Rediscovering the Himalayan homes that resist quakes

Architects and researchers are trying to revive local quake-resistant architectural styles such as 'kath khuni' with contemporary interventions

- Avantika Bhuyan

During a research trip in 2013, Jay Thakkar discovered a traditional wood and stone building with a slight tilt in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district. When he asked a villager about it, he was told, "Sahab dharti hil gayi is liye tedha ho gaya. Waapas hilegi tho seedha ho jaayega (Sir, the house tilted when the earth moved. It will move back once the earth shifts again)." Thakkar, an associate professor at the faculty of design and co-founder, Design Innovation and Craft Resource Centre, at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, has been researching Himachal Pradesh's kath khuni architecture and other indigenous building practices of the Himalaya since 2005.

Stories of the earth shifting are common in the Himalayan belt-from Kashmir to Assam-which has been witness to massive earthquakes over the past two centuries. The most recent of these, in 2005 in Kashmir, killed 86,000 on both sides of the border. This year, as Himachal Pradesh witnesses unprecedented rainfall and flash floods, it continues to suffer lethal landslides. According to a 14 August Mint report, more than 200 roads in the region are inaccessible.

But even as the earth continues to shift in the Himalaya, the stories of houses adjusting themselves to this have become few and far between. For the local woodand-stone architecture has given way to pukka cement and RCC.

Continuing calamities are now forcing locals and authorities to shift their perspective. In recent years, there has been an effort to document and research traditional styles as some architects, designers and local builders look to the past to build anew while incorporating modern design and amenities to offer viable alternatives. The efforts continue to be individual-led, however, with state governments yet to show much interest.