Old Houses | Photo: Sachi Hegde
Manipal: "Old houses are so cooling even during this scorching heat", say the residents of Deepak Niwas that lies along the road in Bannanje area in Udupi. They do not wish to demolish their house and it is one of the few old houses left in Udupi. The widening of the road just outside their house has caused them to give away the area outside their house as well as a part of their house. "Our ancestors built this house exactly according to the vaastu, neat and proper. But that doesn't keep others from changing the dimensions of our house today", said a relative living in the house.
The number of old houses still standing, has drastically reduced in Udupi. Almost everyone is more inclined towards new, bigger houses and brighter colours. A number of houses painted with bright colors like purple, pink and orange can be seen in and around Udupi. A 70 year old woman living in a sturdy old house in Udupi said, "I don't see the reason why we should pull down our house. Even though it is very old, it is very sturdy. Besides it also has a wealthy well."
Rajesh Nayak owns an old house too. His house is the only old house left on Kalsanka road but it will be demolished in a few weeks from now. A new house with shops is going to be built on his now existing house. When asked about his feelings of moving into a new house he said, "We are emotionally attached to this place and it will definitely be a hard task for us to see this place coming down. But everyone is happy, so we have to be happy."
Builders are definitely making money through these contracts, but it is not just them who are reaping the benefits. Marble shops, carpenters, electricians and tile shops are also making a good profit. A lady working in a tile shop in Udupi said," The profit has increased by a bit in the last 1-2 years with the new houses coming up. Besides new houses, renovation of old ones has seen a greater increase."
For a few, the widening of the roads has given them a reason to rebuild their houses into something much fancier. While for others, it has just forced them to do what the others are doing. Besides the widening of roads, the general interest of the people is changing from brown tiled roofs to colourful cement terraces. Nowadays, there is a visible change in the trend of building houses.
Sub-edited by Nina Chengappa |
