House at Nagarvado: Site Introduction

The house is in the Nagarvado area of the old city settlement of Patan town, the history of which dates back to the 10th century A.D. The structure is constructed of timber, brick and lime mortar, and is around 250 years old. The current owners are the seventh generation of the Majumdar family, they mention that the house was known as Ghardu Ghar. The house has a traditional rainwater harvesting system with a tanka, which is an underground water tank for storing water. The owner of the house belongs to the Nagar brahmin community, who are said to be migrated from Vadnagar, the name of the area/vado, Nagarvado comes from this community. Several members of the family have served as the diwans of the royal families, such as Gaekwads of Baroda.

The structure has a linear plan with a wooden framed structural system. The house is a three storied structure with a pitched roof and an extended room on the first floor which forms a gateway below for entering the pol. The gateway is known as Pol ni Medi. This extended room served as the office space for the lawyer Shreekant Rai, who was the grandfather of the owner. The central area of the house has an open to sky space, which houses the paniyaru – space for storing drinking water, and the tanka. The main entrance of the house has intricately carved brackets with Gajvyala form and column capitals resembling the Corinthian style.

CHC has conducted a preliminary site visit for the visual assessment of the structure to inform the strategies of safeguarding the structure, which may include supporting the sagged beams, offloading some parts and careful brigading for the interior spaces for safe access.