VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

ASSIGNMENT-1
CHOOSE A HERITAGE SITE / VERNACULAR SITE/ART FORM//VERNACULAR
LIVING TRADITION AND WRITE A SHORT NOTE ABOUT 300 WORDS WITH
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Jodhpur The Blue City

Jodhpur is known as the Blue City because all of the buildings in the oldest
district are painted in a light shade of blue. This district lies to the north of the
city and the colour scheme is almost uniform. The best vantage point to view
the blue painting of Jodhpur is from the Meherangarh Fort's battlements.

SOCIAL, CULTURAL BELIEF ,GEOGRAPHY AND

THEIR INFLUENCE IN THE CITY

INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL BELIEF:

The colour blue is associated with Lord Shiva, who during the
time of Samudra Manthan (also, known as Churning of the Ocean
Milk) gulped down vicious poison called Halahala, in order to
save the planet. This venom turned his body blue, and since then,
his followers consider it to be a sacred colour. Owing to its
sacredness, many of his followers who were settled in the
region daubed their houses in blue hues , thus the town received
the moniker, Blue City.
INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL STATUS :

Yet another belief is that the blue colour is determinant of social

status. This story goes back centuries when the Hindu caste system
was considered to be the basis for determining the social status.
According to the local lore, the Brahmin community (the priestly caste
of India) painted their houses blue in order to differentiate
themselves from the lower-caste communities, and since that time,
blue is linked with the Brahmins. You might well hear these buildings
referred to as Brahmin houses.

GEOGRAPHICAL INFLUENCE :

Jodhpur which is one the city of India receiving the highest solar power
per unit area. This makes it one of the hottest places in India as
well.Jodhpur is also known as the sun city of India due to the fact that it
receives bright and sunny weather all throughout the year. Thus to keep
the houses cool, the walls are painted in blue color. lighter colors reflect
more heat and darker colors absorb more heat.
The fact that the blue color reflects the majority of the heat of the sun.
Thus this may be the main cause of keeping house cooler in the town of
Jodhpur.
 The dry arid environment of which Jodhpur is located is blighted by
termites. The small insects damaged and destroyed the traditional
building techniques which involved the exterior being coated in lime
wash. It was discovered that the termites were repelled by copper salt
compounds and these were added in low concentrations to the lime
washes. Copper solutions under certain conditions produce blue
compounds and this was true of the materials applied to the exterior
of Jodhpur's houses.

Geographically, Jodhpur is located in such a location in Rajasthan

where Limestone & Copper Sulphate is easily available.
Copper is an abundant mineral in Rajasthan thus Copper Sulfate is very
easily available here.
Limestone is also easily available in the vicinity of Jodhpur, due to this
it is the cheapest option available for the construction of the houses.
The blue color is a mixture of limestone and copper sulphate that is
easily found here. Limestone is a common construction material in
Jodhpur and has been used in many of the palaces and homes.
 Indigo dye is an important dyestuff which produces a unique shade of
blue color. Various historical pieces of evidence regarding the plantation
of the Indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria) can be seen nearby Jodhpur. As
the easy availability of this plant could be a possible reason for
painting the houses in blue during the old times thus making it the
“Blue City of India”.

CONCLUSION :
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IS ABOUT HOW THE STRUCTURES EVOVLED
WITHOUT AN ARCHITECT THROUGH LIFE STYLE ,OCCUPATION,CULTURAL
BELIEF,GEOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS,ETC...THIS IS HOW JODHPUR OBTAINS ITS
NICKNAME THROUGH VARIOUS FACTORS FROM AGES..

SOURCES :
• https://www.2weekbackpack.com/Jodhpur/Jodhpur-blue-city.html
• https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/why-is-indias-jodhpur-called-
the-blue-city/
• https://indiaview.co/jodhpur-blue-city-of-india/