Looking back in time is history. One can begin with self, history of self. When you are young you don’t have much of it, hence you can look at your family’s history. The history of a family unfolds against the background of its living environment, both natural and built.

Study of history of architecture ought to start with assimilation of history of self first through the study and documentation of own family’s built environment.

From family one can move into a larger perspective of neighbourhood and community, region, country and then other distant countries with unique history of culture and the built environment.

My journey began with a picture of my mother’s family, a journey back in time into the matriarchal community called Nairs, of central Kerala, from Kuttamassery Village, P.O. Thottummukhom, Aluva, District Ernakulam... as I discovered in 1969, four years before I plunged into study of architecture. The journey took back into eight generations in the past, when my maternal grandfather took me to a place called Kizhakkambalam and showed me a plinth of an Ekasala, made of mud and laterite stone. The plinth was the only surviving evidence of the six generation old link to two sisters who lived there- one of them Lakshmikutty Amma who was my grand father's great grand mother!

My grandfather described to me first the simple planning of ekasala, as a central ‘Ara’ for puja and valuables, flanked by two rooms, one on each side, for sleeping. Most of the waking time was spent either outdoors or in the verandah connecting the three rooms, reaching out to a covered, step down space, three sides open, meant for cooking...

This is how ordinary folks planned and built their houses. So was ours, built for my maternal grandmother by her father when she was to be married, in 1919, Puthenpura (meaning the new house).

Puthenpura was the oldest house I had seen, since age 4, in 1957 as I remember. Though an Ekasala, it had some additional spaces carved out at the periphery by way of extensions over the years, without compromising on the natural comforts offered by them.

The peep into history of my own past way back in 1969 as a student of science triggered interest in the architecture of my own past in 1973 as a student of architecture. But the way history of architecture was and even today, is taught, is far removed from the realities of our own past.

We are taught about about what happened in the Western world first, in a chronological sequence. And when it comes to learning about the history of architecture of our country we are taught to look at it through the eyes of Western observers and historians...

Study of history of architecture should begin with one's personal history and tracing backwards the history of architecture of various built forms in which one's ancestor's have lived to seek the vernacular and traditional roots. Documenting and studying the domestic architecture of one's background connects one to the broader history of the society and culture of those times, helping one understand how architecture is influenced by various factors and changes take place over a period of time. This analytical understanding and skill is essential for a budding architect to be able to critically look at all context and design.

My search for my past culminated finally in my Ph.D. in architecture after several decades of graduation, on a topic close to my heart... Identifying and Establishing Linkage in Architecture- Traditional to Modern...

Here is an effort by a group of students to understand the Vernacular of their own backyard at Nagpur, in the form of a worshop to design an architects office for rural environments in future...

Inputs from students of architecture during workshop 'Vernacular @ VNIT' organised at PIADS campus Nagpur by Department of Architecture, V.N.I.T. Nagpur