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March, 10, 2014

TRADITIONAL AGRAHARAM HOUSES OF KANCHIPURAM

J. Sumathi

Ancient and medieval society in Tamil nadu was dominated by the Brahmin community who were leaders in terms of learning and social standing. The
traditional architectural styles of their houses were shaped by parameters such as climate, occupation and the prevailing socio-economic and socio-
cultural factors.

The Brahmins lived in a separate settlement of houses known as the agraharam, a word of Sanskrit origin used to describe two rows of houses facing
each other built around the street of the temple complex. These usually developed around the temples to facilitate the work and life of the priests in
performing temple rituals and disseminating the knowledge of the Vedas. These were usually built on lands donated by the kings to the Brahmins as
Brahma deyam.

A typical example of the agraharam or Brahmin settlement can be found in Rengarajan street of Kanchipuram, near the Varadaraja Perumal temple. In this
case, the agraharam was constructed in the year 1765 on land donated by Rengarajan, a Brahmin, for the exclusive use of Brahmin families. These seven
houses are constructed in an identical manner. Each house revolves around and open courtyard flanked by several rooms. The builders made full use of
the local material available which was brick, chunam and wood. These houses were also designed in such a manner as to minimize the harsh glare of the
sun by providing deep verandahs that shielded the rooms. The kalyana koodam or marriage hall, which is typical in agraharam house, is absent from the
Rengarajan street houses.

The open courtyards provided natural light and ventilation and were especially useful for the
chanting of the Vedas in the early morning. The open space also acted as a natural conduit for the
smoke from the homam to escape. The windows were strategically placed so as to catch the natural
sun light. The roofs were usually sloping and tiled so that the rain water could run off and be
harvested in the open courtyard at the centre of the house, from where stone culverts channeled the
water to a well behind the house. The doors were all aligned in a straight line from the main
entrance till the back of the house so as to provide for natural cross ventilation. Hence they made
full use of the forces of nature for cooling, ventilation and lighting purposes.

Traditional structures were naturally sustainable with elements such as wind tunneling and solar
path being adopted. These enabled the building to breath naturally. It is apparent that the planners
of these buildings took into account the available conditions for both the designs as well as the
materials, thus building ecologically friendly houses well before cement and concrete took over.

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