Photographs of houses and huts from Dakshinachitra in South India

Dakshinachitra is a Heritage village at Muttukadu on the new Mamallapuram coastal road, barely half an hour's drive from Chennai. This model village creates an authentic atmosphere of the lifestyle of the diverse regions of  South India. Besides traditional huts and houses, Dakshinachitra also boasts of craftsmen who display their wares. Folk artists perform for the benefit of tourists. Good place for those interested in the culture and heritage of South India.

Here are a few photographs of the replicas of the huts and traditional houses of yore. The first picture is a depiction of a house with a courtyard in the centre, and a spacious porch outside of the house. The way the house is designed, it will keep cool in summer. This style of architecture was common in the olden times in India. Note the small Rangoli design at the entrance, which is traditionally a welcome to the deities. A close look at the board outside the doorway will give a clue to the exact region the house belongs to. To my reading it is Chettinad House, from Kerala in South India.

This is a depiction of the same house with a closer look at the courtyard paved with red tiles. Photographs of Goddesses are seen on the ceiling at the entrance to the courtyard. In those days Indians invariably lived in large joint families and a courtyard was ideal for the community living, particularly for the women of the house. It also provided sufficient light to all the rooms of the house, important when there was no electricity. Wood and stone is used freely.

The picture below is a re-creation of a traditional house from the south of India, and it's called Ambur House". Here too you will see a fairly large outdoor porch. It is probably from Tamil Nadu although am not sure as the script is unfamiliar to me.

The photograph below is a representation of the same dwelling. You can see the small indoor porch before one enters the main rooms of the house. Framed family photographs adorn the walls. This is again a traditional practice. Note the wooden doors.

The picture below shows a replica of a thatched hut from South India. Poorer people naturally had smaller houses without tiles. The grinding stone shown on the porch is a must in many Indian homes even today. Chutneys and masalas, some say, taste better when ground this way.

Related viewing: Sketches of the traditional Indian houses as depicted in the above pictures:  Sketches of traditional Indian houses or Middle class kitchens of rural India
Or Sketches and drawings of thatched huts or  Huts in an Indian village or Photos of thatched huts from the Chennai area
Or check out some pictures of an Ancient Narsimha Temple in Pune in Maharashtra, India.

-->
-->

Photos of thatched Indian Huts from the Chennai area

These are images of thatched huts in India. The pictures are of actual huts where poor people live, around Chennai. According to the wiki:

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (Cladium mariscus), rushes and heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates. Thatch is still employed by builders in developing countries, usually with low-cost, local vegetation. By contrast in some developed countries it is now the choice of affluent people who desire a rustic look for their home or who have purchased an originally thatched abode.

I have another post where I have posted pictures of Huts in an Indian village, which was taken in Western India, about 200 kms north-east of Mumbai but those huts had cobbled roofs. That little village near Mumbai looks more prosperous even though it was smaller and further away from a town center.

We came across this particular village on the way from Chennai to Puducherry.

Thatching can be not just economical, but also effective. Properly made with the right materials, a thatched hut can be quite waterproof, more than the other materials.

More related images: A village in Maharashtra or Sketches and drawings of thatched huts (based on the photos in this post)
You might also like: Huts in an Indian Village or Photographs of houses and huts from Dakshinachitra in South India (which has a picture of a model thatched hut) or Middle class kitchens of rural India
For urban poverty check out Slums in India - Aerial View or Homeless in India - Photographs

-->
-->

Nubian Village of Egypt

These are pictures of a Nubian Village. Nubia lies along the Nile and is partly in Egypt and partly in northern Sudan. Tourists are often taken to see a typical Nubian village because of its different architectural style. The Nubian culture has existed since ancient times.

This particular village is meant for tourists to see and the houses are show-cased.

This is the living room in a Nubian hut. It has wall paintings and other decorations.

Another picture of the living area.

This is a Nubian kitchen, a mix of the ancient decorations on the walls and  modern plastics. The hut belongs to a poor family.

Related Images: Nubian Boatman from Egypt
For pictures of Egypt's capital city try this post: Cairo City Photographs
For a photograph of men smoking hookah in Cairo try this one: Smoking hookah on the streets of Cairo or to know more about Ancient Egypt try this one: Temple and statues of Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt

-->

-->

Huts in an Indian Village

Indian Villages are not all about being mired in poverty where people cannot eke out a living. The following pictures are of a village about 200 kilometers north-east of Mumbai (near Diwekarwadi) where the houses and surrounding areas are clean, the roofs of the huts are cobbled and there is satellite television as well. Sure, these people are poor, but they are not desperately poor. And they certainly live better lives than the urban poor.

They make their living through agriculture

A photograph of a cobbled hut in a village. You can see the wide entrance and porch, a design good for the summer heat. The hut is built under a large shady tree. In India the evenings are cooler but the houses may have heated up. Sitting in the shade under a porch is something that people do. A small satellite dish is visible in the right of the picture, on the roof.

The satellite dish is visible in the center of the photograph. These people are not so poor that they cannot affort satellite television.

More related images: A village in Maharashtra or Middle class kitchens of rural India
You might also like Sketches and drawings of thatched huts or Photographs of houses and huts from Dakshinachitra in South India (which has an example of model thatched hut) or photos of thatched huts from the Chennai area
For urban poverty you can check the post below:
Slums in India - aerial view or Homeless in India - Photographs

-->
-->