TRANSFORMATIONS IN TRADITIONAL HOUSE FORMS WITH CHANGING SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

Abstract

India is a country with a rich cultural landscape symbolic of the setting with a built environment responsive to its social context. Traditional houses that are specific to any region and culture with built-up environment in response to local requirements play a vital role in offering cultural identity and a sense of belongingness with the place. The recent development due to globalization has made significant changes to the socio-cultural aspects of the remote communities, hence changing the built form. The phenomenon is also visible in hilly areas of India that otherwise are isolated and are less prone to transformations. These areas are experiencing a huge change in its traditional architectural forms due to changing society. As a result, the cultural identity and architectural uniqueness of the place are in the process of getting extinct. In order to prevent our rich tangible and intangible heritage from getting extinct, it is necessary to find out reasons bringing this change and stop them from getting extinct. This study focuses on the study of various socio-cultural dimensions acting in the Kangra region of Himachal Pradesh, a hill state in India, their relation with traditional house forms and causative factors that are transforming society and house-forms. The study was conducted using case study strategy, taking multiple case studies to have a compelling result. For the study, a rural setting comprised of seven villages was performed taking case study of 140 houses. These villages were divided into three categories of traditional, traditional with transformation and new construction is carried out to understand traditional house forms and its change to present houses. The case studies chosen had a strong socio-cultural context, rich architecture and witnessed transformations in the built environment. The study involved understanding of the socio-cultural context of the place that was done with the help of focus group interviews, semi-structured interviews and oral testimony from residents of the villages studied. Another aspect of the study involved house-forms studied with observation, documentation and visual survey. The data used for analysis was primary data and analysis was done using both qualitative and quantitative tools. It was found that factors bringing changes in socio-cultural aspects in the region include economy, occupational shift, out-migration for better opportunities, female education, societal changes, accessibility and change in family structure. These factors are significant generators of transformations taking place in house forms in the region. After statistical analysis, it was found that out of factors identified, major contributors affecting house forms are a strong economy, out-migration for better job opportunities and change in family structure. Any step to check these parameters will help in the deliberate loss of the unique architectural identity of the place. The study provided insight into the transformation of houses brought about by changing socio-cultural context in the rural setting of Kangra. The results received, can be used to create awareness among people and help them understand the importance of their heritage to strengthen the 'sense of belongingness' among local people to preserve and nurture their architectural heritage. It is further suggested that the government can introduce schemes to create jobs within the area to prevent outmigration and existing policies can also be modified, taking care of their impact on the built environment. Introduction of incentives to people preserving their rich architecture to encourage such practices among masses.