LOCATION-KASHMIR

BY
V.BAVITHRA & ABIRAMI.S
 CONTENTS

 Geography
 Climate
 Flora & Fauna
 Architecture & Sculpture
 Cultural heritage
 Factors governing the construction methods and materials
 Economics
 Easy maintenance
 Geography
 General background information
 The valley of Kashmir-Rural
 Factors dictating local architecture
 The valley of Kashmir-Urban
 High-Elevation Hilly Regions Surrounding the Valley
 Low-Elevation Hilly Regions Surrounding the Valley
KASHMIR

 GEOGRAPHY

 Kashmir is situated at the crown of India.
 Kashmir is famous for its beauty and natural scenery throughout
the world. Its high snow-clad mountains, scenic spots, beautiful
valleys, rivers with ice-cold water, attractive lakes and springs and
ever-green fields, dense forests and beautiful health resorts,
enhance its grandeur and are a source of great attraction for
tourists.
 It is also widely known for its different kinds of agricultural
products, fruit, vegetables, saffron, herbs, minerals, precious stones
handicrafts like woolen carpets, shawls and finest kind of
embroidery on clothes. During summer, one can enjoy the beauty
of nature, trout fishing, big and small game hunting etc.; during
winter climbing mountain peaks and sports like skating and skiing
on snow slopes are commonly enjoyed . In addition to the above,
Pilgrimage to famous religious shrines of the Hindus and the
Muslims make Kashmir a great tourist attraction."If there is any
heaven on earth, it is here in Kashmir. "
 CLIMATE

 The seasons are marked with sudden change and the
year is divided into six seasons of two months each.
SEASONS MONTHS

SPRING Mar 15 – May 15

SUMMER May 15 – July 15

RAINY SEASON July 15 – Sept 15

AUTUMN Sept 15 – Nov 15

WINTER Nov 15 – Jan 15

ICE COLD Jan 15 – Mar 15

 FLORA & FAUNA

FLORA FAUNA

PINE BARKING DEER

DEODAR HIMALAYAN BLACK BOAR

POPLAR NILGAI

FIR RHESUS MONKEY

CHINAR SNOW LEOPARDS

 ARCHITECTURE &
SCULPTURE

 Drama, architecture, arid sculpture
flourished in Kashmir.
 Kashmir had access to draw from
artistic heritage of Guptas, Kushanas,
Turks, Romans, Chincse, Chauhans
and others till it reached the period of
A.D. 800.
 The temples in Kashmir are decorated
with thousands of sculptures of
various metals besides stone
including terracota and wood.
 The 100' high Avantiswami temple at
Bijbehara a world wonder, is in ruins
now, but the ruins speak of its
sophistication, elegance, and matured
artistic vision.
 CULTURAL HERITAGE

 The cultural heritage of Kashmir cuts across all the regional,
religious and ethnic barriers.
 The Sindh, Chenab and Jhelum which flow through the three
regions of this State, though originating from different sources,
have taken along their flow so many upheavals, calamities,
pangs and stories that it is simply impossible to reverse their
course of flow.
 The common cultural heritage of the State is reflected in
literature, language, religion, arts, crafts, music and pilgrimage
centres of the State.
 The years of give and take amongst the people of the State
resulting in cultural amalgamation to such an extent that
efforts to study and analyse the people and their culture are
stupendous.
 Buildings in Kashmir are
generally made
by the people for their own
use
without the help of architects.
The
various forms of construction
have
evolved over time with the
input of
each generation of artisans.
Traditional
rural buildings use locally
available
materials and skills. Typical houses in Kashmir…
 FACTORS GOVERNING
CONSTRUCTION METHODS AND
MATERIALS

Economics- in relation to people’s
spending capacity
Easy maintenance- by the common
person
Geography- natural conditions
 Economics…

 This is demonstrated most clearly by the use of brick
for construction, which is most economical in the
plains of the Kashmir Valley, and the use of stone,
which is most economical in the hills, on account of
their easy availability in the respective areas.
 The valley has soil that is most suitable to make
bricks, baked or unbaked. The mountains, on the
other hand, offer very little soil but have lots of stone
and rock.
 Maintenance…

 Maintenance requires materials and skills. Since
these are no different from what is required in
construction, the maintenance of rural structures is
easy and within the reach of ordinary people.
 However, if materials from outside the locality were
to be used, the maintenance of the structure would
become expensive.
 Geography…

 Winter cold is the most common natural factor
governing most of Kashmir. Thick walls of brick and
stone with mud plaster provide excellent protection
against this, as does a thick mud-timber roof.
 The lighter, pitched roof made of timber and CGI
sheets in combination with the attic floor also
ensures liveable conditions inside the house in
winter and summer.
 The steep pitch of the light roof permits little
accumulation of snow and prevents any water
leakages.
 GENERAL BACKGROUND
INFORMATION

 Traditional architecture in many places continues to
evolve, and Kashmiri rural architecture is no exception.
 A number of building systems in various parts of
Kashmir have developed over time to accommodate local
natural and cultural factors, including the impact of
earthquakes.
 These systems are not only part of the cultural heritage of
Kashmir but also add to its beautiful landscape.
 Historically, the buildings have depended completely
upon stone, mud, bricks and wood for roofing as well as
walling.
 Until very recently, non-local materials did not represent
a valid option for local constructions.
 
 They were expensive, and their use added logistical
complications to the construction process.
 However, in recent times new materials have made their
way into the valleys of Kashmir on account of their
favourable economics as well as people’s aspiration to
modernity.
 Until the 1970s the most common building systems in
Kashmir were brick or stone walls.
 Some of them timber framed, with timber and mud roofs.
But as durable wood like Deodar became very expensive,
corrugated galvanized iron (CGI) sheets came to replace
wood planks and shingles.
Traditional flat mud roof on timber
understructure with masonry walls

 THE VALLEY OF
KASHMIR-RURAL

The most common wall types are load bearing:
 baked brick (external wall) masonry with mud or cement
mortar, with or without plaster
 unbaked brick (internal wall) with mud mortar and mud
plaster
 unbaked brick with baked brick veneer (external wall) masonry
with mud mortar, with or without plaster
 Dhajji timber framed constructions with infill of baked brick in
cement mortar or unbaked brick masonry in mud mortar, both
4" thick with timber frame.
 Many structures which are typically single- and doublestorey
have Dhajji walls in the upper storey and the gables.


 Factors dictating local
architecture

 Easy access to good soil for brick-making, and to
water and timber snow in winter
 Possibility of earthquakes. As a result, walls are
made mainly out of timber and bricks, baked or
unbaked.
Roofs slope steeply in two directions. Although
planks or shingles of hardwood like Deodar were
formerly the main roofing materials, today CGI sheets
on timber supports have become the most common type of
roofing.
 THE VALLEY OF
KASHMIR-URBAN

 The urban areas of the Valley have
architecture that is distinct from all other
areas.
 The main factor determining this
architecture is the high density of
development.
 This calls for vertical growth, resulting
into three to four storey structures. The
two most common walling systems
observed are:
 Dhajji type, with timber frame and infill
consisting of baked or unbaked bricks
 Taaq type, consisting of brick masonry
interlaced with heavy timber bands
supported on large masonry piers made
of baked bricks.
 The timber frame of dhajji dewari
construction shown before infill
masonry is added

Taaq construction showing

the timber lacing embedded
into the masonry walls

High-Elevation Hilly Regions
Surrounding the Valley

The major factors that dictate the local architecture in this
zone are:

 Easy access to building-quality stone

 Limited availability of topsoil
 Varying availability of water, ranging from abundant to
very little
 Better availability of timber than in other zones due to
lesser deforestation
 Difficulty in carting non-local materials
 Heavy snow in winter
 Possibility of earthquakes.

 Wall types…

The most common wall types are:
 coursed random rubble masonry with or without mud
mortar, with or without mud plaster
 Dhajji wall made of timber frame with small stones and
plenty of mud mortar as infill, mainly for the interior
walls.
The roof can be sloping or flat. The flat roof, as shown earlier,
made with timber under structure supporting the mud and
vegetal roofing is often used for summer dwellings in high
altitude pastures. It is also used in animal shelters in this region
on account of the warmth that it can provide. More commonly,
roofing consists of pitched CGI sheet roof on timber supports,
since it encloses a large volume which provides insulation in
the cold winters on account of the attic floor.
 Low-Elevation Hilly Regions
Surrounding the Valley
(& Other Parts of the State)

The main factors that dictate the local architecture in
this zone are:
 Easy access to building quality stone
 Limited availability of topsoil
 Greatly varying availability of water
 Varying availability of timber
 Little snow in winter
 Possibility of earthquakes.

 Wall types…

 The most common wall types are coursed
random rubble masonry with or without mud
mortar, with or without mud plaster, since Mud
roofing on timber deck placed on rubble
masonry walls Coursed random rubble masonry
without plaster Coursed random rubble
masonry without plaster availability of mud and
water vary greatly.
 Historically, the flat roof has been the most
popular on account of low snowfall.
 Even today, this type of roof is visible in plenty
along the Jammu-Srinagar route as well as in
many parts of Poonch area.
 However, the escalating cost of timber along
with the easy availability of CGI sheeting has
made the latter the most popular roof type in
this region also.

 Houses in
Srinagar
overlooking the
River Jhelum

The Jalali
Manzil in
Srinagar
 HOUSE BOATS


A BRIEF ON BUILDING OF KASHMIRI
HOUSE BOATS…
 HISTORY BEHIND THE
CONST. OF HOUSE BOATS

Members of the Indian Civil Service who vacationed in
Kashmir were not permitted to own land or build permanent
homes because the Maharaja of Kashmir at the time feared a
British presence in Srinagar. As a result, they chose to stay
on houseboats. The first one - the Victory - was designed by
M.T. Kenhard and built in 1888.
Now hundreds if not thousands of the boats line the lakes of
Kashmir and the Jehlum River. Their designs range from
basic shelters to elaborate five-star floating palaces.
 CONSTUCTION OF
SNOW KING A HOUSE BOAT

 The boats were entirely built by
traditional methods using crude
hand-tools and manual labor.
There were no Black & Decker
power tools, no lifting cranes, or
no air compressors.
 Nailers pounded red-hot spikes
to join sides to the keel of the
Snow King. Planers smoothed
planks for flooring while other
men slopped white paint to the
hull of the Cultural Palace.
 THE
SUPERVI-
SOR

INSIDE A HULL

FINISH WORK

NEW-
LAUNCHED
HULL
 
PLANERS FLOORING LAUNCH DAY FLOATING HULL
 ALMOST
COMPLETED

 LOAD OF
LUMBER

HOUSE
BOAT
TOOLS

POLING
INTO
POSITION
OLD HOUSE BOATS AND NEW HOUSE BOATS…


INTERIORS…

BATHROOM SITTING

BEDROOM DINING
 CONCLUSION

 Conclusion: Cultural heritage restoration and
conservation can be both a peace-making and an
economic development activity. In the right context,
it can be undertaken in a way that is respectful of
social diversity, and it also can help build a basis for
bringing people together to rebuild their quality of
life founded upon an understanding of the value of a
place for its history and culture, and thus begin to
appreciate their own importance within that history.
DATE: 21ST FEB 2012