World Environment Day: A look at the history of sustainable architecture in ancient India

The Ajanta caves, in contrast to different rock minimize caves, have low ceilings which had been particularly designed to permit scorching air from prayer halls to rise and transfer into the encircling cells that held cool water.

By Monidipa Dey, 

“The best schooling is that which doesn’t merely give us info however makes our life in concord with all existence” -Rabindranath Tagore.

Coexistence with nature has been an integral a part of all historic cultures, together with India. That is evident from the assorted non secular, cultural, and conventional practices; rituals; artwork and sculptures; and folklores that also stay alive in several methods within the day by day lives of Indians. The considerations for environmental conservation and calls for for sustainable growth beginning with the Stockholm Convention of Setting (1992) and the UN Earth Summit (1992) are new in origin when in comparison with the age previous cultural and conventional practices of environmental conservation current in India.

“mātā bhūmih putruahan pṛthivyā:’’

(Trans. – ’Don’t hurt the surroundings, don’t hurt the water and the flora, earth is my mom, I’m her son, might the waters stay contemporary, don’t hurt the waters…. Tranquility be to the environment, to the waters, to the crops and vegetation”- Atharva Veda, Prithvi Sukta, slok no. 12).

A have a look at the traditional Indian literature exhibits us innumerable references to the administration, preservation, and safety of surroundings. Texts such because the Arthashastra, Brahamanas, Upanishad, Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and so on., are replete with verses that discuss of defending the pure assets, which assist us to grasp the traditional concepts behind environmental conservation and the insistence on sustaining a stability throughout the forest ecology. Moreover the traditional texts, from an archeological viewpoint the presence of extremely superior metropolis planning, sewage system, and water administration methods within the Indus-Saraswati civilization converse of the significance that our ancients positioned on dwelling in concord with the pure surroundings.

Historical Inexperienced Buildings

The UN World Fee on Setting and Improvement has said that with a purpose to be sustainable one has to “meet the wants of the current with out compromising the power of future generations, to fulfill their very own wants, particularly as regards to use and waste of pure assets.” Protecting this thoughts in the previous few a long time there was an growing variety of “Inexperienced buildings” which are designed in a means which retains them in sync with sustainable environmental growth. Curiously, the concept behind these “Inexperienced buildings” aren’t new, and date again to the traditional instances, when out there pure assets had been used effectively, avoiding pointless wastages. Indigenous supplies particular to the areas had been used with a purpose to hold the homes heat or cool primarily based on the climatic zones, whereas elaborate sewage and water provide programs had been constructed with the out there pure supplies.

The Ajanta caves, which type a sequence of 29 rock-cut caves from historic India, display how the architects of these instances would make optimum use of the out there pure assets at hand. The vaulted ceilings of those rock minimize caves had solar home windows that might mild up the prayer halls naturally. The Ajanta caves, in contrast to different rock minimize caves, have low ceilings which had been particularly designed to permit scorching air from prayer halls to rise and transfer into the encircling cells that held cool water. This scorching air would then be cooled naturally, resulting in the cooling of all the cave.

One other common pure constructing materials from prehistoric and historic instances is Cob, which is a mixture of water, subsoil, and fibrous supplies similar to straw as additional complement. Cob constructed partitions have good thermal mass, and a mix of thatched roofs and cob partitions make for a nicely insulated heat home in chilly settings. Throughout the valley of Lahoul and Spiti a have a look at the previous conventional homes present that these are mud constructed homes with flat roofs topped with native grasses, which trapped the warmth for an extended interval. A well-known instance of such mud constructed constructions is the 996 CE constructed Tabo mud monastery in Spiti. The cob constructed constructions are additionally identified to be earthquake proof against a big extent. Rammed earth is one other materials used from historic instances for constructing homes, and has been extensively used throughout the Center Japanese nations and Southeast Asian international locations.

Blocks of ice positioned circularly to type a dome formed home that’s popularly often called Igloos have been utilized by Eskimos for a lot of centuries, and is one other instance of sustainable surroundings pleasant construction. The ice blocks that had been tightly packed served as insulation, which stored it heat underneath the dome at round 32 levels Celsius. The low tunnel into the igloo additional helped in preserving the warmth inside, whereas a high vent helped the nice and cozy air to maneuver out with a purpose to stop the ice blocks from melting.

Badgirs, had been historic methods to maintain the insides of a constructing cool, and had been common in scorching dry areas. On this case buildings would have wind towers with openings that might let the cool air circulate in from simply above the bottom stage, and direct it to the underground dwelling chambers conserving them cool. The new air which rises upwards can be directed in the direction of the openings on the high and allowed to circulate out. The identical air circulate tower approach was additionally utilized in water reservoirs in scorching arid areas, which stored the water saved at close to freezing temperatures even throughout summer season months, owing to the method of evaporative cooling. Such cooling towers are nonetheless seen within the Center East, and a few elements of Rajasthan.

Bamboo, now extremely touted as environmental pleasant and a sustainable constructing materials, has been in use in India and China from the traditional instances. Bamboo, which is waterproof in nature, additionally exhibits nice rigidity and tensile energy, and for that motive had been in common use for constructing historic bridges and homes.

One other instance of sustainable and surroundings pleasant structure are the traditional and medieval step-wells or baolis seen throughout India. Baolis are man-made step-wells that had been constructed to function underground water assets, and performed a major function in water conservation. Extra generally seen within the western elements of India, the baolis offered villages with water for ingesting, washing, bathing, and in addition for irrigation, particularly during times of water shortages in seasonal fluctuations. The frequent options for every type of baolis would usually be colonnaded ranges or storeys, and a flight of stairs that led from the topmost stage to the water beneath, which was primarily contemporary groundwater. The baolis had been additionally used for various ceremonial and non secular functions, and the shaded pavilions functioned as retreat rooms within the summers. Folks dwelling within the Indian subcontinent have at all times been concerned in water harvesting, and that’s evident from the superior and elaborate water administration that had been created by the Harappans. The oldest instance of water administration in India is discovered from the proto-historic period in several Harappan websites. The assorted tanks, interconnected chains of reservoirs, cisterns, drainage channels, private and non-private wells, baths, dams, and dock (in Lothal) seen in numerous websites, similar to Dholavira, Banawali, Kalibangan, and so on., exemplify the excellence of the water administration system of these instances. The Harappans had been additionally skilled builders of raised hydraulic constructions of varied varieties, and had been the primary to start out utilizing the bottom water assets by sinking a nicely.

Whereas our ancestors didn’t face any dearth of pure assets of their instances, it’s wondrous to notice the efforts they put into conserving these assets for future generations. Nevertheless, with the approaching in of the Industrial Revolution overexploitation of pure assets began, inflicting a whole breakdown within the conventional practices adopted for making a sustainable environment the place people may dwell in concord with nature.

(The writer is a well known journey, heritage and historical past author. Views expressed are private and don’t replicate the official place or coverage of the Monetary Categorical On-line.)