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Part 2 - Why Rajasthan Built Cities Around Wells

When British officers began travelling through Rajasthan in the nineteenth century, they expected to find forts, palaces, and temples. Instead, they found entire structures built below ground. At places like Abhaneri, hundreds of stone steps descended deep into the earth. Some were larger than many buildings above them. To modern eyes, they looked almost impossible. Why would anyone invest so much effort in architecture that was largely hidden from view? The answer was water. For centuries, communities across western India faced a problem that remains familiar today: long dry seasons and unreliable rainfall. Their solution was the stepwell. In western India, stepwells became an essential response to hot, semi-arid conditions and unreliable rainfall, allowing communities to store monsoon water for use throughout the dry season.  Known variously as baoris, baolis, vavs, or vapis, these structures collected monsoon water and kept it accessible throughout the long dry months of the yea...
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The house I grew up in

As the title states, I am sharing the architecture of the home where I spent my childhood. 
Two decades back, my parents purchased a 2 BHK flat which would serve as a permanent residence (as my hometown was far >1700 km). The only condition being that the flat should be at ground floor level with a garden.

Below is the layout of the flat :

Existing plan of 2 BHK flat
Photo by: Mitu B 

  • Plot area = 1350 sq.ft (125 sq.m) 
  • Built up area = 620 sq.ft (57 sq.mt) 
  • Floor level: Ground floor
  • Orientation: West facing
  • Construction type: Brick masonry construction with plaster and paint finish. 
  • Flooring : Vitrified tile and paver block at garden area.
  • Wall cladding : Vitrified tile for Toilet and Ceramic tile for Kitchen splash back.
  • Window frame material: Aluminium 
  • Door frame material: Wood 

Areas: 

  • Living room

  • Kitchen
Photo by: Mitu B
  • Powder room (marked as WC)
Photo by: Mitu B
    • Bath
    • Bedroom-02
    Photo by: Mitu B
    • Balcony -03
    • Garden
    Since the flat was built during the late 1990s, the building bye laws and amenities differ a lot from today. For instance, there was no provision of lifts or fire escape stair which would be mandatory today. 





    Plan renovated to create more areas
    Photo by: Mitu B

    After a decade of its construction, my father thought of renovating the existing garden to develop additional areas which include:
    • Dining room
    Photo by: Mitu B
    • Toilet 
    • Deck


    Following are the images of the garden area several years after the redevelopment : 

    Garden area behind Bedroom
    Photo by: Mitu B

    Deck
    Photo by: Mitu B

    Garden area behind Dining and Toilet
    Photo by: Mitu B

    While writing about this post, all of my childhood memories spent here came rushing back to me. 

    It has been more >20 years since it was built and even though the house has survived an earthquake (Magnitude 7.7 Mw) and a flood (house was submerged in water for 4 days), it still stands strong today. 

    !!!Home Sweet Home!!!

                       
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