A dream house to promote Punjabi culture and values

AMRITSAR - In an age of technology and automation, life has become perfunctory, but Manpreet Singh of Amritsar has set a different example by deciding to live in a mud house and be in tune with nature.

Manpreet Singh, a lecturer of Punjabi language at a local college, is very much drawn to Punjabi culture and customs. And, this overwhelming influence over the years has motivated him to build his house and give it the traditional appeal which most of the city dwellers have literally forgotten to value over the years.

Manpreet has spent over 100,000 dollars to build the house in the ‘Haveli’ style of an era gone by.

Designed by himself and an architect from Haryana, he believes that living traditionally always enriches cultural values, while the giant wooden gate, walls plastered with mud-cow-dung and old style interiors make it inimitable.

“Amritsar is a historical city. Old heritage buildings were demolished and replaced with modern houses, and this disappoints me. I thought of doing something different so that it inspires people. I selected a plot located at the village corner, which had a giant tree to construct this traditional style house. I brought the entry gate from Abohar. In the past, these used to be the drawing room, so I have tried to portray all that. Very few things of the past have been left in the villages,” Manpreet said.

Moreover, in Manpreet’s house, old brass utensils can be found arranged on wooden racks in the kitchen, just like it used to be about six decades ago in the villages.

The house has a living room, a master bedroom with an attached bathroom, an open courtyard, a beautiful verandah and three garages where his Mercedes and BMW are parked.

It took over 18 years to realize this dream, and his collection includes stuff from villages in India, Pakistan and Europe.

“I bought many items for interiors, kitchen, switchboard, utensils and bed from Pakistan and England. Rest of the things, I collected from villages in Bhatinda, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala districts,” he said.

He opines that it’s a shame that many of the people have started ignoring our traditions. He says he is just practicing what he preaches as a lecturer what he teaches to his students. He said that his house is open for all who revere traditions and want to experience culture of the olden days. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)