HAVELIS OF RAJASTHAN

KIRAN KUMAR SREEDHARAN | VIIIth SEMESTER | IVth YEAR | 2008 - 2013

HAVELIS OF RAJASTHAN
Haveli is the term used for a private mansion in India and Pakistan, usually one with
historical and architectural significance. The word haveli is derived from
the Persian word hawli, meaning "an enclosed place". They share similar features with
other mansions derived from Islamic Architecture such as the traditional mansions in
Morocco called Riads.

MUGHAL HAVELIS
Many of the havelis of India and Pakistan were influenced by Islamic Persian, Central
Asian and Indian architecture. They usually contain a courtyard often with a fountain
in the centre. The old cities of in Agra, Lucknow and Delhi in India andLahore, Multan,
Peshawar, Hyderabad in Pakistan have many fine exam ples of Mughal-style havelis.

FAMOUS HAVELIS OF INDIA

The term Haveli was first applied in Rajasthan by the Vaishnava sect to refer to their
temples in Gujarat. In the northern part of India havelis for Lord Krishna are prevalent
with huge mansion like constructions. The havelis are noted for Figure 1 Entrance arch of a haveli
their frescoes depicting images of gods, goddesses, animals, scenes from the British
colonization, and the life stories of Lords Rama and Krishna.
Later on these temple architectures and frescoes were imitated while building huge individual mansions and now the word is popularly
recognized with the mansions themselves. Between 1830 and 1930, Marwari's erected buildings in their
homeland, Shekhawati and Marwar. These buildings were called havelis. The Marwaris commissioned artists to paint those buildings which
were heavily influenced by the Mughal architecture.
The havelis were status symbols for the Marwaris as well as homes for their
extended families, providing security and comfort in seclusion from the outside
world. The havelis were to be closed from all sides with one large main gate.
The typical havelis in Shekhawati consisted of two courtyards — an outer one for
the men which serves as an extended threshold, and the inner one, the domain of
the women. The largest havelis could have up to three or four courtyards and
were two to three stories high. Most of the havelis are empty nowadays or are
maintained by a watchman (typically an old man). These havelis are major
attraction for tourists in Rajasthan.

The towns and villages of Shekhawati are famous for the embellished frescoes on
the walls of their grandiose havelis, to the point of becoming popular tourist
attractions.

The havelis in and around Jaisalmer Fort(also known as the Golden Fort), situated
in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, of which the three most impressive are Patwon Ki Haveli,
Salim Singh Ki Haveli, and Nathmal-Ki Haveli, deserve special mention. These were
the elaborate homes of Jaisalmer's rich merchants. The ostentatious carvings
Figure 2 Haveli at Mandawa, Rajasthan etched out in sandstone with infinite detail and then painstakingly pieced
together in different patterns each more lavish than the next were
commissioned to put on show the owner's status and wealth. Around Jaisalmer, they are typically carved from yellow sandstone.They
are often characterized by wall paintings, frescoes, jharokhas (balconies) and archways.
The Patwon Ji ki Haveli is the most important and the
largest haveli, as it was the very first erected in
Jaisalmer. It is not a single haveli but a cluster of 5
small havelis. The first one in the row is also the most
popular one and is also known as Kothari's Patwa
Haveli. The first among these was commissioned and
constructed in the year 1805 by Guman Chand Patwa,
then a rich trader of jewellery and fine brocades, and
is the biggest and the most ostentatious. Patwa was
a rich man and a renowned trader of his time and he
could afford and thus order the construction of
separate stories for each of his 5 sons. These were
completed in the span of 50 years. All five houses
were constructed in the first 60 years of the 19th
century. Patwon Ji Ki is renowned for its ornate wall
paintings, intricate yellow sandstone-carved

jharokhas (balconies), gateways and archways. Figure 3 Patwon Ki Haveli.

Although the building itself is made from yellow
sandstone, the main gateway is brown.

HAVELIS OF SHEKHAWATI
Shekhawati is a semi-arid historical region located in the northeast part of Rajasthan, India got its name from Shekhawat Rajputs.

It encompasses the administrative districts of Jhunjhunu and Sikar. From the administrative and geographical point of view Shekhawati
is limited to Jhunjhunu and Sikar districts only. It is bounded on the northwest by Jangladesh region, on the northeast by Haryana, on
the east by Mewat, on the southeast by Dhundhar, on the south by Ajmer, on the southwest by Marwar regions. However, some parts of
Churu and Nagaur districts are also considered in the Shekawati region.

ARCHITECTURE
In Shekhawati frescoes were initially introduced by Shekhawat Rajputs in their Forts and Palaces and the towns in the Shekhawati
region are known for their painted havelis. This region has been recognised as the "open art gallery of Rajasthan" having the largest
concentration of frescos in the world.
The Marwaris from Marwar was the influential business community in the
Shekhawati region, and they prospered until the beginning of the 19th century,
due to the caravan routes that crossed the area to reach the ports of Gujarat. But
from 1820 onwards, many left their families behind and migrated
to Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, which were gaining importance as main trade
centers where they had great financial success. The descendants of these rich
merchants have permanently settled down in the towns their ancestors migrated
to. The Shekhawati region has produced large number of Marwaris who are
dominant factor in the economy of India. About 80 percent of big industrial

Figure 4 Shekhawati painted houses. houses are managed by Marwaris. India's richest industrialists of the century,
such as theBirlas and Dalmia, are Marwaris. Today, the main trading and industrial
houses of India have their roots in Shekhawati.
Between 1830 and 1930, they erected buildings in their homeland, Shekhawati, as evidence of their success. As the ultimate symbol of
their opulence, the Marwaris commissioned artists to paint those buildings.
Most of the buildings of the Shekhawati region were constructed from 18th century to the early 20th century. During the British
occupation, traders adapted this style for their buildings. The havelis are noted for
 their frescos depicting mythological and historical themes. The frescos include images of gods, goddesses, animals, life history of
Lords Rama and Krishna, profusely painted on the havelis in this region.
Marwaris have played an important role in the development of Shekhawati region. Their major contribution to the Shekhawati region is
in the field of education. Marwaris have also played a leading role in Indian Independence Movement. They provided financial help in
running the freedom movement.

CLIMATE
TEMPERATURE - Maximum temperature in summers rises up to 45°C while night temperatures fall to 20°C. winter days are temperate
around 8°C while night temperatures reduce to just above
freezing.

RAINFALL - Annual rainfall is 600mm falling largely in the

months of July-October.

HUMIDITY - Apart from monsoon season, RH is terribly low-

categorising the climate as Hot Dry.

WIND - Throughout the year dominant wind comes from NW

quadrant and late in the monsoon SW winds are
experienced. The winds temperature is hot in summers
while very cold in winters. The only times when winds are
preferred inside the building are summer nights and
monsoon days. Figure 5 Laxmangarh fort of Sikar

SANDSTORMS - Dust storms and sandstorms are very common both during day and night.

SOLAR RADIATION - the solar radiation in intense around 700-800 Kcal/Sqm with sky being clear almost throughout the year.

PASSIVE COOLING DESIGN STRATEGY

 Compact settlement plan, introvert buildings (in case the heat
production of buildings is low as in traditional buildings).
 Narrow north-south streets with tall buildings on both sides to cut
off sun.
 Plantation of deciduous trees near or inside the building.
 Ground surface should preferably be green and soft, but in case of Figure 6 Narrow north south streets cutting off the sun.
hard surfaces, rough and light colored paving shall be used.
 Perimeter/Area ratio shall be less.
 Shaded courtyards to facilitate ventilation and lower daytime
temperatures inside.
 Reduction of exposed surfaces and shading of all the exposed
surfaces, thus common walls between houses.
 Least exposure to east and west orientation.
 Minimal surface area to volume ratio thus resulting in taller
buildings with shared wall surfaces. Figure 7 Effect of Surface area to volume ratio
 Flat or Domical roof forms.
 Appropriate shading to openings using thick wooden shutters or materials with low thermal capacity.
 Bottle neck openings or Jalis to enhance ventilation and reduce temperatures.
 Fenestration shall be oriented north
 Shading devices such as louvers or Jharookhas to shade openings from sun.
 Materials having high thermal capacity and low conductivity for structure.
 Heavy thermal mass of structure.
 Insulation layer not directly exposed to the sun.
 Light colours on exterior.
 Smooth reflective surface on roof to reduce direct heat gain.

PASSIVE COOLING FEATURES IDENTIFIED IN SHEKHAWATI HAVELIS

For the study and analyses purpose one of the case studies is documented here. It is a small scale Haveli having only two courtyards
that according to the yardsticks of Shekhawati is the minimum number of courtyards.

Following are the passive features identified in

Shekhawati Havelis -

COMPACT SETTLEMENT PLAN

The heat production from the buildings is very low
thus a compact planning helps in reducing heat
gain. It also allows mutual shading by buildings. It
reduces the area of exposed surfaces .

NARROW STREETS WITH TALL BUILDINGS AROUND

It helps in shading the streets thus allowing less
of direct sunlight during daytime and makes the
movement easy for people. It also helps in
lowering the ambient air temperature
surrounding the building envelope by shading.

Figure 8 Ground Floor Plan and First Floor Plan of a Small Haveli, Dundlod,
Shekhawati, Rajasthan

COURTYARD PLANNING
Internal courtyard with high building mass all around it leads to induced
ventilation, lowering of temperatures by convective cooling and natural lighting.

HEAVY STRUCTURE
Heavy building envelope stores larger amount of heat due to large heat capacities Figure 9 Compact settlement allowing for mutual
and creates a larger time lag. This helps in keeping the inside cool during daytime shading
when it is most inconvenient
outside.

Figure 11 Photograph from roof level showing
compact courtyard planning
CEILING HEIGHTS
The habitable rooms were found to have ceiling height
larger than 3.5 m while the other spaces like the ones made
as viewing gallery for women which were to be used Figure 10 Inner room
showing heavy
temporarily and occasionally, were only 2.5 – 1.8 m high. construction
This meant a larger air mass resulting in lower
temperatures.

SHADED COLONNADES AND SEMI OPEN AREAS

All buildings are planned with some areas being semi open. These spaces are used during the daytime and in rains. Such areas received
fairly good light and natural ventilation induced by combination of courtyards and
wind towers.

FLAT ROOFS WITH INSULATION LAYER

The roofs are constructed flat with stone slabs jointed with lime mortar. Above
that a layer of inverted earthen pots to create an air layer for insulation. On the
top of it again a layer of lime mortar finished with reflective smooth material like
broken pieces of porcelain pots of white wash to reflect most of the sunlight
falling on it.

Figure 12 Arrangement of semi open areas around

courtyard
SMALL OPENINGS
WITH THICK SHUTTERS, JALI SCREENS AND JHAROOKHAS
Due to hot and dusty winds, natural ventilation inside the building during
day is not desirable. Thus small openings are provided. These openings
are opened during nighttime to allow convective cooling. During daytime
the thick wooden shutters having low thermal capacity are closed. All the
openings are shaded with projections covered all around with perforated
stone screens known as Jharookhas. This allows cooling of air by venturi
effect phenomenon.
Figure 13 Transverse Section Through Internal courtyard

WIND TOWERS
The staircase mumty was taken higher and each room was provided an opening from it to allow
forced ventilation. This allowed convective cooling during night and induced ventilation during
day.

MATERIALS FOR CONSTRUCTION

The stone was used along with lime mortar. Lime mortar allowed keeping lower temperatures
inside the building. Stone helped in creating time lag due to high thermal capacities.

EXTERNAL SMOOTH SURFACE PAINTED IN LIGHT COLOURS

Carving was not possible on the local stone available around Shekhawati. Thus instead of Figure 14 Photograph showing
providing a rough surface, which would also have Jharookha
allowed inter granular shading, a smooth surface
was created. To break the monotony of the flat
white surfaces, painting was done with variety of
colours all obtained from natural stones or
vegetables.

DIFFERENCE IN THE PAVING OF INNER AND OUTER

COURTYARD
Inner courtyard was generally kept soft with some
vegetation (generally Tulsi) in the centre while the
outer courtyard was paved with stones. In
between the two was a transitory space with Figure 15 Longitudinal Section Through Both Courtyards
deferred entry and a small opening .All activities of
washing, bathing etc were performed in the inner court and also since it was more shaded, it remained cooler than the outer hard one.
 This heated the air in the outer courtyard and the lighter air rose up. This
induced draft of cooler air from the inner courtyard. Thus the transition space
always received cool air draft and was generally called the Barsati and was the
favourite place to sit during day and rainy season.

Figure 16 Street façade showing elaborate painting on

walls

CONCLUSION
After studying the Havelis of Shekhawati in detail, following conclusion can be made –

 The Havelis respond most appropriately to the climate and society of the place in terms of
material selection, spatial organization, construction techniques and use of passive design
features.

 With the combined effect of all features, the inside of the building always provided a
comfortable environment when the environment outside was uncomfortable (throughout Figure 17 From inner courtyard to the
the year). outer courtyard through transition
space

 The same space could not provide the desired comfort in all seasons. Thus there were a variety of spaces (open, semi open and
enclosed), which were used, in different seasons and times of day.

 Winters - Courtyards are the center of activities during the entire days. During night, the enclosed rooms are preferred as they have
higher temperature than the ambient air outside.

 Summers - Semi-open spaces and enclosed rooms are used more during the daytime. High ceiling and the nature of stone to heat
slowly contribute to the thermal comfort during the daytime. Courtyards are used during the nighttimes as the rooms inside become
hotter than the outside temperatures.

 Rains - Movement of air in the Semi open spaces and the transition spaces more comfortable than the rooms.
REFRENCES
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haveli
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shekhawati
 Shekhawati: urbanism in the semi-desert of India A climatic study - Avlokita Agrawal, Prof. R.K. Jain and Prof. Rita Ahuja – IIT Roorke.