HERITAGE
In troubled times
A. SRIVATHSAN
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Old Srinagar, like Jaisalmer, is a high-rise urban city. But, unlike Jaisalmer, it is the picture of neglect.
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Photo: A. Srivathsan
Sad neglect: Wooden high-rises in old Srinagar.
The crumbling wooden facade had enough clues to indicate its original splendour and the pride of the owner. It was precariously perched like a frame in pause before the whole building collapsed. In normal circumstances, the hands would have moved to the camera, aimed and shot the picture. The light was perfect, the facade carried the story and only the photograph was remaining to be shot. But this is Srinagar and things are not entirely normal here.
Between the building and me was a party of CRPF personnel within their fenced position with guns toting. After moments of hesitation, I lifted the camera, conscious of its large telescopic lens. When I focused on the building, the heads of security personal popped inside the viewfinder and their hands vigorously moved asking me to walk towards them.
The first set of queries in a not-so-friendly tone was about my name, place of origin and purpose of visit. Press credentials and my Hindu name, I guess, quickly eased the situation. The chat meandered and ended up with words of caution about what not to do when I walk the narrow streets. There was nothing alarming that warranted this concern. Srinagar has not turned a ghost town for visitors; in contrast, the lake and gardens are milling with holiday crowd. Hotels are fully booked and it is another welcoming tourist season and a good summer to be in. The fact that I was the only conspicuous Indian tourist with a camera and notebook roaming the old city may have warranted the advice.
Charming ambience
The old city of Srinagar is a tightly packed high-rise city and is as charming, if not more, as Jaisalmer. Comparing Srinagar with Jasialmer becomes inevitable because they both share a similar, dense urban form and also because of the contrasting attention they get. While Jaisalmer has become the eye-candy of tourism and heritage enthusiasts, the old town of Srinagar is a much-neglected city.
Many centuries before the Mughals created the gardens, Srinagar was founded and flourished on the banks of river Jhelum. It is immersed in a deep history that stretches up to the megalithic period. Burzahom, 16 km east of Srinagar, is an important megalithic site. Harwan, on the outskirts of Srinagar, was an important Buddhist site where the fourth great council was convened during Kanishka’s time. Kesar or saffron, cultivated in the valley, finds mention in Chinese travellers’ records. Eleventh century Sanskrit poems describe the Kesar Kasturi that women used in Kashmir. Mughals adored the landscape of Srinagar and manicured it in parts. The city has been continuously invested and cared for.
From Mulla Shah’s mosque, the skyline of the city appears like a patchwork quilt made of sloping roofs with the spires of Jami Masjid standing out. Both the religious and domestic architecture are made of wood and bricks. Dhajji type of houses, made of timber frame with the infill areas in bricks and Taaq type of brick houses with timber beams are specific to this region. The front façade of many houses have intricately carved wooden screens and bay windows. Apart from producing a unique visual character, the traditional architecture was climatically efficient, kept the structure light in weight and mitigated damages caused by earthquake. Srinagar is in seismic zone V — the maximum earthquake risk zone in the country. But there are other threats to heritage buildings than earthquake.
Sharzia is a pretty young girl studying in 10th standard with aspirations to be a fashion designer and a singer. When I met her, she was yet to get ready for school. “Not far,” she said, “it just takes a short time from here,” pointing to the bridge. Her house is a small donga or houseboat and was anchored by the side of a narrow, tall and tilted wooden old house. They had anchored there to use the toilet at the foot of the house, she explained. They just owned the toilet and another poor Muslim family owned the remaining part of the house. A Kashmiri Pundit family originally owned the house before they abandoned it and left the valley, she said. “It was lying empty and we both use it”. It was evident that both the families could not spend money on its maintenance; the building was dangerously tilted.
Heritage and aesthetics do not seem to add value to the property. Old Srinagar is not a preferred housing area anymore. The property values fall as newer areas gain importance and investment. The neglect is in terms of lack of infrastructure and other amenities. As you walk through the neighbourhoods between the Habba Kadal (kadal means a bridge) and Zaina Kadal, one can see the open sewers with the human excreta flowing and emptying into the Jhelum — reminiscent of a deprived 19th century city.
Heritage is important, but the Srinagar Municipal Corporation realises that the pressing issue is sanitation. Senior officials in Corporation said the government had focused so far on law and order and it is only recently that they have begun to look at governance and other civic services. They need 6,000 sanitary workers to keep the city clean but one official admitted that they had only 1,700. Shaukat Ali, Corporation Commissioner explains that the corporation was set up only in 2005 and not all civic powers have been passed on to them. “We are looking at various issues, particularly setting up dry toilets and improving sanitation in the old part of the city, he says. Listing properties and collecting property taxes were a few of the other pressing issues.
Legal framework
Saleem Beg, the convener of the Jammu and Kashmir INTACH chapter, showed many volumes of documented heritage buildings in Srinagar city. “We have to protect them before they are destroyed, ” he says. A strong legislation is the solution and without a Heritage Act in place, conservation would be difficult, he thinks. Sameer Hamdani, the young conservation architect showed me the successful restoration work at the 15th century Aali mosque, but he was aware that conserving domestic architecture would be a bigger challenge. Conservation has never been easy. Experiences elsewhere have shown that it works best when it makes the benefits visible, improves urban conditions, adds value to the property and becomes a tool to improve the quality of life.
Driving through the avenues of large bungalows along the broad roads to the Airport, Mohammad Rafi, the taxi driver, says that a typical Kashmiri’s dream would be to own a big house with garden around it. You can understand why away from the old city.
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