Jaat Architecture, Mirror of the Past

and Shadow of Future

Monali Wankar Chakraborty(&) and Bikramjit Chakraborty

Gateway College of Architecture and Design, Sonepat, Haryana, India

{mwankar,vikcon}@gmail.com

Abstract. Transformation and modernisation are the challenges that are being
faced by all settlements across the globe. In this context of process of evolution,
the relevance of traditional vernacular architecture and its regional identity is
subverted by the homogeneous universally accepted contemporary version of
architecture. This phenomena is recognised rarely and then in the process of
addressing the issue we start making a newer definition of “heritage”, without
understanding the value embedded in traditional architecture. Therefore in
contemporary image building process, this embedded knowledge is not recog-
nised and thus lead to natural death. The 64 NCR districts around NCT have
several settlements, which are still carrying the evidence of traditional housing,
but very few of them have been maintained in their original condition to present.
Most of these houses, owned by local residents, generally are transformed as a
part of contemporary pressure of urban growth and are getting converted to
homogeneous archetype to accommodate the daily needs. The present situation
in the NCR with its regional plans and other policies, have a lackadaisical
approach towards the cultural resources. It is focussed more responding to the
contemporary need by producing a homogenised space and subverting the
plurality and uniqueness. There is a need to embrace the transformation along
with the cultural resources lying already otherwise we will not be able to con-
nect the culture in contemporary times giving rise to more contradictions and
conflicts. This paper deals with the process of documenting village settlements
of one NCR district, Sonepat located under Haryana State administrative
boundary abutting to delhi state boundary at its south east. Mythologically the
district Sonepat is connected with Mahabharata period where as historically it
has experienced major events during Mughal era. The district settlements still
bear a regional architectural style characterised as Jaat architecture. The paper is
a part of the ongoing research and listing of the cultural resource identification
and mapping of the District Sonepat with INTACH a NGO with a mission to
conserve heritage to enhance the quality of life. The identification of content and
its meaning, still alive in the region is the main aim of this paper, to be reinstated
further by following the process of conservation. This paper is an endeavour to
bring the-not-so popular cultural landscapes with regional significance, in vis-
ibility so that measures can be taken to protect these dying cultural landscapes in
the process of being extant to extinct.

Keywords: National Capital Region of Delhi
Vernacular
Jaat architecture

Policies
Cultural heritage

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018

G. Amoruso (ed.), Putting Tradition into Practice: Heritage, Place and Design,
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 3, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57937-5_110
 Jaat Architecture, Mirror of the Past and Shadow of Future 1069

1 Introduction
1.1 Background
India is a varied South-Asian Country bounded by Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Bay of
Bengal and Himalayas, rendering a wide geographical richness to the country. There is
also a wide cultural diversity in the Country which divides it as per geographical,
historical and cultural influences. Administratively speaking, India has 29 States and 7
Union territories and New Delhi being the Capital of the Country. New Delhi, officially
called as the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city as well as Union
territory of India. The NCT of Delhi comprises several districts from states of Rajas-
than, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Sonepat is a District and city of Haryana State
popularly called as the land of Jaats (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Sonepat district (Map produced by Sonepat chapter, INTACH, Gateway College of
Architecture and Design, Sonepat, Haryana)

1.2 Historical Context

It is believed that this area has historical significance from the Buddha period. In
Medieval period, the region had gained a lot of significance due to its location. It was
ruled over by the Tomar Rajputs. During the Delhi Sultanate period established in
1206, on account of the nearness to Delhi, Sonepat continued to be of importance
during the Balban and Tughlaq dynasties. Babar had laid foundations of his empire in
Sonepat taking advantage of the chaotic conditions in the region. It continued to be
1070 M.W. Chakraborty and B. Chakraborty

important part during the entire Mughal period. In 1710, Kokaltash Khan was given the
charge of Sonepat. In 1739 when Muhmad Shahand Nadir Shah also influenced the
Sonepat and Karnal areas. This entire tract had become a prey to complete anarchy in
the third quarter of the 18th Century. It formed a sort of no man’s land between the
Sikh and Maratha powers, coveted by both but protected by neither. The presence of
classical buildings like the British Jail, post office buildings, police posts and official
buildings in old Sonepat, proves that this region remained important even during
British reign.
Hence in the north-zone, the traditional architecture emerged witnessing the
influence of various historic periods. Further, in the post-independence period, the
villages still continued to have influence of the historic period with interplay of the
‘style of living’ being developed. This was dependent on the religious beliefs, day to
day life, agrarian society, social system, administration, weather etc. The research is an
endeavour to trace this or of any other such influential factor on the vernacular style. In
modern times, the built environment shows alterations in the architectural style in a
manner wherein the rigorous touch of ‘development’ is evident. Thus it becomes
crucial to understand this phenomenon and find mechanisms and strategies to withhold
the regional identity of the area.

1.3 Climatic Context

The climatic condition of India is also diverse. The Northern part of India experiences
severe cold as well as extreme hot summer. As one proceeds toward the southern part
of the country the winter goes less severe while the temperature keeps rising. The
regional architecture thus developing in different parts of the country reflect to the
prevailing conditions and thus show wide typological range. The climatic condition of
Haryana State prevails hot summers average with an average of 45 °C while in winters
it may fall up to even 3–4 °C average, while the rainfall is moderate. River Yamuna
with its rivulets flows along the eastern side of Haryana making the land very fertile
and suitable for agriculture.
Thus the regional architectural style developed here contains features like courtyard
houses to give comfort against scorching summers. The location and size of courtyard
is such that it acts conducive even during the winters. Moreover, the fertility of the soil
due to the flowing rivers and tributaries in this area has given rise to the agrarian society
The pattern of settlement as well as the typology of residences developed here also
reflect the ‘agrarian nature’ of the people.

1.4 Socio-Economic Context of Sonipat and Haryana

The society of Haryana are divided into three broad strata i.e. Upper caste, Middle
Caste and Lower Caste. This kind of social structure is present historically in the
country wherein the entire society is divided in four varnas i.e. Brahmins, the priests,
scholars and teachers; Kshatriyas, the rulers, warriors and administrators; Vaishyas, the
merchants and Shudras, the labourers and service providers. Similarly in Haryana, this
 Jaat Architecture, Mirror of the Past and Shadow of Future 1071

system is evidently visible. The upper caste here mainly include the landowning or
traditionally religious people who are called Jaats and Brahmans respectively. The
middle class includes the major working class including goldsmiths, carpenters, potters
etc. while the lower caste include people working for menial activities like sweeping or
the caste engaged in working with leather or animal skin products. Most of the village
activities are carried under the guidance of the upper caste; hence, this vertical system
seems to work very efficiently.
Therefore, it becomes imperative that the social systems practiced even today
which are a reflection of the day to day behaviour, education, employment, lifestyle and
more so architecture and inhabitation - be researched.

2 Objectives, Research and Methodology

The main objective of the research is to study various contexts under which the
resultant regional architecture style has evolved. To identify the regional style, to
understand the factors of transformations and further propose mechanisms to reinstate
the losing cultural identity of the place.
The ground data collection is a part of the larger initiative by the National NGO,
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) which encourages
conscious and responsible citizen of the country to open a district chapter under the
state level governing body. The mission of INTACH is stated below:
1. Sensitize the public about the pluralistic cultural legacy of India
2. Instil a sense of social responsibility towards preserving India’s common
heritage
3. Protect and preserve India’s living, built, and natural heritage by undertaking
necessary actions and measures
4. Document unprotected buildings of archaeological, architectural, historic and
aesthetic significance, as well as the cultural resources, as this is the first step
towards formulating conservation plans
5. Develop heritage policies and regulations, and make legal interventions to
protect India’s heritage when necessary
6. Provide expertise in the field of conservation, restoration and preservation of
specific works of art; and encourage capacity-building by developing skills through
training programmes
7. Undertake emergency response measures during natural or man-made disasters
and support the local administration whenever heritage is threatened
8. Foster collaborations, Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and partnerships
with government and other national and international agencies
9. Generate sponsorships for conservation and educational projects
INTACH is working since 1984 in INDIA to achieve such goals and slowly generating
awareness throughout the country. Out of 707 districts in the country they have
motivated 190 districts to set up district chapters headed by a member who can take up
the initiative with the help of technical experts and conservation architects. INTACH
Sonipat chapter was established in 2008 under Prof. Anil Kumar who is a very senior
1072 M.W. Chakraborty and B. Chakraborty

academician in the field of architecture in India. Later the author in 2013 in her capacity
of handling conservation issues has conceptualised and taken initiative to implement
the project of listing of built, natural and cultural resources of the district. The district
comprises of 350 settlements and 90% of these settlements are in rural and semi rural
area where till date, agriculture is the major occupation. At the same time it was
observed during the initial pilot survey that approximately 50% of the settlement has
historic/traditional vernacular architecture stock which is transforming very rapidly due
to the close proximity of NCT of Delhi. Thus the work is very crucial at this stage and
without documentation, it is impossible to understand its nature. Thus the author has
adopted a method of careful observation which is bordered on ethnographic elements
embedded in it. Devoid of this, it will be impossible to develop an insight and harvest a
possible yield. Descriptive noting of the elements, an architectural tool has been used to
record the observation. The author has incorporated foot print drawings as an additional
tool to record the spatial character of these settlements. The methods have been
implemented very carefully with a small but dedicated team of students of the institute
who are now trained and familiar with the architectural vocabulary of the region. The
structure of the recording was initially designed in a detailed manner which later has
reduced and aligned to the universal format followed by the rest of the INTACH
chapters. An initial survey has been conducted in 50 settlements to understand the
pattern of the character of these settlements before deploying the format for the rest of
the district. At present work is still going on and has recorded 200 unique structures
which bear the identity of the traditional vernacular architecture.

3 Results

3.1 Typical Planning of Villages Sonepat, Haryana

Typical village of Haryana has a distinct character of habitation confined at one place
and agricultural fields all around it (Fig. 2). This reflects that agriculture is the principal
occupation here. The villages here are typically 100–130 years old. It is approached by
the main linkage road which may be called primary road and it connects one village to
another. Further, narrow roads lead to the core area which may be categorized as
secondary roads. These secondary roads are further divided to form tertiary streets
called galis. Houses are constructed on this network system of roads. In most of the
villages the main entrance of the village is marked by an area called as gora i.e. the
zone for cattle. The houses of the village are oriented back to back, typically facing the
front street and enclosed mostly on the other sides with agricultural fields on the rear
side representing the reticent nature of community and village both. This residential
area is inhabited as per the social structure of the village i.e. the whole area is divided as
per the caste system. The core of the village is dominated and occupied by the Jaats
and Brahmans surrounded by middle class and with lower caste in the periphery.
Other components of village are Jhors (water bodies), wells, public buildings such
as chaupal, cattle area, funerary area, religious buildings & trees and places of gath-
erings for daily life and cultural events. Jhors are man-made water bodies that are dug
even before the village is inhabited. These are tanks in organic shapes especially to
 Jaat Architecture, Mirror of the Past and Shadow of Future 1073

Fig. 2. Typical characteristics of Sonepat village

store the rain water, so that it is later used for drinking or cattle purposes. Jhors are dug
along the slope where there can be maximum catchment and ground water recharge is
possible. Number of jhor vary from village to village depending upon the population
and terrain (Fig. 3). Next to the jhors are found areas left exclusive for the cattle resting
and grazing area. Many dwellers of upper caste own cattle and therefore this area is
earmarked during the planning stage of a village. It is called as lahinda in local
terminology. The other important typology of buildings for public use, like chaupals
and dharamshalas. Chaupal is the main public place of the village where activities like
panchayat proceedings, community discussions, social matters, events etc. take place
(Fig. 4). Some area in the village is earmarked for funerary purposes called as
chehanrin or masann, ideally is located in the direction of the main jhor, for the
purpose of cleansing after funeral rituals before returning to the village.

3.2 Classical/Architectural Style and Typical Residential Unit

The regional architecture that has developed in this region due to the above mentioned
historical, geographical and cultural context is the Jaat style. This architectural style is
a reflection of Rajput, Mughal, British as well as local style, a culmination developed as
a result of past 400 years of multiple occupation. Typical Jaat house is on a rectangular
elongated plot with shorter side facing the street. The house layout is observed to be
introvert in nature with a small courtyard in the central position surrounded by
1074 M.W. Chakraborty and B. Chakraborty

Fig. 3. Jhor at village Gharwal, Haryana, India

Fig. 4. Typical Chaupal

rooms/spaces. This is evidently a feature that has been developed due to geographical
and climatic conditions. Courtyards play a very important role to protect the habitants
from severe summers and cold winters both.
The longer side of the house is divided into several bays constituting different
rooms or spaces of the house. The first room after the entrance is called as pauli, an
intermediate between the external and internal areas. This room is typically masculine
in its use with features like haras or fireplaces with cowdung cakes for smoking from
hukka. It is from this room that the staircase leads to the upper level. After pauli, the
next bay is called as chauk/courtyard, an open to sky core of the house, covered with
iron bars. This bay is actually divided into three areas with central one been the
courtyard and adjacent rooms called as dalans. These dalans are used as storage place
and kitchen area. Kitchen and courtyard, both are used as dining areas. The corner of
the courtyard near the kitchen space is used for cleaning of utensils. The next bay is a
living room called as sal, the area for women and children of the house. Activities like
spinning charkha, safe for jewellery and other expensive products are also located here
in sal. The last bay is divided into two rooms called as aobra. These rooms are closed
from all the sides serving as main store rooms wherein the foodgrains, dry fodder and
agriculture products are stored.
The entrance to the house is marked by arched entrance made of stone. Some
houses have single central arch while many have three-arched entrance with central
 Jaat Architecture, Mirror of the Past and Shadow of Future 1075

being the largest with motifs above the arch. In few houses this decorative motif is
more while in others it is less depending on the capacity and caste of the owner. The
main door is of intricately carved wood and sometimes with metal decorations at
corners. On both sides of the door are elevated platforms of carved stone for the
purpose of seating for interacting with the neighbourhood and is called chhotri. Chhotri
is typically at a height of 500 mm from the finished floor level. There are small niches
above the chhotri called as ala for lighting lamps. The upper floor or terrace is pro-
jected, resting on stone brackets. If the house is single-storied with a terrace, the
parapet also follows a typical pattern. It is often found to be of brick jaali or plain
parapet with slide mouldings (Fig. 5). There are houses iron members have been used
in the projected balcony fitted with iron railings.

Fig. 5. Haveli at Halalpur village, exterior

3.3 Material of Construction

The material used for construction is mainly exposed mud bricks from the external side
while plastered in the interiors. These bricks are of different sizes, ranging from brick
tiles called as lakhori or nanakshahi locally, to British size to modern brick. The walls
are brick load bearing structure. The courtyard houses are flanked by three arches on
stone columns. These columns have fluted body with floral decorations at the base and
capital (Fig. 6). Above the wooden rafters are laid stone slabs on which mud-lime thick
layer is laid and compacted. The final layer is either lime concrete layer or finished with
brick flooring depending the area of house.
1076 M.W. Chakraborty and B. Chakraborty

Fig. 6. Haveli at Halalpur village, interior

4 Conclusions

This kind of vernacular style of architecture is the regional style, Jaat architecture. But
the issue here is that the house owners are not sensitive of the heritage that they
possess. They are constantly altering the traditional spaces and fabric to suit modern
and easy construction techniques. Therefore, the regional architecture style is changing
gradually. The study reveals that maximum construction is happening post 1970s. The
contemporary construction techniques used for alterations is constantly changing the
character of these settlements.
The arched entrances are getting replaced by plain rectangular door openings. The
carved wooden doors and windows and replaced by plain wooden panel doors and
windows. New bricks are used for construction even for repair or consolidation works.
The external exposed brickwork of the facade is now redone with ceramic tiles or with
cement plaster. The interiors are also getting plastered by cement plaster covering
paintings, murals and carvings. The traditional roofing system of wooden rafters used
earlier are being replaced by I-sections and later by RCC. Buildings which are struc-
turally unstable are either demolished or neglected so that they get self deteriorated.
This raises the need to organize control at policy as well as local area level, which is
presently non-existent. Large number of city development plans and regional plans are
formulated without the concern of traditional context. It is imperative that the NCR
Planning Board develops a detailed plan taking into consideration the tangible and
intangible resources of the region. A well developed system of inclusion of stake-
holders, planning tools, regulatory and financial tools needs to be adopted. Availability
and accessibility at affordable prices of traditional materials in the region could be a
very instrumental strategy for sustenance of the regional style. The traditional
 Jaat Architecture, Mirror of the Past and Shadow of Future 1077

knowledge system of construction to be identified and encouraged. Capacity building

of the stakeholders is extremely important for availability of skills at local level.
Financial incentives, rewards and easily available bank loans need to be provided.
Tools like Corporate Social Responsibilities and similar innovative methods can also
be applied at the earliest.

References
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910. http://www.jstor.org/stable/669755
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(270):229–235. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43619001
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mission.php
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