Enthusiasts revive interest in India's grand old mansions

Vernacular domestic architecture threatened by decay and development

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Rajbari Bawali is a restored mansion in Bengal built by a zamindar, or wealthy landowner. (All photos by Kalpana Sunder)

KALPANA SUNDER, Contributing writer

CHENNAI -- Gargantuan houses of mud, brick and wood, with ornate doors, carved pillars and sloping roofs, built like giant jigsaw puzzles which can be dismantled and reassembled at another place -- this is the vernacular domestic architecture of Kerala state, in southern India.

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