Interiors

Hat rack from a dry branch

Pots in the library.

Photos by me from Thekkanattu Parayil, Olavipe.
Copyright reserved.
Click on images for enlarged view.

Also see: Kerala Architecture: Interiors

Kerala Architecture: Nalukettu for modern times

Site specific nalukettu houses for modern living can be certainly designed by a competent architect. Nalukettu, in its original concept, was not meant as stand alone living quarters. It was usually part of a large house and meant for the day use of women and children.


Old ‘tharavads’ were large structures with several rooms. Each family unit (in the case of joint families) had its own quarters (usually a room or two) which were not self contained. The ladies had to necessarily come to the nalukettu for access to the kitchen and other connected facilities. This led to better interaction between the members of the larger family group.


A bit of nostalgia here. In my childhood, when Appan. was in the house the evening prayers were in the prayer room. Otherwise Ammachi (see Oru Desathinte Amma.) and the children said them in the nalukettu.


Shortly after that was dinner. Sometimes Ammachi gave the small children food in the nalukettu. She would roll rice and curries into small balls and mouth feed each one. Food never tasted better and we ended up eating more than we would have on the dining table. Often Ammachi would tell us stories, or sing.


One advantage of nalukettu was that the ladies could keep an eye on what was happening in the‘puras’ (outhouses, each for a specific purpose, like ‘urappura’ for pounding rice) and the kitchen. They could also see the gatehouses and visitors coming in.


Today’s needs are different of course. I suppose a good architect would, before starting work on a house design, study the living habits and requirements of the family concerned. Mr. Laurie Baker, the famous architect (see Laurie Baker - A Tribute.) once told me that his professor used to accept about six assignments a year for designing homes. He would spend considerable time at the clients' residence to study their lifestyle.


I assume that the per square foot construction cost of nalukettu would not be any more than that of other types of houses. But the land value of the ‘nadumuttam’ (inner courtyard) also has to be taken into account while estimating the total outlay.


I am putting off other observations on nalukettu to another post which I plan to do with a rough layman’s design (I am no architect); otherwise this post would become too long. I started writing this as a response to comments on my writings on Kerala architecture. Some of them are listed below:
Kerala architecture: Verandas, corridors of a nalukettu house

Kerala architecture: Mansion of the Marquises

Kerala architecture – ‘Ara’ in heritage homes

Kerala architecture: More on nalukettu
Kerala Architecture: Interiors
Kerala Architecture: Nalukettu, ettukettu, pathinarukettu
Kerala Architecture: Prayer room of a heritage home
Kerala heritage home: grill-work
Kerala Architecture - Olavipe Heritage Home
Lions that guard Thekkanattu Parayil
The House That Grandfather Built.
Interior of a heritage home.
OLAVIPE: Heritage Home of Thekkanattu Parayil Tharakans.

Kerala Architecture: Another Parayil heritage home

Ends.

Lifestyle – Canoe to counter

A thatched roof shed supported by areca and bamboo poles, at Olavipe. The thatching material is coconut palm fronds. Floor of white sand. The canoe is real. It makes a good bar/food counter. Alongside it is a grill.

Day or night it’s good place to spend time. I love best to sit there during monsoon. The rainfall beats a tattoo on the roof and there is music in the air. Eat, drink, or just sit and watch. Read a book. Or listen to the sounds. Doze off sometimes.

I took these photos (copyright reserved) last month at Olavipe. Click on them for enlarged view.



Also see:

God's own dream

Kerala Photos: Sun shines on Olavipe

Nostalgia: Punkah, the manually operated ceiling fan

Imagine hot summer nights and days before there was electricity? Hand held fans were fine when one was awake and doing nothing. Or one could have a servant doing the fanning. But it would generate only limited air movement barely sufficient for the face and the torso.

The alternative was a punkah. Merriam Webster Online Dictionary defines it as “a fan used especially in India that consists of a canvas-covered frame suspended from the ceiling and that is operated by a cord”.

Operating the fan was done by servants known as punka wallahs taking turns. The cord would be passed through a pulley on a door or wall. Drawing on the line moved the fan to and fro, creating air circulation.

Originally the punkahs were made of bamboo or light wood frames and Palmyra leaves. They were portable in case the sahib or the lord wanted to, say, sit under a tree. Then wooden frames suspended on the ceiling indoors with canvas or thick cloth to sweep the air, were introduced.


Not only the palaces and the bungalows but also churches in India had punkahs, rows of them. The New York Times dated January 6, 1884 carried an interesting report on the subject. You can read it at:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9806E0DA1538E033A25755C0A9679C94659FD7CF

How many generations of punkah wallahs have passed on after spending their lives tugging the ropes of the punkahs? What thoughts went through their minds while sitting outside an office chamber during the day, or bedroom at nights, silently carrying on the monotonous chore hour after hour?

Most of them were men of honor. Many secrets, heard, seen, while keeping their masters comfortable, went along with them as they vanished into history.

[The photographs (copyright reserved) are from the ancestral home of the Thekkanattu Parayil Tharakans at Olavipe, Kerala. Click on them for enlarged view.]

Ends.

Also see:

Nostalgia: A clock of time

Olakkuda – Palmyra leaf umbrella

Lions that guard Thekkanattu Parayil

Kerala architecture: Verandas, corridors of a nalukettu house

Images from Thekkanattu Parayil Tharakans' heritage home at Olavipe.

Gatehouse corridor. Photo: KO Isaac

Eastern veranda downstairs. Photo: AT.

Western veranda downstairs. Photo: AT

Eastern veranda upstairs: Photo: TP

Corridor to the nalukettu. Photo: AT

Ends.
Also see:

Kerala architecture: Mansion of the Marquises

Kerala Architecture: Interiors

Kerala Architecture: Exterior of a heritage home

Kerala Architecture - Olavipe Heritage Home