Srinagar: Kashmir is a treasure house of not only snow-capped mountain ranges, green pastures and picturesque landscape but also houses a unique , historic and rich heritage of vibrant architecture.
Kashmir’s architecture forms an outstanding combination of mosques, shrines, temples, museums, buildings and scenic heritage gardens which hold unique features of art and craft. The architecture is an amalgam of Islamic and Hindu artwork which exist in the form of famous destinations as well.
The architectural marvel of the valley includes wood work, walnut wood carving, brick work, stone carving, window and door making and other handmade wood works.
With the advancement of technology ,the lifestyle of people has also changed, the architecture has changed posing a threat to traditional architecture.
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural heritage (INTACH) J&K Chapter which for the past nearly two decades has been instrumental in creating conservation plans, documenting and analysing the built heritage of Kashmir.
“Certainly, it is not just Kashmir but traditional architectural practices that are endangered all over the world, essentially because there is a shift in building materials and techniques,” said Saima Iqbal, Principal Conservation Architect, at INTACH J&K Chapter.
The houses in Kashmir are now built with modern technologies with cement replacing the mud and iron replacing the timber. Explaining the cause behind decline of Kashmir architecture, Saima said natural resources such as timber are also dwindling as a result of developmental pressures and deforestation which is making traditional building material scarce.
“Over the years, contemporary building techniques and material have replaced traditional methods for ease of accessibility and less building cost and time of construction involved,” she said.
She said another major factor is the expansion of the city from old to newer parts where people adopted contemporary architectural styles and materials introduced by modern-day architects and engineers.
The only examples of vernacular architecture of Kashmir are seen in the traditional shrines and Masjids in Kashmir and in some houses which are beyond outstanding.
“INTACH has been working on advocacy and conservation of the built heritage of Kashmir for the last 20 years. The support from the authorities and members of the public has been laudable throughout. However, there is a lot that still needs to be done. So far we have helped restore the Mughal gardens, important shrines, public buildings and a few traditional houses as well,” she said.
She said there have to be stringent policies, by-laws and control mechanisms for keeping the extant traditional architecture intact and community participation and awareness is equally important to sensitise people about the sense of ownership and pride in their heritage.
“With concerted efforts from stakeholders and organizations, there is certainly a lot of hope and an incredible future for the heritage of Kashmir. There has certainly been many decades of neglect and apathy but all that is slowly changing now and both local authorities and members of people are taking an active role in promoting the built heritage of Kashmir,” Saima said.
About the importance of preserving heritage sites Saima said that the local community is the main stakeholder and end-user of heritage as it provides clues to the past and how the society evolved.
“It is very important that they understand the importance of heritage and traditional building technologies through awareness programmes, workshops and publications so that their involvement inculcates a sense of strong ownership in them and helps promote and uphold the values of cultural heritage,” she said.
Saima said Kashmir’s contemporary architecture, especially residential, has a different character and some architects are doing very aesthetic projects in city extensions and suburbs.
“The problem certainly is where the unique traditional architecture is either being unrecognisably transformed to look modern, especially in the inner city or the buildings are being intentionally demolished to build new constructions. That has to stop and that certainly requires proper professional design guidance and implementation strategies,” she said.
Ishrat Nowshehri, a qualified architect by the Council Of Architecture, said there is a lack of awareness and information.
She believes that local architects know in depth the weather condition, culture and house style of Kashmir and can serve them in a better way.
“Now people have become aware and they consult us before going for any construction because architects use the space which a normal mason cannot do,” Ishrat said.
Ishrat works both on traditional and contemporary designs. Over the years, she has worked on various large projects including government buildings, hotels and residential houses..
She said that carpenters in Kashmir still vouch for traditional architecture including woodwork saying that limited local wood and several other factors have moved people towards using the ply that has replaced the architecture.
Altaf Najar, a young carpenter from Baramulla who has been associated with the woodwork said the taste of people has changed drastically. He said they make some wood carving designs out of traditional wood that was used in the old houses.
“We just turn the old wood of Deodar and Kairu into new designs and make new products like the paneling of houses. The new material like plywood and KB wood does not give that much strength that was in the locally available wood in the past,” he said.
“People are also compelled to use machine-made plywood as the local wood is not available. Even if it is available, it is in less quantity,” he said.
