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Editor's Notes

• #2: Hello, I’m Maitreyi from MDes first year, and my study is about the impacts of topography on Indian garments and architecture
• #3: First of all, what is topography? The topography of an area represents a particular area in detail, including everything natural and man-made — hills, valleys, roads, or lakes.
• #4: India is home to various geographical features such as rivers, mountains, valleys, plateaus, seashores, and deserts. It is the seventh-largest country in the world and covers a total area of 3.2 million km².
• #5: The coastline of the country extends for 7,500 km, and the longest river is holy Ganga which is 2,500 km long. There are four separate regions in the country - the plains, the mountains, the southern peninsula and the desert.
• #6: Physiologically, India can be divided into these 10 areas: The Himalayas, The Indo-GaNgetic Plain, The Deccan Plateau, Central Highlands, West Coast, East Coast, The Great Indian Desert and Rann of Kutch, The Northeastern mountain ranges, The Brahmaputra River Valley, and The Islands of Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
• #7: So, how does that affect the traditional clothing? The purpose of clothing is to help maintain body temperature, water level and other homeostases. Climate and geography are the factors that determine the type of clothes needed and available. The average seasonal temperature, the amount of sunlight and precipitation dictate that amount of covering required.
• #8: And how about architecture? Topography indirectly affects vernacular architecture of a particular place. Due to different land conditions, the temperature, soil type, air pressure, differ at different places, and thus, different material, techniques and styles are used to keep people comfortable and safe from the external forces.
• #9: Let’s talk about the West Coast. It stretches across 1400 km and can be divided into three parts: Konkan, Kanara, and Malabar Coast Konkan: It extends from Daman to Goa. Kanara: It is the central stretch of the coast that comprises three coastal districts of Karnataka Malabar Coast: It is the southern stretch, and extends from the South of Goa to Kanyakumari.
• #10: Let’s dig deeper into the Konkani traditional architecture and garments. Most women of Konkan wear nauvari which is 9 yards of sari and is identified as personality of the Konkani women. A dhotar is from 4-6 feet long and white, mainly worn by men in villages. It is held in place by a drawstring and sometimes with the help of a belt around the waist.
• #11: The Nauvari saree, which means Nine Yards, has a historical milieu (m-ee-l-y-oo). It is said that during the Maratha rule, women were entrusted to help their fellow male warriors. To provide easy movement through the heavily contoured land, Konkani women introduced the Nauvari saree which resembled a male trouser. Since then, it has become the traditional attire for women in Maharashtra. Wearing it reminds them of their competency in the male dominated society and equal stature in the old days, even during the difficult times.
• #12: Traditional Konkani Architecture - Typical traditional houses in Konkan are in the form of Wadas, a type of house with a courtyard in the center. As the humidity level is high in Konkan due to its close proximity to the sea, different forms of courtyards have evolved in Wadas. This type of housing style deals with air and light, resulting to great ventilation of both and it is also fulfills security or privacy concerns due to the exterior of structure.
• #13: The main theme around which Wadas were planned was the courtyard, and the purpose was to provide light and ventilation to the inner parts of buildings, which had thick walls with a very few openings to protect the residents from enemies. Wadas were based on the square grid pattern.
• #14: In mostof the Wadas, there were one or two courtyards. Each compartment of any Wada was positioned according to importance, and used for a specific purpose. Usually, the Phadacha Chowk, the entrance courtyard, was used for official administrative purposes whereas Khasgicha Chowk, the inner courtyard, was a private space. Wadas had fine surface plastering, decorative windows, mahirapi arches and, in many instances, facades patterned the exposed brick masonry walls. Rising to two to four floors, these buildings sported a baradwari on the topmost floor, similar to a penthouse, which also served as a watchtower.
• #15: During the later half of the 18th century, a number of mansions enclosed with fortified walls were built. Peshwa Balaji Bajirao, as known as Nanasaheb, started this tradition by building a grand Wada in Pune, which came to be known as Shaniwarwada. With this Wada, the Peshwa style of Maratha architecture was well and truly established. It was noticeable by its strong fortified walls, which enclosed a large open space with gardens, ponds, fountains, water reservoirs, wells, stables for horses and sheds for cattle as well as a watchtower.
• #16: So, what did we learn? The nauvari saree worn by Konkani women came into existence to provide them with east of movement while moving through the hilly regions that they had to get across to combat their enemies, which also provided them with a sense of pride for being equal to men, at the times of war. The wada style houses of Konkani origin comprise of building materials and techniques to protect the residents from enemies, and humidity due to Konkan’s close proximity to the Arabian sea Topography does affect traditional dresses and architecture of any given place on the planet.