CHAPTER 2Agraharam of Palakkad
The mass migration of Tamil Brahmins to Kerala 6 to 7 centuries ago led to the establishment of Agraharams- a group of houses which is repeated more or less in the similar fashion, forming a typical settlement. Palakkad is home to nearly 96 agraharams in the district and nearly 18 within the town. The Agraharam, though Tamil in its culture and character, has adaptations from Kerala too. The temple is the central focus with the dwellings lined on both sides of the road leading to it. The tube houses are either single or 2 storied with traditional pitched roofs and a very few with terraces. The wide streets (therveedhi) facilitate the chariot festival (ratholsavam, ratha=chariot, utsavam=festival). The temple tank, along with the Peepal tree (sthalavriksham) forms another focal element and interactive community space. The Brahmins being agricultural land owners and highly associated with temple activities, have their social life closely connected to the temple and farm lands. The linear organization of settlement has linear dwellings perpendicular to the street, which have shared walls with the adjacent ones. In each dwelling, they follow a hierarchy of spaces in terms of privacy- public, semi-public and private areas. The public realm of street touches the semi-open thinnai, an immediate transition between outside and inside, which leads to the inside private spaces. Most of the dwellings have an open courtyard, yet not a central element as in traditional Kerala houses. The small opening to the sky provides light and the rainwater brought in is drained outside or recharged to the open well. Open wells are a part of every house, near the kitchen or at the rear end. The original dwellings did not have bathrooms attached with them, as they depended on temple tanks and the nearby rivers/streams. But it is seen that, with later of extension to the houses, bathrooms have been added in most of them. The dwellings have pitched roofs with Mangalore tiles which appear continuous with the series of houses. Though they follow the sloping timber roofing system as in traditional Kerala style, they differ in their construction patterns and layouts. The pitched roofs shed off the rainwater, but the eaves are not deep enough as in the Kerala houses. Recent additions of corrugated sheets to the existing roof edges are also seen to maximize the protection.
The mass migration of Tamil Brahmins to Kerala 6 to 7 centuries ago led to the establishment of Agraharams- a group of houses which is repeated more or less in the similar fashion, forming a typical settlement. Palakkad is home to nearly 96 agraharams in the district and nearly 18 within the town. The Agraharam, though Tamil in its culture and character, has adaptations from Kerala too. The temple is the central focus with the dwellings lined on both sides of the road leading to it. The tube houses are either single or 2 storied with traditional pitched roofs and a very few with terraces. The wide streets (therveedhi) facilitate the chariot festival (ratholsavam, ratha=chariot, utsavam=festival). The temple tank, along with the Peepal tree (sthalavriksham) forms another focal element and interactive community space. The Brahmins being agricultural land owners and highly associated with temple activities, have their social life closely connected to the temple and farm lands. The linear organization of settlement has linear dwellings perpendicular to the street, which have shared walls with the adjacent ones. In each dwelling, they follow a hierarchy of spaces in terms of privacy- public, semi-public and private areas. The public realm of street touches the semi-open thinnai, an immediate transition between outside and inside, which leads to the inside private spaces. Most of the dwellings have an open courtyard, yet not a central element as in traditional Kerala houses. The small opening to the sky provides light and the rainwater brought in is drained outside or recharged to the open well. Open wells are a part of every house, near the kitchen or at the rear end. The original dwellings did not have bathrooms attached with them, as they depended on temple tanks and the nearby rivers/streams. But it is seen that, with later of extension to the houses, bathrooms have been added in most of them. The dwellings have pitched roofs with Mangalore tiles which appear continuous with the series of houses. Though they follow the sloping timber roofing system as in traditional Kerala style, they differ in their construction patterns and layouts. The pitched roofs shed off the rainwater, but the eaves are not deep enough as in the Kerala houses. Recent additions of corrugated sheets to the existing roof edges are also seen to maximize the protection.
1 comment:
perfect. informative. insightful.
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