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AGRAHARAMS: THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF A
UNIQUE HOUSING PATTERN IN KERALA
Sharat Sunder R

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CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................... 3
2. BRAHMIN MIGRATION TO KERALA DURING 15TH CENTURY............................... 4
3. THE SETTLEMENT PATTERN ................................................................................................ 5
4. THE TRADITIONAL KERALA HOMESTEAD AND THE AGRAHARAMS ............. 6
5. THE PLANNING ACCORDING TO VASTUPURUSHAMANDALA ..........................11
6. REFLECTING SOCIAL POSITION IN THE BUILT FABRIC........................................13
7. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................15
8. REFERENCES: ..............................................................................................................................17

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AGRAHARAMS: THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF A UNIQUE
HOUSING PATTERN IN KERALA
1. INTRODUCTION
The agraharams1
of Kerala is the standing vestiges of the history of a group of people who
had migrated to this land and made it their abode. The history of the Brahmin migration
to Kerala are intertwined with a lot of myths and legends, that one finds it hard to
separate the truth from them. According to popular belief and oral traditions, the
ancestors of the Brahmins of south India had migrated from northern India to the
southern parts of the subcontinent in the course of Aryan Invasion.2
The earliest records of Brahmins and their settlements in south India finds mention in
Perump ṇ ṟ ṟ uppaṭ ai3
, a Sangam Age work dated to 3rd century AD called which describes
the agraharams as follows:
The houses had in front of them, a shed with short legs to which were tied fat calves; the houses were
washed with cow dung and had idols (inside them). Domestic fowl and dogs did not approach them. It was
the village of the guardians of the Veda who teach its sounds to the parrots with the bent mouth. If you
(bard) reach (the place), fair faced bangled ladies who are as chaste as (Arundhathi) the little star which
shines in the north of the bright, broad sky, will after sunset feed you on the well-cooked rice named after
the bird (explained by the commentator as the rice called irasanam) along with slices of citron boiled in
butter taken, from the buttermilk derived from red cows and scented with the leaves of the karuvembu,
and mixed with pepper-powder, and the sweet-smelling tender fruit plucked from the tall mango tree and
pickled
1
Agraharams: The name originates from the fact that the agraharams have rows of houses on either side
of the road and the temple to the village god at the centre, thus resembling a garland around the temple.
According to the traditional Hindu practice of architecture and town-planning, an agraharam is held to be
two rows of houses running north-south on either side of a road at one end of which would be a temple to
Shiva and at the other end, a temple to Vishnu.
2 The Vadakalai Iyengars of South India are believed to be an Indo-Aryan people who once migrated from
North India.( "History of Madras by James Talboys Wheeler" )In a genetic study in Andhra Pradesh all
individuals examined among Vadakalai Iyengars showed a high similarity of rhesus(d) gene frequency with
the people of Faislabad in the Punjab province of Pakistan. All the individuals examined among Vadakalai
Iyengars showed Rhesus(D) positive with a high frequency of the D allele while the other castes from
Andhra showed a low frequency of the D allele ( Hameed, Amjad; Hussain, Wajahat; (2002). "Prevalance of
Phenotypes and Genes of ABO and Rhesus (Rh) Blood Groups in Faisalabad, Pakistan". Pakistan Journal of
Biological Sciences (Asian Network for Scientific Information)).
3 P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar (1929). History of the Tamils from the Earliest Times to 600 A. D.; pp. 388 389.

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The Brahmin settlers of south India had migrated to various parts of the subcontinent
and made their settlements around temples. As a community which handled the Vedas
and religious texts, the Brahmins wielded power and influence in the social hierarchy. As
the priestly class they received royal patronage and respect from the rulers and all the
other communities.
Wherever they went, the Brahmins made their settlements around temples, around which
their everyday life revolved.
2. BRAHMIN MIGRATION TO KERALA DURING 15TH CENTURY
The Brahmins in Kerala can be broadly classified into two groups the Namboothiri
Brahmins and the Tamil and Tulu Brahmins. The Namboothiri Brahmins claim
themselves to be the true Malayala Brahmins of Kerala, who were the descendant of the
families brought to Kerala by Parasurama, the mythical creator of Kerala. However, the
stories of the origin of many of the prominent Namboothiri families have roots in
Tamilakam. The Tamil and Tulu Brahmins who had migrated to various parts of Kerala at
different time periods were termed as Paradesi Brahmins by the indigenous
communities. The migrants brought with them the new style of housing termed as
agraharams.
The major Brahmin migrations into Kerala took place from the early Sangam age and
extended till 1600 A.D. The last phase of large scale Brahmin migrations were catalyzed
by the fall of the Vijayanagara dynasty of the Deccan, exposing the independent,
provinces of the South to the invading Muslims from the North. The golden reign of the
revered king of Vijayanagara, Deva Raya II, had ended in 1450.
Vijayanagara, the Hindu kingdom, geographically shielded the small, weak districts of
Tami Nadu from the Muslim invaders of the North. However, Vijayanagara of the late
15th and early 16th century, at the time of the Tamil Brahmin migration, was crumbling,
creating widespread fear in the weak, scattered, former Pandya and Pallava kingdoms of
the South. The kingdom of Vijayanagara was all that lay between the vulnerable southern
kingdoms and the invading Muslims from the north. With the support of the Gajapathi
King of Orissa, the Bahmini Sultanate of Delhi continued to attack the Northern frontier
of the Vijayanagara kingdom. Therefore, the fall of Vijayanagara also proves to be another
important historical event that could have caused turmoil in the southern kingdoms,

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triggering the Tamil Brahmin migration to safer abodes.4
This was the time when the
agraharam housing patterns were established in various parts of south India.
3. THE SETTLEMENT PATTERN
The planning of the agraharams followed a grid iron or concentric ring patterns, with the
temple forming the main focus. The row of houses is either single or double storied, with
the traditional pitched roof form striking a significant profile against the sky. The streets
were narrow and formed an integral extension of the living space . The linear settlement
pattern culminated at a temple or was arranged around the temple in various concentric
rings, as seen in the great south Indian temple towns. Water bodies were always seen it
the vicinity of these settlements as the Vedic life recommended both spiritual and physical
purity.
The row houses sharing a common wall had a long verandah running along the front
portion, supported by stone and wooden pillars. This unique architectural style finds itself
alienated from the vernacular architecture practices and traditions of the Kerala.
However, this architectural style embeds within the true history of this community, their
lifestyle, customs and traditions.
The evolution of this particular architectural typology may also speak about the social
position of the Brahmin community. Even though these migrant Brahmins wielded
power in the caste ridden society, they were always a minority when compared to the local
indigenous population. Moreover, when they moved into a new place and made their
settlements, there was always a tendency amongst the members of the communities to
settle together to ensure safety. Another reason behind this was that in most cases the
early migrants to a particular place may be the members of a same family, and thus when
they settle down in an alien land, they automatically evolved into a close knit community
whose principles were based on strict religious norms. The settlements were often made
and donated to these families by the rulers.
The row housing pattern reflecting the lifestyle of the Brahmin community was unknown
to the south Indian agrarian society. The indigenous communities had farmlands in close
proximity to their living spaces and often the individual houses stood apart in the centre
of a large plot. The courtyard houses of Kerala, often termed as nalukettu and educate
had form and features believed to have evolved through a history of tradition going back
4 Arjun Venkat, Tamil Brahmin migration to Kerala, American School of Bombay, 2006.

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to the Vedic period (500B. C. -200A. D.). The indigenous Dravidian population of south
India who followed Jain and Buddhist religions, incorporated into their thoughts and
practices, some of the Vedic principles they adopted through the interaction with the
Brahmins. Therefore, both in the basic planning of both traditional vernacular
architecture of south India and in the agraharams one may come across some similarities.
Yet there have been regional variations in the local vernacular architecture, governed by
factors like climate and availability of building materials.
4. THE TRADITIONAL KERALA HOMESTEAD AND THE AGRAHARAMS A
COMPARISON
The traditional homestead in Kerala was the tharavadu , a complex built unit comprising
of many sections with specific usages. The basic units of these houses were square or
rectangular structures where four blocks are joined together with a central courtyard open
to the sky. The four halls on the sides are named vadakkini (northern block), padinjattini
(western block), kizhakkini (eastern block) and thekkini (southern block). The architecture
was especially catered to large families of the traditional tharavadu, to live under one roof
and enjoy the commonly owned facilities of the marumakkathayam5
homestead. Based on
the spatial arrangement of the rooms and the number of courtyards, this vernacular
typology is further classified into many different groups.
Traditionally nalukettu has one courtyard with four blocks/halls constructed around it in
cardinal directions. However some nalukettus have two courtyards, which are known as
Ettukettu (eight Blocked structure) as they have altogether eight blocks in cardinal
directions. Some superstructures have four courtyards, which then are known as
patinarukettu (sixteen blocked structure). While nalukettus and ettukettus are more common,
pathinarukettu are extremely rare, due to its enormous size.
Likewise nalukettus can be differentiated based on their height and number of floors. Most
of the nalukettus in South Kerala are single storied and mostly made with wood
completely. Whereas nalukettus in North Kerala are two storied or sometimes even three
storied and have laterite and clay mixture as walls.
In North Kerala, most of the granaries are located outside the main house, whereas in
Travancore side, it will be normally attached to the Kitchen area and mostly built
underground.
5 Marumakkathayam matrilineal system of inheritance.

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A traditional Kerala house has the following components:
• The padippura - It is a structure containing a door forming part of Compound wall
for the house with a tiled roof on top. It is the formal gateway to the compound
with the house.
• The poomukham - It is the prime portico soon after steps to the house.
Traditionally it has a slope tiled roof with pillars supporting roof. Sides are open.
• The chuttu verandah - From the Poomukham, a verandah to either side in front of
the house through the open passage called chuttu verandah. Chuttu verandah will have
hanging lights in equal distance hanging from its slope roof.
• The nadumuttam - Traditionally nadumuttom or central open courtyard is the prime
center of the Nalukettu. The rooms are arranged around this courtyard.
Depending upon the social status and economic conditions of the family, the homestead
will have further additions like ponds, granaries and cowsheds, all scattered inside a large
compound. The houses of the indigenous Brahman community known as the
Namboothiries were also similar to this. The Nampoothiri Brahmins established the
gramoms in Kerala, which were the forerunners of the later scattered agrarian settlements.
The gramoms were villages with a family of the Nampoothiri family occupying the central
position. The settlements of all the other caste members were concentrated around it. The
caste system followed in south India was another player in the evolution of the hierarchy
of the settlement patterns. The observance of tindappad 6
among the upper and lower
castes, the joint family and customs of the Kerala Brahmins which separate them from
their counterparts elsewhere, the matriarchal joint family and succession among the castes
included in the Varna-jati system, and above all the peculiar forms of the feudal land
relations in Kerala; it is evident from all these realities that the formation of the
agricultural village system in Kerala took shape in a different situation from that of the
south and north,7
this contributed to the unique identity of the village settlements of
Kerala.
The design and layout of the Brahmin agraharams are in contrast to the traditional
architectural style followed in Kerala. As explained before, the settlement pattern
followed by the traditional Brahmin settlers were guided by certain parameters like the
6 Tindappad the observance of certain distances between the various castes in order to avoid pollution by
contact.
7 Cherian PJ (State Editor) Essays on Cultural formation of Kerala.

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social position of the community, their association with the temple and of course, the
patronage of the royals. The agraharams now found in Kerala date back to the 15th
and
16th
century A.D. The religious and political conditions that prevailed in those days also
acted as an important factor in defining the agraharam settlements.
The agraharams built around the temples were either arranged along the three sides of the
main temple (e.g. the agraharams inside the Fort, Thiruvananthapuram); otherwise, the
most commonly seen pattern is the concentric circles around the temple (e.g. agraharams
of Srirangam). The agraharams were often built on land donated by the royals and often
the land was divided amongst the migrant Brahmins based on the social hierarchy existing
within their caste group. The highly regarded families, the priests and the scholars
acquired the position near the temple and the palace complex; the others occupied the
outer fringes.
The agraharams were usually followed a linear planning, quite in contrast to the
arrangement of rooms around the courtyard we see in the traditional Kerala houses. The
planning and architecture of these two housing patterns have evolved over time taking
into consideration various parameters like the local climatic conditions, availability of
local building materials and the skill employed in the construction. The courtyard houses
of Kerala show a direct response to the climatic conditions of the place. In the hot humid
climatic conditions of this region, the courtyard ensures easy ventilation. Traditionally the
sloping roof of the houses lets in a little sunlight to the interiors of the traditional Kerala
houses; this is compensated by the presence of the large courtyard. The courtyard has
some religious association too, traditionally in Kerala Vastu, the open courtyard in a
Kerala house is considered as the deva sthana the most sacred place assigned to the gods
and hence construction are not allowed there. In old houses we can often see the sacred
tulsi planted and worshipped in the centre of the courtyard.
The agraharams also incorporates a courtyard in its design; however, here its position is
not in the deva sthana. The function of the courtyard in an agraharam corresponds to that
of the traditional Kerala courtyard, however, here the scale and proportion are in
accordance with the design of the agraharam itself. These courtyards were used for
religious purposes, the backbone of the life of the Brahmin community.
The spatial planning of the agraharams follows a linear pattern with rooms arranged one
after the other. The spaces inside have special purposes, and among them privacy of the

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occupants is of the least concern. The various components of the agraharam are the
following:
• Puramthinna the long corridor/verandah running in front of the agraharams.
This space also acted as a community gathering place where the men assembled
for religious discourse.
• Akamthinna the small room next to puramthinna, this room incorporates the
konippadi (stairway) leading to the upper storey.
• Rezhi this is the central room in an agraharam which acts as the living/bed
room, the important religious ceremonies and rituals associated with the Brahmin
community are also performed in this place.
• Thalam it is the space around the courtyard, the homakundam or the place for the
sacrificial fire is located here.
• Mittam the courtyard is a part of the rezhi itself and often there is no separation
between these two spaces.
• Adukkala this is the kitchen.
• Kuchil these are the rooms located at the extreme end, where the ladies
during their menstruation are housed.
• Machil Machil is the attic room. The stairway from the akamthinna leads
to the machil. This room is assigned for the use of newly wedded couples.
• Kottil the independent structure located at the extreme end, it is often
used as a cow shed or as storage space.
In the old days the agraharams did not have toilets associated with the house and the
system of scavengers lanes thus came into existence. There were narrow lanes running
behind the agraharams, through which the scavengers came and collected the night soil
from each agraharam.

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THE PLAN AND SECTION SHOWING THE SPATIAL PLANNING OF THE AGRAHARAM.
The culture and life that developed within the agraharam settlements were entirely
different from those seen in the traditional indigenous settlements. The matriarchal
system of family led to the joint family system, where we had the members of a family
living under the same roof. The head of the family was the male head, the karanavar and
the senior most females of the family. This joint family system brought in a system of
group living and sense of sharing amongst the local communities. However, in the case of
the agraharams the qualities of living together and sharing each other s space got reflected
in their planning of the settlements and it zoomed down into the architecture of their
houses. The traditional houses of Kerala often had a private pond associated with it,
which was used exclusively by the members of the family. In the case of the agraharam
settlements, the linear division of the plots and the houses which covered almost the
whole of the plot area did not allow its settlers to have the luxury of a separate pond for
each house. The settlers depended upon the temple pond. The sense of sharing the spaces
is then best exhibited in the design of the puramthinna; the long connected verandah s
running in front of all the agraharams. The puramthinna was an interstitial space which
connected the street and the interiors of the house and this was also the place where
religious as well as philosophical debates were held.
The culture of living together and sharing has also played an important role in the
everyday life of the inhabitants of the agraharams. They have bhajana madhoms (prayer
halls) which also was a place where the people from the settlement gathered for the
festivals and during important occasions. The indigenous agrarian settlements of Kerala
did not have such a gathering place, other than the temple.
The agraharams were introvert settlements, often open to the members of the particular
caste group, however within the introvert settlement there were designed built and open
spaces that well catered to the needs of the settlers. The streets within the settlements
were narrow and not designed for vehicular transportation. The streets were also a part of
the life of the Brahmin communities as many of the important religious functions and
marriage feasts were conducted in the streets. In Kerala there is no community which has
integrated the streets with their daily life.

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5. THE PLANNING ACCORDING TO VASTUPURUSHAMANDALA
The selection, orientation and location of the house in traditional Kerala concept were
greatly influenced by the concept of vasthupurushamandala, the cosmic diagram and related
geometric ways of spatial planning in relation with time and nature based on astrology
and mathematical computation, which formed the primary resource of Hindu
architecture.8
According to vastu, the site is divided into nine veedhis or paths by concentric
squares. The seventh and eighth paths known as devaveedhi and manushyaveedhi are reserved
for ancillary structures. The outermost veedhi is the pishachaveedhi, where no construction
other than the compound wall and the gateway are permitted. The two innermost paths
are dedicated to the gods- the brahmaveedhi and ganeshaveedhi, these are considered as sacred
and no construction is permitted over it. This in turn developed into the open courtyard
in the traditional Kerala house.
THE TRADITIONAL PLANNING OF A TEMPLE TOWN WITH THE TEMPLE OCCUPYING THE
DEVA STANA, THE LAYOUT OF TEMPLE TOWN OF MADURAI.
The vastu planning which was a unique feature of the traditional Kerala houses was not
heard of in the planning and design of the agraharams. The linear pattern of agraharams
cannot be overlaid on the vasthupurushamandala. However, taking into consideration the
planning of a temple town, we can see that the agraharams were constructed in the veedhis
8 Jacob Joseph Koduveliparambil, Construction Practices in Traditional Dwellings of Kerala (Thesis), 1997.

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which were assigned for human habitation. In a traditional temple town, the temple is the
nucleus, around which the settlements are made, i.e., the temple occupies the brahmaveedhi.
CASESTUDIES: Examples for extensive agraharam settlements can be seen in the layout
of the old temple towns of Madurai (FIG 3) and Srirangam. In Madurai the settlement
pattern and its hierarchy are rather interesting as we can see that there the Brahmins were
not always considered as the most privileged caste groups.
THE TEMPLE TOWN OF SRIRANGAM.
The fortune of the old walled city of Madurai was in the hands of the traders. The
Chettiar (Vaisya traders) and the settlers from Sourashtra and the Yadava communities
were associated with trade and they enjoyed higher position and status in the social
hierarchy. Their social position reflected in the settlement patter, in Madurai, the
settlements of the trading communities are seen in proximity to the temple complex. The
community of traders who thus lived alongside the Brahmins adopted their mode of row
housing and thus the housing of the trading communities in Madurai is similar to the
agraharam row housing pattern of the Brahmins.

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In the more traditional temple town of Srirangam we can still see the remnants of the past
glory of the agraharams. Here the Brahmin settlements are seen in concentric rings
around the main temple complex. It is important to note that in this temple town, the
temple occupies the brahmaveedhi, the central scared portion and the settlements are
seen in the veedhis, those prescribed for habitation in the old texts.
6. REFLECTING SOCIAL POSITION IN THE BUILT FABRIC
The traditional architecture in Kerala is best manifested in the timber works of the
indigenous craftsmen. The traditional buildings of south Kerala, including the heritage
structures found in the fort area which predates 19th century use timber as the major
building material. The superstructures as well as the roofing framework in these buildings
are made using timber. Whereas, in north Kerala the major building material was laterite
stone which was easily available. The reliance on the building materials has contributed to
the scale and proportion of the traditional housing patterns.
In the case of the agraharams in Thiruvananthapuram the major building material used
was a locally available inferior variety of laterite stone, locally known as cheekkal . The
now availability of this stone has made the owners to go for ordinary bricks. The
cementing materials as well as the plastering materials used in the old days were different
from those used today. In the past mud mortar was used, in the palaces and the houses of
the nobles and other prominent communities they used lime plaster, with jaggery, sand
and the oil extracted from a fish9
as the ingredients added to it. Roofing was done using
thatch or clay tiles (fish scale tiles and Mangalore tiles). The thatch roof demanded
periodic care as it has to be renewed every year; this ensured the proper maintenance of
the roofing system.
The building materials used and the scale of the building reflected the economic status of
its occupants. When compared to the agraharams in Thiruvananthapuram, the agraharams
of Kalpathy in Palakkad District of north Kerala are much larger and embellished. The
reason behind this was undoubtedly attributed to the higher economic viability of its
occupants. Unlike the Brahmin migrants in Thiruvananthapuram, who were employed in
the temple, the Brahmin settlers in Kalpathy were associated with trade. The commercial
activities boosted the economic profile of these settlers and it got transcribed into the
9 Interview with senior Chittatinkara Madhavan Pillai Vaidyan, Koottamvila, Thiruvananthapuram (2011).
According to Madhavan Pillai, the oil/secretion from a fish locally known as varal or bral is added to the
lime mortar.

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architecture also. The agraharams in Kalpathy come under the category of muzhumana
or the complete form of the house, whereas the agraharams in Thiruvananthapuram are
usually of the lesser scale. The different typologies of the agraharams within a same
settlement suggest the existence of the various hierarchies within the Brahmin community
itself. The most venerated scholarly class of Brahmins always occupied the larger
agraharams which were known as muzhumana , whereas the ordinary temple staffs
owned the aramana and the mukkalmama . The lowest in the hierarchy were those who
did service works within the community itself; their houses reflected their lower social
standing as they lived in kalmana , the smallest of the agraharam typology.
THE MUZHUMANA, ARAMANA, MUKKALMANA AND KALMANA TYPOLOGIES WITH THEIR
RELATIVE SIZE.
The Brahmins being a religious faction took care to incorporate within their architecture
certain patterns and traditions that reflect their Vedic roots. During the late 19th and early
20th centuries, with the Colonial influence and trade relationships with other nations, a
wide variety of building materials became available in the Indian market. When the rich
and influential Brahmin settlers went for imported Burmese teak, most of the orthodox

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stock still opted for the simple bamboo as a major building material.10
The reason behind
this is the religious association the Brahmins had with the bamboo plant. The new
building materials exported via ship was ridiculed by the orthodox Brahmins as impure
and thus not considered for building activities. If this was the scene in the orthodox
setup, then there was another group of Brahmins who were more exposed to the Western
ways of life. With the British occupation of India, the Brahmins were one of the
communities to embrace the new ways of Western education which in turn helped them
to acquire the favour of the British. Learned Brahmins were always associated with the
royals as well as the British, who were their new masters.
7. CONCLUSION
The agraharam settlements of today have undergone transformation. The agraharam
settlements in Thanjavur, near Kumbapettai in the post independence period consisted of
thirty six households, a small settlement; however, still it was a powerful, introvert
community holding firm to the old taboos of caste system and Brahmin dominance in the
society. They had imposed several restrictions on access to the agraharams. Even in
1950s, the non-Brahmin and Dalit communities were not allowed to set foot on the main
street; they had to come to the back door. The Temple Entry act of 1947 meant that
members of all castes had the legal right to go to the Vishnu and Shiva temples in the
agraharam, but in practice they did not do so and the old ban on their admission was still
being observed in the post independent Kumbapettai.11
This high degree of internal
interaction and external exclusiveness (Gough 1960) exhibited by the Brahmin
community is exhibited in their settlement pattern and in the spatial organization of their
houses. The agraharams in East Fort, Thiruvananthapuram dates to the 18th century.
When compared to the agraharam settlements of the great temple towns of Tamilnadu,
the Thiruvananthapuram agraharams are far less in concentration; the restrictions to other
caste members were also less. The old form of life in the agraharams changed during the
1940s, with the Hitler s War (World War II), says 92 year old Krishna Iyer. During the
time of the war and after, many youngsters from the agraharams migrated out in search of
10 Bamboo was an integral part in the upanayanam and marriage ceremonies associated with the Brahmin
community. As a building material, it was generally used as rafters of the roof frame which supported the
tiles or thatch on top.
11 A Companion to the Anthropology of India, Isabelle Clark-Decès, from the description of the
Kumbapettai agraharams given by the anthropologist Gough, where she stayed in 1951-52.

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better employment opportunities .12
The transformation of the old form of agraharams
had started then. With the emigration of the local Brahmin community, the agraharams
were often occupied by the members of other castes. The remaining Brahmins shut
themselves away from the new occupants. The open thinna in front of the agraharams was
closed and the once active space of interaction and heated Vedic discussion have been
lost forever. After independence most of the great temples came under the control of the
new government and thus the traditional system of management changed, with this many
of the Brahmins who were traditionally associated with the temple lost their job. This in
turn made them to look for alternative ways of living. Many of the agraharams began to
run catering service, supplying homemade vegetarian food. A few of them were even
converted into hotels; the thinna got converted into shops.
From the architectural point of view the agraharams in Kerala are unique and different
from the other agraharam settlements of the great temple towns of Tamilnadu, at the
same time it draws a contrasting picture of the traditional Kerala style of architecture as
well. The prime objective of this research was to compare the vernacular architecture with
the design and planning of the agraharams, and the various socioeconomic, religious and
political factors behind it. The agraharams in Kerala have borrowed some features from
the traditional vernacular architecture, like in the case of building materials, timber which
was easily available and common in Kerala was also used extensively in the agraharams.
However, other than this, the spatial organization of the Tamil Brahmin houses in Kerala
remains unique and untouched.
12 Interview with Krishna Iyer, Tippu Street, East Fort, Thiruvananthapuram (2011).

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8. REFERENCES:
Published works:
1. Thapar Romila, Early India: From Origins to AD 1300, 2002; Penguin Books
2. Sadashivan S.N., A social history of India, APH Publishing, 2000
3. Social Formations of Early South India, Rajan Gurukkal.
4. A Companion to the Anthropology of India, Isabelle Clark-Decès
5. I.H. Hacker, Kerala; the land of Palms, London Missionary Society, 1912.
6. Travancore State Manual, Shangunny Menon P.
Unpublished works:
1. Guiding Transformations for Conserving the Agraharam Housing, Fort area
Thiruvananthapuram, Ayyappan K.A. (2000), S.P.A. Conservation Dept Thesis work
2. Agraharams, a changing paradigm work from College of Engineering Trivandrum.
3. Motivations for the Tamil Brahmin migration to Kerala during the late fifteenth and early
sixteenth centuries, Arjun Venkat, American School of Bombay.
4. Jacob Joseph Koduveliparambil, Construction Practices in Traditional Dwellings of
Kerala (Thesis), 1997.