Jodhpur and it’s Fading Blue: A Heritage in Peril
This article is an adoption of an article by Arshia published in BBC titled Jodhpur: India’s Vanishing ‘blue’ city on 17th October. The link to the original article is shared at the end.
Nestled at the base of the imposing Mehrangarh Fort, the neighbourhood of Brahmapuri in India’s Jodhpur is a place of rich history and even richer hues. Known as the “Blue City,” Jodhpur has long been a magnet for tourists, all drawn by the promise of azure-coloured homes shimmering in the Rajasthani sun. But as the years have gone by, the blues of Brahmapuri are steadily giving way to more mundane shades, and the once-glorious blue panorama now seems to be slipping through the fingers of its proud residents.
Jodhpur owes much of its mystique to its namesake, Rao Jodha, a Rajput king who established the fortified settlement in 1459. Perched majestically atop a hill, the Mehrangarh Fort has witnessed centuries of history, with the neighbourhood of Brahmapuri sprawling at its feet, painting the landscape in blue. It wasn’t until the 17th century, though, that the area began to don its signature colour, a symbol of purity and piety among the upper-caste Brahmins who made this part of town their own.
Now, if you’ve ever traipsed through the winding streets of Brahmapuri, you’ll know that this sea of blue is not just a local quirk; it’s an identity. Much like Chefchaouen in Morocco, where the Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition coloured their homes blue, Brahmapuri’s residents embraced the hue as part of their sociocultural heritage. However, unlike the Moroccan town that has remained stubbornly blue, Brahmapuri’s iconic colour seems to be fading away, both metaphorically and literally.
Historically, the blue was more than just a statement. It kept the homes cool, thanks to the mixture of natural indigo and limestone plaster, and even had pest-repelling properties, much to the delight of residents battling the oppressive desert heat. But as Udit Bhatia, assistant professor at IIT Gandhinagar, notes, rising temperatures have rendered the cooling properties of blue paint somewhat less effective. “Back in the day, you could walk through a blue street and feel the temperature drop,” he says. “Now, with the heat island effect caused by modern materials like concrete and glass, it’s like walking through a furnace!”
Indeed, Jodhpur’s mercury has been on a steady upward march, from an average of 37.5°C in the 1950s to a scorching 38.5°C in 2016. The blue pigment, once so vital in keeping homes comfortable, has had to compete with air conditioning units, which are now as common as elephants in Jaipur. As you might expect, some locals have traded tradition for modernity. A blue house doesn’t quite seem worth the bother when you can flick on an air conditioner and forget all about the desert heat.
And then, of course, there’s the issue of cost. Indigo, once abundant and inexpensive, is now something of a rarity. Where repainting a house blue once cost about 5,000 rupees, it now sets homeowners back a cool 30,000. “It’s daylight robbery!” says Aditya Dave, a civil engineer from Brahmapuri whose family home has remained steadfastly blue for centuries. “We’ve had to get a bit creative with tiles and other materials that don’t need repainting as often.”
While the colour might be fading, so too is the charm that brought tourists flocking to Jodhpur’s blue alleyways. Deepak Soni, a garments seller turned heritage activist, laments the gradual loss of the city’s identity. “Tourists come here expecting Chefchaouen, and instead, they’re greeted with grey or beige. It’s embarrassing!” Soni has been working tirelessly to reverse the trend, raising funds locally to paint over 500 homes blue each year. But it’s an uphill battle, especially when new builds and renovations are increasingly eschewing traditional lime plaster in favour of cheaper, less absorbent materials.
Nevertheless, Soni remains optimistic. His efforts have convinced around 3,000 homeowners to stick with tradition, with the promise that when the next tourist snaps a photo, at least part of the picture will still be blue. As he so eloquently puts it, “If we don’t care for our heritage, why should anyone else?”
So, as Brahmapuri faces the pressures of modernity and rising temperatures, it’s clear that the battle to preserve Jodhpur’s blue identity is far from over. Perhaps in a few years, the streets will once again be awash with blue, as they were in days gone by. But for now, visitors should brace themselves for a more colourful – though not necessarily more picturesque – experience. After all, even in India’s Blue City, not everything is quite as it seems.
To read the original article click HERE
What's Your Reaction?
