The Dying History of the Haveli Home
The Haveli Home is a classical, Indian Palatial Like Home, with its famed beauty being known around the world, however, it is a dying thing, but its beauty and charm remains.
Havelis are a great landmark of the Northern Areas of India, which mainly included the Rajastan Region, Land of Kings, The Sindh Region, and the Punjab Region, another land of Kings.The Haveli Home was and is the classical palatial townhouse often prevalent in the Indian Subcontinent, and there are even depictions of Havelis in ancient times. The Haveli derives from the Arabic Hawali which means Partition, or Place of Privacy. The characteristics are rather grand with Courtyards, built-in Security, with completely separate parts and wings of a single home splitting Men, Women, and Children, along with a large gate in the entrance to the courtyard, A terrace, which usually was lived on during the hot summers, with the terrace being on the roof and patterns and decor all around it, and reasonable and good materials for a hot climate, which included bricks, sandstone, marble, wood, plaster, and granite, all of which were commonly used in other homes as well.
Havelis are a great landmark of the Northern Areas of India, which mainly included the Rajastan Region, Land of Kings, The Sindh Region, and the Punjab Region, another land of Kings.
The cities which play host to these once saw great imperial parties, and these homes were built to greatly impress. Many were given the purpose to be family homes, with each often being home to generation after generation of families
There are even different styles of Havelis in South Asia, such as the Newari ones in Nepal. These Havelis can be incredibly famous and incredibly large, however, by 1890, they were all but finished, as the cost of maintaining and owning Haveli's skyrocketed. And these became the homes of the rich, and mainly of Rajputs and high ranking Indians. These homes continue to fade, as they are demolished for the sake of building new homes. The Haveli is still a symbol of the Old Rich, and as the New Money and New Rich of India expand, the old are wiped away, but it is important not to forget these grand homes.
Haveli's are a nation spanning, the ancient home of Kings, Warriors, The Rich, and the Powerful. We decided to talk to our Correspondent and CEO of FFP India, a Punjabi Woman, name Neha Sharma. Neha actually grew up, and her parents still reside in a Haveli, called Soodan Muhalla Haveli, and locally called Lal Qilla, or Red Fort. Its story was great, "One of the considerably newer Haveli's, it was built around 1890 by Salamat Rai. he had bought 100s of homes, 500 acres of farmland, and this was when Punjab was still considered the place for agriculture and one of the richest places in India. This was his Crown Jewel in the City and was located in one of the oldest areas in the city it was in. It was built and looked like one of the old forts, with patterns, a large terrace, split up parts, large rooms, a courtyard, and other things that were Haveli Classics. However, as India progresses and the cost of living has gone up over the century, the cost of maintaining a permanent staff is greater and means that the maintenance of historical places such as this is a hard and unenviable task.", said Kai Sood, grandson of the current owner, Anoop Krishan Sood, a former local leader, and head of his family. "Following the independence of India and the subsequent Partition into India and Pakistan, it made the Haveli culture, as the Havelis changed in the two separate countries, which created new styles of evolved Havelis"
Haveli's continue to disappear, as their practicality disappears with them, however, for now at least, these still will remain the symbol of Rajputs, Warriors, and the Old Money People of India where they stand.
