Introduction:
The rapid urbanization of Mumbai is bringing about a continuous change in the built fabric of the city. It leads to the gentrification of neighbourhoods and influences the activities in the Gaothans (Urban Villages) –which are small pockets of native settlements within the city. The calm spaces within the settlement are gradually being intruded and encroached upon.
The domesticity of the gaothan can be explained in the way of how domestic activities starts within the four walls of the house leading up to the courtyard then to the adjoining streets, slowly dissipating away.
Our project aims to understand and study the relationship of the residents with their domesticities and its link to the fabric of how gaothans function.
The studies, observations and conversations have been documented into a set of stories explaining the study in a graphical format linking and overlapping the main actors’ domesticities
Methodology:
For this project, key actors and their daily activities were identified - Their routes and response to the spaces within the gaothan were documented and elements of domesticities unpacked.
An attempt has been made at understanding various factors of gentrification that is influencing the gaothan residents and their lifestyle and living patterns. With this, levels of ownership and tenancy have also been studied as a key part of the documentation
Information collection has been done through mapping, photographs, interviews, sketches, inventory and on-site observations.
What are Gaothans?
The urban villages of Mumbai are called Gaothans. They started off as small settlements of agrarian and fishing communities during the 17th century but have now been surrounded by the growing urban sprawl of Mumbai.
These settlements now form a part of the heritage of the city having a distinct architectural & urban character that has been retained through the years while their farmlands made way for the city of Mumbai to grow. The pressure of urbanization in the past few years has largely affected the community that live in these gaothans and the boundaries of these have been diminishing.
A house in the Gaothan
Rapid development has been taking place at the cost of these communities losing their sense of place and their charm. The gaothans and the koliwadas of Mumbai have been demarcated in the Development Plan 2034 as ‘slums’.
The increase of vehicles inside the gaothan is forcing the narrow roads to be widened to make way for the vehicles, which is done by cutting off the existing house boundaries. Even the existing open space is being encroached upon. Increasing family members and lack of space is forcing nuclearization of the families in search of better and a more comfortable way of life outside the gaothan.
Increased dependency on automobiles & commercialization within gaothans have created crowded, unsafe streets
Historical Background: Gaothans in Bandra
The gaothans are the earliest settlements in Bandra. There were 24 gaothans that originally came up during the Portuguese period in the 1700s. Most of these village settlements had agrarian communities. The reason behind this was the extremely fertile land in Bandra which was found naturally and the settlers took advantage of this fertility then onwards. These residents were of Portuguese - East Indian Origin.
Gaothans in Bandra
Each of these gaothans had specific clusters of communities depending on the trade and the services that they provided – for example: farmers, people working at the port, household staff, etc.
When Bombay was hit by the plague (1896 – 1906), most of these villages were affected. Eventually, the residents of these villages had to be evacuated.
Many of these gaothans have become extinct, but those that have survived through the years are under threat of extinction due to rapid urbanization. These settlements are very scenic but the lifestyle of its inhabitants has changed as they continue to live in their ancestral land but in a state of change.
Pali Gaothan:
Pali Gaothan came about it in the 1700s by the British Colonial rulers. It is located in Pali Naka, Bandra - a suburb of Mumbai. Due to its location, it is now developing as a destination for holistic healing centers and health spas, as well as high-end restaurants.
It is located between Dr. BR Ambedkar Road and the 16th Road of Pali Naka. It is a mix-zone neighbourhood. It has both residential and commercial land use. Through the years it has caught great interest as an upcoming office space because of its chic physical character.
First Impressions: Map Sketch of the Gaothan
Two main religious communities living here are mainly Hindus and Muslims. It has close proximity to Pali Naka and Linking Road. All the residents living here form a community called Pali Village Residents Civic Forum (PVRCF)
There has been a significant change in the living patterns of the residents in the Gaothan. Through this project, we have tried to study and understand the patterns of domesticity within its extent.
First Impressions: Essence of Pali Gaothan
Pali was selected as the site to unpack the ecology of domesticity as it displays a scene of transforming communities. The following factors of gentrification influence the pattern of activities within the gaothan, which shifts the existing domesticity patterns making a great scope of study.
First Impressions: Urban Scape
1 Changes in the population of religious communities - transformed community engagement
2 Nuclearization of families – with the children moving away to far off places leaving the senior citizens to take charge of their homes
3 Commercialisation of existing units - Changing the overall residential nature of the gaothan to that of mixed-use.
Commercialization and Change in Ownership Levels
4 Change in ownership levels – People renting off / selling off their homes in order to move out of the gaothan
5 Redevelopments – The residents selling off their homes to the private developers to make way for vertical settlements
The urbanscape exhibits a stark contrast of architectural features: Heritage & Modernist Buildings
Map of Pali Gaothan: The Routes
Theory of Domesticity:
Domesticity means the way one arranges life within certain specific flexible boundaries that go beyond the four walls of homes.
Far beyond an interior setting, the lens of domesticity includes the management of friends and enemies, life forms, and environment through codes and interventions that change the status of matter and material, flora and fauna, and social contracts.
It collects the spiritual, intellectual, chemical, and perceptual aspects that allows designers to operate on. The resultant space designed ends up designing our life - ontological design.
This domesticity thus flows from the confines of the home to the lanes and eventually encompasses the village and its surroundings.
Left: The houses are flanked on either side of the narrow, paved pathway. These streets form as interactive zones among the residents. The houses are painted with bright colours making the space look lively.
Right: Porches form means of semi-private interaction space between the home inhabitants and the outsiders. The residents decorate these porches with a variety of species of plants.
Actors and their Domesticities:
1 Mr Wilson D'sylva
Mr D'sylva is a resident of Pali Gaothan. He is a descendent of the original east Indian settlers. He is the third generation residing in this house and has lived there his whole life - being brought up and schooled there itself.
Actor's Narrative
Gaothan Context:
The house is about 120 years old, built at the heart of Pali Gaothan. The house is a G+1 storey building. The lower storey has an entrance porch and a front yard that houses a Cross. The upper level has a separate entry staircase and is given on rent to a clothing business 'Herringbone and Sui'. The rent that is received by this is used to maintain the home, which is quite an expensive affair; owing to the age of the house and construction materials like wooden flooring, 1.5 feet thick walls and Mangalore tiled roof.
Mr Dsylva's Immediate Domestic Space
Anecdote:
Through the years he has observed changes in the way of life inside the gaothan and a sense of resentment towards the shift in religious community dynamics has started growing within.
Mr Dyslva's Domesticity
He explains how people have grown up and apart and moved away. There has been an intense de-nuclearization of families and the gaothan isn't as close-knit as it was before. The sense of community has ceased to exist.
2 Freddy Fereira
Mr Freddy Ferreira is an octogenarian who has been living in Pali Gaothan past 65 years. He lives with his wife who is also in her 80's.
Actor's Narrative
Gaothan Context:
His house is nestled in a cosy corner in the heart of the Gaothan. The area has a courtyard that is surrounded by a few independent, familial homes – G and G+1.
Mr Ferreira's Immediate Domestic Space
The building in which he lives is a G +1 structure. He stays on the upper level and the original owners’ family lives on the lower level. He used to live on rent in the same house for the past 60 years. It was just around 5 years back, that he bought the house and gained ownership of the flat on the upper level.
Anecdote:
Given his age, he has difficulty in walking and is completely dependant on his house help for daily chores such as buying the groceries, cleaning the house and cooking. Despite this, he does visit his friends' place during get-togethers, birthdays and Christmas.
Mr Ferreira's Domesticity
He uses the space that he is restricted to, for his morning and evening walks. This space is also devoid of vehicular access, making this path more convenient and safe for him to access throughout the day.
3 Ms Geetanjali
Ms Geetanjali is a psychologist who runs a mental health organization in Pali Gaothan. She found this organization with her classmate of two years. She has rented an office here.
Actor's Narrative
Gaothan Context:
Her office is located at the entrance of the gaothan and within the ease of accessibility from Pali Naka. The interiors in her office have recently been upgraded to bright colours and ornate elements, inspired by the aesthetics of the gaothan.
Ms Geetanjali's Immediate Domestic Space
She has rented her office in a 30-year-old G+1 structure, where exterior alterations are restricted due to dispute between the owners, since its multi-ownership building.
Anecdote:
Considering her outgoing nature, she likes to familiarize her self with the gaothan and its residents. She does this during a small break that she likes to take in the evening. The reason she chose the office location as it is was because of the location and easy accessibility for the clients.
Ms Geetanjali's Domesticity
They have tried to give the office a warm, inviting ambience, for the comfort of the clients.
4 Mulkeet Shah
Mulkeet is the owner of an old, and still well-known grocery store 'Modern Stores'.
Actor's Narrative
Gaothan Context:
Home - He stays in a building on the periphery of the gaothan. The building is one of the redeveloped buildings that replaced the original gaothan fabric.
Mr Shah's Immediate Domestic Space
Shop - It is located at the Pali Mala road in Bandra (16th Road). It lies along the line of the oldest stores in Pali, Bandra. It is still a very well known and frequented grocery store.
He can easily see his shop from his flat.
Anecdote:
He explains how the area has changed through the years. His family has been staying in Bandra since the 1920s. The shop has passed down through generations. It continues to be a frequently visited grocery shop by the residents of Pali Gaothan.
Mulkeet's Domesticity
His domesticity explains the two routes that can be taken to reach there – one from inside the gaothan and the other from the main entrance on the main road.
What has been made, remains the role of architecture & design. Domesticating the unfamiliar space, to make it familiar to the inhabitant is the individual's intervention to the built space.
Final Map - Representing the Confluence of Domesticities among the Key Actors in Pali Gaothan
Project Set-Up
* The Documentation, Conceptualization, Design, Composition & Production of the work: by Siddhi Joshi, Shamli Salunke, Soumya Kannan & Sanjana Mallya
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