Site 1
Balwadi and Street Edge

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In the days of the beginning of the settlement, the people lived in houses made of mud near the temple of Kshemkali. She was said to be the daughter of Raja Venu of Kannauj and the kuldevi of the Rajput Rathors. Initially this

 

settlement was that of the minority Muslim community. After the Hindu-Muslim riots due to the demolition of Babri-Masjid the muslims were driven off, their land was divided.  Half was sold to The Grandfather (name unknown) was of the Rajput caste and half was left where now there stands a white, pristine temple.  

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This Grandfather had a brother Madhav and a sister Ramshree who although married, stayed on this land. The house grew as the family did, since it was built for themselves with their own hands. Every space was unique, no wall was straight and no house was shut off from the other.

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Many of these children went to become plumbers and drivers but the children of the thekedar prospered and top of the old house built 2 more levels, where the oldest lived in the oldest part of the house, as is custom. They had windows in their house, unlike their cousins who filled them up and built skylights since they could not afford the framing.

Many of these children went to become plumbers and drivers but the children of the Thekedar prospered and top of the old house built 2 more levels, where the oldest lived in the oldest part of the house, as is custom. They had windows in their house, unlike their cousins who filled them up and built skylights since they could not afford the framing.

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The sons of Grandfather, Madhav and Ramshree lived amicably for a while before they were given a possession in land and for that they fought. The younger Kisna was more prosperous, with a stable job and therefore got to pick the road-facing side of the land but even among their children, the oldest lives in the initial older part of the house and rooms or floors and chulhas are added as the younger ones get married and build their own families. But when talking, there is a certain reverence in the way the people talk about the eldest children and mention not being able to oppose the elders when it comes to most of the decisions of the family. 

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But after the fights all the doors that led them to each other were filled up with bricks. Yet the various branches of the house remain connected; the house is an intricate growing organ and the people seamlessly build and flow.