City is a record of events in space and time, a continuity of events and new events which are being recorded. Jaisalmer developed as one of the most interesting towns dominated by the trading community, because of the wealth of the town, its architecture was rich and elaborate .the city was founded in 1156 AD by Rao Jaisalji as a military fort and trading post for the east –west route. Presence of water and wonderful hunting area surrounding it attracted the Maharaja of Luderva .Old town of Luderva which was given up due to its vulnerability to attack the lack of potable water ,still exist about 15 kilometers from Jaisalmer.

Jaisalmer is located in arid plains of west Rajastahan in the midst of vast desert known as Thar. It is a region of deficient rainfall averaging 15 centimeters a year and therefore sparse vegetation is found. The ground water in the greater part is impregnated with salt.The main source of water is Garisar lake just beyond the outer fortification on the south side.

Connected by a meter gage railway to Jodhpur city which is about 270 kilometer east the town of Jaisalmer is about 900 kilometers south west of New Delhi. Extending between 26 deg -04 min and 28 deg -23 min north latitude and 69 deg -30 min and 72 deg -42 min east longitude, it is surrounded on the northern and the western side by Pakistan bordering at about 70 kilometers from the town. At the eastern and southern side it joins other districts of Rajasthan such as Jodhpur or Barmer. The development of the railway adversely affected Jaiselmer as the movement reduced.

Morphophase

The state of form at any given time is taken as 'morphophase'. Although the context of the gene generative order was couple of centuries ago, reflections here are on what is observed today as well. Jaisalmer stands well ,silhouetted against the deep sky ,in the western part of Thar desert in Rajasthan. Built entirely out of stone on top of a hillock and its slopes with nothing in vicinity ,the city is a dense mass with little sense of scale when viewed from a distance. With its strong circular bastions of the fort wall, the city is like a piece of sculpture .It is difficult to visualize that it is so porous harbouring life ,because it gives an impression of solidity. As one gets closer, one feels that the city is carved out of a solid stone rather than constructed piece with a stone over a stone. However ,once inside the city , the experiencing ships to the buildings and details and strong sense of notion of scale prevails.

In its overall shape, Jaiselmer is an irregular polygon with a double line of fortification. It is a city within a city. The inner city is more protected with a stronger wall and is set on top of a hill about 350 feet higher than surrounding area. The city is triangular in shape and it is due to the shape of the hill on which it is built. The Royal Palace forms the nucleus of this part of Jaiselmer. There is only one gate to the upper city leading to Royal Square through a winding path with a series check points. The Royal Square was the arrival point for visiting traders to the city. Lot of activity went on in this square in older days; though now-a-days it is deserted most of the times. Compactly built, the city has many tall buildings up to seven stories high giving it a fairly dense and vertical effect.

There is a very strong sense of order and harmony in the whole town. It is not known how this was accomplished. One wonders if it was the results of any regulations. It could be the result of spirit of the people who sought for an environment which was free from pseudo-scientific clichés, yet responded to the forces of nature like climate and sandstorms. The order is not the result of construction of this town only. It actually is the result of the culmination of efforts for refinement over a period of time. Similar, though inferior constructional order exists in settlements of earlier times. The understanding of context which was deeply relevant to the people who gave rise to certain principles which were followed by enlarge. The result was a style of architecture which could be adopted by anyone in the town and yet make personally desired variations in the plan and construction of houses. Centre court became the key element holding the house together; however, in some of the larger houses there are two courts. Symmetry is a strong principle. Most of the construction is with the help of prefabricated stone elements which add to this (-------?) expression. One court purchased standard elements from the stone carver or get them carved on site. This resulted in top similar columns, brackets, balconies, chajjas, zarookhes and other elements all over the town. Constancy of material also contributes to the harmony.

There is some difference in the street pattern of the upper and lower city. The branching pattern found above is contrasted by the grid iron pattern in the city below, though the streets do not run in exact straights lines nor do they meet at right angles. It would be wrong to call growth of the city organic or spontaneous as may be the case with many other Indian cities. Location of certain squares in very strategic places and very developed and definite order of the street and buildings make the city well organized. The major part of the city is divided in to some what rectangular blocks with closely built buildings. These blocks show continuous facades of exquisitely carved elements behind which are open courts and terraces making them fairly porous in plan.

The city structuring manifests itself in two strong ways. The location of Royal Quarters on top of the hill which strong fortifications. Secondly the dispersal of communities is affected by caste groupings making distinct residential zones of different communities. However there is little evidence of class distinction. This is evident from the manner in which some of the houses of the rich people are dispersed in both the cities. Rich and not so rich lived in close proximity. The market square and the main bazaar structure the lower city where the Royal Square and the temples hold the upper city together. Streets are the major linkages and activity spaces.

The city when viewed from above gives an impression of cubical grains arranged in close proximity. Courts and terraces expose the sides of these grains. Though very solid looking, the city has porosity, somewhat comparable to a honey comb due to a certain uniformity and fineness of the textural quality. This is also due constancy of building module used all over the town. The cubical grain of the city is contrasted by the cylindrical bastions of the fort wall. However, the overall effect is strong and singular.

Morphocontext

Development of form in a given context is taken as “morphocontext”.The whole situation ,background or environment relevant to some happening is contextual whereas Morph is related to the form and structure of a town with its parts and their organic relationships . The elements of the town contributing to the form and structure with some considerations for the related functions of the elements .Major contextual factors considered significant are techno-ecological, i.e., the level of technology in the development of an environment within the eco-system. This includes such aspects as the level of human skill in making his habitat respond to the natural forces.

Climate is the most important single force exerting considerable pressure on the form of houses, streets and the whole town need for defense and desire for proximity within the communities generated certain life styles which were also playing role in the organization of environment .Sometimes, these generative forces are in harmony with one another strengthening the concept of the resulting form .In the case of Jaisalmer hot dry climate created compact clustering and close packing of houses with narrow shaded streets ;need for security and desire for proximity also brought the houses wall to wall .Climate created small openings but ,the idea of small opening was reinforced by the need for privacy for the women .This gave rise to such elements as zarookhas –to peep through windows without being seen .The level of constructional skills quite evident from the manner in which the houses were constructed. Courts and terraces are also the result of climate, at the same time providing private open space at different levels .

There are certain organizational variations in the houses and their groupings due to local circumstances. For instance, the periphery which has a strong form of the fort wall generated an order different from street houses. Houses of the guards were accommodated within the bastions of the wall. The geometry, therefore, is considerably affected. Also it is in the periphery that people from the surrounding rural areas migrated and introduced rural character to the houses and the clusters.

Streets

Jaisalmer is a compact network of streets rarely too long .In negotiating the terrain ,the streets have become quite interesting .With fairly high buildings and width of the streets rarely more than four meters, one can move around the town in cool shade .It is essentially a pedestrian town .At places the streets pass through a square or widen to accommodate more activities or to create a breathing space .

The major part of the town is grid iron in its street pattern, particularly in the lower city .Streets at time has strong pauses but, generally they are modulated with subtle curves enhancing view of the richly ornamented buildings and also not exposing the entire view of all at once. This makes walking through the town a rich experience .The upper city also has similar quality but the street pattern is more branching in character .in general the variations for any hierarchical order are too little to be of any consequence. There, to find any hierarchy in street system is difficult.

Squares

Though there are a few squares in the city ,Jaisalmer cannot be considered as a city of squares .With the exception of one or two squares .,most of the squares are very small and insignificant for their architectural merit .There are two major squares ,one is located in the upper city and forms part of the royal campus .The other one is located below and is very active as a market square .

The Royal Square is a fairly well conceived square forming core of the upper city as well as the royal campus .It has a high quality of architectural order and spatial feeling. On reaching the entrance of the square through winding and well guarded path one sees very little of buildings ,actually one views the horizon just above the fort wall .Only on turning around one finds the richly ornamented Raj Mahal and the temple forming the three sides of the square, the fourth one being open.

Today, the square is all sort of activities, but at one time, all the royal functions were held here. Also, the visiting traders met the king and the community in this square .King’s seat occupies one full corner with slight diagonal slant to overlook the square.

Located in the lower city , market square forms part of a sequence of squares and street forming the main bazzar .This is one of the most active place in city today. It does not compare well to the Royal Square for architectural quality ,but it’s activity sustains it well .The market square has a very informal quality due to the diversity of activities and a kind of aimless presence of many people .Its lively and colorful mostly due to the colorful dresses of the people and objects around the shops.

Houseforms

The architecture of the city displays a strong sense of anonymity which is essentially a cultural trait .In some of the oriented cultures it is part of life and comes naturally to people .This found expression in the architecture ,specially in domestic architecture .The spaces acquire non specific character .They change in their use as morning changes into noon and noon changes evening .They are also used in summer and winter differently .The interior open spaces like courtyards ,terraces and balconies have special significance under such situations. They accommodate variety during different seasons or different parts of the day .In the late morning it is the kitchen that spills over or sometimes, completely moves into the courtyard s. In the afternoon, it is the other household chores that go into the courtyard.

Similarly, the terraces are used in many different ways .In winter it is not uncommon to take the whole cooking and eating activity to the terrace whereas in summer ,the terraces are used for sleeping in the cool pleasant night under a beautiful starry sky.

The whole idea of house is developed around the concept of privacy. This has generated very specific elements and expressions. The ground floor has no openings on the street except the entrance door and steps .Some platforms are developed in front of houses where people do not have a very strong notion of privacy. In most cases, even the entrance faces a blank wall blocking the view of the courtyard from street when door is open. The house starts opening up on the floors. The need for privacy from the house across the street is much less as compared to from the strangers passing through the street. On the one hand people wanted to live as close as possible to one another; at the same time they wanted some privacy .With compact organization ,the houses the houses and streets became very close to each other ,so the most natural thing was to close the house to the exterior and open it in the interior. This idea is reinforced by climatic needs.

Almost every house is built in the beautiful yellow and sand stone and within an order that prevails over the entire settlement .Grown out of a modulation at a domestic scale, dictated by limitation of stone construction, town presents a picture of unique order. Yet, it is not regimental .Within this organization at a town scale ,generated out of compact packing of houses with each one of them having a courtyard of its own ,there are sufficient variations in the plans and in the facades to avoid monotony and yet maintain certain harmony. He construction is essentially trabeated. A minimum house is generally a two bay house with one of the bays having the courtyard .It is the number of the bays start increasing and the houses start becoming larger .This could happen on either or both directions .The change in bay size would be marginal due to limitation of stone as a spanning material .Proportionate to the house the court sizes also change by increase in number of bays. However very large houses would have two or even three courtyards.

The houses that have come up on the periphery of the upper as well as the lower city show some differences in character. These houses fall into two broad categories .One of the categories is the house built in the circular spaces of the bastions of the fort wall. The major space of the house is the bastion ,court and other spaces extend out of it .These houses have a background right from the beginning of the city. In early times these houses were occupied by guards and their families .some of the descendants continue to stay even today. The other category is the set of houses built by poorer and lower communities, generally near the fort wall becomes one of the side of the house .Quite often the occupants of such houses have a rural background which is reflected in the form and finishes of the house. Random stone masonry is finished with mud plaster and major elements like doors and balconies are finished with a white border typical of the surrounding rural areas even in the interiors ,the clay and mirror work has rural character.