Everyday Religiosity and Housing in Suburban Mumbai | Academic Research by Krisha Kothari

Abstract

How does the intersection of everyday religiosity and real estate regulation shape spatiality and life in a suburban neighbourhood in Mumbai? At stake in this question lies the challenge to articulate the ways in which the spatiality of standardised, repetitive units of mass housing in a suburban neighbourhood undergoing intense redevelopment produces frictions and opportunities to mediate religious difference.

I explored this question in Daulat Nagar, a suburban neighbourhood in Mumbai, where I resided for 20 years between 2001 – 2020. Daulat Nagar emerged as a privately plotted bungalow scheme in the 1950s, housing Sindhi and Punjabi refugees alongside households from Gujarati and Maharashtrian linguistic communities. In the 1980s, it transformed into low-rise apartments, and Gujarati and Marwari households increased in number. Post 2005, drawing upon Mumbai’s regulation of incentive Floor Space Index, it is transforming into high-rise apartments that are predominantly inhabited by Jain households.

The field work of this research is in three phases between May – July 2023. I first walked through the neighbourhood. mapping intensity of housing redevelopment practices in the neighbourhood, categorising them decadally. I followed these walks by reinserting myself as a ‘fly on the wall’, listening to everyday conversations and gossip in the neighbourhood. These unravelled stories of extensions, retrofits, redevelopment, mobility, enterprise, amenities, building services, and sales and rehabilitation—all of which intersected with everyday religious discourse and practice in the neighbourhood. I chose to detail four stories that emerged in the overlap of these two reconnaissance studies.

The first story, Punya ka kaam (Virtuous deeds), demonstrates how a kinship network mobilises the discourse of everyday Jain religiosity to tap paradoxically into the community’s financial capacities to advance redevelopment business.
The second story, Ghar Upashray (Habitation for Jain monks), explores how an apartment presents spatial affordances to retrofit an Upashray, and in the process, how the retrofit transforms the commons, disrupting privacy and routines of the building’s residents.
The third story, Kalank Lag Jaayega (Reputation shall be blemished), discusses how spatial stacking in the apartment type lends to olfactory experiences of cooking, and how the proximity of vegetarian and non-vegetarian households in densifying neighbourhoods results in social frictions.
The fourth story, Vaastu Anusar (According to Vaastu Shastra), discusses the design of modifications to the apartment type through the logic of Vaastu Shastra, exceeding the city’s development control regulations.

These unapproved modifications attempt to invent spatial affordances in the standardised apartment type that customise formal configurations to align with the differences produced by the practices of everyday religiosity. The fifth story, Khuli jagah nahi hai (There is no open space), discusses the provision of amenities, which are mainly produced to suit the beliefs and resources framed by Jainism. Overlapping of other religious practices and routines prompts negotiations in this ‘ordered’ production of open spaces.

I argue that the designs of the form and configuration of the apartment type—situated in logics of universality, efficiency and standardisation—are unable to absorb the cultural practices of everyday religious difference.

Introduction

‘‘Taara gali maa su hawa chaale che?’’

‘What are the winds blowing in your neighbourhood?’ – the introductory story

The ‘winds’ that cull out from these overheard dialogues are categorised as:

• Household gossip
• Differences based on Jain and Non-Jain practices.
• Aspirations and restrictions
• Religious practices that stall one from doing something they desire.
• Negotiating claims in routines
• Religious institutions are becoming nodes of public space.
• Redevelopment, amenities and enterprises.
• Religious beliefs and practices are driving the enterprises in the neighbourhood.

Through the above categories, what filters out is how the triggers of these conversations and discussions are predominantly rooted in the everyday religious practices and beliefs the residents follow. In some conversations, there is a sense of translation of these beliefs into spatial claims and negotiations.

This becomes the introduction to the enquiry:

The spatial transformation of housing in Mumbai’s suburbs (Daulat Nagar) is produced by the intersection of practices of everyday religiosity and real estate regulations. This inquiry is concerned with the intensification of experiences of religious differences being showcased through spatial contradictions and conflicts in Mumbai’s suburban neighbourhoods.

The aim of this thesis is to study the spatial transformations that are produced through the intersection of everyday religious practices and real estate regulation.

Site Delineation

Daulat Nagar, Borivali East, Mumbai, lies north of Borivali railway station and is divided from nearby slums by Swami Vivekanand Road, which connects the station to a flyover leading to Borivali West. Historically, the area has seen conflicts between slum dwellers and neighbourhood residents.

Once agricultural land, Daulat Nagar was transformed in the 1970s with Sindhi and Punjabi refugees establishing residential infrastructure. By the 1980s, the closure of Bombay mills led Gujarati and Marwari businessmen to settle in the area, outnumbering Sindhis and Punjabis, who were pushed to the neighbourhood’s northern and southern ends, forming the Sindhi chawl.

Gujaratis and Marwaris built religious institutions like the 1980s Shree Shankheshvar Parshwanath Jain Mandir, fostering community ties. The 2005 floods damaged low-rise structures, prompting redevelopment. Post-2010, over 70 structures were redeveloped into buildings, reshaping Daulat Nagar’s physical and social fabric into a community-centric, religiously-influenced neighbourhood.

Stories

The research is presented and analysed through stories, namely:

• Punya ka kaam – Virtuous deed
• Ghar Upashray – Habitation for Jain monks
• Kalank Lag Jaayega – Reputation shall be blemished
• Vaastu Anusaar – According to Vastu Shastra
• Khuli Jagah nahi hai – There is no open space

I would narrate two impactful stories from these and progress to summarise all of them and analyse their findings.

‘Ghar Upashray’ – Habitation for Jain monks

A little glance of light on the pillow woke Mrs Avantika Jain up at five in the morning. She was up alert, it was an everyday routine for the past two years. She was accustomed to sleeping tired but with a sense of satisfaction, that what she does every day is good Karma, and she has been chosen by God to be a caretaker of the Jain monks.

It was the year 1993 when recently married Avantika had shifted to their new residence, Sushant, a 4-story building in Daulat Nagar. Her father-in-law had bought the first and the second floor, each with one flat for himself and his son. The family was overjoyed to own these two flats in the same building, which was on the street of the derasar. But in 2000, the mother and father-in-law succumbed to a car accident, resulting in the renting out of the first floor. It was COVID times when her husband faced losses in his export business.

Their son, who resides in Canada, had also lost his job; in such inevitable circumstances, he decided to sell the first-floor flat, but was unable to find a ‘good family’. They turned to the ‘derasari’ (Temple trust) for some financial help. The Derasari were looking for places for their monks to reside safely, hence they bought the flat and converted it into a ‘Ghar Apasra’. Left with no other choice, the Jains agreed to this deal wholeheartedly.

Since they sold the first floor, Avantika acted as a caretaker for the monks. As soon as she wakes up, she instantly takes a bath and visits the Monks on the first floor. She then takes the excretion heads to the ground floor and looks around. As expected, the old lady from the adjacent building was sipping tea by her window. As soon as she saw Avantika come down, she shut her window and sat back again on her rocking chair, looking at what Avantika was doing. This was a routine now. She threw the excretions in the plantation along the compound wall edge.

By the time she cooked and gave her husband his tiffin, it was already eight. She went back to the ‘apasra’ (Upashray – where the monks reside) to make sure everything was arranged for the visitors who would visit for the ‘Pravachans’ (lectures). The senior monks spread the knowledge of Jainism through these lectures, mantras and bhajans in the Vyakhyan Hall. This attracts crowds from the neighbourhood.

The narrow staircase well of the building gets clogged every morning, with ladies and old men climbing up to the upashray, the mothers taking their children down to their school bus, and men paving their way to the office. School buses honking, people trying to get their cars out of their parking spots. Post the ‘pravachana’, Avantika rushes home to cook for the monks, as it was just time for them to ask for ‘bhiksha’ (an act where the monks go house to house to ask for food). Later that day, Avantika got a call from the Derasar,

“Avantika ben kaale be maharaj saheb aavana che navi mumbai thi aath vaage, paach divas rese tamare tya toh vyavastha karilejo”
(Avantika, tomorrow two monks will be coming to the upashray from Navi Mumbai at 8 am. They will be staying at the Upashray for 5 days, please make the arrangements)

“Haa hu kaydays, tame khaali phool waala ne kai dejo savare jaldi aavi ne decoration karile gate par”
(Inform the flower vendor to come tomorrow morning to decorate the gate), Avantika informed the dersar worker.

A procession, led by junior monks and women from the community, would stop at the ‘apasra’ early in the morning. The next morning, Avantika woke up a little extra early to cook for her husband and then get dressed. She went down to throw the excretions of the monks, came back home, draped her ‘gharcholu’ (saree generally worn at weddings), put on some make-up, and went back to the first floor. Avantika, along with some other women from her community, set up the chairs, rugs, and ‘Chai-nashta’ for the guests.

As soon as the sound of drums and shehnais was heard, Avantika realised the procession had reached the beginning of the lane. She rushed down with a basket of fresh flowers to welcome the monks. Along the footpath were devotees kneeling down to take the blessings of the monks and the ‘tapasvis’ (the people who fast for a certain number of days). The procession was treading slowly towards their final destination, ‘apasra’, with a gathering of the crowd to get a glimpse of ‘Maharaj Saheb’ and the ‘Tapasvis’.

At 7 in the morning, the neighbouring residents were at their windows, some with inquisitiveness about what was happening, and some just frustrated to hear loud instrument sounds and people chanting hymns on the road early in the morning, followed by the honking of cars and scooters.

‘Khuli jagah nahi hai’ – There is no open space

The residents of the ‘Gyaan Jyoti’ building were overjoyed, after waiting for 3 years, to shift into their brand new, redeveloped, Vastu-compliant flats. The chawl had borne several damages in the 2006 floods; since then, the committee had been in pursuit of gathering documents and property papers to commence the process of redevelopment. The plot was situated right next to the derasar; opinions of the derasar were also considered in terms of choosing a builder and the time of the redevelopment. All of this hassle prolonged the commencement of redevelopment by 10 years, and finally, after 3 years of construction, the flats were ready to move in.

Various builders had pitched for the project, and several meetings and negotiations resulted in finalising the one who provided the most favourable amenities.

“We will build an upashray on the third floor, which will connect to the Derasar; above that, we will provide a library; an infinity swimming pool, gymnasium and meditation area will be on the terrace. Imagine sitting on the 13th floor and meditating, swimming while looking at the entire city.”

Everyone’s eyes sparkled when they heard this pitch; it was the most convincing, after all, the trustees of the derasar (temple) had recommended them. The Derasar (temple) was also investing in this project, hence the Upashray and the library. The building’s sale component attracted mostly new Jain residents, who chose to occupy the lower-level floors, which were more accessible to the Upashray and the Derasar. The Refuge area was used as a multipurpose space for celebrating festivals or occasions.

The festival of Ganpati was nearing, and the residents were eager to get a Ganesh idol as it was the very first year of the building. They decided to have a society meeting regarding this, and everyone was asked to gather on the terrace by 9 pm. The kids of the society were upset that it would take away their playing space, so they insisted on having the meeting somewhere else. The refuge space has been a storage space for the Upashray for a while now. There was no other open space.

“Today we have met to discuss that various residents possess a wish to celebrate the festival of Ganpati as it is the first year of our society”, announced the Chairman.
“Amazing! But where shall we do it?” asked one of the residents.
“What about the refuge area?”, recommended another resident.
“No no! It can’t happen there, the Jains will finish their 8 – day long fast and will want that space to hosta function to break the fast.”, objected a resident.
“Can’t that happen somewhere else? maybe in the Upashray” recommended the society chairman. resident responded.
“No that is not possible, Upashray is not for all this”, the
“But we want to set up the ganesh idol in the society this year, it has been a practice since we lived in the chawl.”
“What do we do? There is no other open space to celebrate the festival.” sighed the Secretary.
“We don’t know about all this, we want the space to host a function to break the fast, you figure out what to do”, demanded the new residents.

Before the meeting would turn into a heated discussion among the residents, the committee asked everyone to disperse and assured them that they would figure out a way to celebrate the two festivals.

The result of this dilemma was to put a curtain which would act like the partition in the refuge area so the two celebrations could happen simultaneously on either side. The residents were not completely satisfied with the solution, but it was the only negotiation that would allow the two celebrations to happen in the same premises.

Summary and Analysis

‘Punya ka kaam’ – Virtuous deed

demonstrates that resident Jain entrepreneurs in Daulat Nagar mobilise capital towards the redevelopment of housing stock by situating themselves opportunistically in the networks and discourses of everyday religious practices.

Solidarities shaped in the spatial nodes inhabited by blood-kin, religious-kin and friendships are mobilised to garner support and strike deals for housing redevelopment projects.

In this particular case, the household living room, the upashray and the bar emerge as the spatial nodes where the networks materialise in physical space. Spiritual leaders of the Upashray market the redevelopment project through a framing discourse of ‘service to the (religious) community’. The household living room emerges as a space where religious discourses of frugal living and continuous investment of money through hard work and labour are internalised by households.

In contrast, the local bar, a male-dominant space in the residential neighbourhood, emerges as a space where (men) entrepreneurs find an escape from prohibitions of drinking liquor and smoking that are advanced by everyday Jain religious discourse to strike business deals.

‘Ghar Upashray’ – Habitation for Jain monks

discusses how an apartment presents spatial affordances to retrofit an Upashray, and in the process, unravels how retrofits of an institutional programme in a domestic space transform the commons of an apartment type, disrupting privacy and routines of the building’s residents.

A family turning towards a religious institution, ‘derasari’, to sell property for financial aid results in the institution buying that property situated in the same 4-storey residential building as the family, to house Jain monks and their practices, Upashray.

This transformation from a private residential floor to a public religious space clogs the common spaces of a building, with a continuous influx of people visiting the Upashray. The staircase-well, building compound, boundary wall and the adjacent street are utilised for accommodating the practices of the Upashray, leading to hindrance in the routine of other residents and neighbours.

Kalank Lag Jaayega – Reputation shall be blemished

is pivoted around how spatial stacking in the apartment type lends to olfactory experiences of cooking, and how the proximity of vegetarian and non-vegetarian households in densifying neighbourhoods results in social frictions. The service duct is subjected to modifications to restrict the smell of meat being cooked. Cooking meat at home is portrayed as a blemish. The result of this social friction is the blocking of service ducts on the particular floor to prevent the smell from diffusing towards the other floors, by adding pieces of ply to restrict the ventilation.

‘Vastu Anusaar’ – According to Vastu Shastra

discusses the design of modifications to the apartment unapproved type through the logic of Vastu Shastra, exceeding the city’s development control regulations. These modifications attempt to invent spatial affordances in the standardised apartment type that customise formal configurations to align with the differences produced by the practices of everyday religiosity.

These unapproved modifications in standardised production of housing layouts lead towards problems of leakage in homes and lift shafts, short circuits, extra load on the structural framework, etc. Adding a Puja Room and reconfiguring the kitchen, according to Vastu Shastra, leads to extending the home into the terrace, approved as a common building terrace in a 7-storey building. The terrace gets utilised as private property of the resident, depriving the agency of other residents, eventually advancing into a legal spat.

‘Khuli Jagah Nahi Hai’ – There is no open space

discusses the provision of amenities, which are mainly produced to suit the beliefs and resources framed by Jainism. Overlapping of other religious practices and routines prompts negotiations in this ‘ordered’ production of open spaces in redeveloped buildings. The production and regulations of amenities are standardised to adhere to the teachings and framed discourse of following asceticism, preached by Jainism.

This results in community specific amenities, such as an Upashray, being directly connected to the Jain temple, regulating the use of the swimming pool, by restricting its use during the days asceticism is suppose to be practiced, books to preach Jainism being made available in the library and imposing silent zones on the terrace to meditate and dividing the refuge space by curtain wall to accommodate various religious practices.

Conclusion

The above narrations and their analysis lend towards the argument that frictions along the axis of religious difference in this intense redevelopment of housing provide socio-spatial implications. The engagement of the residents with these religious differences and diversity gets translated into spatial housing forms through negotiations, modifications and reproductions.

Spaces produced by religious discourses and networks are seen to conflict with real estate regulations, disrupting privacy and routines by converting private residential units to public space to accommodate religious practices, causing forms of exclusion and alienation through biased claims asserted on the utilisation of common services and adapting standardised regulations for amenities framed by the discourse of following a certain lifestyle preached by a particular community.

I argue that the designs of the form and configuration of the apartment type—situated in logics of universality, efficiency and standardisation—are unable to absorb the cultural practices of everyday religious difference.

It articulates the design provocation:
How can the architecture of the apartment type be rearticulated to absorb and hold the everyday practices emanating from religious difference?

Importance of the research

The thesis delves into a deeper understanding of routines reinforced by religiosity and their implications on housing and built form. There are various ways to engage with this thesis; it opens up links between housing and religious culture, and differences, hence the thesis could be used to devise architectural housing strategies towards fostering the everyday practices emanating from religious difference.

This thesis has its roots in the contemporary way of living, the logic of universality in building the house forms compel the residents to shape their everyday life in a standardised manner, rejecting the diversity and difference that religiosity brings in. It also helps approach research methodologically to analyse the formation of networks based on religious discourses and beliefs, which is responsible for the production of spaces in the neighbourhood. Almost no precedents of the study of the intersection of everyday religiosity, housing and real estate regulations in Suburban Mumbai have been documented at such a scale, although these concepts have been studied individually or with other derivatives of intersection.

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