The traditional Andhra homes with terracotta tiled rooftops are an ideal place to live in, particularly during summer when the mercury soars to a new high. But these aesthetically-designed houses constructed more than one hundred years ago in this village by the side of the Gundalakamma as also elsewhere are now few and far in between with concrete houses dotting even the rural landscape.
The ‘penku’ house functions like a thermostat protecting the inhabitants from extreme temperatures during summer as well as winter.
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“The lifestyle of the villagers has changed fast as they vie with their counterparts in cities and town in owning reinforced cement concrete (RCC) buildings with all modern amenities, including air-conditioners,” laments octogenarian medical practitioner Ch. Chalamaiah, who cherishes terracotta-tiled house inherited from his ancestors.
Even the poorer sections in the village, who hitherto used to live in thatched houses, are opting for concrete houses under the popular NTR housing scheme to make best use of the limited space allotted to them, says another septuagenarian Ch. Seshaiah, who prefers to consume cool water from an earthen pot.
Traditional carpenters arrange the terracotta tiles on the rooftop in such a manner that air moves freely and keeps the room temperature less by at least 3-4 degree Celsius, says a farmer, Venkateswara Rao, a proud owner of the house constructed by his grandfather procuring fine quality teakwood for erection of decorative wooden pillars to support the tiled rooftop.
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The spacious house with rooms in each corner easily accommodated the joint family headed by my grandfather, he recalls.
With worry writ large on his face, Mr. Rao, whose two techie sons settled abroad, wonders as to who will take care of the house after him.
Construction of each house demanded services of the carpenter, ironsmith, potter, mason, and others, who are no longer available, says Musaliah, the only surviving potter in the village that had 15 potter families decades ago.
“I make terracotta tiles only based on specific order for changing the broken ones. I have stopped making the tiles on a regular basis due to lack of consistent demand,” adds Musalaiah, whose two sons have joined the ranks of construction workers in nearby Ongole for a living.
Eco-friendly
It is high time those in power encouraged construction of eco-friendly traditional houses with tiled rooftops and water harvesting structures, says Volunteer Environment Organisation chairman G. Veerabhadrachari.