The attributes that add to the cultural heritage of Thanjavur have been studied as follows:
Attributes
All the factors that define the scope of the project are identified for further documentation. The concept of cultural heritage is elaborated upon with these attributes.
Data Collection
Primary contextual data required to define the cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible – of Thanjavur are collected, from literary records, personal interviews with the artists and documentation of heritage sites. Tourism records of trends and projections of domestic and foreign tourist inflow to the city are also documented.
Secondary data is collected through literature reviews of centres of comparable use, studied with relevance to their context. Anthropometric data, building regulations and coastal regulations pertaining to the project are also studied.
Data Analysis
The data regarding the existing art and craft forms are analyzed with the existing climatic conditions to ensure a sustainable year-round tourism development in the centre. A comparative statement is made based on the level of artist-tourist interaction in the complex and the strategies employed for site planning. The various functional spaces required for the project are decided on.
Area programming
Based on the analyzed data, a rough estimate of the area required for each of the functional spaces is made.
DATA COLLECTION
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
The rich art and culture of Thanjavur reflects the traditional legacy and ancestral heritage of the ancient times that has percolated to the modern era. The unique Tanjore art comprises of the classical Carnatic music, the exquisite paintings, cultural events, religious festivals and exotic cuisines.
Tangible heritage
‘Tangible Cultural Heritage’ refers to physical artefacts produced, maintained and transmitted inter-generationally in a society.
It includes artistic creations, built heritage such as buildings and monuments, and other physical or tangible products of human creativity that are invested with cultural significance in a society. Elements of tangible heritage of Thanjavur are:
- Brihadeeshwara Temple (Chola temple architecture)
- Agraharam (Building Typology)
- Bronze statue
Intangible heritage
‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ indicates ‘the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their Cultural Heritage’.
Examples of intangible heritage are oral traditions, performing arts, local knowledge, and traditional skills. The following are the intangible heritage elements of Thanjavur:
- Tanjore painting
- Tanjore Dancing dolls
- Nadhaswaram
- Gadam
- Mridangam
- Veena
- Bharatanatyam
- Flute
- Traditional Tanjore food
- Degree coffee
- Mallipoo
- Kolam
- Agriculture
- Glass painting
Festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect of that community and its religion or cultures. India is a mosaic of a myriad of culture and traditions that are deeply rooted in the lifestyle of the people. Thanjavur is no exception to this character.
The Carnatic music of Thanjavur represents the rich musical ancestry of the bygone era. The musical instruments of Veenai and Thavil casts a magical spell on the audience by the enchanting melodies. The culturally enriched local indigenous inhabitants of the place have a strong base in classical music.
Festival Calender (As specified by the Tamil Nadu tourism Department)
Religion
The majority of the Tanjore population are Shaivites - Shiva followers. There is also a considerable amount of Krishna worshippers owing to the Maratha influence.
Based on religion
- Mahamagam festival is based on the belief that at the end of each era, the world immerses in a deluge on account of the wrath of Lord Shiva.
- Annai Velankanni festival is a 10 day annual fest.
Based on way of living
- People celebrate the yield of the native occupation, with Pongal as the harvest festival for farmers and Golu as the celebration of the work of artisans, during Navarathri.
- Sathaya thiruvizha is to honour King Raja Raja Chola for his productive reign in the Chola Empire which came to be known as the Golden Era.
Based on the artform
Being the cradle of both Carnatic music and Bharathanatyam, Tanjore celebrates these festivals to honour and preserve the essence of the rich Chola heritage and to develop its intricacies.
Thanjavur Quartet or Tanjore Quartet was four brothers: Chinnaiah, Ponniah, Sivanandam and Vadivelu, who lived during the early 19th century and contributed to the development of Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music. They excelled in the art of Bharatanatyam. The brothers were employed in the courts of the Maratha King Serfoji II at Thanjavur initially, and then moved to Travancore to the Court of Swati Tirunal.
BUILDING RULES (TamilNadu, 2019)
SETBACKS
Table 1: Building Setbacks
BUILDING OCCUPANCY
Use Zone 1B – Mixed Residential Zone; Use Zone 5 – Public and Semi-public use zone
F.A.R. AND COVERAGE
Table 2: F.A.R. and Coverage
BUILDING RULES (Standards, 2016)
LITERATURE REVIEW
The following case studies throw some light on the cultural preservation of the respective areas of interest
Rangmanch, Naggar, Himachal Pradesh
Functionality of Spaces
- Levels of Engagement – Something for every individual ranging from Immersive/Hands-on to Distant experience
- Sequential Revelation – Orchestrated visual journey for the visitor – all at once and one by one
- Power to the user – For the individual to choose their path or loop
Architectural Style
Features of the Project
- Experience corridors are mostly linear, which gives a simple and wholesome idea to the visitor. By looping a corridor, a sense of curiosity can be created. Every step in the loop gives a new and unexpected view to the visitor.
- The deck is placed in a way that as the visitor walks around it, he sees all the different activities happening in the complex.
- Unlike museums which have a rigid loop, the loops here have multiple entries and exits for the visitors to choose from
- Spill-out and rest spaces – both shaded and open are placed along the loop to act as rest areas.
- OATs are a part of the Himachali culture. The space is receded and covered on three sides for people to gather around. The seating is tweaked from the Kath-Khuni way of building by extruding the wooden beams to form seating for the stage.
- Grey slates (locally procured) are placed on this deck. After snowfall season, the deck can be used by tourists to touch snow and the tiles. It is a way of sensory experience.
- The sledgeway is mainly for children and it is placed in a way that it is visible from a major part of the loop, to ensure the security of the kids.
- An open workshop on the grass. A classic immersive activity in the centre of this zone for anyone to join at any time.
- The exhibition and sales block is placed at the end of the block. This is to maximize the sales.
- Haats are for local sellers to sell clothes or souvenirs, placed in a major buffer between the two activity zones.
- Auditoriums are tweaked to seat all kinds of people. A grass patch is designed for the youth to sit back and enjoy programs.
- At the end of both the cultural loops, an exit gateway takes the tourists to the drop-off/parking areas directly. The gateway is such that everyone gets one last glance of the arena.
- The tourist information centre and auditorium are placed at the beginning of the loop. These formal spaces can be used for local meetings and formal programmes.
NORBULINGKA ART INSTITUTE, DHARAMSALA, H.P., INDIA
Tangible features of the Project
- Water as an element – Besides being an aesthetic element in the visual composition of the crafts centre, the pond also creates an ecosystem for Koi fish
- Craft shop – The craft works of the artists are put on display for purchase by the tourists
- Restaurant – The dining experience is enhanced b the actual experience of anthropometrically thought-out seating arrangement on the floor
- Artist Workshop – The artists with their work-desks are the exhibits in the workshop, as the tourists get to interact and observe the process
- The Temple – The seat of happiness temple is placed at the culmination of the site, with the required level of privacy and peace for prayer
Intangible features of the Project
- Prayer wheel – Prayer wheels are an integral element of the Tibetan style of temples. The shrine adds to the auditory experience of the temple
- Prayer flag – Prayer flags also form an inevitable part of the Tibetan religion. The flags not only add a spiritual contextual element but are also critical for the visual composition of the internal spaces
- Colonnaded corridor – The courtyard not only symbolizes the tangible Tibetan architecture but also creates a semi-private corridor. Columns are detailed with local arts.
- Doll museum – It showcases the lifestyle of the people and their culture with exhibits in the form of dolls
- The shrine – The shrine sets the spiritual background of the intangible heritage of Tibet
LIVE CASE STUDY - DAKSHINACHITRA, CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU
Functional Spaces
- Tourist Information Centre – The reception and the craft-shop are planned along the opposite sides of the corridor, thereby sparking interest in the tourists in the entry itself and giving a glimpse of the heritage centre
- Eateries – Within the complex of the Tourist information centre is planned the restaurant with the kitchen facilities, for the entire campus. There is also a cafeteria close to the activity area to cater to the tourists
- Performance areas – There are spontaneous and planned performances that take place in the variety of performance areas for the artists, with the outdoor stage for the former and OAT and mandapam for the latter
- Kids’ Activity areas – Taking into account the needs of the major user-group and to keep them involved, there are play areas and activity areas for hands-on interaction of the art and craft-works of the heritage showcased
- Bazaar – The bazaar is close to the activity area and therefore promotes the interest of the user, with the exhibits around
- Exhibit – All the exhibits are the building typologies the people can experience on their own (phenomenology)
Tangible Expressions
The material language employed here is exposed brick and wood, which are the materials native to South India. The built forms and spaces imitate the components of a typical South-Indian building. Even the streets are reproduced as present in the original tangible heritage context of the state. All the built forms are kept true to the heritage of the respective Southern states, some of which are used as exhibition halls and galleries, without disturbing the character of the building. The exhibits, i.e., the buildings create a natural enclosure for the walkways.
Intangible Expressions
The central zone of the complex is the activity core and unifies all the exhibits and institutional areas of the complex as one. It embodies an articulated streetscape that provides the intangible experience of a street in South India. There are shops dotted along one corner, in the backdrop of the informal performance stage. These spaces form the backbone of the heritage experience of the complex. This area is where the tourists directly interact with the art-forms and the artists, unlike the exhibition areas that provide the tangible experience.
DATA ANALYSIS
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT
The proportion of the exhibition spaces to the performance spaces is in direct proportion to the level of interaction in both the cases of DakshinaChitra and Rangmanch.
As observed from the chart, the percentage of recreation spaces and performance spaces in Rangmanch is far higher than the ones in DakshinaChitra, whereas in the case of the exhibition spaces, the condition is reversed.
This contrast between the two is what forms the crucial element of experience in both the cases, i.e., DakshinaChitra has more tangible expressions while Rangmanch has more intangible expressions of the cultures of their respective contexts.
FUNCTIONAL SPACES
SPATIAL CONFIGURATION
LEVEL OF INTERACTION