The traditional buildings of Coorg, or Kodagu, are among the most striking cultural expressions of this distinctive region of South India. For centuries the belief systems, social bonds, and family rituals associated with these distinctive built forms ensured their preservation and the continuity of their place in the life of the community. These elaborate, handsomely built mud, stone, and timber structures served as physical testaments to the prosperity and wellbeing of Kodava families. The fast pace of cultural change that is now sweeping India poses grave threats to traditional skills and indigenous built forms. The first task in conserving a cultural tradition is to document it thoroughly. Towards that end, this book documents the three major building types of Coorg architecture: the ainemane, the temple, and the independent house. In addition to providing a record of a distinctive architectural tradition, the book attempts to inculcate a fuller understanding the appreciation of the values, beliefs, and practices that shaped it. out of this, we believe, will emerge the commitment to preserve and protect the tradition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Brinda Somaya
Brinda Somaya believes that development and progress must proceed without straining the cultural and historic environment. She sees the architect's role as that of a guardian and conscience of the built and unbuilt environment. This belief underlies her work at Somaya and Kalappa, the firm she has headed for the last three decades, with offices in Bangalore and Mumbai. Her oeuvre, spanning large corporate, industrial and institutional buildings extends to public corporate, industrial and institutional buildings extends to public spaces, which she has rebuilt and sometimes reinvented as pavements, parks, and plazas. Her work has won several awards, both nationally and internationally, most recently the UNESCCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai. Her civic commitments include service on the Urban Heritage Conservation Committee and the selection committee for Principal of Sir J.J. College of Architecture. She is also a member of Mumbai's initiative for the Protection and Improvement of Streets and Public Spaces. She has served on the Board of Advisors for the International Archive of Women in Architecture, and chaired a conference and organized an exhibition in Mumbai on the work of women architects in South Asia. She has delivered analytical and critical talks as well as presented papers in India and in the USA, UK, Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Her work has been exhibited in the USA, UK, and Japan, and she has served as an examiner and jury member in India and internationally. She is a Founder Trustee of the HECAR Foundation.
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