By Xavier Benedict, on 08 September 2019.
My journey of documenting the Northeast Monsoon Wetlands since 2007 made me realize that the coast is prone to natural disasters however the society was resilient. We call the Northeast Monsoon coast of India as ‘Coromandel’. It derived the name from the regional language description of the coast kari-manal-medu meaning black-soil-high ground. The coast starting from Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) to Point Calimere (Tamil Nadu) with shadow region extending on either side up to 100 km is Coromandel comprising major Wetlands of India and unique vegetation. Most furious cyclones during the month of October to December hit this coast with strong winds and huge sea waves when two third of the country would face cold dry winter.
Historical data and our observation show that the traditional villages are resilient and faces fewer damages or causality during any cyclone and flood. Coromandel has faced over six tsunamis during the last three centuries. We have recorded the most damages in the settlements formed by colonials than in the traditional part. Cities and towns of Coromandel coast, including Chennai and Pondicherry, formed along the lagoon, delta or estuaries. Maritime traders found it most suitable to anchor the wooden ships and commute the hinterlands for commerce. The traditional neighbourhoods within the large urban area are historically located on high ground or with natural barricade to safeguard from nature’s fury. For example, Mylapore, Triplicane or Pulicat are located on the high ground or protected with a natural wall.
Vernacular design principles followed in traditional settlements systematically protected them from various natural disasters at every scale. From the larger settlement pattern to an individual element of the settlement—houses, the traditional settlement form resilient strategies. The two pictures taken during the beginning of the twentieth century gives us an idea of the traditional design principals followed in the non-colonial settlements.
The pictures show that habitats positioned few feet above the road level to avoid flood coming inside the living space. Even for the two months of rainfall in a year, the design of the habitat protected from all type of flood—rain or tsunami. Our observation shows that the vernacular settlements have their roads aligned or sloped towards the lowest ground or ponds. Particularly, Chennai rivers are just a collection of excess water from all the tanks in the district. This shows that the rain water is harvested at the low-ground or tanks by the streets aligned towards it.
The modern colonial cities like Madras (Chennai), Calcutta (Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai) evolved through annexing swamp and wetland-dependent villages. The colonials with less consideration to the tropical wetlands based on their temperate climate strategies developed our cities. Such practice of ignoring the vernacular practices soaked into our modern city civic administration.
We need the vernacular-thinking to evolve that lost sustainable lifestyle and its neighbourhood. The resiliency is a multi-level strategy to protect ourselves with passive and active design principles. Our vernacular thinking and practice will make us resilient and protect from all levels of the natural disaster.
Xavier Benedict, is Architect & Academician with Anamika Architects and Designers, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Xavier is also commission member of IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (2017-2020) and associated with International Council on Monuments and Sites.
Disclaimer: the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the IUCN CEM.