Legacy of sand & shade persists in Udangudi courtyards

Mahadiya, aged two anda half, squats amid the fine grains of sand in the courtyard of her ancestral home on Chidambara Theru, Udangudi, in Thoothukudi district. The house, spanning generations, retains clay walls, open courtyards and palm-wood trusses under a tiled roof—features preserved by current custodian Nazar, who resists covering the courtyard despite a trend toward enclosing such spaces.

- HD Bureau THOOTHUKUDI

The courtyard is more than a play area: its sandy floor is said by the family to support immune health and hand-eye coordination ina child. Nazar asserts that retaining the courtyard is also a matter of climate appropriateness: night breezes, evaporative cooling and natural ventilation all benefit from the openness. He has brought in masons from Chennai to repair peeling plaster, but champions tradition over modernisation.