Hasta Shilpa heritage village tour from today

Hasta Shilpa Trust will open the second zone at Hasta Shilpa Heritage Village starting April 21, 2018, through a new tour.

This tour, called ‘Eastern Jaunt’ is a walk back in time, across several villages and communities of Southern Karnataka as represented in their built heritage.

According to a press release, the tour includes manor houses such as Vaderhobli House of the Koni Karanths and certain smaller prototypes, of the agrarian Bunt communities like the Yerukone House and Nelyadi House, all of Kundapur taluk and all these are fine examples of this region in a feudal era. The community of Bunts too is represented here as in the four-century-old Harkur Olaginamane, which has the rare and stunning colonnade of maddale (mridangam) shaped pillars, placed in the verandahs. Also included in this tour is the Navayath Muslim House from Bhatkal, which has been unusually rebuilt on this site to provide exterior contextual perspectives or street view, of the house.

Courtyard house

The pinnacle of this tour is Kunjur Chowki Mane, a courtyard house of the Shivalli Brahmins. The play of light and dark in the interiors of the house, the number of functions, people and generations it served, reveal how beautifully a house could be designed in the vernacular tradition.

These houses have been landscaped effectively by the late Vijayanath Shenoy at the Hasta Shilpa Heritage Village so as to aid visitors to get the maximum experience of the rural landscape of a hamlet. As part of the heritage experience, visitors will particularly appreciate the coolness of the vernacular architecture in this summer season.

To encourage visitors explore the architectural heritage from the vernacular tradition, the Hasta Shilpa Trust is pleased to offer the entry fees for both tours at Rs 500 if purchased together. Entry fees for any single tour are Rs 300 per person. Conditions apply.