happen for no reason, no cause and no determinants, then events and people become totally unpredictable and chaos reigns.

Psychological Determinism is the idea that our actions must be determined by the best possible reason or our greatest desire.

Otherwise, our acts would be irrational. Since all possible actions are presented to the mind, determined by prior actions, the choice is not really made by the agent. (Bob 149) The concept of the theory revolves around the most fundamental questions of human nature: as to whether or not man’s behavior, thinking and feelings, are driven by free will (Kolras and Nystuen 373).

Free will means the ability of agents to make choices unconstrained by certain factors, resting on the assumption that all objects and events are either good or bad. Thus, the concept of free will does not support the theory of Determinism, on account of its unconstrained nature. Moreover, behavior, thoughts and feelings may be termed good or bad depending upon whether or not they promote human welfare and happiness.

Illus. 1(1) centers around the idea of an ideal renaissance city, following the ideals of utopia. The concept of the city in this case, is based on cosmological ideals, where the shape of the city, that is circular, is believed to represent perfection, as well as the cycle of life and death.

While Illus.1(2) and Illus. 1(3) centers around the idea of city planning according to Mandala. The concept of the city, in both the cases, arises from the notion of the center being occupied by Brahma, which is occupied by the palace in the former one, while the temple in the latter case. In all the cases, it is believed that cosmological and sacred models determine the form of the city.

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

llus. 1(1) (left) Aerial

view of Renaissance city of Palmanova, Italy.

llus. 1(2) (middle) Plan of

Jaipur city, Rajasthan, India.

llus. 1(3) (right) Plan of

Srirangam city, Tamil Nadu, India.

CHAPTER 1- RELATION BETWEEN MAN AND NATURE

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1.1.2. Environmental determinism The basic idea of environmental determinism is that the characteristics of the natural environment affect the human behavior, in essence dictating their abilities in all realms of life and society (Jan and Webb 27). It believes that it is these environmental, climatic and geographical factors responsible for human cultures, and individual decisions and social conditions have virtually no impact on cultural development.

Human agency and free will are thus assumed to be irrelevant to organizational actions and outcomes. Environmental determinism assumes that environment is a concrete, self-sufficient phenomenon external to the human organization (Gephart and Topal). “…Environmental problems do constrain human societies, but the societies’ responses also make a difference.” (Jared Diamond)

The above statement by Jared Diamond, explains his perspective on environmental determinism, in which he puts this theory in perspective that it’s not only physical environment, but also cultural determinants that help in the derivation of human environment. While physical environment is responsible for major changes, cultural determinants shape the details of human environment. Carl Sauer in 1924 said that environmental determinism led to premature generalizations about an area’s culture and did not allow for results based on direct observation or other research. As a result of his and other criticisms, geographers developed the theory of environmental possibilism to explain cultural development (Briney).

llus. 1(4) (left) Plan of

a house-form of Barmer, Rajasthan, India.

llus. 1(5) (middle) Plan of a house-form of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India.

llus. 1(6) (right) Plan of house-form of Bikaner, Rajasthan, India.

Illus. 1(4), Illus. 1(5) and Illus. 1(6), demonstrates different house-forms of Barmer, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner respectively. These house-forms though they belong to the same climatic region, displays varying possibilities of dwelling typology. Based on this one can say that, the theory of environmental determinism do not holds true.

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1.1.3. Possibilism The theory of possibilism explains that environment offers not one but many paths for human activities and development.(Jan and Webb 375) Vidal de la Blache developed an approach to geographical study that effectively challenged the older tradition of ‘environmental determinism’- a tradition that regarded all facets of human activity as ultimately determined in character by the nature-environment context of the particular region under study- and in the process he proposed that land and life were supposed to influence one another in a genuinely mutual relationship which supports that determinism precludes the possibility of free will. (Cloke, Philo and Sadler 64) “….They escaped from the tyranny of physical determinism by means of an idea: the idea they formed of their environment that impelled them to alter it. Within the realm of ideas, however, a tension could be observed between the creative and inventive force of human genius…..” (Vidal de la Blache)

The passage here underlines Vidal’s belief of “possibilism”, that natural environment offers possible avenues for human development, the precise one chosen being very much a human decision. Thus, possibilism explains that the environment does not dictate what people would become, but rather that the environment offers people the opportunities of what they choose to be. People adapt to the different conditions the earth has to offer at different places and that is how different living conditions and habits arise.

Above examples illustrates different cluster organization observed in Kutch. These cluster patterns though they belong to same region, vary considerably, from sparsely distributed hamlet villages to compact settlement to densely distributed settlements to an organized grid settlement. Hence demonstrating the theory of Possibilism that environment does not dictate an organization, but it offers a ground for opportunities and allows individuals to choose them.

llus. 1(7) (left) Axonometry of Dhoravar village, Kutch, Gujarat, India.

llus. 1(8) (middle-left)

Axonometry of Khavda village, Kutch, Gujarat, India.

llus. 1(9) (middle-right)

Neighbouhood in Mundra, Kutch, India.

llus. 1(10) (right)

Neighbouhood in Mundra, Kutch, India.

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1.1.4. Probabilism Two events are seldom exactly alike no matter how similar the conditions preceding them are. The world is too various for exact copies of things or processes to be other than rarities in themselves.

In other words, we have notions of the normal behavior of people and the environments they occupy. These are based on past experiences and other accumulated knowledge. If the unexpected happens, it does so with much less frequency. From this idea we can construct theories of normative behavior. The events which fill over lives and the way in which people will react to different environments can be described in terms of probability of their occurrence. The application of this idea to geography was introduced by the British geographer, O.H.K. Spate when he suggested that a probabilistic view of the world might resolve the argument between determinists and those who advocated free will in human affairs. In any event, predictions based on probabilities can be no more accurate than our knowledge of past events.(Jan and Webb 375) The theory of probabilism studies the relationship between culture and nature, which proposes that while the physical environment does not determine how human societies will react to its influence, it renders some responses more likely or probable than others.

(Gregory, Johnston and Pratt) It is a thought that considers probabilistic relationship between physical environment and behavior.

It recognizes that humans are a part of a complicated ecosystem and that the way they adapt to their surroundings determines their values, practices, and beliefs.

llus. 1(11) (left) Plan of Ludia village, Kutch, Gujarat, India

llus. 1(12) (right) Plan of

Dagomba village, Kasuliyili, Ghana, Africa.

Above examples compares two similar cluster organization, from different regions, Illus. 1(11) of a village in Kutch and Illus. 1(12) of a village in Ghana. But both the organization though similar in nature, on closer inspection, reveal a contrast, as relation of the units with the courtyard is different in both the cases, on account of a layer of sociocultural organization on the spatial organization of the regions. The dwelling units don’t open into the court in former case, while all dwelling units open up in the court in the latter case. Hence, availability of a certain kind of soil or grasses or climatic condition makes probable similarity in architectural form, but this is not determinism, as when such conditions are same architectural resultant may not be the same.

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1.1.5. Cognitive behaviorism Cognitive behaviorism is based on the psychological theories of cognition and principles of behavioral geography. It particularly explores the conflicts between what we want to do and what we actually do, as these responses are based on a complex interaction between thoughts and behavior (Hartney). Behavioral geography is concerned with the internal human processes, like perceptions, thoughts, emotions and understanding that underlie spatial behavior.

It seeks to understand the role of the social and psychological processes which mediate the environment-behavior relationship.

The cognitive paradigm of psychology constructs behavior as a continuum of acts arising jointly from external stimuli and internal schemata, propelled by goals, values, thoughts and motivations.

A distinctive feature of the cognitive paradigm is the structuring of behavior not by observable, spatial or topographical properties, but by inferred motives and intents. (Cox and Golledge 163) Humans generally act in terms of what their own culture value most and see only things to which they have been sensitized. However there seems a randomness that intrudes into the real world of events and skews our expectations. Disruption by population growth, migration to new environments, and events like wars all twist our lives in unexpected ways which exceed our ability to behave according to our expectations and conditioning. Thus, human behavior and attitudes cannot be explained in simplistic terms.(Kolras and Nystuen 376)

llus. 1(13)  (left) Street-layout of a neighborhood in Supur village, West Bengal, India.

llus. 1(14)  (right) Plan of a

neighborhood in Narainpur village in Bolpur, West Bengal.

In the landscape of West Bengal, all the houses organize and cluster along the small ponds, pukur, which can be observed in both the cases Illus.1(13) and Illus. 1(14) as the pond acts as an active agent allowing the flow of resources in an ecosystem. The food-waste of the house is disposed of in the small ponds in the backyard of the house, which is consumed by the fishes in the pond, hereby keeping the resources flowing. Hence the settlement conforms the theory of cognitive behaviorism, wherein spatial behavior is structured by motives and intents.

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The approach of the study accepts that although natural environment offers a wide range of opportunities of human interposition, the result is always an outcome of human decision. Furthermore, although the result is an outcome of human decision, physical environment orients individuals to certain responses that are more probable than others.

The approach, further attempts to understand the role of social and psychological processes like perception, thoughts, emotions and understanding, in harmonizing human-environment relationship.

1.2.

The nature of culture

A human society is more than a mere aggregation expressing instinctive behavior (Mott 147). It is an organized group of human individuals behaving in accordance with its culture. Culture is a total way of life of people, an integrated sum of learned behavior traits which manifest and are shared by the members of society (Shapiro 168-169). It is a result of social-invention and it may be thought as social heritage, for it is transmitted by percept to each new generation. It is a people’s design for living, providing the grounds for human communication and interaction; a source of domination.

Cultures are dynamic; they are in constant processes of change.

These changes come either by invention within the society or by the spread of ideas from a society to another or through intermediaries.

In the first case, of course the society must accept the innovation, before they become a part of its culture. The latter deals with the spread of cultural elements from one society to another, this process is called diffusion. This study focuses on the spread of cultural traits or complex. However, the study focuses on a specific culture and the manner in which it is affected by foreign traits. The result may range from minor change to assimilation (the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another). The third study lies inbetween the two, which is called “acculturation�. It is defined as the process of interaction between two societies by which the culture of society in the sub-ordinate position is drastically modified to conform to the culture of dominant society (Jan and Webb 28).

Culture includes beliefs, traditions, values, and language. These not only shape our understanding of reality and form the basis for human communication but they also establish and maintain social hierarchies. Hence, whether in the form of dispositions, objects, systems or institutions, culture embodies power-relations.

Intellectuals, the specialized producers and transmitters of culture, play key roles in shaping relatively autonomous areas of struggle for distinction and their institutionalized hierarchies.(Jan and Webb 29)

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1.3.

The concept of culture in geography

“The purpose of geography is to provide ‘a view of the whole’ earth by mapping the location of places.” (Ptolemy, 150 CE) “To provide accurate, orderly, and rational description and interpretation of the variable character of the earth surface.” (Richard Hartshorne, 1959) “Geography is the study of the patterns and processes of human (built) and environmental (natural) landscapes, where landscapes comprise real (objective) and perceived (subjective) space.” (Gregg Wassmansdorf, 1995) “Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may on the one hand, be considered as products of actions, on the other as conditioning elements of further action.” (Kroeber & Kluckhohn)

A former generation of geographers emphasized the fact that geography is an integrated study of culture and environment. The discipline that inquires into many cultural aspects found throughout the world and how they relate to the spaces and places where they originate and then travel as people continually move across various areas is called cultural geography or human geography. Hence it is primarily through their culture that people interact with and modify Earth’s surface. Thus, cultural geography is an intersection of culture and context. The founder of modern French geography, Paul Vidal de la Blache (1845-1918), consistently expressed outright opposition to environmental determinism. According to him the earth does not dictate man’s behavior, it only offers opportunities, and human society makes the choice. To use his words: “One must start from the notion that a land is a reservoir containing dormant energies of which nature has planted the seeds, but whose use depends on man. It is he who by molding them to his purpose demonstrates his individuality. Man establishes the connection between disparate elements by substituting a purposeful organization of forces for the random effects of local circumstance. In this manner, a region acquires identity differentiating it from others, till at length it becomes, as it were, a medal struck in the likeness of people”. (Vidal, 1903)

The “choice” man makes is not a free and arbitrary one. It is guided and restrained by the mental and social patterns of the group and its level of technology, in short, its culture. Man conceives the nature of his habitat through the filter of his habits. (Jan and Webb 32)

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1.4.

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The cultural landscape

Landscape is “a portion of the earth’s surface that can be comprehended at a glance.” by J. B. Jackson.

Landscape is basically all the visible features of an area of countryside or land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal; history is the past, considered as a whole; visibility is the state of being able to see or be seen. When all these words are put together one can get the idea that the past, when observed and seen, can tell us about the specific time period and what influences, desires, beliefs and aesthetics were introduced to create the unique landscapes that the world portrays.

“The cultural landscape is fashioned from a natural landscape by a culture group. Culture is the agent; the natural area is the medium, the cultural landscape the result.” (cultural geographer Carl O. Sauer, 1925) “Landscape ‘ is never simply a natural space, a feature of the natural environment. [E]very landscape is the place where we establish our own human organization of space and time’”, by John B. Jackson.

The natural area within a landscape setting is a space, which with the addition of social elements and traditions, i.e. culture, which adds meaning to the natural space, thus converting the natural space into a place and transforming the landscape into a cultural landscape.

In cultural landscape the natural forces are domesticated and living reality is made manifest as an ordered process where man participates. In the cultural landscape man “builds” the earth, makes its potential structure manifest as a meaningful totality. A cultural landscape is based on “cultivation” and contains defined places, paths and domains which concretize man’s understanding of the

llus. 1(15) Diagram of

components defining identity of a place

natural environment (Norberg and Schulz 53). Cultural landscapes are evolved continuing landscapes where people and nature dwell together. The character of the landscape thus reflects the values of the people who have shaped it and who continue to live in it. The culture itself is the shaping force of the landscape (Department of Environment and Climate Change). Carl Sauer stresses the need to understand the present landscape as the result of long time processes involving the changing relations between man and land.

Frequent occupancy by different cultures leaves their marks. (Jan and Webb 35)

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CHAPTER 2- Man, nature and settlements

Chapter- 2.

Man, nature and settlements Within the natural terrain water, rainfall, climate, etc. make possible certain kinds of livelihood. The settlement that is to be studied is based on agriculture for livelihood, hence in order to understand the settlement it is necessary to understand how agriculture modifies the settlement pattern. Moreover, when agriculture is carried out at a large scale, it becomes necessary to control the use of land and water, and social and political structure has to setup rules and customs so that it is possible to control the usage pattern. This leads to the establishment of power within the society, which characterizes the landscape, hence the second part of thee section will look at this.

2.1. Multiple origins of agriculture 2.2. Variable determining farm production 2.2.1. Site characteristics 2.2.2. Cultural preferences and perception 2.2.3. Geographic situation or relative position

2.3. Farm and village

2.3.1. Distribution 2.3.2. Field systems 2.3.3. Structure of village and farmstead

2.4. Landscape relationships and house typology 2.4.1. Landscape 2.4.2. Power relationships and organization of society 2.4.3. Architectural configuration This section of the dissertation deals with relations between Man, nature and settlement, by enquiring into various aspects of human occupation and its relation with settlements. The section is divided into three parts. The first and the second part of the sections, understands attributes of organization of human occupation (agriculture). The third part enquires into organization and interaction of human occupation and the settlements, by means of illustrations.

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2.

Man, nature and settlements

2.1.

Multiple origins of agriculture

Agriculture, like modern human behavior, was not a onetime great invention, but the product of social and environmental circumstances to which human groups with the same cognitive potential responded in parallel ways. The cognitive architecture of agriculture was widespread and therefore there were centers in which societies converged on account of agriculture in parallel to the behavioral changes towards manipulation of the environment in the favor of reproduction of few food species, triggered by certain social and environmental circumstances. (Fuller) Most available evidence points to the Middle East and Nuclear America (Mexico and Peru) as the earliest sites of agriculture. The Near East is one of those parts of the world where sedentary life in “hut compounds” or actual villages seems to have begun before agriculture. Based on the evidences found, it appears that these early sedentary communities relied on a mixed strategy of harvesting wild cereal grasses (wheat, barley, and rye grass), nuts (pistachios, walnuts, almonds, and acorns), and legumes; hunting herd ungulates (sheep, goat, and deer); and collecting a wide variety of smaller species like fish, water turtles, land snails, cockles, mussels, and crabs. (Flannery 274) Carl O. Sauer has proposed that the earliest farmers lived in Southeast Asia. According to him they were planters rather than seed growers, that is to say, they planted stem cuttings, parts of rootstocks, or pieces of tubers to reproduce the desirable qualities of the parent plant, such as yam, taro, banana, breadfruit, and sugarcane. In Sauer’s view the planting of seeds later developed on the margins of the lands where cuttings where used: in North China, the Middle East, including the lower Indus and Nile valleys, and Ethiopia. In America, he believed that there was a similar sequence of planting of cuttings (cassava, squash, sweet potato, white potato), followed by planting of seeds (maize). (Broek and Webb 240) Several areas contributed to the present assemblage of crops and animals, most of these areas are tropical or sub-tropical with considerable different in the land-relief, offering a great variety of environmental niches for plants. From these areas, man could select from a wide diversity what best suited his need and, man-altered crops and animals would spread to other lands as far as conditions allowed.

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CHAPTER 2- Man, nature and settlements

2.2.

Variable determining farm production

The reasons dictating the farm-production can be sub-divided into three categories. These are (1) site characteristics, (2) cultural preferences and perception, and (3) geographic situation or relative position.

2.2.1. Site characteristics Site characteristics are in place attributes of a particular area viewed at large, local, or neighborhood scales. The amount of rainfall and average temperature of an area are considered important site characteristics. Soil type and fertility, slope, drainage, and exposure to sun and wind are also used to characterize the physical geography of a site. These things all relate to the amount of the energy available in the physical system within which the location is incorporated.

Other site characteristics include the number of insect species, their populations, and their potential for destroying crops. At still another level of abstraction, the human population density of an area can be considered one of the characteristics helping to determine the qualities of site. The type and nature of pollution, amount of built-up area, and the nature of land ownership and property fragmentation could also be included in this category. (Kolras and Nystuen 187) 2.2.2. Cultural preferences and perception The least known and the most important of all conditions which help to determine the type of agricultural activity which takes place at a given site are the cultural, psychological and emotional characteristics of the people involved. The refusal to eat certain foods places real constraints upon the agricultural systems possible within an area.

The manner in which immigrant groups perceived the environments, colored their subsequent use of the resources available to them, which is also responsible to determine the nature of agricultural activity. (Kolras and Nystuen 189) 2.2.3. Geographic situation or relative position Relative position is important in agriculture at all scales from the world patterns of production surrounding a single settlement. The analytical principle underlying the statement was first demonstrated in 1826 by Johann Heinrich von Thunen, a north German landowner and farmer who wrote on economics of production. His theory stated that the more perishable and heavier products would be grown closer to urban areas. It is very common for perishable vegetables and fruits to be grown within metropolitan areas while less-perishable grain is predominantly produced in non-metropolitan counties. (Kolras and Nystuen 195)

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2.3.

Farm and village

This section concerns with the rural settlements, the occupancy patterns primary production, which principally agriculture creates.

The first three sections draws attention to the various geographic aspects of rural occupancy. The latter part illustrates, by the use of examples, the occupancy pattern across various settlements of the world.

2.3.1. Distribution of settlements Geographically the spatial distribution of an agrarian settlement can be studied based on three aspects, dispersion, density, and pattern.

Dispersion refers to the extent of the spread of the feature relative to the size of the study area (Broek and Webb 17). Varying degree of dispersion can be observed across villages, in some the buildings are grouped together forming a “compact” village (as seen in Illus.

1(1)); others have a dense core surrounded by a looser sprawl of buildings- the “nucleated” village (as seen in Illus. 1(2)); still others appear as a swarm of buildings without a core- the “agglomerated village” (as seen in Illus. 1(3)). (Broek and Webb 358)

Density is defined as the overall frequency of occurrence of a phenomenon within the area under study, relative to the size of the area (Broek and Webb 17). The density of the settlement results mainly from the degree of intensity of land use (Broek and Webb 358). Illus. 1(4) illustrates a crowded settlement, with minimum loss of cultivation land. While Illus. 1(5) demonstrates a loosely scattered settlement, with hamlets developed by sub-division of a social unit (comprising of one joint family). Further, Illus. 1(6) illustrates a semicrowded settlement, with clusters surrounded by fields, protected by a fortress wall.

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

llus. 2(1) (left) Village near Cairo, Egypt (an example of compact settlement).

llus. 2(2) (middle) Town,

Carcassonne, in Aude, France (an example of nucleated settlement).

llus. 2(3) (right) Canyon

Street, France (an example of agglomerated settlement).

llus. 2(4) (left) Village on the coast of Inland Sea, Japan (illustrative of a crowded settlement).

llus. 2(5) (middle) Village in Bulgaria (illustrative of scattered settlement).

llus. 2(6) (right) Village

namely, Bustam, in Iran (illustrative of a semi-crowded settlement).

CHAPTER 2- Man, nature and settlements

llus. 2(7) (left) Village in

Austria (settlement pattern developed of a street).

llus. 2(8) (middle) Village in

Aargau, Switzerland (settlement pattern developed of a river).

llus. 2(9) (right) Town in

Viipurin, Finland (settlement with an octagonal geometric pattern).

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Pattern refers to the geometric arrangement without regard to the size of the study area (Broek and Webb 17). Settlement pattern denotes the arrangement of the units according to natural or manmade features or designs, such as streams, spring lines, ridges, canals, and roads. In some villages, a central authority determines division of land and layout of roads, in such cases, a geometric pattern results (Broek and Webb 358). Illus. 1(9) illustrates a town with an octagonal geometric pattern, centered around the town hall.

While Illus. 1(7) and Illus. 1(8) demonstrates villages developed of man-made and natural feature, that is street and river respectively.

2.3.2. Field systems

llus. 2(10) (left) Field-systems in Texas, U.S.A (illustrative of a scattered settlement, with each house surrounded by its owned tract of land).

llus. 2(11) (middle) Field-

systems in Brandenburg, Germany (illustrative of a village settlement with land oxned in a strip from the spine of the village to the marsh).

llus. 2(12) (right) Field-

systems in Pithalpur, Gujarat, India (illustrative of a settlement with houses grouped together and land-holdings scattered around the village).

To understand rural settlements we need to analyze the spatial relationships between dwellings and farmland. In U.S.A., as seen in Illus. 1(10), the typical farmstead stands on the farm property, commonly a single tract of land. An entirely different situation prevails in some parts of Europe and over much of Asia (as seen in Illus. 1(12), a village in Gujarat, India) and Africa, where village residence is the rule. Each farmer has property in the surrounding area, sometimes as one holding but usually scattered in plots and strips. This manner of settlement reveals quite ancient forms of social organization. (Broek and Webb 358) A very different settlement form can be observed in reclaimed marshlands along sea and river, in contrast to the scattered strip system, the land of each farmer stretch from the dike, where his home and other buildings stood, into the marsh as one narrow strech. This type can be observed over much of Germany, as seen in Illus. 1(11); the village consists of a long row of houses along the dike road. On large scale agricultural enterprises, whether plantations or collective farms, the labor force often lives in compact settlements (Broek and Webb 364).

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2.3.3. Structure of village and farmstead The agglomeration of houses marks the origin of settlements and reflects the nature of a region since their character is related to the environment and the cultural heritage of the people. The factors that dictate the house typology of a region are administrative rules, relief of the land and slope, climate, proximity of water source, building materials, social and religious traditions, and economic conditions of the community living (Mandal 222). Social and economic opportunities and needs, natural environments, and traditions are also cultural characteristics that are revealed in a rural settlement scene. Large, elaborate dwellings reflect prosperity or social standing while a church, temple or other place of worship reveals something about the priorities of the culture. Dwellings may be concentrated along and near a road or waterway, suggesting available transportation, on high ground suggesting concern about frequent flooding, or on, say, southern slopes reflecting concerns about the winter months (this could also indicate a location in the Northern Hemisphere).

Villages in different parts of the world display a fascinating variety of traditional forms. For instance, as illustrated in llus. 1(14) and Illus.

1(17), clusters of beehive-shaped units, bounded by grasses and bushes, centered around the cattle corral (kraal) is a common type in Africa. Linear villages string along certain regions in Japan (as seen in Illus. 1(13), a linear street village arranged along the road) and Europe’s river dikes or lie along roads, often with an open space in the middle (as seen in Illus. 1(15), a linear village with farms centred around the village square). Certain other villages, as seen in Illus.

1(16), irregularly shaped, with villages built on islands in the middle of more or less square rice-fields separated by low dykes, while the plots around the houses are surrounded by higher solid earth walls.

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llus. 2(13) (top-left) Village

in Kyushu, Japan (linear street village).

llus. 2(14) (top-middle)

Village in Africa (clustered village).

llus. 2(15) (top-right) Village

in Bradenburg, Germany (linear village centered around an open space).

llus. 2(16) (bottom-left)

Village in Madagascar (irregular shaped village).

llus. 2(17) (bottom-right)

Village in Northern Rhodesia, South Africa (village clustered around the cattle corral).

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CHAPTER 2- Man, nature and settlements

2.4.

Landscape relationships and house typology

This section attempts to understand the interactions between human occupation, natural features and human settlements. These interactions are investigated by studying elements and attributes of various aspects, across varying scales of landscape, settlement and architectural configuration hierarchically, within a setting. These identified elements and attributes, across various scales are: Landscape A. Topography B. Water C. Vegetation Power relationships and organization of society A. Cluster organization B. Linkages within the cluster C. Territoriality Architectural configuration A. Orientation of various spaces B. Linkage pattern of spaces within the dwelling with the outside C. Territoriality Landscapes inform notions of the manner in which people create places, and the sequence or rhythm of life over time. Moreover, landscape elements like topography, water and vegetation, by their orientation with respect to each other and to settlements, reflects the perception of natural elements within a society, and broadly the interdependence of human occupation on these elements.

Settlements are reflections of the process of human’s adaptation to the nature of a space, hereby making the space a place, by attaching values and meanings of the culture or society. Settlement patterns reflect the notion of power-relationships within a society, based on the controlling of certain natural resources, traces of which can be found by studying the clustering pattern, territoriality, and linkages within a settlement. This helps in understanding how human adaptations, by the medium of culture, adds a controlling layer, on the landscape, hereby slightly modifying the relationship between human occupation, settlement and natural features.

Moreover settlement patterns are formed by consideration at geographic level and at another level by customs, beliefs, and cultural aspects, both at family and neighborhood level. Hence, a house has to fit in the two levels of responses, namely one at the family scale and other at the geographic scale. Although the architectural configuration of a house is a result of the culture and behavioral pattern of people, within a society, it cannot be just looked at with a cultural perspective.

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2.4.1. Landscape A. Topography- It refers to the relief features of a geographical area.

Village to the north-east of Montbeliard, France.

The village in a defensive site is spread from the church-crowned summit down to the road.

On account of the topography of the terrain, the settlements is developed around the church, a body of authority, in concentric layers of terraces, with the church at the highest point to the cultivated lands on the lowlands. Further, the change in land-use corresponds closely to the concentric layers. llus. 2(18) Village to the north-east of Montbeliard, France.

Hunan, China The northern slopes of the mountains separating Kwantung from Hunan sweep down from a height of 6,000 feet to a gigantic sea of rice fields, above which rise like islands, hillocks with woods and settlements. Further, on account of the topography, the village and the woods are organized compactly, on higher land, in order to protect the settlements from flooding, leaving the lowlands available for cultivation. llus. 2(19) Village in Hunan, China.

Village of Ireli, West Africa The village is situated on a cliff near Mopti. The settlement pattern is adapted to the terrain, with the settlements occupying the higher lands on the cliff, leaving the foot of the cliff for cultivation.

The settlement pattern is compact, with the settlements being occupied on the slopes and the granaries cited on the higher slopes, for the matter of security and vigilance from the lower slopes. llus. 2(20) Village of Ireli, French Sudan, West Africa.

Gemignano, Italy The city is situated on a hill, surrounded by walls. Based on the topography, the settlements occupy the higher land, in order to associate the notion of power to a domain within the settlement, further the concern of making more land available for cultivation leads to such an organization, with the cultivable land cited on the lowlands. Further, the architecture of the central domain, supports the power-motive of the settlement within the setting. llus. 2(21) Gemignano city, Tuscany, Italy.

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B. Water- The interaction between Land and Water informs about both human interpretive frameworks and natural processes.

Oasis of the Nile, Egypt The Nile, the life-giver of Egypt, extends its influence as far as the waters and the mud can spread, beyond which there’s desert. On account of the essence of water in the setting, the settlements tend to organize compactly, leaving the silt-laden land, for cultivation, and come up on the edges of the cultivable land. llus. 2(22) The Oasis of the Nile, Egypt.

Soochow, Chekiang, China Rivers, canals and ditches traverse the land.

Water, by the medium of canals and ditches, appear to divide the almost flat terrain. Moreover the resulting settlement pattern in the region, is an outcome of this sub-division, based on waterdistribution, hereby offering the settlement a layer of structure.

llus. 2(23) Canals and fields near Soochow, China

A valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India The turbulent rivers of Jammu and Kashmir are impeded by boulders and gravel, from which terraces are gradually formed on the valley floors. These terraces are then transformed into easily flooding terraced paddy fields, hereby converting the valley land into cultivable land.

Within the setting, for the water to flow and also to retain the water in the fields, the terrain is modified. llus. 2(24) Valley with paddy fields between Jammu and Kashmir, India

Saragossa, Spain From the image three zones can be discerned: the belt of the land within which the river meanders; the intensively cultivated alluvial plain between the hill and the river-belt; and the hill-land. The low-lying areas of the river-belt are under cultivation. The river-belt run the mainvalley communications, connecting the compact settlements within the region. llus. 2(25) Village in Saragossa, Spain

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C. Vegetation- Across many cultures, is considered sacred, while sometimes its considered community space, or even a grazing ground, hereby informing about the culture of the society.

Mexico These floating islands, called chinampas produce vegetables. The floating gardens are like rafts, covered with fertile soil, rising about three feet above the level of the lake. Numerous small creeks traverse these islands. These islands are no longer floating, as the roots of the trees have anchored them, hence allowing for the settlements to develop. llus. 2(26) Floating islands in Mexico.

A village near Cairo, Egypt.

In Egypt, the land is precious, and the method of irrigation by flooding was an additional reason for crowding villages into a small space. The village near Cairo, is like many other villages in the area, where people are huddled together, giving the space an urban character. The houses stand on a slightly higher ground than the surrounding fields, which intrude into the built-up area. llus. 2(27) A compact settlement in Cairo, Egypt.

Constantia, Cape Town, Union of South Africa.

Rows of vineyards, at Constantia in Cape Town, extend between irrigation channels, lined by trees planted by wind-breakers. Human settlements is scattered in the landscape setting, occurring around the trees, probably for the reasons of privacy and security, within such a vast landscape. llus. 2(28) Vineyards and farms at Constantia, Cape Town, Union of South Africa.

Ventura country, California, U.S.A. The landscape setting, is a contour-planted citrus orchard. Within the setting, the rows of trees form barriers to stop water and soil from washing downhill.

llus. 2(29) Ventura country, California, U.S.A.

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2.4.2. Power relationships and organization of society A. Cluster Organization Lela village, Africa.

Within a Gurunsi society, an agglomeration of several extended families belonging to the same lineages and cultivating the same land is headed by a custodian of the land. The organization of the village, reflects the principle with dwelling units nested in a circular pattern around head-man’s house and cattle-shed.

Moreover, there’s only one entrance of the village, hence visitors are subjected to visual surveillance from the head-man’s house and dwelling units. llus. 2(30) Plan of Lela village, Africa.

Supur village, West Bengal The structuring of the village in this region is a result of overlapping of layers of presence of pukurs, social hierarchy and the caste based padas. The pukurs (small water-bodies) serve as settlement generators and the pattern determinants as the backyard of all the houses open to pukurs. The settlement pattern is concentric pattern around the zamindari house (one in red), tending towards the tar-road. The social hierarchy of the village is concentric with upper caste occupying the core. llus. 2(31) Cluster organization in Supur village, West Bengal, India.

Nathdwara, Rajasthan The town is developed on a plateau surrounded by hills, with the temple located in the centre, on a slightly higher mound and the town taking the shape of the land-form, focuses on the temple. The town plan is a result of concentric growth around the temple, with the occupancy pattern creating a hierarchical pattern reflecting the social contours of the town (higher caste to lower caste), based on the duties of the community to serve the temple, hereby giving the temple (religion) a focusing function. llus. 2(32) Cluster plan of Nathdwara, Rajasthan, India

Quala settlement, Deh, Afghanistan.

The village consists of a series of scattered qualas surrounded by irrigation fields. Each quala is a selfcontained unit, with the houses grouped together densely to form independent residential structures.

Generally a water source is found near to the landowner’s quala, also called prestige quala, which is surrounded by qualas habituated by the tenants.

This kind of pattern can be observed in the land, suggesting the notion of control established by controlling water within a region, by the land-owners. llus. 2(33) Quala settlement in Deh, Afghanistan.

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B. Linkages within the cluster Bhil settlement, Panchmahal, Gujarat.

The Bhil social system is poly-segmentary, with successively narrow segments, divided on the basis of lineage. There is neither a body of traditions nor a system of social or political bonds that bind the clan together, hence the settlement pattern is dispersed and the entrances of the dwellings do not face each other, hereby linking the dwelling with nature rather than other dwelling. llus. 2(34) Cluster-organization of Bhil settlement, Panchmahal, Gujarat.

Dhordo village, Kutch.

The settlement organization is semi-dispersed, home-steads of circular thatched huts are placed on raised plinths. The huts of the home-steads organized around the head-man’s house, are oriented to the south, hence visitors are subjected to visual surveillance, as the entrance of the village is to the south. Further, the main entrances of the houses do not face each other, thus giving privacy to each other. llus. 2(35) Plan of Dhordo village, Kutch, Gujarat, India.

Suchindram, Tamil Nadu.

The temple is the generator of the settlement organization and the community is dependent on the temple and caste system acts as a regulator of temple duties and rights. The proximity of a particular community from the temple depends on the importance of its duty to the temple. Hence the social topography of the region is based on dualism, with Brahmins linked closely to the temple and the non-Brahmins in the outskirts. llus. 2(36) Plan of Suchindram, Tamil Nadu, India.

Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh.

The town is developed on a hill, which is almost flat but slightly elevated. The pattern of the town suggests a linear organization along a street, linked with the fort (symbolic of political power) and ghats (manifestation of religion) on one end and the other end tending towards water and linked to the farmlands (human occupation). The settlement organization is a result of topography with the fort occupying the higher lands, looking down on the settlements on one side and the ghats on the other. llus. 2(37) Plan of Maheshwar town, Madhya Pradesh, India.

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C. Territoriality Ludia village, Kutch.

The growth pattern of the village is organic, with the head-man’s house forming the social nucleus of the village, with thorny bushes defining its territory. Each individual hut unit (bhungas) of a home-stead orient themselves to an open space defined by a raised plinth (otla), which define the territory of the homestead. The individual units of the home-stead do not orient facing each other on account of privacy reasons. llus. 2(38) Plan of Ludia village, Kutch, Gujarat, India.

Quala settlement, Deh, Afghanistan.

These dense dwelling environment were originally built for providing security within the vast farmlands.

The dwelling units housing a single land-owner’s family, have only two entrances (in the front and the back), with the land-owner’s house at the mainentrance, in order to keep visual surveillance on visitors. The clustering pattern suggests a strong notion of territory demarcated by massive walls and watch-towers, for the need of security. llus. 2(39) Cluster organization of a quala settlement in Deh, Afghanistan.

Eastern Kassena, Africa.

The access to the village, is through a unique entrance preceded by several guardianship, first the senior man’s reception, second by the spirit’s home, third by an ancestral shrine and the third by the hut of the cattle-keeper. A visitor is supposed to acknowledge all the guardianship before entering the village.

Besides these guardianship acting as territorial markers of the village, the cluster-organization which is circular in form, itself demarcates the territory of the village. llus. 2(40) Plan of Eastern Kassena village in Africa.

Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

The terrain of the city is divided into two parts, former is the north and north-eastern part dominated by topography, and the latter the south and the southwestern part cited on a relatively flatter plateau. The location of the fort (power) on a higher point suggests, its strategic and symbolic (idea of power associated with higher ground) location. The settlements grew in a close proximity to the fort for convenience and security. The city wall was built to improve defense strategy, hereby defining the territory of the region. llus. 2(41) Plan of the walled city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

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2.4.3. Architectural configuration A. Orientation of various spaces

Bhardesh, Barmer.

The settlement pattern is scattered consisting of several Dhanis, which are basically a joint family settlement. The family units of the settlement are cited on higher mounds and uncultivated land, making more land available for agriculture. Further the hut units (jhumpa) within the family unit are scattered around the centre courtyard space, in order to keep the family unit well-ventilated. Moreover the courtyard is the active social space of the family, hence all the hut units are oriented to it. llus. 2(42) Plan of a house in Bhardesh, Rajasthan, India.

Lela village, Africa.

The organization of the village suggests the introvert nature of the inhabitants and their sense of security, on account of its circular form and the presence of guardianship before entering the village. Moreover, all the dwellings are inward looking, with all the spaces oriented to the living space which opens out to the enclosed earth plinth of the dwellings, that offers a transitional space between the keleu (the cattle corral, senior man’s adobe and granaries) and the living space of the dwelling. llus. 2(43) Axonometric view of two dwelling units of Lela village in Africa.

Ludia village, Kutch.

The settlement pattern is semi-dispersed with the head-man’s house forming the social nucleus.

Moreover, there are no sandstorms in the region, hence dictating the semi-dispersed nature of the settlement. Further individual hut units (bhungas), are also scattered yet held together by a raised plinth. The bhungas on account of giving privacy to other units do not orient themselves directly to the court, but they orient towards a semi-open space which opens up into the courtyard. llus. 2(44) Plan of a house form of Ludia village, Kutch, Gujarat.

Nashik, Maharashtra.

The built environment of Nashik is cited on a slope.

Hence the house form adjusts itself with respect to the topography. The complex and compact settlement is a result of the need of security in the region. Further the house dictated its form on account of security and privacy issues. The living space of the house is the guardianship before entering the house, connecting the social space, courtyard of the house to the outside, which is linked by a transitional space, while other spaces are oriented to it. llus. 2(45) Plan of house-form of Kulkarn Wada in Nashik, Maharashtra.

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B. Linkage pattern of spaces within the dwelling with the outside Bikaner, Rajasthan.

The region, in the past, was considered as an oasis in the desert, on account of its adequate spring water. The built environment of Bikaner is dense and compact. These dwellings are cited on higher plinths for storing spring water. Moreover raising the plinth also adds a layer of privacy to the dwelling environment. Further, the active centre space of the house is linked to other spaces of the house by a transitional semi-open space, at all levels, suggesting the privacy gradient of the spaces. llus. 2(46) Plan of house form of Bikaner in Rajasthan, India.

Supur, West Bengal.

Within the landscape, all the houses organize and cluster along the small ponds, pukur, which is an active settlement generator, as the backyard entrance of the houses is in close linked to these pukurs. These small ponds acts as an active agent allowing the flow of resources in an ecosystem.

The food waste of the house is disposed of in the small ponds in the backyard of the house, which is consumed by the fishes in the pond, hereby keeping the resources flowing in the ecosystem. llus. 2(47) Cluster organization of Supur village, West Bengal, India.

Quala settlement, Deh, Afghanistan.

The compact organization of the settlement is a result of the need of security. Within the droughtprone region, settlements come up near a source of water. On account of this, within the dwelling unit, all the service spaces and kitchen are located on the ground floor, while the residential spaces are located on the first floor. Further on account of security issues all the spaces are not directly linked to the court, but by a transitional space, moreover the perforations do not face each other on account of security issues. llus. 2(48) Plan of house-form of quala settlement, Deh, Afghanistan.

Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

The settlement is cited on an undulating terrain, growing in the south and south-western direction around the fort, on account of security. As the topography is undulating the house-form adjusts itself to the topography, hereby creating overlooking terraces and courtyard spaces, while all the private spaces of the house do not come up in the field of vision from the terrace. Hence, within the house-form at certain places, two courts, former being private and latter being public, can be found. llus. 2(49) Section of a neighborhood in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

33

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C. Territoriality Bhil settlement, Panchmahal, Gujarat.

The built-environment of the region is scattered on account of lack of a body of traditions (body of power) or social or political bonds, binding the clan together.

The dwelling is cited on a higher land, surrounded by agricultural lands. On account of security (the fear of animals) and privacy, the dwelling unit is raised above the level of the cultivable land bounded by thorny bushes, further conforming to the idea of association of power with higher lands, hereby socially defining the territory of the home-stead. llus. 2(50) Section of house form of Bhil settlement, Panchmahal, Gujarat, India.

Eastern Kassena, Africa.

The village organization within the landscape is scattered, but clustered together in a group. These inhabitants of the cluster cultivate land around their cluster unit. Within the landscape in order to secure their live-stock and cattle, the settlement pattern is circular around it, with each dwelling unit oriented to the entrance for surveillance. The living space of the dwelling unit has an entrance lock, hence a person has to stoop down and immediately upon entering stride up over a semi-circular wall, which protects the interior from rain, wind and wild animals llus. 2(51) Section of Eastern Kassena house, Africa.

Sum village, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

The settlement pattern is linear with dwelling compactly arranged, on account of frequent encounters to sand-storms. Further, the house-form, is also compact, organized around the courtyard, on a raised plinth, in order to protect from water-logging.

Further the plinth helps in defining the threshold of the dwelling, moreover the entrance (otla) of the house also acts an extension of the living space outside the house, hereby defining the extent of control of the dwelling. llus. 2(52) Section of house form of Sum village, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India.

Taglung, Nepal.

The settlement of the village is linear and compact with gompas (meditation room or a Buddhist temple) overlooking the village from the east and the west directions. The settlement adjusts itself to the terrain on a higher land, with farmlands occupying the lower flat terrain. Further the dwelling is relatively compact on account of the climatic conditions of the region, developed around the courtyard, which allows the encroachment of public zone as well as defines a notional territory, beyond which is the private zone of the dwelling. llus. 2(53) Plan of house-form of Taglung village, Nepal.

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CHAPTER 2- Man, nature and settlements

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CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

Chapter- 3.

Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu 3.1. Criteria for selection of case-study.

3.2. Overview of the Kaveri valley 3.2.1. Geography 3.2.2. History 3.2.3. Land-revenue administration 3.2.4. The place of nature in Sangam literature

3.3. Nallur: General Background

3.3.1. Location 3.3.2. Topography 3.3.3. Climate 3.3.4. Vegetation 3.3.5. Historical and sociocultural background

3.4. Impressions of Nallur

3.5. Landscape relationships 3.6. Settlement pattern 3.7. House Typologies 3.7.1. House- 1 3.7.2. House-2 3.7.3. House-3 3.7.4. House-4

This section of the dissertation enquires about the region selected for case-study, that is a village namely, Nallur, located within the Kaveri valley, near Thanjavur. The first part of the section gives an overview of the Kaveri valley. The second part gives a general background of the village, Nallur, chosen as a part of case-study, while the third part portrays a picture of the village, describing the experiential character of the region. Furthermore, the later segments informs about the patterns reflected in the landscape, the settlement pattern and the housetypologies of the village.

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CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

3.

Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu

3.1.

Criteria for selection of case-study:

39

A case-study here is chosen to understand the impact of landscape relationships on the emergence of an architectural typology, the courtyard, of a traditional dwelling. The aim of the case-study is to understand the courtyard as a theme of response to the social as well as the physical components of the landscape setting. A traditional built-environment and its associated landscape is chosen as a case study, as the built-environment shares cultural behavior patterns and also a common perception towards the landscape, which results in apt and definite observations.

The village of Nallur is chosen, as a case-study. The village is situated near a very old built-environment, Kumbhakonam, which dates back to 7th century A.D.; moreover the built-environment of Nallur is as old as 200-300 years. The community living earlier in the village was an agricultural community; but today the economic condition of the people has gone down, however the people still continue to live in their ancestral houses, and some people of the village have moved to nearby cities and town to work, while some still practice agriculture.

Moreover, the agricultural tracts in the delta prevent the expansion of the village, though the village being open and commodious, which suggest some relation between the structure of the settlement and the structure of the agricultural tracts. There are very few new structures in the built-environment, which have come up in the past 50-60 years, that have not changed or affected the landscape relationship, but there are certain modifications in the material and the spatial notion of the built-form. These built-forms have come-up along the North Street and some parts of the central Brahmin Street of the village, moreover the central Brahmin Street being the oldest and still today has old ancestral houses of the community, it has been chosen as the case-study.

Besides, the built-environment of Nallur has a very unusual character and suggests the way of life of the community, which would help to understand the courtyard as a theme of response to the components of the landscape setting.

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Karnataka

Nilgiri Kumbhakonam Tiruchchirapalli

Thanjavur

Kerala

llus. 3(1) (bottom-right) Map

of India demarcating the Kaveri river.

llus. 3(2) (bottom-left) Map of the Tamil region of South India, showing various rivers in the region.

llus. 3(3) (left) Map of the Kaveri river basin in Tamil Nadu.

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Overview of the Kaveri valley

3.2.1. Geography A.

Physical Geography

The state is divided naturally between the flat country along the eastern coast and the hilly regions in the north and west. The broadest part of the eastern plains is the fertile Kaveri delta; farther south are the plains of Ramanathapuram and Madurai. The high Western Ghats run all along the State’s western border. The lower hills of the Eastern Ghats and its outliers- locally called the Javadi, Kalrayan, and Shevaroy- run through the centre of the region (Hoiberg and Ramchandani 107).

Apart from the rich alluvial soil of the river deltas, the pre-dominant soils are clay, loam, sand, and red-laterite. The black cotton-growing soil known as regur is found in parts of Salem and Coimbatore in the west, Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli in the south, and Tiruchirappalli in the central region of Tamil Nadu (Hoiberg and Ramchandani 108).

The climate is essentially tropical. The temperature in summers exceeds 43 °C and in winter falls below 18 °C. The average annual rainfall falling mainly between October and December depends on the south-west and north-east monsoons and ranges between 635 mm and 1,905 mm a year (Hoiberg and Ramchandani 108).

Forest cover is about 15 percent of the State. At highest altitudes of the Western Ghats- the Nilgiris, Anaimalai, and Palni Hills- the mountains support subalpine vegetation. Along the eastern side of the Western Ghats and in the hills of the northern and central districts, the plant life is a mixture of evergreen and deciduous plants, some of which are markedly adapted to arid conditions. Timber products extracted from the forests include sandalwood, pulpwood, and bamboo (Hoiberg and Ramchandani 108).

B.

Human Geography

The population of the area has hardly changed over the centuries, largely representing the ancient Dravidian ancestry indigenous to the Southern India. Most of the hill tribes exhibit affinities with certain Southeast Asian peoples. In Tamil Nadu, as in rest of the country, the caste system is still strong (Hoiberg and Ramchandani 108).

Although Tamil Nadu is one of the most urbanized states of India, it is still largely rural. Agriculture is the main stay of life, for about three quarters of the rural population. Most of the people live in nucleated villages. The poorest low-caste villagers live in segregated area called ceri (Hoiberg and Ramchandani 109).

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The settlement patterns are extremely interesting. In the west (Thanjavur to Mannargudi) there is a fairly strong nucleation associated with large semi-perennial tanks; there is a fair amount of waste, casuarinas groves are common, and the pattern is rather coarse. Beyond Kumbhakonam/ Mannargudi line the pattern of the channels is much closer and more rectilinear, settlements on the whole are smaller and more scattered, but although there is some ‘loosening’ there is nothing like the close stipple of home of homesteads in Bengal (Spate, Learmonth and Farmer 767).

3.2.2. Historical Background Before the advent of the Cholas the Tamil country was occupied by the Naga race (the ancestors of the Kallans, Maravans and other tribes); and the Cholas, like the Cheras and Pandyas, who shared with them the dominion of the south, were non-Aryan maritime invaders from Lower Bengal crossing the sea to Burma, Cochin- China, Ceylon and Southern India. Thanjavur, Kaveripatam and Kumbhakonam were at various times the residences of the Kings and the country is richly covered with the relics of their greatness. (Hemingway 13-53) The existence of the Chola kingdom, as early as 260 B.C., is attested by the edicts of Ashoka, the Buddhists ruler of the great Mauryan Empire. At the beginning of the Christian era, the southern portion of the country was occupied by the Eyinar or Veddar, a Naga tribe whose rule extended far north as Negapatnam their chief town, while the Chola’s occupied a greater part of Thanjavur and Trichinopoly and extended beyond Conjeeveram in the north, with their capital in Uraiyur, while to the west and south-west lay the dominions of the Pandyas and the Cheras. (Hemingway 13-53) The earliest figure which stands out in the Chola history is the great Karaikal Chola, who reigned from 50 A.D. to 95 A.D. He defeated the army of Pandyas and Cheras on the plain of Vennil . He is also represented as an ally of the king of ‘Avanti’ and an overlord of ‘Vajra’ and ‘Magadha’. Sluices and canals for irrigation from the Kaveri were built by him, and it was he who raised the banks of the river to prevent the flooding of the country. Later, his successors captured several towns of the Cheras and the Pandyas reaching out, as far their capitals, by the end of the 1st century. (Hemingway 13-53) By the 2nd century, the Pallavas advanced to the South from the north-west, and before the middle of the century, they subdued the Andhras and established themselves in the scattered kingdoms, which led to the decline of the Cholas rule. (Hemingway 13-53) During this period, a major shift marked in the agrarian organization through the introduction of new elements as integrative forces, namely, the Brahmadeya and the Temple. Land grants to the brahmadeya and the Temple by the ruling classes marked the extension of the cultivation.

(Champakalakshmi 206) Later when Rajaraja I (A.D. 985-1003) came to power, the country encountered a period of unexampled prosperity, which remained unbroken for over a century, while his THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

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kingdom extended from Ceylon and Cape Comorin to the borders of Orrisa and his descendants extended the Chola supremacy to Burma.

The family of Rajaraja remained for sixty years on the Chola throne; his successors upheld the dignity and the political configuration of Southern India remained almost unchanged during that period.

During the twelfth century the power of the Cholas slowly declined, and it was during this time that the Cholas got involved in a war with the Pandyan succession and the king of Ceylon; and after a victorious campaign in the Madurai district, the Singhalese advanced to the north against the Chola and burnt some villages in Pudukkottai. It was during, 1243-44, that the first fatal blow to the Chola power was dealt, when the Pandya King (1216-35) burnt Thanjavur and Uraiyur and conquered the Chola country and returned it subsequently to its king as a gift (Hemingway 13-53). Further during this time, increase in commercial activities was a result of the agrarian expansion of the seventh-ninth centuries. Moreover certain centers, which were political centers under the Chola rule, lost their political importance at the end of the Chola period, and became commercial centers, nagarams. The emergence and proliferation of these nagarams kept pace with the increase in commercial activities, hereby eventually these nagarams became points of intersection for the exchange of local goods with exotic and locally unavailable goods in which the itinerant merchant corporation traded, hence mobilizing the agricultural surplus (Champakalakshmi 212).

After 1310, the Southern India was convulsed by the sudden invasion of Malik Khafur, a general of the Delhi emperor and the first Muhamaddan invader of the south, who made way for the Vijayanagara Empire, penetrating as far as Ramesvaram. They later established their authority in Madurai, Trichinopoly and a greater part of Thanjavur by 1327. Later in 1549 to 1572, Sevappa Nayak obtained Thanjavur (in dowry, as suggested by inscriptions). By 1614, the power of Vijayanagar in Thanjavur declined and finally ceased, which made the Nayaks independent of Vijayanagar, first in Madurai, then in Gingee and later in Thanjavur. Later in 1673, the king of Madurai invaded Thanjavur and brought an end to the Nayaka dynasty and then in 1675 events led to the foundation of Maratha dynasty in Thanjavur and later the Brittish acquisition of the country. (Hemingway 13-53) (For historical time line of the region refer to Apendix- II and III)

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3.2.3. Land Revenue Administration Under the Cholas, the revenue was imposed in a lump on the whole village, and the shares of the various ryots were appropriated by the village elders. The productivity of each village as a whole seems to have been permanently estimated in terms of kalams of paddy, and the tax payable to the Government was a fixed share of the assessment. It was not paid in grain, but was converted into money at a commutation price fixed every year by the Government on a consideration of the commercial value of paddy at that time. Thus the grain standard of the village, the share payable to the government, and the price of commutation were three cardinal points in the settlement, an alteration of any of which would essentially alter the amount payable by the ryots.

Later, (around 1773, after the invasions of the Maratha Kings) the country was brought under the ‘amani’ system, according to which the crop was harvested under the superintendence of the officers of government and the actual amount of produce realized was taken as the basis of the village rent instead of any mere estimate of the quantity.

With the devastating invasion of Haider Ali, in order to restore the prosperity of the country an entirely new system was invented ‘The Pathak system’. Under this system, the ruined villages, throughout the devastated tracts, joined with more fortunate neighbors into units, called pathakams, and these were put under the control of some leading inhabitant (called the pathakdar), who was selected by the inhabitants of the village and approved by the government. The agricultural stock and resources of all villages in each pathakam were united, so that the ruined villages were well of as their neighbors, and the patahkdar managed the agricultural operation of the whole and engaged for the payment to government of the assessment due on the entire pathakam. The system was first introduced for a short period in time, but later on it was employed throughout the delta, delegating the government’s power to the patahkdars. The result was an eminent increase in the power of the pathakdars, who shortly became ‘an overgrown and inordinate power’, which continued until in 1799, the Madras Government assumed charge of the country.

Later under the Madras Government, in order to obtain reliable data for fixing land assessment, the whole district was placed under the ‘amani’ system, at the end of the year 1799-1800. This system went on from 1800-01 till 1803-04, when it was decided to introduce a system of money rents calculated on the results obtained from the existing records and the experiences of the recent administration.

For the next three years (1804-05 to 1807-08) annual rents were fixed by the Principal Collector. The rents, according to the immemorial native custom, were fixed in the gross for each village; but in 180405 in all villages owned by more than one ryot, the apportionment of the assessment among the different holdings was left to the ryots

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themselves, and a patta was issued to each specifying the proportion of the lump assessment payable by him. This even was carried a step forward in 1805-07, when even in the villages owned by a single ryot, the owners were asked to apportion the village assessment among their fields. In 1806 a committee had been appointed, who decided to adopt, a system of ‘village rent’ as opposed to either a ‘ryotwar’ or ‘mootah’ (i.e. zamindari system) settlement, by which the assessment was imposed in gross on the whole village.

The mirasi or village communal system of land tenure was at that time universal throughout Tanjore. This tenure seems it have been based upon a theory of the joint communal ownership by the villagers proper (the mirasidars) of all the village lands. In former times this generally involved the joint management by the mirasidars of all the fields of the village or the distribution of these at stated intervals to the villagers for their individual cultivation. However, in spite of the communistic coloring, the system always involved a scale of individual right to specific shares in the net produce, however secured, of the general property. Each mirasidar’s share (karai or pangu) was clearly defined and recognized within the village; and herein laid all the essential elements of individual ownership.

3.2.4. The place of nature in Sangam literature The Sangam literature is full of images painted from landscapes, by means of careful observation, with a keen insight into Nature. The ancient Tamil poetry was inspired by acute observations of Nature and the geographic control of human life and growth (Varadarajan 18). The poetry often depict the most delightful scenes of landscapes as a whole, while some deal with the details and depict even the minutiae of Nature, moreover some have a genuine appreciation of Nature in her milder forms and some in her wild forms. The poetry are experiential descriptions of the poet’s perception of landscapes, hereby portraying the value given to different forms of landscapes in various regions like the kurinci or the mountain region, the mullai or the tree-groves tracts, the marutam or the agricultural tracts, the neital or the coastal region, and the palai or the arid desert tract. The literature hence elevated the background perception of landscape, which hereby had an impact on the rules and customs dictating the settlement organization and house form.

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Karnataka

Nilgiri Tiruchchirapalli

Thanjavur

Kerala

N 0 50

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150

400

1000 m

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

3.3.

47

Nallur: General Background

3.3.1. Location Nallur is a very old village situated in Kumbhakonam taluka of Thanjavur district in the state of Tamil Nadu. The age of the village is difficult to establish as two kinds of references are found which suggests it appears to have set up in the Chola period, perhaps in 11th or 12th century. It is located at 10.9°N and 79.3°E co-ordinates.

It is located 25 km north of the city of Thanjavur and 14.8 km west of the city of Kumbhakonam. The two rivers Kudamurutti and Mudikondan, the tributaries of Kaveri, flow across the farmlands of the village, and is about 1 km north of the village. Other villages surrounding Nallur are Papanasam on the west, Patteeswaram on the east, Sundarperumal Koil and Swamimalai on the north, Avoor on the south.

3.3.2. Topography The village is surrounded by marutam (farmlands) tracts. The terrain is almost flat with the settlement and tree groves (occurring in-between the farmlands) on a slightly higher land compared to the farmlands.

Owing to the fact that the river beds are not much below the level of the plain, and that the fall of the rivers is very gradual. The settlement would be flooded, if high embankments were not raised along all larger channels. It is necessary therefore for the rivers to be wellembanked throughout the delta, and for the banks to be constantly looked to. The embankment of the rivers was, as suggested by inscriptions, the chief work of the great Karika̍l Chola (A.D. 50-95); and earlier the Kaveri delta was called ‘the land of floods’ from the absence or insufficiency of such banks. (Hemingway) 3.3.3. Climate

llus. 3(4) (top-left) Political map of India showing the location of Tamil Nadu.

llus. 3(5) (top-middle) Map

of the state of Tamil Nadu, indicating the location of Thanjavur, with the river Kaveri.

llus. 3(6) (top-right) Map

showing the location of Nallur village.

llus. 3(7) (middle) Google

earth image showing the location of Nallur village within the landscape setting, taken on 21st December 2012.

llus. 3(8) (bottom) Google earth image of the Nallur village, taken on 21st December 2012.

In June, when hot winds prevail and the rivers have not yet received their full supply, the heat is distinctly high. After this the fresh water in the river and the occasional showers of the south-west monsoon tend to drop the temperature; and the thermometer drops gradually till October, then begins to fall rapidly, until by December the average maximum declines to 27.5°C. The atmosphere continues cool throughout the north-east monsoon that is, till about the end of January. In February and the early part of March the weather becomes moderately warm during the day, though still cool at nights, and a heavy dew falls. With the latter part of March the hot season sets in. The atmosphere of the delta is naturally very damp. The nondeltaic parts, except on the coast, are as dry as the inland districts of the Presidency. The south-west current which sets in during April, is the strongest in June and continues till September. In October it dies away. At the beginning of November the north-east monsoon sets in and the wind blows freshly till the end of January. It then by the end of March when it veers round through the south-east to the southwest again. (Hemingway)

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3.3.4. Vegetation The fertile soil of the region is suitable for growing various crops like paddy, black-gram, banana, coconut, sesame, millet, red-gram, green-gram, sugarcane and maize. Fruit trees are plentiful, trees like mango, coconut, and tamarind occur in very large quantities.

Besides, jack-fruit, bamboo, neem, topes, various kinds of figs and tamarind are also plentifully found.

3.3.5. Economic background The community living in Nallur, earlier was an agricultural community.

Today, there are very few people who own land and practice agriculture, other than that there are government servants, factory workers, people practicing agriculture in other fields, teachers, philosophers and temple pujaris. Only some part of the land around the village is owned by the people of the village, besides the land is also owned by the people from Sundarperumal Koil and Papanasam.

Agriculture is practiced in two seasons from March to August and latter from September to February. This is based on two kinds of paddy found in the region namely, the kuruvai and the samba̍ , and two main seasons of cultivation which are called the kuruvai-ka̍ r (first ploughing) and the samba̍ pisa̍ nam (stubble ploughing) seasons, after the two species of paddy. Moreover the seasons are also called the mudaladi (or first ploughing) and ta̍ ladi (or stubble ploughing).

The kuruvai crop, which is grown in the first-crop season, is generally sown sometime in June or July or, more rarely, in the early part of August and the latter part of May. The exact time depends, as a rule, upon the filling of the Kaveri, which doesn’t generally occur till June; but if the less usual method of transplantation called puludi na̍ ttu is employed, the season depends upon the hot weather rains and begins towards the end of May, before the Kaveri fills. The samba̍ paddy, if a second crop, will be sown in the seed-bed more than a month before the harvest of the kuruvai or the first crop i.e. ordinarily at some time in the months of August and September.

3.3.6. Historical and sociocultural background The settlement land is a brahmadeya land, that is land gifted to the brahmins, hence the village has the Brahmin Street as its primary streets. The non-brahmin earlier used to live on the south street and the street around the Thirunallur temple. These land parcels are prosperous peasant settlement granted to the brahmins for their residence. With each one of the brahmadeya, an irrigation system was invariably established either in the form of tanks, canals or wells.

Elaborate arrangements for their upkeep were made by the sabhas or assemblies of the brahmadeyas, including maintenance, repair, attention to silting and control of water supply through specifying committees (variyams) for their supervision and administration.

Brahmadeyas, in most of the cases were meant for giving away

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of rights, economic and administrative, to the giver, that is by the exemption of the taxes to be paid to the king. (Champakalakshmi) The staple food grain throughout the delta is rice. In the upland tracts rice, ragi, cholam and varagu are eaten. Societal organization was based on varna framework but expressed through two broad categories- the brahmin and the non-brahmin. All brahmins are required to abstain from meat and alcohol and so are some sections of the higher shudra castes. The ordinary non-vegetarian food of non-brahmins is pork, mutton, fish, and the ordinary edible birds.

Boys wear the small under-cloth (ko̍ manam), which is the minimum of clothing essential to decency, and a waist-cloth from four to seven feet in length. Higher caste boys let one end of the latter hang down to their ankles, but the lower castes tie it tightly round the loins. An orthodox brahmin has a cloth nine or ten feet by four feet, which he ties in a peculiar and complicated manner called panchakaccham.

Most brahmin’s dress and higher brahmin castes tie a cloth nine or ten feet in length in the manner called mu̍ lakaccham or kilapa̍ cchi.

The former name is generally used for a brahmin’s dress and the latter for the shudra’s. The cloth is tied round the waist and then the front folds are pulled backwards between the legs and tucked into the waist behind. The younger brahmin women and Vella̍lan women who have not borne child wear bodices, the rest of the woman’s costume consists of one-color cloth 24-25 feet long and 3 ½ feet wide.

The earth is worshipped when the seed is sown, when the first ploughing of the year is begun. Throughout the delta the water of the first floods of the year is worshipped, and so are the rivers on the eighteenth day of A̍ di (July-August), when they are supposed to rise. On that day a festival takes place called the padinetta̍ m perukku (the eighteenth rising) which is apparently observed throughout the district. The parents take the new born child to the nearby temple in the month of Thai (January-February). The name is given either by the parents, elders, or temple priest. This is done after offerings are made to the God. A feast is arranged a week after the child’s birth, for all those who have helped in the delivery of the child. After a month or two, of the child’s birth, the whole village is given a feast by the particular family.

The people generally denote festival either by the name Thiruvzha or Thirunal. Both terms are synonymous, used for celebration of auspicious days as well as temple festivals. Festival are celebrated between the months of Panguni (mid-March) and Chitrai (mid-April).

The first day of the month is the Tamil New Year day Chitrai. People celebrate this day by preparing sweet, bitter and sour food items and offer them to the family deity. On this day they also decorate their old plough, their oxen and take them to their paddy fields, for ploughing. Besides this other festivals like, Chitrai Pournima, Adi, Karthkai, Vaikunda Ekkadasi, Pongal, Masi and Panguni are also celebrated. (Hemingway)

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In the delta the wet fields tend to prevent the expansion of villages, but on the whole they are open and commodious. The brahmin, sudra, paraiyan and other quarters are much more clearly distinguished from each other than in northern districts.

The houses are generally built of brick or mud, as stone is unobtainable in most parts. The roofs are more frequently tiled than in other districts, because of the riches of the ryots (wealthy peasant settlements). The rafters are generally made of bamboos. Straw or palm leaves is perhaps the most common thatch. In front of the house there is almost always a raised mud pail with a pillow of clay (called ‘the son-in-law’s pillow’) running along the wall. The front of the house has a semi-open space called payal, which was earlier meant for the saints to rest or stay for a day or two.

The door is on one side of the house front, which leads into an entrance hall (re̍ li), beyond which, against the side-wall of the house, is a small courtyard (muttam) open to sky, earlier used for drying and storing paddy, with a verandah (ta̍ lva̍ ram) all around it. Facing the courtyard, reaching across to the other side of the wall, is a roofed open hall (kudam) the floor of which is rather higher than that of the verandah. In front of and behind the kudam, and opening out of it, are two rooms occupying the front and the back corners of the house, the former of which is generally a living room and the latter a kitchen.

Behind the house there is a cattle shed and then a backyard garden.

Paddy is threshed in two stages. The bundles of newly harvested stalks are first beaten on the ground and then spread out and trodden by cattle. The straw is then removed and the grains found below are collected. Cambu, ragi and varagu are also trodden by cattle in this way, while ground-nut, horse-gram and cholan are threshed with a stick, as they are supposed to be injured if trodden out. The grain is stored in granaries, or in receptacles made of mud or twisted straw.

The mud receptacles (kudir) resemble open mud boxes stacked one on top of another, the uppermost one being covered with a mud lid.

The straw receptacles (se̍ rus) are circular and sometimes built as high as ten feet. The mud boxes are kept inside the house and are only used for storing small quantities of grain but the se̍ rus being covered by straw is to be periodically changed, in order to keep out rain and are therefore left in the open.

3.4.

Impressions of Nallur

The built environment of the Nallur has character shared by other villages of the area. Like any traditional built form, the built environment of Nallur, can be attributed to the influences of the climate, political circumstances of the region, topography of the region, and sociocultural aspects of the community living in the region. This section attempts to portray a picture of Nallur, by bringing about the experiential character of the village, hereby describing the first impressions of the place.

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CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

51

While travelling in a bus across the delta from Thanjavur to Papanasam (a village, 4 km to the west of Nallur), moving across the paths with lush green trees grown on both the sides of the roads, one gets the glimpse of islands of settlements and tree groves rising from the vast tracts of paddy fields. From Papanasam, we took a local auto to reach Nallur, which dropped us on the main road on the North of the village, about 1 km from the village. We then started walking on the sandy path, which cut across the vast ocean of paddy fields, with water channels flowing on both the sides of the path watering the vast tracts of paddy fields. The roads, or paths, act as bridges connecting the islands of settlements, tree groves, and small waterbodies. While moving ahead one encounters narrow perpendicular paths, leading further inside the paddy tracts, hereby dividing the vast paddy tracts into land parcels. These paddy tracts are further divided into small cultivable strips of land, by the narrow waterchannels running in-between the land parcels.

Further, moving ahead on the sandy path, one comes encounters an open space, with a peepal tree on the edge of a temple pond on one side and a gopuram on the other side. The temple pond is said to be blessed by the four vedas in its cardinal directions. It is said that Kunti devi, mother of the Pancha pandava, took a holy dip in this tank and the lord commissioned the seven seas of salt, sugar, milk, ghee, curd, honey and pure water into this very tank and the waters are believed to have curative powers. There are many myths associated with the temple complex. One such myth is that the lingam called Suyambu (self evolved) is said to have evolved during an epic battle between Adisheeshan and Vayu, to establish their supreme strengths over the Meru Mountain. A portion of the tip of the mountain broke and is believed to have fallen in Nallur and this had the sacred Vilva tree, beneath which the lingam arose. The Vilva tree was venerated as the Thala virutcham, in the shrine.

As one walks along the streets of the village, one gets glimpses of houses organized linearly along the wide (7-8 m) and spacious streets. The houses on the edge of the street are of a very rustic and informal nature, yet they are organized facing each other, with activities spilling out onto the backyard, and sometimes even onto the streets. The backyard of these houses were generally used for storing dried wood and hay, and even for grazing animals like goats, cows, buffaloes and cocks. Sometimes the backyard is even used for cooking and storing grains. As one enters the house from the semiopen verandah space, created by extending the roof in the front of the house, moving across the door, in the centre of the facade, one comes across a small multi-purpose space for dinning, sleeping, family-gathering, studying, etc. Further inside the house were a small kitchen and a storage space for storing grains. These houses are hip-roofed, with bamboo as the structural element of the roof and thatch as their roofing material and walls made of brick plastered with cement or mud.

52

As on moves towards the central part of the street, the character of the street gradually changes and one comes across, monotonous, yet different character, tiled roof houses, organized linearly along the street, with parallel sharing walls. The nature of the houses from the street suggests the solidity and the compactness of the house, but as one looks through the door, one gets a glimpse of the permeable and inviting nature of the house. These houses were visually connected to each other, as standing in the courtyard or backyard of a house one can look into the courtyard or the backyard of the house across the street. One enters the house through a semi-open verandah space called thinnai and a short entrance door (1.5 m), for one has to bow down as it enters the house. It is on one side of the house, against the common sharing wall, which leads into a small narrow dark passage at the end of it one can see an open space. Further one enters into the courtyard with a semi-open space surrounding it and the family’s social space extends into the court from the hall on the other side of the court. On both the side of the hall there are rooms flanked, the first room is generally a retiring room and the second one (on the backyard of the house) is generally a kitchen, which connects to the wet-courtyard and the backyard. Generally houses have one courtyard, only the houses of the rich have two and sometimes even three courtyards. The first courtyard of house was linear also called the dry court. The houses, which had one courtyard, had the wet area of the house in the backyard, otherwise there is a wet court and then the house extends to the backyard. The backyard of the house, with a stone for washing clothes and a water tank, is a garden, with trees like neem, bamboo, mangoes, coconut, banana, jack-fruits, figs, and various other fruits and spices. The house on the whole is self-sufficient, with the backyard proving various fruits and spices and the farmlands providing with crops like paddy, blackgram, green-gram, millet, etc.

The houses on the primary street of the village belong to the brahmins, and the houses on the north street, the south street and the street surrounding the temple belong to the non-brahmins. On the two ends of the primary street, there are two temples, with their temple tanks in their backyard. The interesting thing to observe the built form though monotonous with the same elements being repeated, yet slightly different in their proportions and scale, hereby merges in the overall context. Also, though the built-form marks its territory and appears to be solid from outside, it invites the guests and nature, through perforations on the facade and, the connecting courtyard and backyard, respectively within the house and through rituals extending outside the temple into the garden space (on the backyard of the temple) to the temple-pond.

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

3.5.

53

Landscape Relationships

The village is surrounded by marutam tracts (agricultural tract), which are spread across the lowlands of the plain with water-channels, dividing the tracts into small land parcels. Within the landscape of the agricultural tracts, the settlement, tree groves and small waterbodies are connected by paths and roads. The terrain is almost flat with the settlement and tree groves on a relatively higher land relative to the farmlands. The wet-fields in the delta tend to prevent the expansion of villages but on the whole the settlement are open and commodious, and settlements tend to come up on all higher land available. Institutions like Temple come up in a close proximity to small water bodies found within the settlement.

Higher embankments are raised along all larger water-channels, in order to protect the settlements when the river gets flooded, as there is very less difference between the level of the river and the plain.

Water from the tributaries flow through the wider water-channels to the narrow water-channels, further these narrow water-channels collect water in the small water-bodies within the settlement, from where through a complex inter-connected network the water-channels take the water back to the tributaries. Further the narrow water-channels are divided into narrower water-channels, hereby dividing the land into small cultivable land parcels.

The structuring of the water-channels is based on the topography of the terrain. Generally, the land parcels are oriented east-west with the wider water-channels running north-south, with connecting narrower water channels running east-west, to the river which flows from the west to the east, north of the settlement. On account of this generally within the settlement, all the streets are organized in the east-west direction with the house land-parcel oriented to the street organized in the north-south direction. Further, the primary road run in the east-west direction, along with the river, with secondary road running in north-south direction connecting it with the tertiary settlement street, which runs in east-west direction. Similar condition can be seen across the landscape of the settlement.

The institutes come up at a relatively higher point within the terrain of the settlement. The institutes, if taking the form of a Temple, can be observed coming up, either at the entrance of the settlement or at the edge of the tertiary street within a linear semi-dispersed settlement or at the core of a nucleated settlements, with tertiary streets surrounding the Temple, indicative of its essence within the setting.

settlement

farmlands THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

1000 m 400 150 0

vegetation

water-bodies

water-channel

N

roads

54

higher land

lower land

0

150

400

water-bodies

1000 m

water-channel

N

roads

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

55

institutions

settlement

farmlands

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

0

vegetation

150

400

water-bodies

1000 m

water-channel

N

roads

56

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

3.6.

57

Settlement pattern

The settlement land is a brahmadeya land, that is land gifted to the brahmins, hence the village has the Brahmin Street as its primary street. These land parcels comprises of prosperous peasant settlements, granted to the brahmins for their residence. With each brahmadeya land, an irrigation system was established either in the form of tanks, canals or wells, by the King, and these land parcels were meant for giving away of rights, economic and administrative, to the Brahmins, as they were exempted from paying taxes to the King.

The non-brahmin, at the advent of the brahmin settlement, earlier used to live on (which is now) the South Street and some on the street surrounding the Tirunallur Temple. Based on the societal organization, which was based on the varna framework, the settlement organization reflects notional territoriality, with the central street being the Brahmin Street and the non-brahmins residing on the South Street and the street surrounding the Tirunallur temple.

The settlement is entered from the secondary road which connects the settlement to the primary road, from the north, with the Tirunallur temple on the west and the temple tank on the east. Further moving south, comes the non-Brahmin street, running east-west, still moving ahead, down south, comes the primary street of the settlement, the Brahmin Street, running east-west, further down south is the oldest non-brahmin street of the settlement. Moreover, there are two temples, with connecting temple tank, on both the edges of the primary Brahmin Street. The temples are cited at the nodal ends of the settlement, with all the streets running parallel (in the east-west direction) along the (north-south) axis connecting the streets.

Within a cluster, the house forms are oriented along the northsouth axis, perpendicular to the streets running along the eastwest direction. All the houses within a cluster share a connecting backyard garden, which is a long strip of plantations of spices, fruits and vegetables. The character of the Brahmin Street is quite monotonous, yet different, with tiled roof houses organized linearly along the street, with parallel sharing walls. Within the cluster, the backyard of a house is visually connected to the backyard of another house across the street, suggesting the solid yet permeable character of the cluster organization.

settlement

farmlands THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

200 m 100 50 25 0

vegetation

water-bodies

water-channel

N

roads

58

settlement

institutes

0

25

vegetation

50

100

water-bodies

200 m

water-channel

N

roads

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

59

60

61

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

Section- AA’

Key plan showing the location of part of the Brahmin Street

Street Plan- 1

Section- BB’

Nallur Village

Brahmin Street Plan- 1

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

Plate- 3.6

64

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

3.7.

65

House Typologies

3.7.1. House-1 The house is a relatively big and linear with two courtyards, and a large garden space, belonging to a man living with his parents and his grandfather. The house is quite told built by the great-grandfather of the senior man, suggestive of the house to be at least 125-150 years old, but there are changes in the usability pattern of the house on account of renovations taken place 3 years ago. The house is located near the road connecting the Brahmin Street with the nonBrahmin Street, located north of the settlement, in the middle of the Brahmin Street.

The house is linear with the door and the entrance bay to the side (east) connecting the outside to the backyard, through the two courtyards, with living spaces flanked along the entrance bay. The door leads to the re̍ li, The entrance hall, leading into the living space of the house (often referred to as kudam), which is flanked by a semiopen verandah space, ta̍ lva̍ ram, on the west which is connected to the dinning space of the family. The dinning space is connected to the kitchen and the retiring room along the south and north respectively.

Moving through the living space one enters into the muttam, an open courtyard space, with a bathing area connected to it, through a semiopen verandah space. Further the court is connected to another courtyard through the semi-open verandah space, which is flanked by the grandfather’s room (at times even the reading room), which is further connected to the backyard garden space of the house, through the courtyard.

llus. 3(9) (top-right) The entrance of the house.

llus. 3(10) (top-left) Image

taken from the living space of the house looking towards the ta̍ lva̍ ram.

llus. 3(11) (2nd row-left) The living space of the house.

llus. 3(12) (3rd row-left) View

from the semi-open space of the first courtyard into the second courtyard of the house, which is further connected with the backyard garden, through a semi-open verandah space.

llus. 3(13) (bottom-left) The

backyard facade of the house.

llus. 3(14) (bottom-right) The backyard garden of the house.

The family generally uses the living space of the house and the semiopen verandah space, thinnai, in the entrance of the house as a social space. While the senior man of the house generally uses the room flanked along the last courtyard of the house, as reading space and as a prayer room. The women of the house generally uses the thinnai, as a social space, while the kudam is used by the men. The visitors are allowed to the entrance verandah and at times till the living space of the house, while the access is strictly denied in the kitchen space of the house, for its considered to be sacred.

66

Section- AA

Section- CC

Key plan showing of the Brahmin Street showing the location of house- 1.

Cut-away axonometric view of the house

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

muttam

kudam

retiring space

kitchen

talavaram

storage

backyard garden

3

4

5

6

7

8

B

1

House- 1

2

6

C

Nallur Village

4

3

Plate- 3.8

2

5

8

2

6

4

A

Ground Floor Plan

thinnai

2

7

C

1

7

Section- BB

N

B

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

67

A

68

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

69

3.7.2. House- 2 The house is a big linear house with two-courtyards and a small enclosed garden space, belonging to a couple living with their two children and their grandfather. The house is about 150 years old, with recent changes like addition of a jalli in the linear courtyard space for growing creepers. The house is located on the east end of the Brahmin Street, within a close proximity to the Shiva Temple located on the east-end of the Brahmin Street.

The house is entered through a semi-open verandah space, thinnai, by the door located along the west-end of the house, sided by the wall, which leads to the in-between enclosed space, connecting the thinnai to the ta̍ lva̍ ram, hereby leading to the muttam, a linear open-to-sky courtyard space with a vault jalli, for growing creeper plantations. The muttam is connected to the wet courtyard (also called muttam) through the semi-open verandah space, ta̍ lva̍ ram. The linear courtyard is connected to the roofed living space, kudam, through the ta̍ lva̍ ram, on the east, with kitchen space and retiring space flanked to the south and the north of the house. The second courtyard is a wet court with a well, and wash area, kitchen and services flanked along the east, west and south of the house respectively. The wet court is connected to the backyard garden, enclosed by a low-height compound wall, through the thinnai, a semi-open verandah space on a raised platform. The backyard garden acts like a further extension to the wet-court of the house, enclosing a small tank for washing purposes.

llus. 3(15) (top-left) Image

taken from the terrace of kitchen space looking towards the wet courtyard of the house.

llus. 3(16) (top-right) Image

taken from the semi-open space on the backyard of the house looking towards the lowheight compound wall of the garden.

llus. 3(17) (2nd row-left)

Image taken from the retiring space looking towards the kitchen, capturing the kudam, living space, of the house.

llus. 3(18) (2nd row-left) The thinnai, semi-open verandah space at the entrance of the house.

llus. 3(19) (3rd row-left) The first courtyard of the house, with the vault jalli, for growing creepers.

llus. 3(20) (bottom) The

entrance facade of the house.

The family generally uses the thinnai and the first courtyard (muttam) as social spaces, while the kudam is also used as retiring space and as an extension to the kitchen space, besides social-gatherings.

While the second wet-court is used for washing purposes. Generally visitors are first inquired in the thinnai, at the entrance of the house, and then later allowed inside the house, but access to the kitchen by the visitor is strictly denied, for it to be considered sacred.

B

70

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

Roof Plan

A

B

Section- BB

A

muttam

kudam

retiring space

kitchen

talavaram

storage

backyard garden

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

8

Ground Floor Plan

B

Nallur Village

thinnai

House- 2

1

7

5

Plate- 3.9

2

7

2

6

3

A

1

Section- AA

4

7

4

Key plan showing of the Brahmin Street showing the location of house- 2.

1

N

B

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

71

A

72

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

73

3.7.3. House- 3 The house is a medium-sized linear house with one courtyard and a backyard garden, belonging to a couple living with their children. The house is about 150-200 years old, and is retained as it was without any major additions. The house is located on the east of the Brahmin Street, within a close proximity to the Shiva Temple, on the east-end of the street.

The house is linear, in its form, with only one courtyard. It is entered from the thinnai, a semi-open verandah space at the entrance of the house leading to the linear courtyard space, muttam, through an in-between transitional space and a semi-open verandah space, ta̍ lva̍ ram. The muttam is connected to the backyard garden of the house, through a semi-open verandah space and an enclosed transitional space. It is flanked by a roofed living room, kudam, on the west and the kitchen space and the retiring space connected to the kudam on its north and south respectively. The kitchen space further spills over in the backyard garden, by an in-between semiopen space. The backyard here serves the purpose of a wet court with the washing space and services located within a close proximity to the house.

The family uses the thinnai as a social space, while the kudam is used at times as a spill over of kitchen activities. The kudir, a big container comprising of small units stacked one over the other, is found in the ta̍ lva̍ ram, on the north side around the muttam, which is used for storing grains.

3.7.4. House- 4 llus. 3(21) (top-left) Image

taken from the kitchen space looking towards the retiring space of the house, capturing the kudam, the living space of the house. (House-3)

llus. 3(22) (top-right) Image

taken from the ta̍ lva̍ ram, looking towards the entrance, through the courtyard. (House-3)

llus. 3(23) (2nd row- left) The kudir in the ta̍ lva̍ ram, used for storing grains. (House-3)

llus. 3(24) (2nd row-right) The facade of the house.

(House-3)

llus. 3(25) (bottom-left) The

detail of the wall adjacent to the courtyard. (House-4)

llus. 3(26) (3rd row- right)

Image taken from the retiring space looking towards the kitchen space of the house, capturing the kudam, the living space of the house. (House-4

llus. 3(27) (bottom-right) The

facade of the house. (House-4)

The house is a small-sized house with a relatively narrow linear courtyard, belonging to a family comprising of three members, a couple and their daughter. The house is about 100 years old, and is retained as it was before, without any major additions. The house is located on the west-end of the Brahmin Street, within a close proximity to the Vishnu Temple located on the western end of the street. The spatial organization of the house is similar to that of House- 3, the only difference being that of the size of the courtyard.

The family generally uses the kudam and the thinnai as social spaces.

While the backyard of the house is used as a washing space with all the services and wet areas extending into it. Moreover at times the courtyard also serves as a spill-over of all the wet activities from the backyard inside the house. The backyard also acts as an extension of kitchen activities. The thinnai is the point until which visitors are entertained, further they are allowed till the muttam.

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

B

1

4

7 2

6

3

Key plan showing of the Brahmin Street showing the location` of house- 3.

7

5

8

B

A

muttam kudam retiring space kitchen talavaram storage backyard garden

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Ground Floor Plan

thinnai

1

Section- BB

74

A

75

Section- AA

Nallur Village

House- 3

Plate- 3.10

Cut-away axonometric view of the house

N

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

76

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

77

CHAPTER 3- Case Study: Nallur village, Tamil Nadu.

Section- AA

Section- BB

Roof Plan

4

B

1

7

3 6

5

B

8

2

1

thinnai

2

muttam

3

kudam

4

retiring space

5

kitchen

6

talavaram

7

storage

8

backyard garden

Ground Floor Plan

Key plan showing of the Brahmin Street showing the location of house- 4.

Nallur Village House- 4

Plate- 3.11

N

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

79

CHAPTER 4- Analysis and Conclusion.

Chapter- 4.

Analysis and Conclusion.

4.1. Analysis 4.1.1. Landscape A. Organization B. Territoriality 4.1.2. Settlement A. Organization B. Territoriality C. Linkages 4.1.3. House-form A. Organization B. Territoriality

4.2. Conclusion

80

4.

Analysis and Conclusion

4.1.

Analysis

Structuring of the topography of landscape, on account of the two dominions- the King and the Temple.

4.1.1. Landscape A. Organizational relationships within the landscape setting.

The topography of the landscape is a dictating factor of the organization of the two domainsthe political authority (the King), responsible for the irrigation system, cited on lower land and sacred authority (the Temple), further divided into two heads one looking at the total landscape at a larger scale, while the other taking care of societal organization suggesting the local system of authority, both cited on higher land, within the landscape setting. Further the former one, of the sacred authority is responsible for the decisions of large scale irrigation system, while the latter for the local distribution of water.

The sacred authority coming up on higher land, is responsible for the social structure and the human occupation.

The domain of sacred authority on the topography, cited on higher land.

The tributaries, flow from the west to the east, on account of which water is drawn into wider water channels along the north-south axis, thus dividing the extended agricultural tract into large land-parcels oriented along the north-south axis.

The water from the wider water-channels (northsouth axis) further flows into the narrow waterchannels, generally organized along the eastwest axis, which is collected in water-bodies (or tanks, generally found in a close proximity to the sacred authority) within the settlement. Hereby dividing the large land-parcels into land-parcels, oriented along the east-west axis.

Further these narrow water channels are divided into narrower water channels, oriented in the north-south direction, thus dividing the land parcels into linear strips of cultivable land, which is similar in size to the dimension to the landparcel of one house unit, with similar orientation.

The political authority responsible for the upkeep of irrigation system, provides the basis of land-structuring within the agricultural society.

Hence, on the fabric of human occupation, taken care of by political authority, the sacred authority takes the control of the social layer, as well as occupation, by controlling water, at an intermediate point in the network of water channels. Moreover, by elevating the sacred authority on a higher ground, there is a notional association of power, as well as a functional association related to the protection of sacred authority and settlement from floods within the landscape setting.

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

The domain of political authority on the topography, cited on lower land.

81

CHAPTER 4- Analysis and Conclusion.

Structure of the network of waterchannels, from the tributaries to the narrower water-channels.

Structure of land-sub-division.

Small land-parcels formed on account of narrower water channels drawing water from the narrow water channels.

N

Smaller land-parcels generally oriented along the north-south axis

The sub-division of land, on account of narrow water channels drawing water from the wider ones.

The land parcels are generally oriented along the east-west axis.

The division of land, on account of wider water channels drawing water from the tributaries.

The land parcels are generally oriented along the north-south axis.

82

B. Territoriality The territorial division within the landscape is based on the division of land of the village, the agricultural land and the undisturbed nature like the river, tree-groves, etc.

The terrain of the landscape is almost flat, hence the settlements come up on relatively higher land. Moreover this is also required to protect the settlements from flooding, during cultivation season, as its necessary to flood the rice-fields.

Hence, the topography, with higher mounds coming up in-between the low-lands, define the extent of the settlements, and hence the extent of the political authority, responsible for irrigation system. Thus the topography prevent the expansion of the wet-fields, hence leaving higher lands for the settlements and tree groves.

Besides this, vegetation defines the notional territory of the settlement. Due to vegetation, there is overlay of two domains on the settlementone domain defined by the relationship of the tree groves and the other by the agricultural tracts. In the former one, the tree groves, acting as a visual barrier, provides the settlements with fruits, spices and vegetables, while in the latter one, although defining the physical territory of the settlement, they provide the settlements with rice, millet, etc., hereby making the settlements self-sufficient on the whole.

Further, all the settlements appearing one on the whole, it is divided into a number of domains defined by the sacred authority, the Temple.

Thus, by coming up at the ends of a linear street, it defines its domain along the linear street, while by coming up at core of a nucleated settlement, it defines its relation to the concentric streets encircling it.

Diagram showing the notional territory defined by the sacred authority, the Temple, by defining domains within the settlement.

Diagram illustrative of the notional territory of the settlement, defined by the vegetation, through overlay of two domains of the tree-groves and the farmlands, hence on the whole making the settlements self-sufficient.

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CHAPTER 4- Analysis and Conclusion.

Diagram illustrative of the domain of the settlement defined by the topography, with the wet-fields on a relatively low-land to the settlements (with an exaggerated vertical scale in the sectional profile of the landscape setting).

Section- AA’

Section- BB’

Section- 11’

Section- 22’

Keyplan

Diagram showing the extent of the settlement with respect to land-form of the landscape setting, with the territory of the settlement defined, on account of topography and to an extent due to the wet-fields (by the plan of the landscape setting).

N

84

4.1.2. Settlement.

Structure of the land sub-division within the settlement, hence deriving the organization of the settlement.

A. Organization The location of the temples (sacred authority) and the layout of the water channels, defined by the political authority, are the factors dictating the structuring of the land-parcels within the settlement. Further, the spatial domain of the sacred authority, expressed by the position of the temples, overlay the structure of the land sub-division made by the irrigation channels. This gives rise to the streets oriented along the east-west axis (the Brahmin Street and the South Street) and the rectilinear street around the main temple, Tirunallur temple, to the north of the settlement. The land-parcels oriented along the east-west axis, are divided by the paths created in-between the tree groves, into strips of house land parcels oriented along the north-south axis. Moreover, the house form enfronts the streets, which are oriented along the east-west axis. Within the flexible (yet clear) structure of the political authority, the sacred authority expresses the social structure, with streets oriented with respect to the political authority and internally organized with respect to the social authority.

STRUCTURE OF LAND

DRAINAGE OF WATER ACROSS THE SETTLEMENT

STRUCTURE OF LAND

DRAINAGE OF WATER ACROSS THE SETTLEMENT

Orientation of houses within the settlement.

water-channels water-bodies roads farmlands settlements vegetation

Land parcels of house, generally oriented along the north-south axis.

water-channels water-bodies roads farmlands settlements vegetation

Organization of the settlement with respect to the sacred authority, the Temple, within the settlement.

The organization of the settlement, developed with respect to the position and the domains established by the Temple.

STRUCTURE OF LAND

DRAINAGE OF WATER ACROSS THE SETTLEMENT

STRUCTURE OF LAND

DRAINAGE OF WATER ACROSS THE SETTLEMENT

Land parcels, generally oriented along the eastwest axis.

water-channels water-bodies roads farmlands settlements vegetation

water-channels water-bodies roads farmlands settlements vegetation

Organization of domains formed, on account of the sacred authority, coming up at the entrance of the settlement and along the edges of the main street, Brahmin Street, of the settlement.

N STRUCTURE OF LAND

DRAINAGE OF WATER ACROSS THE SETTLEMENT

water-channels water-bodies roads farmlands settlements vegetation

Organization of land parcels, in a hypothetical plan of origins of the settlement institutes water-channels water-bodies roads farmlands settlements vegetation

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CHAPTER 4- Analysis and Conclusion.

B. Territoriality The societal organization, derived by the sacred authority, within the settlement, based on varna framework, expressed through brahmins and non-brahmins, is a dictating factor of the notional territory established within the settlement, with the central street (i.e. the main street) being the Brahmin Street, while the street surrounding the Triunallur temple and the South Street being the Non-brahmin Street. Further, based on the spatial domains of the sacred authority, i.e. the three temples, there is a very strong notion of association of the inhabitants of the settlement with the temples, which can be also seen in the temple organization, hereby creating a notional territory based on the domains.

Besides this, the physical territory of a group of houses can be observed demarcated by paths created in-between the tree-groves within the settlement. Moreover, within the cluster, the tree groves on account of its density and visibility from the backyard of the house-form and of course, the extent of ownership of the land-parcel, the privacy gradient of the house land parcel can be observed, hereby defining the territory of the house-form.

Notional territory defined on the basis of varna framework, expressed as Brahmin Street and the Non-brahmin Street.

NOTIONAL TERRITORIALITY

brahmin street

non-brahmin street

Notional territory defined by the domains of the three temples within the settlement.

STRUCTURE OF LAND

DRAINAGE OF WATER ACROSS THE SETTLEMENT

water-channels water-bodies roads farmlands settlements vegetation

Physical territory of the houses defined by paths created in-between the tree.

Territory defined on the basis of privacy gradient of the house land parcel, by the tree groves, defining the private domain of the house.

86

C. Linkages.

The water bodies within the settlement, collects water from the tributaries through a network of water channels, set-up by the political authority from which water is headed back to the tributaries, which is a continuous process. These water-bodies are a closely linked to the sacred authority, the temples, within the settlement, hereby adding a layer of control on the political authority, and hence on the settlement, as the settlements being an agricultural one.

Based on the organization of the settlement, derived by the overlay of the structure offered by the political authority and the domains of the sacred authority, the streets of the settlements are linearly organized, with houses sharing parallel walls, suggesting their solidity and compactness. These house forms are visually linked to each other as standing in the courtyard or backyard of one house one can look through the courtyard or backyard of the house across the street.

Linkage of the temple with the water-body (temple tank), hereby defining a sacred domain within the settlement.

STRUCTURE OF LAND

DRAINAGE OF WATER ACROSS THE SETTLEMENT

water-channels water-bodies roads farmlands settlements vegetation

Visual linkages established by connecting courtyard and backyards, within the cluster organization of the settlement

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CHAPTER 4- Analysis and Conclusion.

87

88

4.1.3. House-form A. Organization Based on the settlement organization, with streets oriented with respect to the political authority and organized with respect to the social order of the sacred authority, the houses along the linear streets are oriented along the north-south axis, with respect to the structure of the political authority, and organized along the entrance axis, with respect to the social order of the house-form.

The house is organized along the entrance axis, which happens to be the social axis of the house, with all the courtyards aligned along the axis, hereby forming different domains of the house- social domain, wet domain (service domain) and the sustenance domain (tree-groves providing fruits, vegetables and spices). Further the private spaces of the house are linked to these domains by in-between semi-open verandah spaces, hereby adding a layer of privacy, suggestive of increasing privacy gradient around the courtyard, with the courtyard with least privacy. Moreover on account of alignment of the courtyards of the house, connecting the street to the backyard, suggesting the permeable character of the house.

Functional organization within the houseform

Nature of spaces within the house-forms, in relation to the functional organization.

Linkages of spaces based on the functional organization and the nature of spaces within the house.

Legend Kitchen

Store-room

Kudam (living room) Muttam (courtyard)

Wet courtyard, backyard

Reli (verandah space)

Semi-open space

Retiring room

Open space

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

Enclosed space

89

CHAPTER 4- Analysis and Conclusion.

B. Territoriality

Domains formed within the house.

The house clearly distinguishes four distinct kinds of territories, each marked by a specific manner of dealing with enclosed and open spaces, based on the functional organization within the house-form. The first is the response to the street, where outsiders are invited, the second is the internal space of family, which creates a sort of completed space with the courtyard, the third is a more functional internal space and courtyard, defining the cooking activity, and the fourth is the open backyard garden with the whole idea of cleaning the self and artifacts which affects the character of the paving, the sense of openness, etc. Moreover, on account of spill-over of activities in the backyard of the houses, the domain of the wet-court and the livelihood domain overlaps each other, while the family domain extends to the street with social interactions extending to the street by the semi-open verandah space (thinnai).

Accessibility by outsiders, based on visual perception of the outsider.

Further, on account of the linear organization and the permeable character of the house, the visual perception of spaces by the outsider along the entrance axis, renders the house porous, but spaces like kitchen, living space and retiring space are rendered private on account of their indirect connection with the courtyard by a semi-open verandah space, further demarcating the territory as perceived by the outsider.

Legend Courtyards

Sequence of the courtyards, social courtyard wet courtyard and the backyard garden, to the street.

Accessibility Social courtyard Wet courtyard Livelihood courtyard

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4.2.

Conclusion

• The landscape of a region is layered based on three formative aspects, the geographic aspect (surface features of a region), the political or pragmatic aspect (administrative) and the sacred aspect (religious). The political and the sacred are sometimes inseparable, and operate as one formative aspect. Geography forms the base, giving a spatial structure with some possibilities and some difficulties, and by structuring it with respect to the social, economic and political actions a certain meaningful environment is created, which may be further strengthened by sacred meanings and sanctions.

• In the study area, the Kaveri valley, its tributaries and the particularities of the landscape and geography suggest the possibilities of irrigation. Irrigation requires large-scale works and mechanisms of governance to ensure clear operations.

Thus political organization, taking care of the irrigation system, needs to be set up, right from the Geographical Regional scale to the Village Community scale. Upkeep of the rules of such governance not only needs administrative and sometimes military power, but also used to depend on religious beliefs and sanctions. Hence, the political organization structures the landscape and the geography, making space for human occupation to develop, which is further structured, depending on the religious beliefs and sanctions. Thus the three formative aspects can be seen to be operational at Nallur.

• Moreover, the Nallur settlement is a brahmadeya land, within which the political authority (the village assembly), lays the structure of the human occupation, responsible for the upkeep of the irrigation system and the sacred authority comprising of two heads, one (the main temple of Nallur, Tirunallur temple) taking care of the total landscape at a larger scale, responsible for the large scale irrigation system, while the other (the two temples along the main Brahmin Street of Nallur) taking care of societal organization, suggesting the local system of governance, is responsible for the local distribution of water. Further, the settlements come up within a close proximity to these religious institutions that come up on relatively higher land, for matter of protection from flooding and also for commuting its importance (on account of the notional association of a power entity with a higher land) within the setting. Thus, the location of settlements with a landscape setting is decided by the surface features of a region and the mode of carrying out agriculture, which is supported by the location of the religious institutions.

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CHAPTER 4- Analysis and Conclusion.

91

• The structure offered by the network of water-channels (taken care of by the political authority) overlaid by the spatial domain of the three religious institutes of Nallur, gives rise to the main street of the village, which is the Brahmin Street with the two village temples at its ends, oriented along the east-west axis and the rectilinear street around the main temple, Tirunallur temple, to the north of the settlement. Further, the land parcels of the settlement are divided into land-holdings (of the houseform of the settlement) oriented along the north-south axis (indirectly derived by the structure of land sub-division, taken care of by the political authority- i.e. the village assembly) and internally organized with respect to the social structure (derived by the social hierarchy around the temples). Hence, the skeletal basis of the architecture of the house-form is a result of the three formative aspects- the geographic aspect, the political or pragmatic aspect and the sacred or religious aspect- upon which the landscape of the region is layered. • The house-form of the village is divided into four domains, the first one is in relation to the street or the public domain, the second one is the family domain, the third one is the functional domain defined by the cooking activity and the fourth is the service domain, three of which are courtyards. Based on the surface features of a region and the subsequent structuring of land offered by the political authority (i.e. the land sub-division by the network of water-channels in the region), the nature of clustering and hence the size of land-holding of the house is dictated, while on account of the societal organization, taken care of by the sacred authority (i.e. the temples), and the cultural preferences, suggests the nature of interaction between the domans of the house form, hereby dictating its organization.

92

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

93

Appendix- I: Glossary ceri

poorest low caste villagers living in segregated areas

brahmadeya

land gifted to the brahmins.

nagaram

a commercial center

ryot

a tenant farmer

kalams

a unit to measure paddy

marutam

farmland tracts

kurinci

the mountain region

neital

the coastal region

palai

the arid desert tract

mullaii

tree-groves

kuruvai-ka̍ r

season of first ploughing of the year

samba̍ pisa̍ nam

season of stubble ploughing

puludi na̍ ttu

a method of transplantation of crops

variyams

commities assigned by the sabhas or assemblies of the brahmadeya taking care of maintenance, repair, silting and control of water supply.

payal, or thinnai

a semi-open verandah space in the front of the house.

reli

entrance hall of the house followed by the payal

muttam

open-to-sky courtyard space within the house

ta̍ lva̍ ram

a semi-open verandah around the muttam

kudam

roofed living space of the house

kudir

mud receptacles, open mud boxes stacked one on top of another with the uppermost one being covered with a mud lid, for storing grains.

se̍ rus

straw receptacles, circular in shape and built about ten feet high, for storing grains.

THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LANDSCAPE: THE COURTYARD DWELLING AS A THEME OF RESPONSE

South India in 1022

4th Century South India in 600 A.D.

advanced to the South from the north-west, and before the middle of the century, they subdued the Andhras and established themselves in the scattered kingdoms, reaching till Conjeevaram.

2nd century A.D.- The Pallavas

South India in 200 A.D. South India in 350 A.D.

1st Century A.D.

portion of the Tamil country was occupied by the Eyinar or Veddar, a Naga tribe whose chief town was Negapatnam, while the Chola’s occupied a greater part of Thanjavur and Trichinopoly and extended beyond Conjeeveram in the north, with their capital in Uraiyur, while to the west and south-west lay the dominions of the Pandyas and the Cheras.

1st century A.D.- The southern

Karaikal Chola came to power, who defeated the army of Pandyas and Cheras on the plain of Vennil.

A.D. 50 to A.D. 95- The great

Nalankilli, the successor of Karaikal Chola, who is believed to have captured seven fortified towns of Pandyan kingdom.

A.D. 95 to A.D. 105- The reign of

Killivallan, successor of Nalankilli

A.D. 105 to A.D. 150- The reign of

South India in 1263

7th Century South India in 1525

Chalukyas,as the owners of a vast empire in central and western India, the capital of which was Badami. But internal dissensions divided them into the Western kingdom, which retained the capital at Badami, and the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (near Ellore) who established a kingdom in the Northern Circars.

7th century- The appearance of the

South India in 1605

9th Century

A.D. 733 to A.D. 747- The Pallava King Nandivaram Pallavamalla was defeated by the Western Chalukyas, which led to the decline of Pallava empire. A few years later the Western Chalukyas of Badami also ceased to a dominant power, and their place was taken by the Rashtrakutas of Malkhed in the Canarese country.

‘The Kongu country’ (Salem and Coimbatore) by the king Aditya I, the successor of Vijayalaya Chola, which was accomplished by the beginning of the 10th century.

A.D. 894- The conquest of

850 A.D.- Chola capital shifetd from Uraiyur to Thanjavur, which was founded

by Vijayala Chola.

(Image Source- Charles, Joppen. Historical atlas of India. New York: Longmans Green and Co., 1914.)

(With refrence to- Hemingway, F R. Tanjore Gazetter. India: Cosmo Publications, 2000.)

580 A.D.- Construction of the Brihadeshwara Temple started.

Historical Background of South India (2nd century- 9th century).

94

Appendix- III: Historical Background of South India (2nd century- 9th century).

South India in 1704

10th Century A.D.

South India in 1795

14th Century

South India in 1805

16th Century

South India in 1856

18th Century

an end on account of entering a feud wiith Madurai.

1673- The Nayak dynasty came to

Venkaji, which founded the Maratha dynasty in Thanjavur.

1675- Ussurpation of Thanjavur by

French.

1758- Thanjavur besieged by the

South, during which Thanjavur was exempted in return for a bribe, from the general depredation which had an impact elewhere in the country.

But later in 1781, Thanjavur was devastated by him.

1769- Hyder Ali’s invasion in the

with the Brittish, hereby transfering the administration to the Brittish.

Thus Thanjavur became Brittish province, and a suitable allowance was made to the Raja.

1799- Sarabhoji enters in a treaty

South India in 1823

Trichinopoly fell before the forces of Vijayanagar.

1365- Tondaimandalm and

Vijayanagarr, led an eexpedtiton to the south and captured Tambraparni by 1532, and Thanjavur by 1534.

1532-34- Achyuta Deva, king of

1549-72- The reign of Sevappa Nayak. He gave Trichinopoly to Visvanatha Nayak of Madurai about 1560 in exchangee for Vallam.

in Thanjavur declined and finally ceased, which made the Nayaks independent of Vijayanagar, first in Madurai, then in Gingee and later in Thanjavur.

1614- The power of Vijayanagar

in Thanjavur declined and finally ceased, which made the Nayaks independent of Vijayanagar, first in Madurai, then in Gingee and later in Thanjavur.

1614- The power of Vijayanagar

1799- Thanjavur became Brittish province.

(Image Source- Charles, Joppen. Historical atlas of India. New York: Longmans Green and Co., 1914.)

1223-31- The first fatal blow to the Chola power was dealt, when the Pandya King (1216-35) burnt Thanjavur and Uraiyur and conquered the Chola country and returned it subsequently to its king as a gift, which dated between 1223 and 1225. Moreover a prince of Pallava extraction catured the chola king by 1230-31, who was released and reinstated by a new power, that of Hoysala Ballalas.

King Rajendra Chola III, who appear to have resisted the Hoysalas with some success.

1246-67- The reign of th elast Chola

South India in 1780

Vikrama Chola from the viceroyalty of Vengi to share his throne and he died shortly afetr that. Later in 1120-24, Vengi was occuped

by Vikramaditya I, after defeating Kulottunga’s reign.

1118- Kulttunga I summoned his son

Rajendra Deva, successor of Rajaraja I. He was succeded by Kulottunga Chola I, as he claimed the Chola throne both as the grandson and as adopted son of Rajendra Chola.

1068-69- The death of Vira

Rajendra Deva, successor of Rajaraja I. He was succeded by Kulottunga Chola I, as he claimed the Chola throne both as the grandson and as adopted son of Rajendra Chola.

1068-69- The death of Vira

convulsed by the sudden invasions of Malik Kafur, a general of Delhi invasions and the first Muhamaddan rulers of the South, which destroyd the Hoysalas and made way for the Vijayanagar empire.

1310- Southern India was

1025- Chola capital shifted from Thanjavur to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, which was founded by Vijayala Chola.

South India in 1751

Parantaka Chola I, whose conquests extend from Suchindram near Cape Comorin in the south to the Kalahasti (in North Arcot) in north, and Somur near Karur in the west. His death followed a crushing blow to the Chola power.

A.D. 906 to A.D. 946- The reign of

king Rajaraja I came to power, the country encountered a period of unexampled prosperity, which remained unbroken for over a century, while his kingdom extended from Ceylon and Cape Comorin to the borders of Orrisa and his descendants extended the Chola supremacy to Burma. . The family of Rajaraja remained for sixty years on the Chola throne; and his successors upheld the dignity, and the political configuration of Southern India remained almost unchanged during that period.

A.D. 985 to A.D. 1013- The Chola

1st decade of 11th centuryCompletion of the Brihadeshvara temple by the Chola King

Historical Background of South India (10th century- 18th century).

95

Appendix- III: Historical Background of South India (10th century- 20th century).

96

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97

llustration credits All illustrations have been done by the author except those mentioned below.

Chapter- 1 Illus. 1(1)

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98

Chapter- 2 Illus. 2(1)

Gutkind, E A. Our world from the air: An internatonal survey of Man and his Envronment. London: Chatto and Windus, 1952. plate- 188

Illus. 2(2)

ibid. plate- 206.

Illus. 2(3)

ibid. plate- 342.

Illus. 2(4)

ibid. plate- 183.

Illus. 2(5)

ibid. plate- 168.

Illus. 2(6)

ibid. plate- 81.

Illus. 2(7)

ibid. plate- 177.

Illus. 2(8)

ibid. plate- 106.

Illus. 2(9)

ibid. plate- 221.

Illus. 2(10)

ibid. plate- 369.

Illus. 2(11)

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Illus. 2(12)

Google earth image taken on 7th June 2013.

Illus. 2(13)

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Illus. 2(14)

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Illus. 2(15)

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Illus. 2(16)

ibid. plate- 292.

Illus. 2(17)

ibid. plate- 66.

Illus. 2(18)

ibid. plate- 165.

Illus. 2(19)

ibid. plate- 34.

Illus. 2(20)

ibid. plate- 55.

Illus. 2(21)

ibid. plate- 85.

Illus. 2(22)

ibid. plate- 77.

Illus. 2(23)

ibid. plate- 128.

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Illus. 2(24)

ibid. plate- 152.

Illus. 2(25)

ibid. plate- 149.

Illus. 2(26)

ibid. plate- 132.

Illus. 2(27)

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Illus. 2(28)

ibid. plate- 145.

Illus. 2(29)

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Bourdier, Jean-Paul and Trinh, T Minh-ha. African Spaces. New York: Africana Publishng Company, 1985. p. 39.

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Illus. 2(48)

Szabo, Albert and Thomas J. Barfield. Afghanistan : An Atlas of Indigenous Domestic Architecture. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991. p. 174. (modified by the author)

Illus. 2(49)

R.S.P.: Brahmapuri, Jodhpur. Ahmedabad: CEPT University, 2009-10 (drawn by 2007 Batch). (modified by the author)

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Bourdier, Jean-Paul and Trinh, T Minh-ha. African Spaces. New York: Africana Publishng Company, 1985. p. 150. (modified by the author)

Illus. 2(52)

Desai, Radhika. Built form responses in self-built houses : a study of vernacular earth dwellings in hot arid desert climatic zone of India.

[Unpublished Thesis; CEPT University, Ahmedabad]. p. 50. (modified by the author)

Illus. 2(53)

Toffin, Gerard. Man and his House in the Himalayas: Ecology of Nepal.

New Delhi: Sterling Pub., 1991. p. 180. (modified by the author)

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Chapter- 3 Illus. 3(1)

Champakalakshmi, R. Trade, ideology and urbanization: South India 300 B.C. to A.D. 1300. Inda: Oxfor University Press 1996, 1996. p. 240.

Illus. 3(2)

Selby, Martha A and Indira V Peterson. Tamil Geographies: Cultural Constructions of Space and Place in South India. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008. p. 5.

Illus. 3(3)

Eck, Diana L. India: A Sacred Geography. New York: Harmony Books, 2012. p. 4.

Illus. 3(4)

www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/outlinemapofindia.htm

Illus. 3(5)

Champakalakshmi, R. Trade, ideology and urbanization: South India 300 B.C. to A.D. 1300. Inda: Oxfor University Press 1996, 1996. p. 240.

Illus. 3(6)

ibid. p. 367.

Illus. 3(7) and Illus. 3(8)

Google Image taken on 21st December 2012.

Plate- 3.6 to Plate- 3.11

R.S.P. Tiruchchirapalli-Nallur (2012-13) (drawn by 2011 Batch).

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Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the support and help of: • Prof. Neelkanth Chhaya- my guide, for his time involvement and concern, for helping me clarify and structure the vague thoughts of my mind into something meaningful. His insightful observations and discussions which made the thesis and the thesis semester an enjoyable process full of learning. For organizing the R.S.P. programme of my casestudy region, Nallur, and Tiruchchirapalli. For giving a new perspective of looking at a region, by the means of the thesis. For being a “Guru” throughout the 5 years at CEPT and granting an insight into the world of architecture....I am totally indebted to you.

• Prof. Vijaykumar faculty of CARE University, School of Architecture, Trichy, for helping with the site visit. Prof. P. Dhanaseelan for all the help with accommodation, commuting, etc. during the site visit and for helping me with conversation at Nallur. Prof. Belinda Judith for helping with gathering literature on the region. Prof. T. Vadivu, faculty of Department of English, St. Joseph’s College, Trichy, for allowing me to access the library of St. Joseph’s College.

• Mr. Sugumaran Iyar, a resident of Nallur village, for providing me with historical data of the village.

• Sankalp for the insightful observations and discussions. For helping me understand the topic.

• Krishna P. (KP), Krishna J., Khushboo, Mustafa, Zaib, Dhwani, Abhinaya, Thahira, Gowtham, Nirupama and ‘12 Batch of CEPT University, School of Architecture, Ahmedabad and ‘11 and ‘12 of CARE University, School of Architecture, Trichy.

• Mom, Dad, Dada, Dadi, Adda, Bhabhu, Kaka, Kaki and peers, Drashti, Jhanavi, Milin, Raghav and Vatsal for all their patience and trust in me and all the good and enjoyable family times.

• Mruna for being there and being supportive throughout the thesis semester. For proofreading the thesis. And for calming me down and bearing me, in all my hyperactive and melodramatic times.

• Shweta (Kuki) and Isha (Punjab) for always being there throughout the 6 years at college. For vague, funny, and floating discussions (this one is just for Shweta). For making me feel at ease in my tensed moments. And for being my sisters of the extended CEPT family.

• Vicky (Load) for being supportive and being there throughout the 6 years at the college.

And for all the concern and encouragement during the thesis semester. For calming me down and cheering me up in the tensed moments. And for being a brother like figure.

• Satyam (Sami), Pratik (Kuku), Jitesh (Jitlo), Saptarshi (Sapto), Shweta (Kuki), Vicky (Load), Isha (Punjab), Ravi, Viral (Baghgho), Hemal (Tillu- Kung fu Panda), Mihir (Bedekar), Ruchi (Lucy), Gayatri (Gayu) and Sejal without the whom the thesis semester would be dull and boring (but thankfully it turned to be fun, cheerful and enjoyable).

• And ‘07 Batch and all the friends at CEPT University, for making the six years at CEPT full of fun and memories.

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Sneha Ramani UA 3107 ramani.sneha@gmail.com +91 991359091

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Undergradute Research Thesis School of Architecture CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India.