Havelis of Rajasthan

HAVELIS OF RAJASTHAN

KIRAN KUMAR SREEDHARAN | VIIIth SEMESTER | IVth YEAR | 2008 - 2013

HAVELIS OF RAJASTHAN Haveli is the term used for a private mansion in India and Pakistan, usually one with historical and architectural significance. The word haveli is derived from the Persian word hawli, meaning "an enclosed place". They share similar features with other mansions derived from Islamic Architecture such as the traditional mansions in Morocco called Riads.

MUGHAL HAVELIS Many of the havelis of India and Pakistan were influenced by Islamic Persian, Central Asian and Indian architecture. They usually contain a courtyard often with a fountain in the centre. The old cities of in Agra, Lucknow and Delhi in India andLahore, Multan, Peshawar, Hyderabad in Pakistan have many fine exam ples of Mughal-style havelis.

FAMOUS HAVELIS OF INDIA The term Haveli was first applied in Rajasthan by the Vaishnava sect to refer to their temples in Gujarat. In the northern part of India havelis for Lord Krishna are prevalent with huge mansion like constructions. The havelis are noted for their frescoes depicting images of gods, goddesses, animals, scenes from the British colonization, and the life stories of Lords Rama and Krishna.

Figure 1 Entrance arch of a haveli

Later on these temple architectures and frescoes were imitated while building huge individual mansions and now the word is popularly recognized with the mansions themselves. Between 1830 and 1930, Marwari's erected buildings in their homeland, Shekhawati and Marwar. These buildings were called havelis. The Marwaris commissioned artists to paint those buildings which were heavily influenced by the Mughal architecture. The havelis were status symbols for the Marwaris as well as homes for their extended families, providing security and comfort in seclusion from the outside world. The havelis were to be closed from all sides with one large main gate. The typical havelis in Shekhawati consisted of two courtyards — an outer one for the men which serves as an extended threshold, and the inner one, the domain of the women. The largest havelis could have up to three or four courtyards and were two to three stories high. Most of the havelis are empty nowadays or are maintained by a watchman (typically an old man). These havelis are major attraction for tourists in Rajasthan. The towns and villages of Shekhawati are famous for the embellished frescoes on the walls of their grandiose havelis, to the point of becoming popular tourist attractions. The havelis in and around Jaisalmer Fort(also known as the Golden Fort), situated in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, of which the three most impressive are Patwon Ki Haveli, Salim Singh Ki Haveli, and Nathmal-Ki Haveli, deserve special mention. These were the elaborate homes of Jaisalmer's rich merchants. The ostentatious carvings etched out in sandstone with infinite detail and then painstakingly pieced Figure 2 Haveli at Mandawa, Rajasthan together in different patterns each more lavish than the next were commissioned to put on show the owner's status and wealth. Around Jaisalmer, they are typically carved from yellow sandstone.They are often characterized by wall paintings, frescoes, jharokhas (balconies) and archways.

The Patwon Ji ki Haveli is the most important and the largest haveli, as it was the very first erected in Jaisalmer. It is not a single haveli but a cluster of 5 small havelis. The first one in the row is also the most popular one and is also known as Kothari's Patwa Haveli. The first among these was commissioned and constructed in the year 1805 by Guman Chand Patwa, then a rich trader of jewellery and fine brocades, and is the biggest and the most ostentatious. Patwa was a rich man and a renowned trader of his time and he could afford and thus order the construction of separate stories for each of his 5 sons. These were completed in the span of 50 years. All five houses were constructed in the first 60 years of the 19th century. Patwon Ji Ki is renowned for its ornate wall paintings, intricate yellow sandstone-carved jharokhas (balconies), gateways and archways. Although the building itself is made from yellow sandstone, the main gateway is brown.

Figure 3 Patwon Ki Haveli.

HAVELIS OF SHEKHAWATI Shekhawati is a semi-arid historical region located in the northeast part of Rajasthan, India got its name from Shekhawat Rajputs. It encompasses the administrative districts of Jhunjhunu and Sikar. From the administrative and geographical point of view Shekhawati is limited to Jhunjhunu and Sikar districts only. It is bounded on the northwest by Jangladesh region, on the northeast by Haryana, on the east by Mewat, on the southeast by Dhundhar, on the south by Ajmer, on the southwest by Marwar regions. However, some parts of Churu and Nagaur districts are also considered in the Shekawati region.

ARCHITECTURE In Shekhawati frescoes were initially introduced by Shekhawat Rajputs in their Forts and Palaces and the towns in the Shekhawati region are known for their painted havelis. This region has been recognised as the "open art gallery of Rajasthan" having the largest concentration of frescos in the world. The Marwaris from Marwar was the influential business community in the Shekhawati region, and they prospered until the beginning of the 19th century, due to the caravan routes that crossed the area to reach the ports of Gujarat. But from 1820 onwards, many left their families behind and migrated to Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, which were gaining importance as main trade centers where they had great financial success. The descendants of these rich merchants have permanently settled down in the towns their ancestors migrated to. The Shekhawati region has produced large number of Marwaris who are dominant factor in the economy of India. About 80 percent of big industrial Figure 4 Shekhawati painted houses.

houses are managed by Marwaris. India's richest industrialists of the century, such as theBirlas and Dalmia, are Marwaris. Today, the main trading and industrial

houses of India have their roots in Shekhawati. Between 1830 and 1930, they erected buildings in their homeland, Shekhawati, as evidence of their success. As the ultimate symbol of their opulence, the Marwaris commissioned artists to paint those buildings. Most of the buildings of the Shekhawati region were constructed from 18th century to the early 20th century. During the British occupation, traders adapted this style for their buildings. The havelis are noted for

their frescos depicting mythological and historical themes. The frescos include images of gods, goddesses, animals, life history of Lords Rama and Krishna, profusely painted on the havelis in this region. Marwaris have played an important role in the development of Shekhawati region. Their major contribution to the Shekhawati region is in the field of education. Marwaris have also played a leading role in Indian Independence Movement. They provided financial help in running the freedom movement.

CLIMATE TEMPERATURE - Maximum temperature in summers rises up to 45°C while night temperatures fall to 20°C. winter days are temperate around 8°C while night temperatures reduce to just above freezing. RAINFALL - Annual rainfall is 600mm falling largely in the months of July-October. HUMIDITY - Apart from monsoon season, RH is terribly lowcategorising the climate as Hot Dry. WIND - Throughout the year dominant wind comes from NW quadrant and late in the monsoon SW winds are experienced. The winds temperature is hot in summers while very cold in winters. The only times when winds are preferred inside the building are summer nights and monsoon days.

Figure 5 Laxmangarh fort of Sikar

SANDSTORMS - Dust storms and sandstorms are very common both during day and night. SOLAR RADIATION - the solar radiation in intense around 700-800 Kcal/Sqm with sky being clear almost throughout the year.

PASSIVE COOLING DESIGN STRATEGY  Compact settlement plan, introvert buildings (in case the heat production of buildings is low as in traditional buildings).  Narrow north-south streets with tall buildings on both sides to cut off sun.  Plantation of deciduous trees near or inside the building.  Ground surface should preferably be green and soft, but in case of Figure 6 Narrow north south streets cutting off the sun. hard surfaces, rough and light colored paving shall be used.  Perimeter/Area ratio shall be less.  Shaded courtyards to facilitate ventilation and lower daytime temperatures inside.  Reduction of exposed surfaces and shading of all the exposed surfaces, thus common walls between houses.  Least exposure to east and west orientation.  Minimal surface area to volume ratio thus resulting in taller buildings with shared wall surfaces. Figure 7 Effect of Surface area to volume ratio  Flat or Domical roof forms.  Appropriate shading to openings using thick wooden shutters or materials with low thermal capacity.

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Bottle neck openings or Jalis to enhance ventilation and reduce temperatures. Fenestration shall be oriented north Shading devices such as louvers or Jharookhas to shade openings from sun. Materials having high thermal capacity and low conductivity for structure. Heavy thermal mass of structure. Insulation layer not directly exposed to the sun. Light colours on exterior. Smooth reflective surface on roof to reduce direct heat gain.

PASSIVE COOLING FEATURES IDENTIFIED IN SHEKHAWATI HAVELIS For the study and analyses purpose one of the case studies is documented here. It is a small scale Haveli having only two courtyards that according to the yardsticks of Shekhawati is the minimum number of courtyards. Following are the passive features identified in Shekhawati Havelis COMPACT SETTLEMENT PLAN The heat production from the buildings is very low thus a compact planning helps in reducing heat gain. It also allows mutual shading by buildings. It reduces the area of exposed surfaces . NARROW STREETS WITH TALL BUILDINGS AROUND It helps in shading the streets thus allowing less of direct sunlight during daytime and makes the movement easy for people. It also helps in lowering the ambient air temperature surrounding the building envelope by shading.

Figure 8 Ground Floor Plan and First Floor Plan of a Small Haveli, Dundlod, Shekhawati, Rajasthan

COURTYARD PLANNING Internal courtyard with high building mass all around it leads to induced ventilation, lowering of temperatures by convective cooling and natural lighting. HEAVY STRUCTURE Heavy building envelope stores larger amount of heat due to large heat capacities and creates a larger time lag. This helps in keeping the inside cool during daytime when it is most inconvenient outside.

Figure 11 Photograph from roof level showing compact courtyard planning

Figure 9 Compact settlement allowing for mutual shading

CEILING HEIGHTS The habitable rooms were found to have ceiling height larger than 3.5 m while the other spaces like the ones made as viewing gallery for women which were to be used temporarily and occasionally, were only 2.5 – 1.8 m high. This meant a larger air mass resulting in lower

Figure 10 Inner room showing heavy construction

temperatures. SHADED COLONNADES AND SEMI OPEN AREAS All buildings are planned with some areas being semi open. These spaces are used during the daytime and in rains. Such areas received fairly good light and natural ventilation induced by combination of courtyards and wind towers. FLAT ROOFS WITH INSULATION LAYER The roofs are constructed flat with stone slabs jointed with lime mortar. Above that a layer of inverted earthen pots to create an air layer for insulation. On the top of it again a layer of lime mortar finished with reflective smooth material like broken pieces of porcelain pots of white wash to reflect most of the sunlight falling on it. Figure 12 Arrangement of semi open areas around courtyard

SMALL OPENINGS WITH THICK SHUTTERS, JALI SCREENS AND JHAROOKHAS Due to hot and dusty winds, natural ventilation inside the building during day is not desirable. Thus small openings are provided. These openings are opened during nighttime to allow convective cooling. During daytime the thick wooden shutters having low thermal capacity are closed. All the openings are shaded with projections covered all around with perforated stone screens known as Jharookhas. This allows cooling of air by venturi effect phenomenon. Figure 13 Transverse Section Through Internal courtyard

WIND TOWERS The staircase mumty was taken higher and each room was provided an opening from it to allow forced ventilation. This allowed convective cooling during night and induced ventilation during day. MATERIALS FOR CONSTRUCTION The stone was used along with lime mortar. Lime mortar allowed keeping lower temperatures inside the building. Stone helped in creating time lag due to high thermal capacities. EXTERNAL SMOOTH SURFACE PAINTED IN LIGHT COLOURS Carving was not possible on the local stone available around Shekhawati. Thus instead of providing a rough surface, which would also have allowed inter granular shading, a smooth surface was created. To break the monotony of the flat white surfaces, painting was done with variety of colours all obtained from natural stones or vegetables.

Figure 14 Photograph showing Jharookha

DIFFERENCE IN THE PAVING OF INNER AND OUTER COURTYARD Inner courtyard was generally kept soft with some vegetation (generally Tulsi) in the centre while the outer courtyard was paved with stones. In between the two was a transitory space with Figure 15 Longitudinal Section Through Both Courtyards deferred entry and a small opening .All activities of washing, bathing etc were performed in the inner court and also since it was more shaded, it remained cooler than the outer hard one.

This heated the air in the outer courtyard and the lighter air rose up. This induced draft of cooler air from the inner courtyard. Thus the transition space always received cool air draft and was generally called the Barsati and was the favourite place to sit during day and rainy season.

Figure 16 Street façade showing elaborate painting on walls

CONCLUSION After studying the Havelis of Shekhawati in detail, following conclusion can be made –  The Havelis respond most appropriately to the climate and society of the place in terms of material selection, spatial organization, construction techniques and use of passive design features.  With the combined effect of all features, the inside of the building always provided a comfortable environment when the environment outside was uncomfortable (throughout the year).

Figure 17 From inner courtyard to the outer courtyard through transition space

 The same space could not provide the desired comfort in all seasons. Thus there were a variety of spaces (open, semi open and enclosed), which were used, in different seasons and times of day.  Winters - Courtyards are the center of activities during the entire days. During night, the enclosed rooms are preferred as they have higher temperature than the ambient air outside.  Summers - Semi-open spaces and enclosed rooms are used more during the daytime. High ceiling and the nature of stone to heat slowly contribute to the thermal comfort during the daytime. Courtyards are used during the nighttimes as the rooms inside become hotter than the outside temperatures.  Rains - Movement of air in the Semi open spaces and the transition spaces more comfortable than the rooms.

REFRENCES  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haveli  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shekhawati  Shekhawati: urbanism in the semi-desert of India A climatic study - Avlokita Agrawal, Prof. R.K. Jain and Prof. Rita Ahuja – IIT Roorke.