India: The Nawayaths of Bhatkal lead distinct way of life evolved over centuries

Bengaluru: Before the advent of the modern era, when uniformity in construction, education and arts was not prevalent, every culture had its own way of life, which included how they created and built, how they dressed and commuted as well as how they lived. The Nawayaths of Bhatkal were no different.

Nawayaths are a community of Muslims who are predominantly settled on the western coast of India, mainly in the coastal districts of Karnataka, with a majority concentrated in and around the town of Bhatkal.

Ancestry

Tracing their ancestry to the union of Middle Eastern merchants with native women, Nawayaths are an enterprising merchant community with their own distinct language, culture, cuisine and heritage.

The Nawayath way of life evolved through centuries with the free mingling of various ethnicities - Indian as well as foreign. As was common in those days, the heavy exchange of ideas, customs and goods has had a profound influence on the Nawayath traditions. This influence continues to reflect in the way Nawayaths built, cooked, dressed and lived as a community.

Over the years, these diverse influences synthesised into a distinct Bhatkali culture and it is most visible in the way the Nawayaths built their houses and planned the town.

Apart from Bhatkal, similar architectural aesthetics are also visible in the neighbouring towns of Murdeshwar, Manki, Valki, Shiroor and Baindur, where significant populations of Nawayaths reside.

In these settlements, the old houses stick together like a flock, reflecting a cultural trait of togetherness. Nawayaths are known for their strong sense of community and a deep consciousness of their distinct identity.

This urge to live in a huddle reflects in the way the old town of Bhatkal is planned with its narrow, almost private lanes and a row of cavernous houses extending from and connected to each other.

Togetherness

“Our entire community lived like an extended family. Whatever the occasion, people from the whole street would participate in the ceremonies. Neighbours would gather over tea every day on the sitouts and share the slices of life with each other,” said Jaffer Mohtisham, who is the co-owner of one of Bhatkal’s most celebrated heritage houses.

The septuagenarian hails from a family of wealthy cloth merchants and inherited Barni House, which was built by his grandfather, Mohammad Meeran Mohtisham, in 1914.

“My father got married in this house and I was born here. In my childhood we shared this house with my uncles and cousins. It is still part of our tradition for the extended families to live together. In some of our houses, several families live together, in many cases they are not even related,” added the 78-year-old Mohtisham, extolling the virtues of Nawayathi togetherness.

Mohtisham says that the house has a Dubai connection that goes back almost 90 years.

“There is a large diaspora of Nawayath community settled in Dubai. Bhatkalis are known for their preference for life in the Gulf, particularly in Dubai, this tradition was started by my father, Hasan Mohtisham, who was the first Bhatkali to travel to Dubai in 1935,” said Mohtisham, sharing some little known history.

Architecture

Connectivity or togetherness being the central pillar of the Nawayath culture and architecture, it heavily reflects in their built heritage.

Houses built on common walls, in itself is a strong symbol of fraternity, but the ancient Nawayaths didn’t stop at that.

Many of the houses had common wells located accessibly between the courtyards of the neighbours, the common walls between the two houses would also have small accessible niches which would facilitate a quick chat or exchange of items between neighbours.

In the past, many of these houses also had doorways leading into each other, facilitating the socialising of neighbours, especially women, away from the prying eyes, yet under the open skies of the walled courtyards.

While the men of the house or the neighbourhood socialised lounging on the kaskat (sitout), the women spent their evenings huddled around the courtyard or the backyard.

Street plan

A typical Nawayath street, called sai’n in the local Nawayathi dialect, is punctuated by a mosque and an attached learning centre (maktab), which for centuries catered to the basic education of the community.

Though, physically this street plan has been retained, the spirit and idea behind the model has faded gradually.

The type and size of the structures, the material used and the style of architecture were all driven not just by aesthetics, but also the purpose of the building, the availability of material and its suitability to the local climatic conditions.

Locally sourced laterite stones were (and still are) used to build the walls, a mix of lime-clay plaster was applied and the roofs were built of wood and terracotta tiles.

Wood was heavily used in construction - for ceilings, rafters and pillars as well as for wall furnishings. The use of these locally sourced and natural material ensured the houses remained cool and comfy throughout the year despite the tropical climes of the region.

The houses were planned and built keeping in mind all the practical, cultural and social needs of the family or families that resided there, while espousing the local values and traditions.

Now that these traditions and values are fading away and the techniques and skills of traditional construction are almost lost, these heritage houses are slowly crumbling. With them will be gone the old way of life forever.

Replacing these thoughtfully built, breathing, uniting structures are the modern concrete boxes and the aloofness that comes with them.

However, a walk through these fabled streets still gives you a semblance of the old times, helping you imagine how Nawayaths of Bhatkal, lived and thrived in the past. It is obvious that it won’t last long.