Page 7 - Apr-Jun 2018
P. 7

VOL. 15 No. 2
      Interesting Assamese ‘Ikra’                                                        DID YOU KNOW?


                                                                                        While Assam has Ikra homes,
      Location: Assam; Rural
      Physical Factors: Tropical Monsoon climate; Earthquake and fl ood prone          which are made of local materials
                                                                                      and have basic designs, this state
      Before the British, the kings of Assam lived in large structures, while the common   also enjoys some very regal colonial
      people lived in basic huts. The main aim was that the hut should be lightweight.   bungalows. These stand against the
      These homes were called Ikra, after the reeds that were used for the walls.         backdrop of tea gardens.
        ROOF                                      WALL

        The roof is thatched, with wooden         The hut has to be lightweight, yet      SHAPE
        beams,    supported   by   vertical       sturdy to resist the earthquakes.
        wooden or steel columns.  This is         Thus, they are made with bamboo         On fl at terrain, these
        done to avoid damage during fl oods       frames, fi lled with ikra reed shoots   houses     are    either
        or earthquakes. It also provides a        which are all vertically placed.        rectangular, L shaped, or
        cover during rain.                                                                C shaped.


























      FLOOR

      The homes have
      mud        plastered
      fl oors. Sometimes, it                                                              Illustration by: Deepti Thakur, All Saints
                                                                                                     Sr. Sec. School, Ajmer
      is cemented over a        DOORS AND WINDOWS
      layer of sand or brick.   These houses usually have two            LAYOUT

                                entrances with doors.  The windows       Assamese houses are usually one fl oor high.
                                are small in size.                       They are positioned on a high plinth so the
                                                                         rainwater doesn’t enter the house.  There
       ACTIVITY: HOUSE ON                                                is usually an open space outside both the
                                                                         entrances of the house. In hilly areas, these
       STILTS                                                            houses are built on stilts, to protect them
                                                                         from fl oods.
       In North-East India, due to
       the high rainfall, houses are
       built on stilts.                                               Text credits: Mannat Sharma, VIII I, Delhi Public School, Sec-45,
                                                                      Gurgaon; Akshit Mandal, IX, Raksha Anusandhan Vidyalaya,
       Draw one such typical home.                                    Dehradun; S. Yuvraj Singh, IX B, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Public
                                                                      School Vidyashram, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad; Goldy Shankar, VII B,
                                                                      Pine Hall School, Dehradun



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