Hidden Stories: How wada architecture united art and science, community and conquest

Indian Express

26-07-2025

In Pune, where the soundscape is an endless loop of construction, and jagged high-rises pierce the sky, it is evident that the city is fascinated with buildings. Even as new homes take over the landscape, however, the historic ones are crumbling. The number of wadas, a type of climate-friendly residential structures that are postcards from the past, has been reducing over the years. This is, both, a sign and an outcome of a disappearing way of life. We delve into some of the salient features of wada architecture:
A Peshwa-era legacy
Wadas have not been a part of the Pune landscape from the beginning. 'The wadas are not known at the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Lal Mahal, Shivneri fort, Raigad Fort, Pratapgad Fort and Raigad are the names that are more familiar,' writes Kiran Kalamdani, a Pune-based architect, urban designer and conservation expert, in the essay, The Wada (Manor House) of Maharashtra: A Unique Legacy. It is only in the beginning of the 18th century, that wadas became popular status symbols.
Noblemen at the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj lived in houses made of stone, mud and lime mortar. The architectural typology of wadas that came in with the Peshwas was based on a grid system that was repeated across the entire area. 'The entire structure was load bearing. There used to be a high plinth built in stone and thick walls. The superstructure was mainly in brick and lime mortar, with a lime wash or lime plaster on top of it,' says Shreeamey Phadnis, Co-founder and Partner at Studio Gestalt. The beams and columns were in cinder or solid teak wood that was, normally, brought from forests or imported from regions that had good quality teak wood.
'The timber was grown like a kind of a crop. The grandson would use the timber that the grandfather had planted 60 to 70 years back,' says Kalamdani, whose firm, Kimaya: The Alchemy, has worked on conserving a number of wadas in and around the city. Kalamdani adds that the tradition of adding a timber frame to the masonry of buildings had travelled from Central Asia where timber was found to offer resistance to earthquakes.
A home with a view
A courtyard was a fundamental part of a wada, its number depending on the social status, wealth and the requirement of the owner. The simplest wada had a single courtyard, which was open to the sky and where various activities would take place. If the wada was built by an aristocrat, there would be three or more courtyards. The outer courtyard would be for the public, i.e. officials and members of the community who were visiting. 'It was accessible to the public and rooms were built accordingly,' says Phadnis. The middle courtyard would be a transitional space, where some private and some public activities and meetings were held. The furthest courtyard would be private, used only by family members to install the family deities or carrry out special activities.
'Similarly, depending on the wealth and status of the family, a wada owner would increase the number of floors or the stories. The simple wadas would be one or two storeys, but Rajwadas, which belonged to aristocrats, would be three, four, five and, sometimes, like Shaniwar Wada, seven stories,' he adds.
Why the wada fulfilled a need for the joint family system, it also became places of diplomacy and meetings for the community. There would be a darbar hall and a diwan khana. When Ganeshotsav began to be celebrated in the late 1800s, the wada became the space to host the city's earliest celebrations. The Muzumdar wada, for instance, would have their Ganpati celebration in their darbar hall because it could accommodate 80 to 100 people at the same time. 'Many times this would be called the Ganesh hall also,' says Phadnis.
Ultimately, a wada reflected the family's social status and economic background. 'In case, there is a wada in Ravivar Peth, a bazaar area, we have wadas that have shops in front and the wada at the back. In this case, it was easier to have your work right next to your house. If it is a group of wadas on a street, we would have a tree that was an informal space for people to sit under and socialise. The architecture and planning was very socially oriented,' says Archana Deshmukh of the architecture firm Nasadeeya that has been working on various types of wadas for the last 15 years.
A magnet for artisans
The wada architecture, which peaked during the tenure of Nanasaheb Peshwa, between 1740 and 1760, attracted a lot of artisans, craftsmen and masons from all over India. A lot of them, from Rajasthan, Gujarat and other parts of North India, belonged to generations of craftsmen who had inherited the skills working in mansions. Wada architecture featured a lot of art in the columns and beams, among others. 'The brackets would be very ornamental, typically with banana flowers. The columns would be shaped like fluted cypress tree trunks,' says Phadnis. There was gold gilding, silver gilding, and false ceiling work.
The ornamentation plays an important functional role. The embellishments of peacocks, parrots and stylized floral patterns are related to the longevity of the timbers. 'The unprotected and unornamented edges of beams dry out faster with the wetting and drying cycles and lose their oils at a faster rate. Covering with ornamentation not only prevents such deterioration but gives it a cultural meaning and functional role. The bell shaped stone pedestals (talkhada) that support the timber shafts of columns protect them from termite attacks that are common in tropical situations,' writes Kalamdani.
A fixed address
As the Maratha power increased and spread, from Delhi or Attock, Afghanistan, in the north to Tanjore in the south, the footprint of Maratha architecture kept pace. Wadas rose outside Maharashtra, many of which can be seen to this day. Phadnis, who has worked in Ahilyabai Holkar's wada in Madhya Pradesh, says that, even after the British crown and the East India company came into India, there were princely states and the Maratha confederacy. 'We had the Holkars in Indore, the Puars in Devas and the Gaekwads in Baroda, among others. All of them had their own Rajwadas. They took certain local elements, materials and artisans but the inspiration or blends was clear,' says Phadnis.
He adds that, in the 1800s, a lot of western influence came in with the British. Wadas began to incorporate elements of palace architecture. 'We have been working on a wada in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, called the Zuna Rajwada. You can see a clear gradation and timeline in the Wada style. The oldest section is from the early 1700s, and is a very typical Maratha style-wada that one can see in Pune. Then, we see the transition spaces. Finally, the last part of the wada is more a palace than a wada,' says Phadnis.
While Shaniwar Wada no longer houses a family, Pune has many wadas where people still live. They face issues of plumbing and wiring. Very often, they will see a crack or leakage. In certain, very serious cases, there would be a wall collapse or the floor caves in. 'It takes a lot of upkeep to maintain a wada,' says Phadnis