About Houses of Bohra families in Sidhpur,Gujarat.

2. About Sidhpur
 Sidhpur is a town in Gujarat state and an important pilgrimage centre for
Shaivism and for Hindu devotees honouring maternal ancestors,
 Also known for its gorgeous European-influenced,especially Renaissance
styled architecture built over a century ago in the Muslim neighbourhood.
Photo source:outlookindia.com
Sidhpur is
located on
the banks
of
Saraswati
river

3. Dawoodi
Bohras
 The Dawoodi Bohras are a Shia Muslim trading community from Gujarat
with a very distinct history and identity. A close knit community, they
have a significant presence in Indian cities like Mumbai and Ahmedabad,
and East African countries like Madagascar.
 The Bohras orVohras, as they are known locally, invested in and built
distinctive and grand residences in their ‘native’ towns/villages after
they migrated.
Photo source: artsy.net

4.  TheVohrawads are rows of narrow, deep houses, about three to four
storeys high, and either along the main street or in a grid like formation.
 Most of the houses shared a wall with the houses on either side giving a
feeling of connectedness.
Since the
community
tended to stay
together, entire
neighbourhoods
came to be
called
Vohrawads or
Bohrawads,
housing Bohra
families.

5.  Modern-but-traditional
gated enclaves organised
around a main street which
branches off into narrower
side streets.
 The compact footprint —
necessary for security,
quick pedestrian access,
and insulation from the
extremes of hot and cold
weather — is compensated
by piling up more than one
storey above the ground
floor.
 A very small ‘grilled’ shaft
of open air, called the
chowk, runs up through the
central room of all the
floors bringing in a
controlled amount of sun
Photo source: artsy.net
Intricate jaliwork represents
islamic architectural
element.

6.  The streets of
Sidhpur,Gujarat
seem
anachronistic,
capturing the
Dawoodi Bohra
trading
community in a
capsule outside
the rush of time
.
 Ornate
interiors,
rainbow-
coloured
facades,
flowing ridas
murmuring
against
fantastically
intricate and
symmetric
architecture.
Photo source: flicrhivemind.net
Two flights
of steps to
reach the
entrance
of the
house act
as
transition
from
outside to
inside

7. Zarokhas
with jali
work
patterns also
suggest the
community’s
introvert
nature.
Intricate
carvings being
the great
examples of
islamic
architecture
The
entrance
lobby
creates a
transition
space from
the
outsides to
the insides.
Deep plan.
planned
for the hot
dry
climate of
sidhpur.

8.  Decorative wooden
extensions of the
upper storeys often
project out from the
building line, in the
older vohrawads
particularly, help
keep the sun out from
the street floor.
 Even by day, then,
the street is a cool,
shaded space.The
otlas, or extensions of
the high plinths, are
carefully designed to
be lounging spaces,
particularly once the
sun weakens.
Photo source: artsy.net
Use of
decorative
pillasters,fascia
boards,jaliwork
patterns as
elements for
facade
treatment
The
women in
the house
stay
mostly in
the ‘andar
ni parsal’
and the
rasodu

9. Peculiar combination of an intimate formality, and exquisite craftsmanship
in wood enlivened further by the subtle and uplifting play with colour.
Photo source: artsy.net

10.  The three-part division of
the facades, often with a tall
door or window in each part,
is of very European style—
especially when decorated
with pilasters
 The interior of the house,
though, is organized around
the cultural values of
community, with a central
room (the one with the
“courtyard”) the everyday
family living space.
 Windows off the raised
ground floor, with or without
window seats, are decorated
richly—they are the main
architectural elements on the
façade
3 part division of the facade
Richly
decorated
ceiling,
made of
stucco
plaster or
POP.
Photo source: artsy.net

11. Photo source: artsy.net
Intricate timber railings, flooring , and partitions

12.  The Bohrawad “courtyard” is
generally no more than a series
of cutouts in every floor, lined
up one above the other.
 The opening is small, about 4
sq. ft , and covered with a
metal grille or mesh for safety.
 Provide natural light and
ventilation without letting too
much of the weather in.
 The shaft also helps the hot air
to escape, leaving the house
cooler.
 This vertical shaft also lets
families on different floors of
the house stay in touch. Each
family achieved a level of
privacy, as in an apartment,
while connection across
families was maintained by the
architecture.
Photo source: artsy.net

13. Thank you! PRESENTED BY-
SHREYA DESHPANDE
POOJA DIXIT