6. Nov-Dec 2010

Architecture
Dried elephant grass, locally known as khar is
a very popular and unique building material in
these areas. Named elephant grass as they
grow high enough to cover an elephant in their
wilderness, this plant when fully grown and
properly dried provides the locals with a very
strong material that can be weaved into walls
or thatched as roofs.
Both the bungalows are built on top of wooden
Sal (Shorea robusta) posts some 4 metres
high. The open ground not only provides
ventilation channels, but also helps protect
the rooms from the omnipresent wildlife.
The Simal Bungalow was so named as it
wrapped itself around a Simal (Bombax)Tree.
Although the tree itself is now dead, it has not
been completely chopped off. The tree has
been adapted as a sculptural penetration into
the building ending at the top floor level as a
platform forming a coffee table, adding to the
naturalistic appeal of the tree as well as that of
the bungalow.
The dining house or the Gol Ghar is an inspired
building combining the Tharu architecture
from the Terai plains and styles from African
‘Bomas’. As its name suggests, the Gol Ghar
is a circular building with stone walls and a
thatched roof over wooden supports, and
comprises a multi-functional space for a dining
hall, bar, utilities and an outdoor verandah.
Incidentally the verandah showcases a story
of its own. In the company’s quest for wildlife
conservation, they had discouraged the locals
from bringing their cattle inside the national
park. A row of cowbells hanging from the eaves
of the corridor is a reminiscence of the lodge's
initiative, where the reward for every cowbell
removed from a cattle grazing inside the park
was Rs. 10.
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