A peep into the past Indian households reveals residences structured around sun-bathed courtyards. This is so even in the smallest of houses, the open-to-sky area used for multiple functional purposes besides offering scope for both natural light and ventilation to permeate the interiors.
‘Totti Mane’, as it was traditionally called, essentially involved a sky-lit zone prevailing in the midst of the house with rooms placed around it. The verandah around the sky-lit zone also invariably doubled up as the living area for the residence. The sky-lit space was used to dry household items during summer while in winter it also served as a place to harvest rainwater. This was besides the other multiple uses the space was subject to, based on individual requirements.
Relaxation zone
This concept of ‘Totti Mane’ or courtyard is becoming popular in contemporary houses too, though the manner of its structure and use is tuned to address current lifestyles. Courtyards, besides bringing in copious amount of natural light and ventilation, also serve as relaxation zones and green spaces in the increasingly crowded urban centres where external gardens are losing their privacy.
The presence of a courtyard need not necessarily entail a large residence with sprawling rooms, though the size and manner of décor and use of these courtyards can vary depending on their individual size. A fairly medium-sized living-cum-dining area can afford to bring in a sky-lit zone, albeit small in size, where a cheerful water body along with a dash of greenery can prevail, altering the entire ambience of the interior besides uplifting the energy of the space.
‘Outdoor cooking’
A similar space can also be brought into the kitchen, where the cooking zone overlooks this space. The presence of this small courtyard totally transforms the cooking area, where it gives the feel of actually cooking in the outdoors, the greenery bringing freshness into a space that would otherwise be closed in with the smell of food.
If the kitchen is large and can accommodate the dining area in its midst along with a fairly large courtyard, the cooking and dining experience can be further enhanced by bringing a small tree into the space along with shrubs and water bodies. When lit at night, this space can lend a fairy tale ambience to the cooking and dining region.
The open-to-sky zone can be incorporated not only in common areas such as living, dining and kitchen but also in private areas such as the bedroom and the bathroom where the ambience can be totally stunning and rejuvenating. For instance, an attractive sky-lit space can be brought into the bedroom, where the seating zone can overlook the space.
This brings in a fine demarcation between the sleeping area of the bedroom which is tucked away on one side and the seating area where reading or relaxing can be done while not actually resting. The presence of an open-to-sky zone here brings in the refreshing outdoors while still maintaining the privacy of the space.
The bathroom can likewise introduce an open-to-sky bathing area where the feeling of bathing under the sun or the stars is present, totally altering the showering experience. The sky-lit zone can also prevail as a separate enclosed zone adjoining the shower area, where the space can bring in greenery to visually create the feel of bathing outdoors. A fairly large bathroom can even accommodate a tree in its midst, the bath tub featuring in the sky-lit space besides the tree, lending novelty to the entire showering experience.
