‘There is no outer without inner space’: constructing the haveli as home

Abstract

Working within a framework of Indian architectural theory and philosophies of space, this discussion focuses on the traditional space of the courtyard house, or haveli. What is distinctive about this building architecturally, spatially, and as a Hindu domestic space? In order to respond to this question, the architectural principle Vastu Vidya is focused on since it defines the dimensions and orientation of the house, and the direction of household activities. Moreover, Vastu connects the individual body to the home, and the home to the cosmos. The article considers the design of the haveli and the history of its organization and use of space. The article particularly highlights the ways in which, if at all, the haveli has been adapted in order to accommodate modified lifestyles. The haveli, it is argued, is an ambivalent space in that it is both ‘enclosed’ and ‘open’: as such, it facilitates a flexible relation between the inhabitants and the spaces of their house, in terms of use and modernization. Furthermore, the notion that the haveli is wholly a ‘traditional’ space is problematized. The research methodology partly utilizes individual narratives and oral history, based on discussions held with mid-caste women and their families living in the old city area of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, in 1999 and 2000. In this sense the article interprets individual lived experience as a geography of intimacy. The discussion focuses on a representative haveli as a case study, in order to establish it as a culturally specific space and to delineate the interaction of the inhabitants with the space of their home, whereby each changes the other. It assesses the haveli as a gendered space, and also the extent and nature of the inhabitants’ knowledge and application of Vastu.