Author: Sarah Tillotson
Publisher: Orient Longman
Year: 1998
Language: English
Pages: 212
ISBN/UPC (if available): 978-81-250-1385-3
Description
Indian Mansions follows the course of a day in the life of a haveli, expanding specific events to examine wider patterns of life, and combining individual observations with the historical background.
Numerous accounts have shown us the life in India's royal palaces, but their history has remained unchronicled. A walk down the streets of historic Indian cities leaves the visitor's curiosity unsatisfied. Behind elaborate doorways and ornate balconies, the past is doubly hidden: by the secretive nature of the enclosed buildings.
Who created these mansions, or 'havelis', as they are called in northern India? They were built for a style of life which remained virtually unchanged over the centuries, but which has now vanished, leaving the buildings doomed to neglect. The havelis made up the core of India's urban culture, and so provide a key to an understanding of the traditional pattern of social life of the rich or noble families and their retainers.
We come to understand haveli society and see how the disintegration of that society has been reflected in the decay of its mansions. The book draws on written accounts, from the diary of the Mughal emperor Babur to the reminiscences of those who worked for the British East India Company. It is brought up to date by the author's first-hand interviewed with those who live in the havelis today.
Sarah Tilloton is an architect practicing in Cambridge. She has published articles on architectural conservation in India, and includes in this volume many of her own photographs and plans, as well as historic photographs and drawings. Her text is written for the general reader, but is fully documented.