DWELLINGS OF QUAZI TOLA GHAZIPUR

1 SEMINAR INDIAN HABITAT | DWELLINGS OF QUAZI TOLA GHAZIPUR

Contents

I Acknowledgements 1

1. Dissertation Brief 4

1.1 Why Quazi Tola 4

1.2 Scope of Work 5

2. Project Timeline 7

3. Context and Background 9

3.1 Ghazipur City 9

3.2 Town Hall... A Spatial Narrative 11

3.3 Walking around the Quazi Tola Alleys 15

3.4 The Community 17

4. Literature Review 19

4.1 Constituents of a Settlement 19

5. Tools and Methodology 26

6. Translation to Maps 28

6.1 Age Map 29

6.2 Built Map 30

6.3 Realm of Public and Private Open spaces 31

7. The Beginning and The Changing Direction 33

8. Observations From Interviews 36

9. Pedestrian Experience 38

10. Conclusion 41

11. Bibliography 43


Acknowledgements

I wish to thank my guides Prof. S.M. Akhtar and Ar.Mohd. Firoze Anwar for helping

me select the topic. I would like to thank my parents and frequent constant

encouragement and endless support. It was their tireless efforts and constant

persuasion which made this report possible.



Dissertation Brief

Everything in the universe displays dynamism, as time passes entities are not what

one had seen them last. The changes can be positive or negative and changes are

evitable. Similarly in case of settlements, or on a more micro level in case of human

dwellings, they will undergo certain ameliorations or degradation but it is

necessary for them to evolve with time to meet demands of future and overcome

efficiently, the difficulties enroute.

Now, it is obvious that development patterns displayed by each settlement will be

unique owing to the host of variations. From Physical tangible level to social,

economic, anthropological and psychological intangible level, than these variations

can be categorised ranging from landforms, terrain, altitude, climate etc. as

palpable entities, on one hand and culture, ethnicity, language, religion, social

stratification etc. as the incorporeal entities on the other. In order to understand

these peculiarity and nuances an insight is needed into the ‘way life’ of people of a

place and how have they evolved over the years and what evolution pattern they

are following.

Why Quazi Tola?

“In order to understand the relationships between man and space, we have to

make a hypothesis that each settlement is part of a hierarchical system. The

"village" is the basic settlement which directly links man with space.” – Doxiadis

Heraclitus left us with a precious wisdom when he said, that the only thing that’s

constant is change. As the environment around us changes, we evolve by default.

That is the beauty of nature. This principle applies to cities too, and it becomes

important for people to know their cities, their origin, and their roots and where


they belong, as it has already etched a certain sense of being in them. This is the

symbiotic relationship of impact people share with their cities.

Ghazipur has long been denied its due recognition has its often overshadowed due

to its proximity to Banaras. It is unfortunate, that compared to the development in

the city in the past 2 decades, it has in fact witness relative degradation in terms of

infrastructure and quality of life; standard of living has gone up though. Most

households own a personal vehicle, top and multinational companies are seeping

in, most females are graduate- change is happening but at a very slow pace.

Scope of Work

The scope of the project demands understanding this lifestyle through the spaces

people live in. A detailed qualitative special analysis of the environment was to be

carried out explain the importance of what is required to be communicated. A

study of culture, lifestyle and history was to be undertaken to understand the

heritage value of the precinct.

The issues of the city were to be identified and place against heritage features for

resultant solutions. These had to lead to trend analysis and forecasting for

conservation direction and rejuvenation of the city.

Apart from the physical understanding of the space, it was also important to look

into the psyche of the residents of a community of this nature with respect to their

environment.



Project Time Line

RESEARCH PHASE – I RESEARCH PHASE – II ANALYSIS AND INFERENCES

Research and

analysis Literature and

study about Urban Planning, Indian Architecture after Independence and conservation

Interviews Transcription Photo

documentation Spatial analysis

Further analysis

of the data collected

Relevant data collection and sorting of data.

Visualization through maps and photographs.

Detail special analysis character definition and distinction

Parallel village studies

Detailing the maps Understanding the

issues Matrix charts for

valuation Resultant Scenario Presentation of

authorizes and concerned parties at stake.



Context and Background

Ghazipur is a city and municipal corporation in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the

four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ghazipur

also constitutes one of the five distinct tehsils, or subdivisions, of the Ghazipur

district. The city of Ghazipur is located in the middle Ganges valley of North India,

in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, stretching parallel to the river

Ganges. Its neighbouring cities are Varanasi, Jaunpur, Buxar in Bihar, Ballia, Mau,

Chandauli and Azamgarh. Initially Ballia and Mau were part of Ghazipur district but

latter were made separate districts.

Ghazipur City

An Excerpt from my diary

Friday 28 February 2014

“There has never been a riot here”, my maamu (maternal uncle) says casually

flipping through the headlines of a local newspaper without taking his eyes off and

I wonder how it is possible even possible today in this post 9/11 and post 26/11

world. He takes a contended sip from his meticulously brewed tea, “Although there

is majority of Hindus here, Muslim never felt threatened in this city as you can

observe that all Muhallas (neighbourhoods) have mixed religious population

Self-Clicked picture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_corporation#India

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradesh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghazipur_district

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varanasi_division

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehsil#India


residing”, he adds looking up for the first time. There was pride in his tone as he

said this.

I remember my mother recalling her childhood, when neighbour would give her

elder sisters a hand in the kitchen on festivals and how the Hindu ladies would

come and sit in the Milaad (a gathering where Phophet Mohammad’s teaching and

life are discussed) with their heads covered properly with the pallu of their saari;

how she would attend the Hawan’s and Pooja (Hindu rituals) at their neighbour’s

and the gala time the entire family would have on Holi. It is surprising, in spite of

living in capital city of India which is said to have one of the most advanced

societies country and having more Hindu friends than Muslims I have not attended

a single Holi function.

I smile, wishing I could say something like this for my city. I put on backpack loaded

with my architectural rescue kit consisting camera, sketchbook, compass,

measuring take, shades, water and everything capable of being kept in the

overflowing bag pack. As soon as I open the door and step out the aroma of fresh

hot Imarti draws me straight the sweet shop right across the road and manage

binging on three imartis even after a typical Uttar Pradesh three course breakfasts.

The shops would open at seven in Ghazipur and city is bristling with energy till ten

in the evening, after that there is rapt silence. It is the land of morning larks and

early risers.


Town Hall… A Spatial Narrative

Excerpts from Diary

Saturday 1 March 2014

Its eight in the morning, here I am sitting on the highest point of my terrace – right

on top of the water tank, for a better view of the city. The terrace of our house is



one of the highest in the city and climbing on the water tank was one of the most

memorable cheap thrills I have got from my nano adventures. Armed with a

camera I stand there like a wannabe sniper impatiently waiting for her target to

show up when I see a bunch of kids playing on their terrace and I wish if only my

monetary capabilities had replaced by my fourteen point two megapixel digicam

with a DSLR.



After devoting my entire morning to monkey business, I come down for lunch, eat

like a gorilla and leave for my mission. After walking hardly fifty steps of forty nine

meters to be precise, I am here right in front of the town hall. I see a bunch of kids

playing in nearby, I do not recognise them at first until one of them comes running

to me, asking me if me if I was same the girl on the roof of the big white house who

had taken their pictures. Looking quite enamoured by my camera they were more

than to pose for the camera. One of them even offered to pluck ripe tamarind for

me from the huge tree adjacent to the town hall building. My God such warmth

and selfless concern, that too for a random stranger, I was overwhelmed. They all

invited me to their homes, but of course I could not go to a dozen houses so I just

preferred to have a chit chat with these kids, play a game or two of Pitthu and

retraced my steps back home, while one of them offered to accompany me of my

daily pilgrimage for the next two days.

Town hall in Ghazipur is the hub of every activity under the flipping sun –

Processions, cricket matches and meetings etc. There is mosque one side and

dwellings, including the Pradhan’s house. In fact one of the kids I met there was the



Pradhan’s grandson. It was amazing to see kids from varied financial setting gel

with each other without any distinction of class and status.

`


Walking along the Quazi Tola Lanes



The Community

Quazi Tola means the community of the educated. Mixed population is a key

characteristic of the neighbourhood of Ghazipur. However, since the settlement is

ancient and the legacy of people with common perspective living together has

persisted here. One can has ninety eight per cent of the households are educated

and economically well off. But it is amazing that who would find at least six dialects

of Hindi in a single neighbourhood which again show a mosaic of cultures existing

in harmony.



Literature Review

Constituents of a Settlement1

Man and the space surrounding him are connected in many ways within a very

complex system. Man's space is just a thin layer on the crust of the earth,

consisting of the five elements which shape him and are shaped by him: Nature, in

which he himself lives; the society which he has formed; the shells (or structures)

which he builds; and the networks he constructs.

In the past, man lived in several scales: in part he lived in his personal scale, that is,

by himself; in part, with his family; in part, with his immediate neighbours, with his

distant neighbours, or with his fellow citizens in the city and in the city-state. His

participation in the life of people beyond his city was very small, and his meetings

with other nationals were very often limited to the battlefield.

Today the radio or television set occupies a considerable part of what used to be

time for intra-family contacts, chats, and discussions, and people receive news

1 Anthropocosmos. The World of Man

Address delivered at the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, on July 29, 1966 upon the occasion of the Receipt of the

Aspen Award


from the other end of the world much more easily than they do from the other end

of their small city. Because commentators for world news have been selected much

more carefully than young reporters covering local news, not only the quantity but

also the quality of news coming from the small old scales is now of a lower order. If

we sub divide the whole earth into a scale of units of several classes -- man, room,

family, city, the whole earth – we see that it is becoming easier for us to get news

from big distances and more and more difficult from small ones.

Meanwhile man's physical contacts with his neighbours have become much more

difficult. Who, in our days, can allow his child to run across the street and meet the

neighbours and make friends? It is a well-known fact that people living in blocks of

apartments cannot be as friendly as next-door neighbours. The head-to-feet

contacts (of people at different floors) do not help people to become acquainted,

as did the head-to-head, feet-to-feet relationship of the older days. The car has

penetrated among people and broken their direct physical relationship, while the

elevator does not help people to meet residents of other floors.

The number of potential human contacts has now increased enormously, and this

means that man can have a much greater choice of contacts than before; but many

of these contacts are of a different nature and depend on preselected choices --

the ones made by the networks of telecommunications, for instance. The old

balance between contacts at several scales has been replaced by new ones, and we

do not know how these contacts are influencing man's nature. The same forces

that allowed man to gain new levels of community life at new scales have deprived

him of his old scales and his old communities. The expression that the "earth is

shrinking" is not accurate; the truth is that major dimensions of the earth are

shrinking while minor ones are expanding. The expression "man is expanding" is

not accurate; it is true that new dimensions at a large scale are being created, but

his choices over small distances are being reduced because they are becoming

more difficult.


The human scale of relationships is not shrinking; it is becoming larger and more

inhuman. Whereas the gain of new scales is beneficial for man, provided we cannot

allow man to shrink with it; if man is expanding we cannot allow him to expand in

the minor scales since this would threaten his very existence. In both cases we have

a lack of balance between man and the space around him, and man is in danger. It

is therefore natural for man to try to develop the contacts with his surroundings he

had in the past -- but we are depriving him of this opportunity by leading him

toward a human settlement which is losing its minor scales. The "shrinking earth" is

cramping the non-shrinking man in a very dangerous way. The value of these

arguments is easily understood when we apply them to children, who open their

eyes and their hands in order to develop contacts with the world around them. As

things stand we tell them that this is possible only as far as the apartment door --

beyond that is the unknown, unfriendly, hostile land into which they may walk only

when an adult is holding their hand. How can they discover their world? And how

can the grown-ups find their balance in their own world? Modern man is turning

into a lonely troglodyte right in the middle of a dense crowd. What will be his

benefit from the great shrinking world when his ties with his fellow men are

breaking?

2Since the beginning of his history man has been striving to live in more than one

scale; he formed families, tribes, villages, cities, nations, and leagues of all these

and he always tried to create larger social and physical scales within which he could

develop even better. In this process he never eliminated the scales and levels of a

lower order-- he always enriched his space and never impoverished it. Our era is

the first during which the opposite is happening. It is time for us to understand that

we need to live in all scales, the old ones, which should not be destroyed, and the

new ones to be added. Only in this way will our life gain from technological

2 Man and the Space around Him from Saturday Review, December 14, 1968, p. 21-23: ill.


progress and not be endangered -- and this should be our goal, until somebody can

prove, if anyone can, that the elimination of minor levels of communities will be

beneficial for man. Life in all scales and at all levels requires the definition of these

scales and levels. There are fifteen levels on our earth today and one at least

beyond it, a total of sixteen levels of community organizations for present-day

man. These levels begin from the biological unit of the single man, proceed to the

room, and then to the biological and social unit of the family, to the

neighbourhoods of several sizes, to the town of the past, to the large city, to the

metropolis and beyond it, until they arrive at the whole earth and communities

that may be beyond it. Man needs to be given the chance to isolate himself or

come into contact with others, at all these levels. He needs the opportunity of

isolation within his family house -- therefore a single room for every member -- but

also of meeting with other family members, therefore a living room for the family.

He must be given the chance of isolating himself from his neighbours within his

house or his garden with high compound walls, but also of meeting with them in

the small street, the square without cars but with works of art, the public hall, the

pub, and the corner store. He must also be given the chance to meet with larger

and larger groups in corresponding places, from clubs to the theatre and the opera.

To achieve this he must meld his way of living, as expressed in his city, by creating

distinct communities of all sizes, at all levels, belonging to a total hierarchical

system of communities. This is an organizational need. When I speak of hierarchical

structure I do not mean an operation and function of society which would be

exclusively hierarchical. The structure of the city should be hierarchical so that

every community of a lower order belongs to the one of a higher order and

through it to even higher ones. But the function of the city, the movement of

people within it, was and is free, and everybody must be given the opportunity to

move in all directions. Unlike natural organisms, our cities tend to allow for the

maximum of choices in movement. This alone justifies their existence. We should

not be afraid to organize our lives and our cities with communities at all levels; we


do it for our rooms and our houses and we are not prisoners in themeven when we

lock the doors as long as we are the ones to keep the keys. We should do the same

for our communities at all levels; we should construct them properly in a way

which will allow us to belong to them and be free to move out of them on a

temporary or permanent basis. Sometimes I am asked why I insist on constructing

and separating the communities in such a way. My answer is that this is the only

natural way, since only this type of solution leaves people free to choose what they

like; the opposite -- the elimination of

community boundaries and consequent condemnation of people to lives deprived

of all minor levels of community organization -- would mean imposing life at one

scale only, would mean imposing society on man, and this would threaten our own

freedom. It could possibly destroy the individual.

If we manage to structure our city hierarchically, we will not be confused any

longer by the arguments of whether we must live in the neighbourhood or the city,

in the city or the metropolis, the metropolis or the megalopolis -- since we will

learn that this is not the way to face our problems. Similarly, the issue is not one of

"national" versus "international," but one of both blended in the proper way at

every moment and for every case. We must learn to live in all sizes of communities,

in a proper balance. We must all be able to live in all scales, and each one must do

this in his own way by selecting his own balance of life in different scales.

If we must all live in all scales, we must learn how to plan and build our cities in

such a way as to give all of us the maximum choices. Since our cities restrict,

because of their structure, the total number of our choices – we cannot for

example walk through a highway or a wall --we must study the type of structure

that eliminates the

smallest possible number of alternatives. To achieve this we must conceive the

best type of life and then build the structure that allows the best function in the

sense of a maximum of choices. We must establish certain criteria leading to a

system of alternatives, since there are an enormous number of them. Such criteria


should be easily understood and judged by everybody concerned so that the

expression of opinions can become an objective one, and consequently all opinions

can be compared and assessed on the same basis.



Tools and Methodologies

In order to understand the residential fabric of a place, there are various physical

and cultural measurement tools required. Merely analysis of what exist may not

produce genuine results. Interaction with people with all walks of life, especially

the elderly gives a clear picture of what a place has been through. Going through

old records of demographic surveys and its comparison with the present may be

useful in understanding the evolution pattern of the city. Comparing old

photographs and paintings with the present one also produces interesting results.



Translation to Maps

Figure Ground


Built Map


Building Age Map


Realm of Public and Private Open spaces



The Beginning and the Changing Direction

Ghazipur has given India a lot of geniuses, freedom fighters, poets etc. However,

many were denied benefits of quality education and trade opportunities etc.

People were reluctant to move out of the city in search of jobs and education with

the city is picking up speed initially. More and more markets are opening in the city

increasing the opportunities for merchants and local shop keepers. However, the

upper class or the economically superior section still prefers to Banaras for markets

and recreation on weekends. Ghazipur produces the finest professional, and it will

prove to be beneficial in the long run if they continue to practice with in the city

and help their successors come up.





Observations from Interviews

Interview with the locals, brought some interesting observations. Varied people

gave varied perception of spaces.

Rendezvous with a Potters’ Family

This is a joint family of five people the parents, grandparents, and a little girl. The

grandfather, the Head of the family is visually impaired and yet manages to

produce perfect artefacts of earth. He had bought pieces of land in his better days

and since been earning each brick to build his house. The Family, apart from

making earthen artefacts at home they also bring earthen toys from Banaras and

sell them here.

While the girl aspires to go and pursue her studies abroad, for her grandmother it is

a distant dream as she heaves a sad sigh. While the Grandparents are quite

comfortable with whatever little they have, the mother finds it a bit of challenge

living in a single room set with the rest given that her privacy is often

compromised. And if ever a guest comes over, that problem multiplies.



Pedestrian Experience

An Excerpt from my diary

25 February 2014

I open the door a whiff of cool breeze from brushes past my face, mixed with the

aroma of Agarbatti. A warm smiling face with glistening eyes welcomes me. My

Maami is certainly glad to have me home. I am asked to get dressed and come

down for lunch. My Train was delayed by four hours. I am fatigue. The lunch was

delicious and I ate with voracious appetite. A brief chit chat, recharged by the

home atmosphere, I am all set to greet the city.

I run in to a childhood friend on the way and we are rushing to our favourite Chaat

wala. This guy makes the best Chaat in the city. I am standing here relishing the

holy chaat and looking around. A lot has changed since my last visit three years

ago. Lost in nostalgia pacing towards nowhere I run into yet another unforgettable

person. This gentleman called Mithau has served our family for generations. He is

certainly glad to see me. He asked about my mother who he had taken care of

when she was a kid. He is disappointed for a split second when I tell him that she

has not come along with me but the smile returns instantly as he hands me a cone

of peanuts he was selling. I ask him to come see me in the house one of these days

while I am here. “Bhabhi toh rahi nahi ab (Bhabhi is longer alive)”, he says referring

to my grandmother who passed away six years ago. I am overwhelmed to see this

kind of regard for human relationships which is a rare commodity in my college.


Pedestrian experience in Town Hall has always been a delightful one, though there

are no picturesque landscapes here, the bazaars brimming with enthusiasm and

iridescent facades make up for that.




Conclusion

Each entity of every household in every settlement is unique and special in its own

respect. People carve out best possible dwellings with the mastery of their minds,

collective needs and available resources. Most of the times these needs are es with

the family compromised due to non-availability of sufficient wealth or at times a

member has to compromise for the family at large, whatever be case, people learn

to live.

This project taught me few very important lessons which I wish I had learnt before.

Solace lies in the company of the family, also being surrounded by those who

genuinely wish things go well for us give us immense strength, happiness lies in

sense of pride in one’s own belongings. A person living in the most beautiful

mansion may not be the happiest man.

Architecture is beyond brick and mortar.




Bibliography

Anthropocosmos. The World of ManAddress delivered at the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies,

on July 29, 1966 upon the occasion of the Receipt of the Aspen Award

Man and the Space around Him From Saturday Review, December 14, 1968, p. 21-23: ill.

Documents

DWELLINGS OF QUAZI TOLA GHAZIPUR