Conservation of period properties!
We are working on a unique project to ensure the past heritage and quaint cottages/houses of the Kokan are not lost and forgotten.
Hedavi as a village has been occupied for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, it is well known that the British rule looted the Indian economy and razed it from a healthy 25% of the world's GDP to less than 3% by the time they left. Not surprisingly a lot of natives from remote India moved to Mumbai during the Great British Loot. Sadly, agriculture remains a challenging business for small-scale farmers as incomes are low, and this continued to encourage the urbanisation of independent India.
Ancestral properties thus fall by the wayside, and our own experience was no different. The original footprint of the house would have been small - the main structure made of Oti, Maz-ghar, swaypak-ghar and Dev-ghar with toilet and bath huts outside. Built before the 1900s the dwelling was expanded as per old documents in 1942 when Padvi on all 4 sides and the first floor (Madi and Pot-Mala) were added.
Picture dated 1960s
Talking of documentation, ancestral family trees dating to the 1750s have been published elsewhere for most of the Joglekar families in the village. However, few people in Maharashtra would be aware that some folk wrote in a cursive form of Marathi called Mudi those days. As our papers go as far back as the late 1800s, below is an image that gives the reader a taste of Mudi lipi.
By 2018 the house went into disrepair as seen below due to members of an extended family now living in different parts of India and abroad. Dr Sunita Joglekar, my mother made a decision to revive the home and I am pleased to have progressed on her wishes.
It was tempting to simply consider demolishing and building a modern concrete block with the latest amenities. However, we chose to retain the old as best as we could. Maintaining the original architecture to features where possible was a priority.
Keeping the carbon footprint to a minimum was also a goal. Instead of tearing down walls to enlarge the rooms and add an attached toilet/shower, we decided to retain the old concept of shared amenities. Also retained is the original pitched roof with the traditional roof tiles. Sadly, monkey menace has meant such roofs are now becoming less attractive and hard to maintain. We thus had to compromise and use a tin hat for the ground floor (but we may replace these with bitumen Manglorian tiles in the future). We now hope to add the basic comforts so the abode can be experienced and lived in again. We are looking forward to sharing the charm of the past with the urbanites and today's young generation of India who otherwise may lose out on appreciating the old, simple ways of living.
As we go forward, we are looking to reconnect with nature through our homes, from cow dung floors to outdoor bath huts and irrigation systems that our forefathers might have put to use.
old bath house
The work is challenging as old traditional skills are near extinct. Take, for instance, these stone-walled boundaries and levels in the image below. There were people who specialised in lifting these heavy stones and placing them in a manner that retains the structure together - these walls and steps were laid about 100 years or so ago and still remain fairly functional! We hope to repair the damage and restore it, hopefully just before the monsoon of 2024 as rain, we are told helps strengthen the structure.
Similarly, the old well at the back of the house sports an architectural signature and time-stamp of its era. The arch above the well which once accommodated a Rahat water irrigation system driven by a bull rotating the wheels that pulled the water up is unique. The stones, quite massive in size are placed in an interlocking manner, there is no cement mortar holding them in their place (remove one stone and the whole arch will collapse). Unknown to many, given how deep the well is, a hidden pump room was added (steps lead down to it from the back) - pumps were not powerful in the 60s-70s and they were not submersible either. They thus needed to be located at a lower height closer to water tables.
Transport pre-1900s
The river stream at the bottom of the backyard (wadi) was once an active transport link. It is hard to imagine now, but boats came from Palshet Bundar (docks) and goods were traded using a barter system. Our family happened to be the second Mahajans of Hedavi - i.e. they ran a shop which was located on the other side of the river bank.
What next: We are looking forward to hosting friends/family and like-minded people who want to appreciate the prachin Kokan in the true sense. We hope to offer an opportunity to experience the humble abode via homestay - watch this space for future updates. We hope you can join us on our journey! Find out more about the homestay and holiday rental options here.
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