The Brahmapuri district in the Indian city of Jodhpur is located at the foot of a famous hilltop fort.
Built in 1459 by the Rajput king Rao Jodha – after whom the city is named – the walled, fortified settlement emerged in the shadow of the Mehrangarh Fort and was eventually recognized as the ancient or original city of Jodhpur, with azure houses.
Esther Christine Schmidt, assistant professor at the Jindal School of Art and Architecture, says the iconic blue color was probably not adopted until the 17th century.
But since then, the area’s blue-colored houses have become a clear sign of Jodhpur’s identity and have attracted attention from around the world.
Jodhpur, in the state of Rajasthan, is even called the ‘Blue City’ because Brahmapuri remains the heart of the city despite expansions over the past seventy years, explains Sunayana Rathore, the curator of the Mehrangarh Museum.
Brahmapuri – which roughly translates to “the city of Brahmins” in Sanskrit – was built as a colony of upper-caste families who adopted the color blue as a symbol of their socio-cultural piety in the Hindu caste system.
They stand out, like the Jews of Chefchaouen – or Morocco’s Blue City – who settled in the older part of the city known as Medina in the 15th century while fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. It is believed that they colored their homes, mosques and even public offices in a shade of blue, which is considered a divine hue in Judaism and symbolizes the sacred air.
Ultimately, the color turned out to be useful in more ways than one. The blue paint mixed with limestone plaster – also used in Brahmapuri houses – cooled the interior of the structures and attracted tourists attracted by the neighborhood’s striking appearance.
But unlike Chefchaouen, the blue color in Jodhpur is starting to fade. There are several reasons for this.
Historically, blue was a viable option for the people of Brahmapuri due to the ready availability of natural indigo in the region. The town of Bayana in eastern Rajasthan was then one of the most important indigo producing centers in the country. But over the years, indigo fell out of favor because growing the crop caused excessive damage to the soil.
Moreover, temperatures have now risen so much that the blue paint is not enough to keep homes cool. An increase in disposable income has also led to a gradual shift towards modern amenities such as air conditioners that help people cope with the scorching heat.
“Temperatures have gradually increased over the years,” said Udit Bhatia, assistant professor of civil engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar, who works on resilience infrastructure and the impact of climate extremes on built and natural systems.
A trend analysis by IIT Gandhinagar showed that Jodhpur’s average temperature rose from 37.5 degrees Celsius in the 1950s to 38.5 degrees Celsius in 2016.
In addition to keeping homes cool, Mr. Bhatia says the paint also had pest-fighting properties because natural indigo was mixed with bright blue copper sulfate, a popular antifouling agent widely used in 20th century paints.
While Mr. Bhatia does not think urbanization is bad, he points out that it can lead to the rather unscientific abandonment of traditions designed to serve systems and ecologies.
“If someone walked yesterday down an alley in Jodhpur with blue houses on either side, and today walks through the same alley where the houses are now painted in a darker color, even the lightest breeze will make him feel hotter than ever before. they felt more likely,” he says.
It’s called the heat island effect, where the effect of rising temperatures is exacerbated when heat and sunlight are amplified and reflected back into the environment by the concrete, cement and glass used to build structures. With darker paints the impact is further increased.
Furthermore, as cities increasingly open up to newer cultures and people, indigenous construction methods – such as the use of lime plaster in warmer climates – are being replaced by newer techniques such as the use of cement or concrete, which do not absorb the blue pigment well.
Aditya Dave, a 29-year-old civil engineer from Brahmapuri, says his 300-year-old family home has retained most of it blue, although they now occasionally repaint the exterior walls in other colors.
This is mainly because the scarcity of indigo has driven up costs in recent years. Repainting houses blue cost about 5,000 rupees ($60; £45) until a decade ago, while today it would be more than 30,000 rupees.
“Nowadays there are also open drains along the side of houses that contaminate the blue paint and damage the walls,” says Mr Dave.
That’s why, when he built his own house in Brahmapuri five years ago, he opted for a tiled facade that doesn’t need to be repaired often.
“It’s just more cost-effective that way,” he says.
But this transformation leaves visitors feeling cheated, says Deepak Soni, a clothing seller who is working with local authorities to preserve Brahmapuri’s existing blue houses and restore those that have abandoned the color.
“We should be ashamed if someone goes looking for the houses that formed the identity of our city and does not find them. So many foreigners compare Jodhpur to Chefchaouen. If Chefchaouen has managed to keep their houses blue for centuries, why can’t we?” he asks.
In 2018, Mr Soni, originally a resident of Brahmapuri and now outside the walled part of Jodhpur, negotiated with local authorities and communities to save the unique heritage of their hometown. Since 2019, he has also raised money locally from Brahmapuri residents to have the exterior walls of 500 houses painted blue every year.
Over the years, he has convinced nearly 3,000 homeowners in Brahmapuri to return to blue for the exterior walls and roofs of their homes, “so that when someone takes a photo in Brahmapuri, at least the background appears blue,” he says.
Mr Soni estimates that about half of the approximately 33,000 houses in Brahmapuri are currently blue.
He is working with local officials and lawmakers on a plan to apply lime plaster so that more homes can be painted this color.
It’s the least he can do for the city he calls home, he says.
“Why will people from outside Jodhpur care about our city if we don’t care about its heritage and do something to save it?”
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