An Agraharam or Agrahara is the name given to the Brahmin quarter of a heterogenous village or to any village inhabited by Brahmins. Agraharams were also known as Chaturvedimangalams .

The name originates from the fact that the agraharams have lines of houses on either side of the road and the temple to the village god at the centre, thus resembling a garland around the temple.

Agraharams: The name literally means "a garland of houses". It originates from the fact that the agraharams have lines of houses on either side of the road and the temple to the village god at the centre, thus resembling a garland around the temple.

TEMPLE

The linear settlement pattern culminated at a temple or was arranged around the temple in various concentric rings, as seen in the great south Indian temple towns

AGRAHARAMS: THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF A UNIQUE HOUSING PATTERN IN KERALA

The Brahmin settlers of south India had migrated to various parts of the subcontinent and made their settlements around temples.

As a community which handled the Vedasand religious texts, the Brahmins wielded power and influence in the social hierarchy. As the priestly class they received royal patronage and respect from the rulers and all the other communities.

Wherever they went, the Brahmins made their settlements around temples, around which their everyday life revolved.

The Brahmins in Kerala can be broadly classified into two groups–the Namboothiri Brahmins and the Tamil and Tulu Brahmins. The Namboothiri Brahmins claim themselves to be the true MalayalaBrahmins of Kerala and the Tamil and Tulu Brahmins who had migrated to various parts of Kerala at different time periods were termed as ‘Paradesi Brahmins’ by the indigenous communities.

The planning of the agraharams followed a grid iron or concentric ring patterns, with the temple forming the main focus.

The row of houses is either single or double storied, with the traditional pitched roof form striking a significant profile against the sky.

The streets were narrow and formed an integral extension of the ‘living space’.

The row houses sharing a common wall had a long verandah running along the front portion, supported by stone and wooden pillars.

The house has a verandah at the entrance for social activities and a platform, slightly raised from the street, which runs the entire length of the row houses. It also acts as a transition from the street to the dwelling.

A passage which starts at the street face, runs through the house ending at the backyard.

Doors leading to inner areas

THE SETTLEMENT PATTERN

The evolution of this particular architectural typology may also speak about the social position of the Brahmin community. Even though these migrant Brahmins wielded power in the caste ridden society, they were always a minority when compared to the local indigenous population. Moreover, when they moved into a new place and made their settlements, there was always a tendency amongst the members of the communities to settle together to ensure safety. Another reason behind this was that in most cases the early migrants to a particular place may be the members of a same family, and thus when they settle down in an alien land, they automatically evolved into a close knit community whose principles were based on strict religious norms. The settlements were often made and donated to these families by the rulers.

Tindappad–the observance of certain distances between the various castes in order to avoid pollution by contact social position of the community, their association with the temple and of course, the patronage of the royals.

The settlement pattern followed by the traditional Brahmin settlers were guided by certain parameters like the:

The agraharams built around the temples were either arranged along the three sides of themain temple (e.g. the agraharams inside the Fort, Thiruvananthapuram);otherwise, themost commonly seen pattern is the concentric circles around the temple (e.g. agraharamsof Srirangam).

The agraharams were often built on land donated by the royals and often the land was divided amongst the migrant Brahmins based on the social hierarchy existing within their caste group.

The highly regarded families, the priests and the scholars acquired the position near the temple and the palace complex; the others occupied the outerfringes.

The agrahara were usually followed a linear planning, quite in contrast to the arrangement of rooms around the courtyard as in the traditional Kerala houses.

PLANNING

Layout of the Nalukettu and Courtyard Layout of the agrahara and Courtyard

The planning and architecture of these two housing patterns have evolved over time taking into consideration various parameters like the local climate conditions, availability of local building materials and the skill employed in the construction.

COURTYARD

The courtyard houses of Agrahara show a direct response to the climate conditions of the place. In the hot humid climatic conditions of this region, the courtyard ensures easy ventilation .

The opening in the roof provides light to the windowless rooms.

A well ventilated spaces

Traditionally the sloping roof of the houses lets in a little sunlight to the interiors of the traditional Kerala houses; this is compensated by the presence of the large courtyard.

The courtyard has some religious association too, traditionally in Vastu, the open courtyard in a house is considered as the ‘devasthana’, The most sacred place assigned to the gods and hence construction are not allowed there.The agraharams also incorporates a courtyard in its design however, here its position is not in thedeva sthana .

The sacred tulsi planted and worshipped in the center of the courtyard.

The court has provisions of taps for ablution and also outlets for water drainage which takes the rainwater outside.

As in the traditional Kerala houses, there is a well attached to the kitchen and water can be drawn through the opening on the wall.

Another courtyard, larger in size is seen next to the kitchen and toilets which is functions as a washing and bathing space.

Kodunthirapulli agraharam, Palakkad,Kerala. Here is an old spacious airyone with tiled roof and skylight.

The roofs had glass tiles to let in light.

The spatial planning of the agraharamsfollows a linear pattern with rooms arranged one after the other.

The spaces inside have special purposes, and among them privacy of the occupants is of the least concern.

A passage which starts at the street face, runs through the house ending at the backyard. There are some open spaces too, in the form of sunken courtyards or backyards which are highly functional

The various components of the agraharam are the following:

Puramthinna– the long corridor/verandah running infrontof the agraharams. This space also acted as a community gathering place where the men assembled for religious discourse.

Akamthinna–the small room next to puramthinna, this room incorporates the konippadi (stairway) leading to the upper storey.

Rezhi–this is the central room in an agraharamwhich acts as the living/bedroom, the important religious ceremonies and rituals associated with the Brahmin community are also performed in this place.

thinnai

living area

Thalam–it is the space around the courtyard, the homakundam or the place for the sacrificial fire is located here.

Mittam–the courtyard is a part of the rezhiitself and often there is no separation between these two spaces.

Adukkala–this is the kitchen.

Thalam

Mittam

kitchen

MachilMachil is the attic room. The stairway from the akamthinna leads to the machil. This room is assigned for the use of newly wedded couples.

Kottil–the independent structure located at the extreme end, it is often used as a cowshed or as storage space. In the old days the agraharams did not have toilets associated with the house and the system of scavengers lanes thus came into existence. There were narrow lanes running behind the agraharams, through which the scavengers came and collected the night each agraharam.

Kuchil–these are the rooms located at the extreme end, where the ladies during their menstruation are housed.

stairway

Rooms on first floor

Terrace on second floor

THE PLAN ANDSECTION SHOWING THE SPATIAL PLANNING OF THE AGRAHARAM.

Rezhi

Courtyard Thalam

AdukkalaPuramthinna Akamthinna

strairway

Well Kuchil

Toilet

Toilet Room

CULTURE AND LIFE

The matriarchal system of family led to the joint family system, where we had the members of a family living under the same roof.

The head of the family was the male head, the karanavar And the senior most females of the family.

This joint family system brought in a system of group living and sense of sharing amongst the local communities. However, in the case of the agraharams the qualities of living together and sharing each other’s space got reflected in their planning of the settlements and it zoomed down into the architecture of their houses.

Majority of the Brahmins were employed in the temple as staffs and in the temple kitchen, mukkanaiya a sub caste of Iyers were money lenders and were appointed as accountants.Brahmins being a priestly class were less familiar with farming techniques.

The agraharam settlements, the linear division of the plots and the houses which covered almost the whole of the plot area did not allow its settlers to have the luxury of a separate pond for each house.

The sense of sharing the spaces is then best exhibited in the design of thepuramthinna ; the long connected verandah’s running in front of all the agraharams. The puramthinna was an interstitial space which connected the street and the interiors of the house and this was also the place where religious as well as philosophical debates were held. The culture of living together and sharing has also played an important role in the everyday life of the inhabitants of the agraharams.

They have bhajana madhoms (prayerhalls) which also was a place where the people from the settlement gathered for the festivals and during important occasions.

The agraharams were introvert settlements, often open to the members of the particular caste group, however within the introvert settlement there were designed built and open spaces that well catered to the needs of the settlers.

The streets within the settlements were narrow and not designed for vehicular transportation.

The streets were also a part of the life of the Brahmin communities as many of the important religious functions and marriage feasts were conducted in the streets.

THE TRADITIONAL PLANNING OF A TEMPLE TOWN WITH THE TEMPLE OCCUPYING THE DEVA STANA THE LAYOUT OF THE OLD TEMPLE TOWNS OF MADURAI AND SRIRANGAM.

The planning of a temple town, we can see that the agraharams were constructed in the Veedhiswhich were assigned for human habitation.In a traditional temple town, the temple is the nucleus, around which the settlements are made, i.e., the temple occupies the brahmaveedhi.

Door to agrharam.

At night the road would be lighted up by the stone lamps; stone lamps were there attached to the walls of every agraharams. . Theses stone lamps hold oil for a longer time illuminating the street

The women of agraharams rises and after bathing draw ‘arippodikolam’ in front of their houses.‘ Arippodikolam’- a painted prayer. It is believed that drawing a kolam in front of the house brings prosperity. Moreover, they provide food for insects and birds.

Life in agraharams

Brahmins being a priestly class were less familiar with farming techniques, the lack of open spaces and the life style that revolved around the temple made then depend on vegetable sellers and other street vendors who came daily to sell their wares. However, few coconut trees can be spotted in the backyard spaces. People belonging to different castes ranging from bangle makers, the ‘Vala Chettis’, to basket makers came there to sell off their products. However, no one from outside was admitted inside the fort after 10pm. There were guards at each opening checking on those who enter and leave the place.

The drains running through the front were cleaned daily. The roads were also cleaned and sprinkled with water daily.

They had special paths known as scavengers lane made behind every stretch of streets. The wastes were collected outside the fort (southwest corner) and later taken to far off places to be disposed.

There were common wells, two wells for each street that provided them with water, every morning the women folk crowded around the well for collecting water for their daily use.

DRAINAGE

As in the traditional Kerala houses, there is a well attached to the kitchen and water can be drawn through the opening on the wall. Another courtyard, larger in size is seen next to the kitchen and toilets which is functions as a washing and bathing space.

All houses shared a common wall and were made of ‘Cheekkal katta’, a strong locally available building material, these blocks were cemented with lime plaster and the plinth in which the house stood was made of large granite blocks, which were laid in a special manner, which according to the him is very efficient that the centuries old houses had not been affected by the earthquakes.

In old days the roofs were thatched and the supporting pillars and mezzanine floors were made of timbre. Later thatch roofs were replaced by Mangalore tiles when they were made available in Travancore.

Valiya Sala which is the lengthiest Agraharam in

India.(Thiruvananthapuram)

Agrahrams in Kalpathi -Palakkad

EXAMPLES :

AT PRESENT-

Agraharams the traditional row houses, are today a vanishing part of architectural heritage. The few surviving examples are either owned by the temple trusts or by individuals who haven't had the heart and/or the finances to raze them down. Some are restored and make use of apartments.