The ancient and medieval architecture of India: a study of Indo-Aryan civilisation

12

HOUSE

PLANNING

placeofthisgeneralassemblywould

beinthe

parks orgroves

ofsacred
trees

planted nearthegates.

The Minasara

gives the maximum

width of the

main

villagestreetsas
5

dandas}

Theothers varied

in widthfrom

I to

5

dandas. The size ofa

single cottagewas

reckonedas

from

24

feet by 16 feet to

40

feet by 32

feet. They

were

generallygrouped

together by fours, so

as to form an

inner

squareorquadrangle:the

"

magic

"

ofthe

squaredependingon

the factthatitafforded thebest

protection forthe

cattleofthe

joint household when they were

driven in from the

pastures

everyevening.

Fourcottages combined into

asinglehabitation, with

its

owninnercourtyard, wasthe next

stepin the evolutionofthe

Indian house-plan. Suchahouse

might belong to the chief

herdsman,whowasanimportantpersonage

intheAryanvillage

communities, or to theheadmanof the

village,both ofwhich

positionswerehereditary. Thiswasthederivationof

ahouse-

plan, eminently practical and suitable for a tropical climate,

whichisstill universal

in India forall

classes, from thewell-

to-do ryot to the Maharajah, except when Indians prefer

to

maketheir surroundings uncomfortable

and insanitary by

adopting building fashions appropriate

only for European

climaticand socialconditions.

Just

as thesinglecottage,orvillage

hut, formed the unit

ofhouse-planning,sothevillageplanwas

theunitusedtoform

themahalla,orward, intownplanning.^

The Manasara

recog-

nisesfortydifferentclassesofvillagesand

towns,according

to

the extent of the landsowned bythem

;

commencingwith

a

village-unitwhichwas

500

dandas,or

4,000feetsquare,

sothat

^

Adanda,rodorpole= 8 feet.

*

ThecityofJaipur,laidoutbyaBengaliarchitectin

theeighteenth

century,isthe

bestknown exampleofamodern Indiancityplanned

inaccordance

withtheancient

Hindutraditions. See

"

IndianArchitecture

: its Psychology, Structure,

andHistory,"

p.

31

6,

fig.

49.