Hey, do you remember
that about two months ago we had sent out letters to you, asking you to describe the place
that you live in? To share with us little details of your home.
Let me tell you…the response was an eye-opener for us. Not only because of the sheer
variety of structures we got to know about, but also the range of feelings that every
letter expressed! From Atma Ram Rathore, who is almost 86; to Sanjay Mathur the 40
plus business executive. It is pretty obvious that the bond between a human being and
‘home’ is the most enduring of them all. So in this issue of Gobar Times we have
decided to delve deeper. To find out how have we—the humans—evolved and crafted
our shelters through the ages. The story that began with caves, grew into palaces and
forts, and is now multiplying into splintered apartments.
Shelter...from what?
Early humans
needed to shelter themselves from the natural elements. Rain, wind, cold and heat. When
they looked around they found that caves would solve their problem. It suited their way of
life because they were hunters and moved from place to place. Then what prompted them to
build houses? Agriculture. When people planted crops and domesticated animals it meant
that they had to stay at one place to tend to their property-both movable and immovable.
So the first farm settlement was born.
The basic building logic was directly related to climate
and local material. Because earliest shelters were built in response to the climate of the
region and made from materials of the land. Then, as humans colonised almost the entire
planet, the houses evolved too. They acquired different forms in different regions because
climate and raw materials at each place differed.
Beyond logic So if we go by this logic, houses at
different places should continue to look different. But do they? Let's compare. Are houses
in Bangalore different from ones in Kolkata or Delhi? No. All cities now follow a similar
pattern-high-rise apartment blocks. Nothing wrong with that, is there? Houses change with
time and technology. Now that many, many millions more have to be accommodated within the
same space, modern technology would ensure optimal use!
But what about the other landmark, common to all cities? The slums and shantytowns? In
most Asian, African and Latin American cities, at least a quarter, sometimes even half of
the population, live in ramshackle, makeshift shelters. More than 1,027 million people are
homeless in India. Simply because they cannot afford a house!
Early humans
needed to shelter themselves from the natural elements. Rain, wind, cold and heat. When
they looked around they found that caves would solve their problem. It suited their way of
life because they were hunters and moved from place to place. Then what prompted them to
build houses? Agriculture. When people planted crops and domesticated animals it meant
that they had to stay at one place to tend to their property-both movable and immovable.
So the first farm settlement was born.
So if we go by this logic, houses at
different places should continue to look different. But do they? Let's compare. Are houses
in Bangalore different from ones in Kolkata or Delhi? No. All cities now follow a similar
pattern-high-rise apartment blocks. Nothing wrong with that, is there? Houses change with
time and technology. Now that many, many millions more have to be accommodated within the
same space, modern technology would ensure optimal use! 
