New Delhi: It could be literally the transportation of a 300-year-old house at Mepral in Pathanamthitta district to Delhi lock, stock and barrel.
When Pradeep Sachdeva, a noted architect, purchased the house and relocated it in the national capital he was taking over a slice of the history of a Kerala village with it.
It was from a friend and fellow architect George Oommen that Sachdeva bought the house. George had inherited the two-storey house at the age of 16. The law said that the ancestral property was to be inherited by the youngest son. However, George headed to Delhi for his studies while young and later settled in the USA. As a result, he visited his house at Mepral on very few occasions.
George did his higher studies at Harvard and worked as an architect in the USA for three decades. Eleven years ago, he turned to painting.
Even then, George continued to own the old house at Mepral which was handed over to him down four generations. It could withstand any flood and had an attic and barn which reflected a thriving farming culture in the past. When his remaining relatives at Mepral also shifted to other place in connection with their employment, George decided to sell his ancestral house.
In 2010, he informed his close friend Pradeep of the plan and showed pictures of the house. Pradeep fell in love with the house at first sight and decided to purchase the property.
Buying the house, not land
All the potential buyers who initially met George for buying the property showed interest only in the land. They had no interest at all in the house. But Pradeep wanted the house only and not the land. So, George agreed to Pradeep’s proposal.
Pradeep had heard about relocating buildings and decided to try it. All parts of the building, including the elaborately carved wooden roof, had to be carefully dismantled, taken to Delhi and re-assembled. Though modern technology is widely used in architecture, this task needed the assistance of a traditional ‘asari’ (carpenter) who is an expert in house construction.
This led Pradeep to Naryanan Achari, a native of Mepral itself, who was a master in wood work. Achari and team studied the roof thoroughly, made drawings, dismantled it and transported the pieces over 2,000 km to Delhi in big trucks. In six weeks, the team rebuilt the house at Sardana near Delhi.
A new, traditional house
An old world charm remains in the house now even when it is new. According to Pradeep, unless the house 'breathes' antiquity, its soul would be lost. Modern facilities have been arranged in the kitchen, but the rest of the building retains its quintessence. British designer John Bowman, another friend of Pradeep, helped him install other new facilities that gel with the theme. They include the iron stairs and the wash rooms.
Pradeep reaches the house whenever he feels like taking a break from his busy work schedule. Sometimes, his friends also join him and they share tales of the historic house as night provides the backdrop.
