19th Century Marvel
The Sethi House in Peshawar has used techniques and aesthetics
from a very diverse range of sources
By Naeem Safi
Peshawar, the oldest living city of South Asia, has always been a melting pot of cultures and civilisations throughout its known history. Archaeological investigations on the famous Gor Khuttree mound in the walled city of Peshawar have identified human settlements dating back to 539 BC. That makes it one of the most unique world heritage assets where European, Central Asian, Persian, and Indian civilisations have left their marks.
On the southern side of this mound, less than 200 meters away from the Gor Khuttree, lays Mohallah Sethian -- which has seven magnificent mansions built by a famous business dynasty of the 19th century India, the Sethis. The Sethis had business links with India, China, Central Asia and Russia, which were seriously affected by the Russian Revolution. The Sethi Complex bore the brunt of hard times since then, till 2006 when the MMA government bought one of these mansions for the purpose of conservation and handed it over to the archaeology department.
The Sethi House was built by Haji Karim Baksh in 1882, and has used techniques and aesthetics from a very diverse range of sources. The layout plan resembles plans of old houses in Baghdad, while the decorative elements used here can be traced to Samarkand, Bukhara, Persia and India, which makes it one of the richest living architectural record of building techniques, tastes and craftsmanship of old times of the region.
The Sethi House is a three storey building with huge basements on all four sides of the central courtyard, making intelligent use of the ground levels. The incredible ceiling heights of these basements, there multiple levels, intelligent use of wooden jalis, panjalis, and baadgirs for light and ventilation, and compartmentalisation for different usages are good examples of space utilisation and energy conservation for compact urban properties. A well-protected vault in one of the basements with a strong steel door is a telltale sign of the riches the Sethis had to guard.Walking through load-bearing brick arches one finds a fountain in the central courtyard, which is not functional these days, however it does not need a lot of imagination to picture the calming effect of its music on the inhabitants. The structure of the building has used enormous amounts of wood with brick fillings. The central courtyard is surrounded by doorways and windows on the ground floor. Balconies of the balakhanas, the upper two storeys, open into it and connect all levels for instant communication -- a significant feature as opposed to the contemporary house plans that approves the western-style of individualism. The views on all sides of the courtyard is that of wooden doors, basta windows and panels, all intricately carved with floral and geometric motifs, blending Gandhara with the Islamic practices of those times. The splendid woodwork is embedded with beautiful stained glass pieces which make a colourful show for the indoors during daylight, and for the courtyard after dark.
Mostly pukka kali is used as a base for the fresco work; however there are a few instances of bypassing the standard technique, an observation made by architect Tahir Khattak, head of the documentation of the project.
Inside the rooms and living spaces, one finds ornately embellished cheenee khanas as the central decorative elements. These cheenee khanas alone have used many layers of the crafts that one might find only in palaces of those times. Starting from the aina-kari, which are then embedded in manabat-kari that is covered with kashi-kari. There are panels with paper paintings which are framed in plain glass, with the repetition of the layers mentioned above. The false ceilings are decorated with panels made of hundreds of wooden pieces that are studded with wooden reliefs painted with pigment paints; a technique known as tarseem bandi.
The elaborate use of decorative elements like carvings, fretwork, fresco tracery, stucco tracery, floral motifs used in scrolls, freeze lines, arches, and paintings makes it a monumental and arduous task for any conservation intervention.
Proper conservation and interpretation of the tangible cultural heritage will open many doors for the researchers, a task so vital for a culture that is still in search of its identity on many levels. One must contemplate that it is our built heritage -- which we are leaving behind -- that is most likely to survive in its original form and not our intentions. Our claims or level of honesty should not be the only benchmarks to qualify us to intervene in such projects, for it requires a lot of experience, technical expertise, and above all, sensitivity to qualify for that.
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