Title:
The Vohrawaads of Sidhpur, Gujarat Documentation by:
Zoyab A Kadi Tahaer Zoyab
Map of Gujarat On the Ahmedabad – Delhi rail and road routes; roughly 100 kms either way between Ahmedabad, to the south and Mount Abu, Rajasthan’s only hill resort, to the north. Not being a railway junction, no Express or Superfast trains stop here; Nevertheless, it is fairly well connected by road and local trains to the rest of the State and is easy to access.
Sidhpur - map
Like most small towns (and even some large cities), of Gujarat, the layout is marked by distinct clusters of exclusive residential enclaves / bubbles, each belonging to a particular Community and offering absolutely no asylum, refuge or housing to any other.
Najampura • Sidhpur has a very rich oral and unrecorded history that goes far back into a dim and hazy past – where facts blur with fiction and reality is overridden by myth; •
Of the many chapters in its history, five have continued to dominate the affairs of the town.
•
It’s the fifth chapter that is the topic of today’s discussion – NAJAMPURA and its THE BOHRA HERITAGE HOUSES
Fifth chapter – Najampura
 the enclave of the heritage houses of the Dawoodi Bohra Community
The old Vohrawaads – a comparision
Hassanpura: Centuries old settlement next to Rudr Mahal and on the banks of Saraswati River; marked by dead end “pols”, narrow winding alleys and cramped houses; Layout has no room for expansion as it is surrounded by other Communities’ enclaves.
Harariya: Well laid out introvert plots towards end of 19th century; surrounded on all sides by a high wall; continues to have only 3 entry points; Streets are wider and straighter and can accommodate vehicular traffic; Bigger and taller houses, continued nightmarish and disastrous practice of sharing common walls.
Fountainheads ????
Fountainheads ????
Fountainheads ????
West vs East
 the Tympanum into a roof gable
West vs East
 floral iconography into Art Noveau
West vs East
 Classical orders and 
 their recent relatives
West vs East
 Balconies vs jharukhas
Mohallas - elevation
Mohallas / Streets
Mohallas / streets
Private houses
Private houses
Private houses
Ground floor plan •
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Plots are narrow in width and large in depth; Orientation is mostly EW; sometimes N; but never South; No flexibility in spatial planning; all house layouts are identical; Linear layout divided into five compartments on ground floor; All Services need to be in the 1st compartment; Central chowk plays a major role in lighting and ventilation
First floor plan •
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With life pattern of the Bohras being such that occupancy of the house consisted of only 1 or 2 adult males; mostly females, children and elderly – two bedrooms on the upper floor were more than adequate; Here again the layout in most houses is identical with only a minor variation in the rear.
Section •
Covering the entire terrace, except the central chowk, was a sloped tinned sheet roofing – called Dagla; • This is a very important space in the house because it provides • i) additional storage area; ii) acts as a headgear against the extreme summer sun and iii) Traps the heat and keeps the house warm in winters
The main entrance
Dehli – the 1
st
compartment
Chowk – the 2
nd
compartment
Furtaal – the screen
Outer pursaal – the 3
rd
compartment
Inner pursaal – the 4
th
compartment
Orda – the final sanctum
Orda – the final sanctum
First floor - bedrooms
An irreversible exodus begins
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• • •
With the departure of the British from India in 1947, Bohra businesses in far away cities gradually underwent a paradigm change in their format and became more family-centric. With the rejection of the earlier practice of taking turns to mind both the ends, family after family began migrating to cities to unite with their male members. Houses were either locked up or left in the custody of ill equipped and often, aged caretakers. Soon entire mohallas became desolate. This was probably the first blow. Soon others followed.
Threats - internal
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Built during early 20th century, and within a matter of 60-70 years, the number of claimants of the property increased exponentially, with a majority having no sentimental attachment to it. This was a typical issue that, more often than not, took unpredictable turns; but in nearly all cases endangered the building significantly. There have been cases where the opposite was also true. Some families migrated to Pakistan; some died out with only very distant branches left.
Threats - internal
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Where family trees have been more reconcilable, there is a constant pressure to succumb to offers made by pestering antique dealers or their agents. Thus the motivation to liquidate an unmaintainable, fragile and often valuable artefact is very high. There are many houses that are mere shells – widows waiting to die.
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Over the last 10 years or so, a well meaning diktat, urging desirous owners NOT to sell their houses to non-Bohras, issued by the religious head of the Community appears to have misfired. In a limited market, with not many buyers, the diktat has been cunningly circumvented, by seeking recourse to demolition and encashing on building materials, furniture and artefacts and holding on to the vacant land.
Threats – external / man-made
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The immaculate military appearance of the streetscape, with houses of uniform height, suddenly became its nemesis. Stepping from one roof to another, any locked house could be easily targeted. With low and mostly infirm occupancy, owners have consciously stripped the interiors and sold them away themselves. There was a time, not very long ago, when it was common to hear stories of haunted houses – deliberately spread by vested interest groups. Some houses were lost due to this. With ghost stories not working any more, local caretakers, contractors and builders, have been ever ready with poor technical advise that helpless owners often have had to accept ; the usual refrain being that salvage and construction costs will be more or less equal, which, of course, rarely turns out to be the case.
Threats – external / natural
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The dangers posed by a combination of rain water, extreme temperatures and insoluble pigeon droppings and feathers, to a locked house have, in several cases, proved lethal.
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With clogged pipes and outlets, rain water overflows through the Chowk opening on to the lower floors, dampens all structural support systems and gives rise to a variety of pestilences.
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The solution that follows such an event is often pathetic and short sighted and ends up by disfiguring the streetscape.
An astonishing Irony – the current scenario
• • • •
Over the last decade or so there has been a resurgence of interest in Sidhpur’s heritage – due to several reasons . With the demand for budget housing steadily increasing, dormant house owners have woken up to the idea of encashing their dead assets. A few heritage houses have gone down this tragic road. The irony is lost on both buyers and sellers. The very houses responsible for the resurgence are being replaced by mediocre apartments. The trend is destroying what it had set out to preserve. This is all the more tragic since there appears to be no dearth of land within reasonable proximity.
– its history • Sidhpur has a very rich oral and unrecorded history that goes far back into a dim and hazy past – where facts blur with fiction and reality is overridden by myth; • Of the many chapters in its history, four have continued to dominate the affairs of the town. • The first chapter on its legendary Saraswati River* is a dead horse that has been flogged so often, the locals have lost interest in it.
First - The Virgin Saraswati River
 Flows subterranean away from the confluence at Allahabad and dies in the Rann of Kutch
Second – Aalap & Bindoo Sarovars, A dip in these 2 small water bodies is a vital link on a Hindu’s pilgrimage route
Third – Mukti Dhaam It is the only cremation ground in India considered auspicious for performing “Matru Shradha” - the last rites for a Hindu female’s departed soul
Fourth – The Shiv temple Rudr Mahal
* Begun by Mulraj Solanki in the year 960 AD; * Completed by his grandson Siddhraj Jaisingh Solanki in the year 1094; * Vandalised by Ulagh Khan, commander of Mohammad Ghori in the year 1297; * Converted into a mosque during the rule of Ahmed Shah around 1442; * Destroyed by an earthquake exposing the idols beneath the plaster in the year 1955; * Currently declared as “No entry – out of bounds” area by a High Court ruling.
Rudr Mahal images
The Dawoodi Bohras* • Are a sect of Shi’a Muslims with a chequered history that goes backwards through Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia to Iraq. • Spread out in small numbers over several countries, they are the followers of, and owe allegiance to, the 53rd Da’i ul Mutlaq His Holiness Syedna Muffadal Saifuddin Bhai Saheb. (T.U.S). •
*For more details about Dawoodi Bohras refer THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ISLAM, edited by Kate Fleet & others; published by Brill, Lisbon & Boston.
The Dawoodi Bohras
Dawoodi Bohras – a Sidhpur time line * 1094 CE – Mustali Ismailis trickle unobtrusively into Sidhpur; * 1100-1500 – A period of voluntary and silent proselytization of high caste Hindu Brahmins, who bring some of their prevailing rituals, customs and beliefs into the new faith, especially the use of surnames – many of which are still common amongst both the Communities to this day; * 1539 – Syedna Yusuf Najmuddin (24th overall), the first Da’i to be appointed from India is from Sidhpur. General occupation of being petty traders and merchants earns them a rock solid reputation for honesty and integrity and a general tag of “Vaharau” / merchant (later corrupted to “Bohra”); * 1879 – The laying of a narrow gauge train line – The Rajputana Malwa Railway nearby changes the Community’s outlook and fortunes completely. It gets a head start over the Hindus, who have apprehensions about Kala pani (the belief that one should return home the same day after crossing any water body); They travel to such far away places as Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Abysinnia, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Ceylon, Burma, Siam and China * 1902-03 – The Great famine of Gujarat – Chappanyo Dukal – gives Bohras a chance to show their philanthropic spirit. Rewarded by Siyajirao Gaekwad with a large parcel of land – the present day Najampura. * 1904 – House building activities start in full swing.