[Samurai]

The same set of visitors who attended the Yakshagana wanted to see other cultural aspects. Well, there was the cock-fight, but then we would be the only sober people there and it won't be very proper.

The Yakshagana report is here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...-art-form.html (Yakshagana - A coastal Karnataka art form)

Instead I arranged for viewing couple of old houses in Udupi district. Do note that these are not museums, but ancient houses where people still live.

The first one was Shettybettu house, this house was used in the period Bollywood movie Utsav. I had never been there before. So we asked around and finally found the place. We didn't know the people there, but knew some mutual acquaintances. So we were able to identify ourselves with the lone resident of the house, who was happy to show us around.

The outer part is little over 100 years old.












The inner part that is 200 years old.













Kitchen area (both shot handheld in ISO2000 at 1/6 and 1/2 second respectively)





We even got kokkum juice as refreshment while viewing the house.

After this we visited the another house in a village called Vaddarse. This house was famous in the 80s as it played the haunted house in the Doordarshan Kannada serial Guddada Boota. The serial unveiled an unknown actor called Prakash Rai, who later become a Tamil Super star. I didn't have much trouble arranging access to this house since it happens to be my first cousin's ancestral home. This house was built in 1880.















My cousin's relatives live here now. They were quite amused at the visitors clicking away at various normal objects around the house including haystacks and fallen palm fronds. We got lime juice and jamoon as refreshments, our young one even managed to have his lunch since he was hungry.

[bluestraveller]

wow!! this is beautiful


Would you know what kind of wood this is carved out off? looks like rose wood or it polish?

[deepclutch]

oh!great pics.these ancestoral houses are called "tharavad" in Kerala.Most of them destroyed for the Woods.Still ,My Ancestoral Houses are looking the same made out of wood ,every part.
and the first picture you have above is called "Naalu Kettu" in Kerala.Similarly ,there is "Ettu Kettu" ,
"Pathinaru(16) kettu" also.This Kind of Houses are common with Namboodiri's and Nairs.
Few Syrian christian houses:
Song of the waves - Parayil A. Tharakan Blog: Kerala Architecture: Nalukettu, ettukettu, pathinarukettu
Now a Days ,Naalukettu New Houses are again on the rise in Kerala!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by bluestraveller

Would you know what kind of wood this is carved out off? looks like rose wood or it polish?

It is teakwood, and it is polished once in 5-6 years.

I separated the thread since I felt it deserves a own thread.

[supremeBaleno]

Nice houses from olden days. Pity that instead of restoring them, we are demolishing them to build ugly apartment complexes in most Indian towns/cities.

@Samurai, who is Prakash Rai, the Tamil star you mentioned ? Or did you mean Prakash Raj, who is not really a super star, but a great actor - one of the best we have in Tamil cinema?

[reddy6980]

Good Pictures Samurai,
Even my house in anathapur district(AP) has a similar architecture.
Some pictures of it.
They are made of Rose wood.

[rajshenoy]

It deserves to be called a palace.. calling it a house..being too humble..

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Nice houses from olden days. Pity that instead of restoring them, we are demolishing them to build ugly apartment complexes in most Indian towns/cities.

@Samurai, who is Prakash Rai, the Tamil star you mentioned ? Or did you mean Prakash Raj, who is not really a super star, but a great actor - one of the best we have in Tamil cinema?

\

You are right. He is Prakash Raj in Tamil.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

@Samurai, who is Prakash Rai, the Tamil star you mentioned ? Or did you mean Prakash Raj, who is not really a super star, but a great actor - one of the best we have in Tamil cinema?

Yes, same guy. He is the same Rai as in Aishwarya Rai, same community.

reddy6980, that is a beautiful home. Post more.

There are couple of other much bigger houses which I really want to cover. One is my father's ancestral house, I haven't been there since 1996, I should visit soon. The other is my maternal great-grand mother's house, some portions of that house is 600 years old. I am unable to go there because of a property dispute that is running since 10 years.

Meanwhile, check out my grandmother's house, it is very different. In fact it was considered a very modern house when it was built in 1938.

This is the front drawing room, also known as Chavadi.



This the night shot of the dining room.

[lohithrao]

WOw great!! reminds me of my grand mothers and few other relatives house


love the night shot!

[kutlee]

nice pics. look at those pillars and doors. isn't chavadi a malayalam work. think should travel in north kerala and east kerala and make a good report.
anything over 200 years becomes national heritage site.

[Spitfire]

My wife is from the Kunnath Veda house in Pallakkad. Its a magnificient 3 storey structure with Mohanlal being one of the recent guys who wanted to buy it.

I know there are more Kunnath Veda's and i am not sure whether i got the name right.

One of the amazing parts of this house is a secret hidden staircase which was made for the ladies of the house to hide in, incase of war or riots. There are 3 pools one indoor for the ladies and one outside for the men and another bigger one for guess what?? - ELEPHANTS.

They had one more house which was eventually broken down for its teak wood. A more magnificiant house.

Kerala has a lot of these houses and they are truly breathtaking. For us city dwellers these account to palaces. Just my looking at the architecture and the thought gone into the whole design of the house leaves one amazed by the rich knowledge and engineering acumen the architects of the time gone by had.

I will need to get the pics from my home PC.

[swathyd]

They are similar to old houses of north kerala . But the ambience and nuances make it really different . There is a more spiritual and simple feeling to karnataka homes than kerala homes. Any how keep posting more pictures of old karnataka homes. I have travelled through shimoga and there also exists some old homes similar to that of south kerala (central travancore) even the cattle shed is similar to that region of kerala . The topography is also similar.

Good job , continue it with more pictures of old homes from entire karnataka. Kerala homes have vanished long before .

[rajshenoy]

Samurai, T he very first pic with paddy fields reminded me of that serial "Guddeda bhoota"

i guess you have clicked this pic in same angle infact

[MuraliR]

@Samurai - nice pictures - interesting.

+1
Exactly my views too - the first pic with the coconut tree reminds me of Guddadha Bhootha.
Very few will remember that serial though - its been ages.