The vernacular architectures are a source of history, a standing archive of how people lived in the past. The connection one feels to an old house is inexplicable and enigmatic. Ancient architectures play an essential role in connecting a person to their heritage and culture . However, apathy towards our history and historical legacies have made these buildings more vulnerable to ruination. Whenever I see vernacular architecture, whether it be a traditional house or any other vernacular place, I get a sense of belongingness that makes me feel connected to it. I imagine the ways of living in the past, the lifestyle of those people, their culture. That is the beauty of space. A space or an architecture has the power to take you back into the past, to make you travel time.
Head Of Academics at Naropa Fellowship, Anuja Dasgupta, once said to me that spaces are built in a way to make us feel in a particular way. She gave examples of places of worship and ‘The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe’ also known as ‘the Holocaust Memorial’. Designed by architect Peter Eisenmen and engineer Buro Happold it is a memorial to the holocaust victims. The fact that is designed in the form of a maze speaks for itself. As a maze is a symbol is a symbol for entrapment and confusion, one can imagine how it might feel if we go into it. Similarly, traditional houses and old architectures have their own stories of creation. These were the homes, the landmarks, the safe havens of the people who designed them, built them up, stone by stone, plank by plank. As a result, they are a link to our past and thus, need to be preserved, for us, for our future generations.
I have been in love with so many of these buildings since my childhood and watching them being rebuilt and recast into a completely modern form, with no touch of culture makes me sad. The before and after picture of an old shrine in the Panikhar region of Kargil shows the unthoughtful adaptations of modern architecture in Ladakh constructive discussions, proper planning and designing could have restored this architecture or constructed it while keeping the history intact. I grew up going to this place and seeing this re-constructed shrine was indeed heart-breaking for me. The sense of belongingness was missing.
The importance of vernacular architectures needs to be understood by each individual. The race to modernization is destroying the past in many ways. The generation that is destroying the architectures to get updated and developed is keeping no thread attached to the past for themselves or for their upcoming generations. The young generations and people with critical thinking will look for their existence and beliefs. If preservation is not possible, at least architecture can be rebuilt in a traditional way keeping the culture alive.
There is no need to destroy a thing; it can be modified while preserving ethnicity.
While on a trip to my friend’s place in Mudh Changthang, we encountered a beautiful small traditional old house. We met Abi Tsering lay outside, who warmly clicked a picture with us and invited us inside for a tea. The interior of the tiny house was a typical ancient one. There was a small hole on the roof, from where sunshine was breaming upon abi lay. While she was sitting in front of her” thap.” On being asked about her home, Abilay expressed her wish to stay in that house only. She said that her great-grandfather built the house, and no one ever destroyed the house; only two years back, some renovations were done to keep the house intact and just. Abi lay says that the house makes her feel good and comfortable. However, her son is soon getting married, so they might have to re-construct the house or build a new one. Her wish to stay in that house can be seen in the sparkle of her home. I hope the place gets restored traditionally.
To know more about the vernacular designs and to wonder about the reasons behind the constant destruction of old architectures and ignorance of vernacular structures in Ladakh, I ended up talking about some amazing personalities, and I will try my best to put their words into this article. One such person is Dr. Quentin Devers, a permanent researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), an extremely enthusiastic research scholar. If I have to put Quentin’s feelings into words, I can say that Dr. Quentin is more concerned and connected to the old architecture and heritage of Ladakh than any other Ladakhi is. Talking to Quentin, he feels that traditional houses are much more comfortable than the concrete ones built these days. He lives in an old house that he restored where nobody had lived for ten years, and he feels that the house is more comfortable than any other nearby house. Ancient architectures can be modernized with running water and electricity. Quentin described the importance of vernacular designs; he says,” Old methods use mud bricks (pacbu), which provides insolation, thus keeping the house warm and cozy. Other features such as low ceiling that helps in heating the room quickly. Rooms used to be small, and these days rooms are so gigantic, and when winter arrives, everyone gathers in one room; the grand and gigantic rooms are of no use for most of the time. Our people in the past made such designs because of some specific reasons”. On asking about the reasons, Quentin says that “people want to have something modern and cement is considered modern because it is maintenance-free. However, that’s a misconception because if there is a crack in the cement, it’s difficult to fix it, whereas mud houses may need more maintenance, and it’s easy to fix cracks and others.” Another reason that Quentin feels is the societal pressure, wherein people think that if a neighbour is building something, he has to compete with them by making something like that or better.
Another esteemed person I luckily got a chance to talk to is Mr. Yutaka Hirako, an eminent architect from Japan. He has been working with the Tibet Heritage Fund (THF) since 1998 in China, Mongolia, and India. Since 2012 he has served as Program Director of Tibet Heritage Fund and Leh Old Town Initiative (LOTI), expanding his working area to the Himalayan regions of Sikkim and Ladakh. He is working to conserve Leh Old Town and to create a heritage zone and set of guidelines. Hirako’s conservation work won UNESCO Asia Pacific awards in 2009 and 2011.
Mr. Yutaka expressed THF’s journey as a story that started in 1996 as a mission to restore the heritage of Lhasa that was facing destruction due to various developmental activities. The idea of THF is to conserve the historic buildings, and eventually, it expanded to the entire Himalayas. When asking about their initial idea of coming to Ladakh, Yutaka said, “Someone mentioned Ladakh to one of the co-founders of THF, André Alexander, as it has similar architecture. When Andre visited Ladakh in 2003, he got very interested in preserving the entire city because all the historic structures were intact, compared to Lhasa, where it is almost destructed. He showed very much interest to preserve the old city”. Yutaka and the team initially started social surveying and looking for young people from Ladakh; they formed Leh Old Town Initiative (LOTI). Yutaka and the team’s primary approach is community-based cultural heritage conservation that considers the people living in the historic houses as an essential part. To improve their lifestyle sustainably is the aim of Yutaka’s team. Yutaka and his team live inside the town with the people to understand their conditions and difficulties. Considering Ladakh’s status, Yutaka expresses, “In China, property, and land belongs to the state. People don’t have a choice. The govt decides everything, and people were delighted with THF’s work as we were preserving the culture, whereas, in India, people have a choice. Here people destroy by choice”. Another reason that Yutaka saw here in Ladakh amazed me to the core is that he also noticed the competition of building better houses, which is societal pressure. People are copying each other without even thinking.
The curious question that I had while talking to Yutaka was the reaction of people towards his work and his personal views on Ladakh’s architecture. Yutaka says that more and more people are approaching his team as they witness the historical buildings coming up to the standard. Yutaka keeps on emphasizing and convincing people to preserve the houses traditionally. Yutaka tries to make people understand the importance of the vernacular design of housings in Ladakh that is more fit, environment friendly, and unique than the rest of India. They have two approaches to the conservation of cultural heritage:
-Primary approach is for the historical places, mostly Monasteries, temples, and mosques. Here they try to preserve the original as much as possible, whether the space, layout, materials, and paintings.
-Secondary approach is for residences. Here new elements are used to improve and make it more comfortable while keeping the cultural touch intact. Yutaka gave a classic example of thap, the traditional stove. “The traditional thap is so placed in the kitchen that it makes the sitting area comfortable and warm while food is getting ready on the thap along with the Ama lay sitting and doing her domestic chores on the other side. This kind of space is arranged according to the culture. Somehow these days thap is not necessary or functional over the year, but we try to preserve this beautiful part of culture because it is connected to the past. For us, it is important to connect to people’s memory in the house. We get this culture from our past, and it is our responsibility to hand it over to the future. This is the work of conservation, and today people have a choice, either to erase the memory or continue the spirit”.
Sootradhar, a project started by three cultural enthusiasts Shivani Sharma, an architect; Varun Mann, an architect and Jigmet Stobdan, a travel guide by profession from Ladakh, started this project under Naropa Fellowship. Their mission is to develop rural areas and establish sustainable construction and tourism practices. Shivani Sharma says, “With our initiative Sootradhar, we conserve and convert heritage property for responsible tourism through volunteering and public participation. We aim to achieve this conservation work through architectural and other cultural workshops. These workshops are in collaboration with local artisans and farmers. This project not only helps us to complete the conservation work but also teaches and encourages cultural practices.”
For a few years, Ladakh has been witnessing a wave of conserving its heritage and culture. The young generation is doing their best to preserve the culture. Various structures, be it a residential house, hotels, or other buildings, are being constructed in a vernacular manner that speaks for themselves. Dolkhar Ladakh, a self-sustained and organic resort in the Ladakh, whose aim is to create a site where eco-consciousness meets luxury, using only local methods of construction and local materials is an exemplary when it comes to vernacular architecture. Let’s keep the connection with our past and make Ladakh heritage heaven for the world.
