What if a railway track runs through your house?

What initially drew me to this house for a photo session had more to do with its architecture than the people who inhabit it – this widowed lady and her 2 bachelor brothers in their late 80’s.

This mystic of a house is about 25 kms from Calicut city ( Kadalundi, Kerala, India ). The person who took me there perhaps mistook me for a journalist. As he elaborated on the story of how enterprising their ancestors would have been in constructing this mansion - more than 200 years ago. Spread on more than 6000 sq ft., it is complete with a dozen dark and dingy bedrooms (to keep them cool and cozy even in peek of summer you see), 3 huge kitchens, plenty of common areas and an inner courtyard. Here sunshine and monsoon pours in cheer and gloom through the year. However, the most useful part of the house was outside it. An outhouse that in itself was over 4000 sq ft in 2 floors - just for thousands of coconuts to dry in obscurity and for men and guests to sleep, equally lost. The prevailing matriarchal system ensured women pride of place at home and in society. Explaining why the stronger and elaborate main mansion was meant exclusively for the women of the house.

Within a few decades of its occupancy, British rulers decided to build the railway line connecting up to the entire stretch of southern peninsular – right across this house. Imagine your house run over by a railway track one fine morning! I wonder how this family swallowed the news. The shift was imminent. Once thought of as immovable property, the settlement found itself on the move. With surprising precision the entire household was uprooted and relocated to its current destiny. The main mansion, the outhouse, the massive barn and a cowshed that can accommodate 30 of them.

This climax left me curious with two thoughts.
- Wasn’t it ever indicated in the destiny of this house - according to the traditional Vaastu Sastra – that it will loose its home ground sooner than later?
- Traditional architecture had it in such a way that almost the entire house was meticulously chiseled out of dismantle-able wooden structures. What drove the architects of yore with such far sightedness to consider the recycle-ability while planning for buildings?

The cry for recycling, especially in building materials, has never been more relevant than today. Any architects among my readers?