The way we live : A house by the sea

Society  has produced  the housing it needs, naturally and indigenously... this is not habitat that an outsider has to come in and `design'; rather it is the end product of a process that is organic to society, like flowers that bloom in a meadow

~ Charles Correa 

The homes built in the vernacular of  coastal Maharashtra are hardly for iconic or grandiose architecture. Yet driving past any residential cluster, it is hard to resist their trademark bright colors and individual quirks.

On a muggy monsoon morning, plying the back roads of a sleepy hamlet a few hundred kilometers outside Mumbai, I keep noticing the cottage style houses with simple mud and brick exteriors and thatched roofs. Until a bright crimson door  into a equally vibrant blue coloured squat adobe construction completely stops me in my tracks.

Walking into other peoples homes unannounced, just like that is never without a risk of rejection and embarrassment. This time as in the past, I just go ahead and take that chance anyway..

Inside, an elderly lady has just sit down to her lunch on a simple yet sturdy jhoola swinging from the roof.  I could not have chosen a worse hour to walk in, unannounced.

Luckily for me, home owner- Sailesh Kamath, does not seem to mind. Mr Kamath owns a sweet shop around the corner in Revdanda. He lives in the house with his aged mother and younger brother. Without much ado I am  invited  into his family home with the same warm hospitality I have experienced in countless homes in the region.

The structure,  bright and beautiful on the outside is astounding from the inside. Almost 150 years old I am told!   Its adobe and brick walls painted a vivid sea green are  sturdy and unscathed by time. Various generations have used the houses says Mr Kamat. Not so long ago,  an extended family of 17 would live in that space until demands of livelyhoods and education scattered them within the region and other parts of the country, he adds.

The old matriarch of the house- the gentleman's mother- quietly follows me on my explorations through the interiors. Offering, little nuggets  of information about the space and the family.  The decor, mostly functional and very simple has changed over  the years she says. Her younger son's political leanings and love for 1950's bollywood reflects in bright coloured bazar prints framed and hung as display in the  central foyer and elsewhere in the  house.

The fact that the house goes back years and  has changed hands many times during its history is evident in the way the orientation of the different living spaces is completely mixed up.  What used to be the main door is now permanently barred, and one of the original side entrances  is used for the purpose instead. A  separate cooking area and aangan has been turned into outhouse, segregated from the main structure. I try to take  in as much about the house and its people in the brief time I have inside the little blue house.

A jhoola encountered earlier,  in the kitchen also serves as an informal seating at meal times along with various coloured chowkis stacked neatly against the house.  All rooms have built in shelves and niches in the walls which serve both functional and decorative purposes.

The flooring of the house is made of hard baked clay to which   a coating  of dung fine straw and earth is applied  with the hands once a week. Although tiles would be far more convenient,  (which is why dung floors are vanishing fast across homes such as this every where) the owners say they prefer the old floor to cheap ceramic tiles.

Having taken a lot of the family's time, I take their  leave with a promise of stopping by when I am in these parts next.

  Getting back to the quote by Charles Correa I started the post with - One  thinks about  Mumbai and its built environment. Not so long ago, there was much to choose for the migrant into the city, bungalows, waadis , chawls even village style living . The city's  settlements dating back to the colonial times -( Khotachiwadi) or even  most of Bandra's quaint fishing villages boast structures built in various permutations available within the  Konkan coastal vernacular  mixed with  Portuguese and east Indian styles of housebuilding.  

Unfortunately for us city dwellers, residential architecture is being increasingly governed by singular ideologies of  development that generate high rise vertical housing as Mumbai's colonial diversity and heritage housing festers.

Workshop at Anokhi museum

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.

American poet novelist and social activist Marge Piercy says so  while writer philosopher and Robert M Pirsig  dedicates  a whole book to it. The virtue of using your hands. A case for respecting physical labour  has been made again again in the context of hyper mechanised time such as ours.
Deeper psychological motivations for creating  and submitting ones senses to materials and manual processes aside, I am always one for using my hands. Provided  it is not too complex, there is plenty of help at hand and nobody is judging the misadventures that usually result in trying some thing entirely new!
Motorcycle maintenance unfortunately does not qualify for me then.  But with a little help from the experts,  block printing my  own piece of fabric should not be as hard? I had pre booked an appointment at the Anokhi Museum workshop days in advance. Imagine being able to engage with materials and processes of an age old craft in the sunlit environs of a 14th century Rajasthani haveli?. Quite naturally I was excited !

Only when  in that sun dappled heaven two and a half meters of cotton mul fabric was stretched neatly onto a padded work table ahead of me did it strike. A familiar fear of blank white space ! It was going to be a long day of  effort and learning an entirely new thing.
Luckily for me, the  workshop has an unsmiling, but extremely competent and helpful master printer ready to assist  me through the afternoon's work.

Muhammed Iqbal, the no-nonsense lord of the workshop calmly drew a tray of blocks  and laid them on the table. '' You can choose a simple one or two-block pattern or make something  more intricate with more colours," he suggested.   

Having waited to try my hand at block printing  for this long, I was under tremendous pressure to create a masterwork instantly. So  no  one colour and two block set for me as I reached for a full four block pattern.  (Although I  really wanted to  see  some of my favourite Anokhi blocks,  the  Poppy flower or Imperial peony designs, none of the two were available at that time)  Rummaging through  the pile, a little too assiduously in the hope of getting my nerves together, I  arrived at a lotus Jaal pattern finally.

Iqbal, a skilled craftsman who has been in the trade since he was  a tiny 8-years-old,  walked me through the preliminaries,  cutting down all drama instantly: what to print? How many blocks and how many colours?
Prep in place, began the arduous but utterly engrossing actual printing process.





The number of printing blocks needed in a design often depends  on the number of colours desired.   To begin with the  background of the  fabric is printed onto the fabric with the help of the   Gudh  or the background block. I chose a dull  moss green colour for the same.  The  block needs to be  dabbed on the dye tray in one deft motion,  so that the right amount of pigment adheres to the pattern.  The printer then aligns it on the fabric and discharges the dye from the block with a sharp tap on  the back of the block. Care needs to be taken to match the design of the  first block so that the design falls into place for the entire length . If this sounds simple, I must add it took me a good amount  of concentration and effort to get it just about right.




Soon the workshop  filled up  with the sweet thump thump of blocks hitting the padded table. A kind of musical,  set of thumps  that transport one instantly into an absorbed, focused state. An hour into the deal - right upto the time a cup of tea materialised like a miracle, I had all but  lost myself to  the rhythmic, repetitive motions. The deep state of peace achieved actually had very little bearing on the number of mistakes I was inadvertently yet continuously making! Mercifully  Iqbal generously and deftly kept correcting after me all the time making light of my mounting sense of inadequacy . " Wait till we finish," he kept saying and I very wisely decided to take his advice.
Once the Gudh is successfully executed, the Rekh or the outline block needs to be applied. This stage  gives definition to the design and requires a lot of precision.   I watched the demo attentively. But no amount of attention can make up for the lack of experience.  In spite of my valiant efforts I continued to  go horribly off the mark in a number of places.

Barely half way through my arms throbbing with the effort and  outlines already a mess, I felt a   tremendous respect for the people who actually do this for a living. For the commercial patterns can demand way more than just four blocks. Iqbal told me of something he had printed with ten blocks!  Only before I could start ruing the decision to undertake just the four block design, he promised that the next two blocks were not going to be all that hard.  And he was right!
The remaining two blocks  Called Datta, are  essentially those that fill in colour in the outlined design. I choose bright blue and red pigments.  The design begins to emerge with each colour applied.  The final, red coloured lotus petal blocks being the crowning glory of all exertions of the day !




The day done, I chose to feel exhilarated in spite of the tiredness. The plain white fabric had been transformed  with colour and pattern. As for the imperfections and mess, I decided to love them all; after all if  there is going to be just this afternoon of printing and just these two meters of cotton mul I will take back home.  Until another such afternoon and another length of fabric that is!

Note : 
Rajasthan has been an important centre of hand printing since the 12 century.  Where at the workshop we get to work with carved wooden blocks, numerous techniques of hand printing and dyeing have been popular  in areas in and around Jaipur. Traditionally  the block prints of Jaipur  and its surrounding  villages were known not just for their quality  of printing but also for their use of natural dyes. The advent of commercial screen printing in the early  1960's bought with it new chemical colouration processes', which block printers were  fast to adapt  to their own printing styles. 
It is also possible to participate in a block carving workshop  at the museum by appointment.
For details about the workshop, timings, booking etc visit the museum website here :  Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing.

Reviving the past at Amber Haveli

Even as vernacular style of building  fast goes out of favour in most of the developing world,  an awareness of reutilizing the past   is witnessed every now and  then.  Taking a view that traditional architecture is the more logical and rational way to build.  That using local resources and knowledge bases  creates un-superflous structures  meeting the needs of the location best, engages local populations of  builders, craftsmen and artisans and preserves inherited wisdom in the process of creating rich living spaces.
An example of such a project awaits visitors in the shadow of the 11th century Amber fort at the outskirts of Jaipur.
Surrounded by a cluster of  old homes, many in a state of crumble, stands the meticulously renovated 14 th century traditional Rajasthani haveli known to the locals as the `Chanwar Palkiwalon ki Haveli'.
 John and Faith Singh- promoters of the textile label Anokhi-  bought the old ruinous structure in the early 80s.  Following some thought and the help of designer duo Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri, the structure was  restored using traditional methods and local artisans.  
Today the haveli  stands amidst fast fading buildings of  Amber village  as a proud testimony to  the age old skill and knowledge base of  Rajasthani craftsmanship. In  re-creating the space such the architects have not only brought a crumbling structure back to life but have managed to reconcile the past with the present  in a meaningful way : the haveli might have housed palanquin bearers at one time in the distant past, but in its refurbished avatar  it is a museum dedicated to the  history of hand printing in India.

Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing  documents the centuries old craft of hand printing  in India with particular emphasis on  the   revival of the traditional practice in the latter part of the 20th century. A refurbished building thus becomes a repository of stories of another renewal. 

The various indigenous techniques and methods of printing and their different process  -   the tools of the trade, printing and block making - are elaborately detailed.  The museum houses a delightful collection of garments created  with  hand printed fabric.  The museum also organizes day long printing and block making workshops by appointment.  

 The workshop and a visit to the museum when it did happen  has to be  rated as the high point of my trip to Jaipur. Not only is a day spent printing fabric a most fulfilling way to engage with a local tradition, but an exploration of the museum interiors with its many elaborate jharokhas (Windows) wall niches and arches   is a wonderful way of understanding the various elements of local architecture too.

A cool central courtyard or Aangan leading from elaborate wooden doors of Amber haveli  offers welcome escape from the bright sunlight outside. The  building is painted in delicate peachy-pink tones- an ode to  the pink city of Jaipur that houses it.  The facade with  elaborate balconies on the first and second floors  is decorated in wall niche shaped pattern in plaster relief. The  niches- faux and real, recur as a motif throughout the building.

High walls of the haveli shade the courtyard. Dark blue green columns that frame beautiful arches  lead into a chequered marble centre of the haveli. 

This typical feature of  traditional Indian house : An open to sky, central courtyard, is a  device that effectively introduces the outdoors right into the middle of the house without compromising the safety or privacy  of the residents.  In extreme desert climate of Rajasthan the aangan acts like a thermostat for the house, regulating the flow of fresh air  and temperature in the house. Sunlight filtering  into the house through the aangan ensures  adequate light  within the house as well. Here in the Amber haveli,  the aangan is covered with a specially made canvas  jaali or mesh to filter  dust  debris and birds from  the house.

The museum exhibits  are spread over  the three levels starting from the inner chambers of the ground floor leading to the workshop and block making area created on the topmost floor of the building.

The interiors of the museum in keeping with its purpose are kept purposely bare, such that the emphasis through out  a visit remains on the exhibits.  The minimal approach draws the eye and attention to intricate details of the  building effectively.  Elaborate niches decorate walls across all floors  of the haveli.  In a typical Indian haveli these niches or Taankh,  serve various practical purposes of  storing and displaying stuff.

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The  smooth shiny finish of the walls and interiors of the building is thanks to an ancient technique used in these parts.  Aaraish - a traditional mixture created  by soaking  crushed shells   with  yogurt and sugar in earthenware pots for over a year  mixed with  stucco  is plastered on to the walls to give a smooth shiny finish  and interiors that remain cool  on harshest of summer days. Yogurt  mixed with stucco? who would have thought ?!
 

Roam  onto the roof level and yet another decorative yet functional device catches the eye.  Elaborately carved Jaali's or meshes. The Jaali's at Amber haveli have been carved using different materials such as  metal (above) and wood.  The intricate geometric Islamic patterns are a clever means of ensuring ample light and ventilation into a space without giving up on privacy.
The Jaali windows cast mesmerizing shadows on  walls  in narrow spaces of passages and stairwells everywhere.  The space is dedicated to the the block making and printing workshop that the museum offers as a means of encouraging visitor participation.

Apart from being a handsome example of  what is possible to achieve with a little help from our own past,  Amber haveli also serves to highlight the plight of our `modern' choices. Among Indians of all strata to  build and develop necessarily means a departure from the past. Most  residential architecture prefers styles of buildings that are disconnected with our needs and sensibilities but are not necessarily as livable and generous as their  vernacular counterparts. At Amber haveli, the architects and owners take  a different direction altogether and yet arrive at sumptuous spaces, without  compromising  either functionality or aesthetics. Some thing to take back home from an erstwhile home in Amber village, Jaipur, and I do.

A visit to the museum has been on my wish list for a long time. Particularly attractive was the prospect of spending a full day printing a fabric with my own hands!  The experience and pictures from the workshop are a matter of a whole new post.. Keep reading !

DIY: Calendar art inspired Wall : Part 2

Continuing the living with calendar art story, here are two other niches.

These smaller ones are painted in contrasting parrot green and citron orange colours.  Although calendar art remained an inspiration in doing these two also, the theme is distinct from the first larger niche (story here)- in that, broad elements of a typical calendar have been used on blank backgrounds as opposed to a dense montage of images culled from calendars.

For the first of these niches, I started with a base of aged mirror for a bright reflective surface. My  local glass vendor cut a chor bazar buy  into neat squares, which we pasted onto ply with silicone.

A few touches of paint in different colours, a  few popular motifs  that recur in calendars ( the garland bearing elephant, the Devanagari letters reading `Shubh',  lotuses and a  decorative landscape), successive layers of modge podge and viola,  we had the niche! 

I sanded down areas  that I wanted to reflect more between layers of the sealant, although it is perfectly possible to have a glossy mirror surface.

The second one, was going to house an old brass Ganpati, a gift from my grandmother. Hence the choice of a color that contrasts well with the colour of the Ganpati. Here I just magnified a single motif- the lotus,  and printed it in varying sizes.  Colouring in with water colour pencils and acrylic colours to defined the blooms :

I wish I had a better picture, but the entire wall is just too wide even for my widest lense.  But if helps give a sense, here is the whole deal :

DIY : Calendar art inspired wall.

A good part of what I, like  countless Indians growing up in the 70s and 80s small town India know about art, culture and religion comes straight from a bright, kitschy calendar, or bazar print : the colour saturated, mass produced representation of deities, religious themes alongside chubby babies, freedom fighters, movie stars and romantic and idyllic landscapes.  These  psychedelic prints of benevolent Gods and Goddesses smiling down their blessings  on to living rooms, shop floors and street corners have  fired popular imagination and visual culture in the subcontinent for over a century .

Much of how we imagine our deities as, is coloured by years of  exposure to the generously proportioned Gods and Goddesses rendered in rich jewel tones in one too many calendars. I have always wanted to hang a few at home.  The problem with wanting to frame calendar art is that there is way too many attractive, fascinating and confusing options to choose from!

So while scouring the local flea market for appropriate prints ( as in, those that evoked memories of  other calendars in other homes )  I landed up coming back with a stash!  With some amount of thought, all of the 11 crumbling and yellowing  prints I found, landed up in a single niche right at the entrance of the house. 

Although the prints were mostly whole they had aged considerably, making  the paper very amenable to being decoupaged. So decoupaged they are, embellished with sequins paints and mirrors. Have two other niches to go. Will come back with them later. Until then, hope you enjoy these. 

It all begins with a single niche  hand drawn in the shape of a Jharokha and cut out along with two others near the entrance.

Cutting, priming, texturing  the wall and painting the Jharokha.

Croping and cutting from Calendars, pasting selected images  on a piece of ply cut in the shape of the Jharokha.

Detailing 

 Going over the pasted images with layers of any good quality sealant . I used modge podge. It is a good idea to allow the surface to dry out completely between applications.

Finally, getting Hem Singh to secure the finished  ply onto the wall :)

Featured : Hindustan Times Mint

Part of a blogger feature carried by Live Mint this past weekend... Ways to use and display old textiles bags.  I convert a few into cushions, putting them to use when I am not using them as bags.

Mirror worked, appliquéd, hand dyed,  traditional cloth bags are a ubiquitous fashion and practical accessory from every where.  Most of us  have a few lying about the house. Sometimes even the textile shopping bags one gets at cotton clothing stores these days are so hard to ignore !  (Anokhi, Fab India and Cotton's Jaipur dole out lovely eco-friendly , reusable, fabric shopping bags).. Here is a way to  use  them all - heirloom, high street or plain free.

Above: appliqued indigo dyded bag from Vietnam gets used as a head rest stuffed with old Tshirts and random scraps. The roughly put together stitches can be ripped open in a second, when one feels like putting the same to another  use, like as a  real bag perhaps?!

An old shopping bag from Cottons Jaipur, stuffed with a filler and embellished with pom poms and ghungroos..

An old  beauty from Kutch that used to be my Go to bag while in college,  used as a cushion somedays :)

The whole ensemble of cushions and textiles displayed in different  corners of the house. A casual seating area  in the living room in the above instance.
Hand made things are usually easy to throw together, as  even drastically different styles tend to work well together.   It is a good idea to balance the  scheme by combining solid coloured textiles with patterned textiles. Usually using different patterns used creating  different techniques- weave, embroidery, and prints  helps create a rich and attractive end result.

A big thank you to Komal Sharma from Mint for the feature :) ..Its particularly exciting to share the same space as Bhavna (of An Indian Summer) and Rajee (of  Rajeesood )