The river front of Benares: between 'sacred' waters and sewage water

Savitri Jalais (1)

1 ENSA PB - École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-Belleville

The palaces of Benares, built along the river Ganges between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 20th century, appear as foremost references of monumental water-front constructions. This paper explores the role played by these palaces in establishing a relationship between the Ganges and the city of Benares. These constructions integrate the river to the city while simultaneously protecting the city from the river. Were the palaces of Benares with their ghats (steps and landings leading to the water) and their foundations constructed to play this double role? The foundations and ghats of these palaces have to be regularly repaired to counter the erosion of the running river water. However, these waters are not the only cause for damage as often drains running along the ghats leak and sewage flows over them before discharging into the Ganges. These palaces and their ghats will thus be studied in association to both the running 'sacred' waters of the river Ganges (in the forefront) and the sewage water of the city.

Mots clés: Water-architecture; river; sewage

Domaines: Environnement et Société

Savitri Jalais. The river front of Benares: between 'sacred' waters and sewage water. 8th World Wide Workshop for Young Environmental Scientists WWW-YES-2008: Urban waters: resource or risks?, May 2008, Créteil, France. ⟨hal-00593630v2⟩