As the initial construction of Dhamma Giri progressed through the winter of 1975–‘76, it became obvious, according to the number of incoming course applications, that the planned accommodation for meditators would probably prove inadequate. At that time, students could be housed in the four new 12-person dormitories, a converted warehouse and two old bungalows. Consequently, the management began investigating ways to provide more rooms at an affordable cost. One option was to build simple wattle and daub huts for about 50 students. After discussion with Goenkaji, a decision was made to proceed with this idea.
We went to Jawhar, a town with a large tribal population about two hours away, contacted some villagers and farmers, and showed them our plans for constructing the huts. They suggested that for the wattle we obtain karvi (Strobilanthes callosa), whose sturdy stems were used by the locals to build their own huts. We estimated the quantity of karvi required, made an agreement with some responsible people, and paid them an amount in advance.
The cutting and collecting of karvi alone took many days. Once it was ready, we sent a large truck to collect it. About the same time, a number of men and women from there who knew how to construct the huts arrived in Igatpuri by bus. We made arrangements for their accommodation at Dhamma Giri and the next day some of them went with us to Nashik to buy bamboo poles and chatai (woven bamboo matting).
The plan was to build 18 huts for men laid out in a horseshoe shape on the extreme northeast corner of the Dhamma Giri hill, where a women's walking area is today. For women, 7 huts would be built in a circle next to the northeast corner of today's teacher's residence garden. Each hut was to be divided in two by a chatai partition and have a door at either end. Altogether there would be room for an additional 36 men and 14 women.
First, a raised foundational floor was made of mud that, when dry, was covered with a special mixture of semi-liquid cow dung and topped with flat stones. Over this, a vertical bamboo framework was erected, then the wattle wall sections made of woven karvi stems were fitted and plastered inside and out with a combination of cow dung, mud and straw. The peaked bamboo roof frame was covered with chatai, then thatched with grass. For that, several truckloads were brought from nearby villages. Readymade doors, also made of chatai, were installed on hinges, and lastly electrical wire was strung and connections made to single bare bulbs on each side of the hut.
One by one they gradually took shape. Resident foreign old students enthusiastically pitched in to help. The pace of construction increased when additional village women joined the crew. Some wove the wattle panels, some daubed the floors and walls, others worked on the thatching. The site had the appearance of a small-scale industry workshop. Building the huts was highly skilled work, but those involved seemed to do it almost effortlessly. When Guruji came to inspect the project, he was pleased to see so many tribal people working together preparing the centre's latest accommodations.
The huts could be used for about seven months of the year, from November to May. During the rainy, windy monsoon season when there were no courses, a lot of them collapsed. Every year it was a huge job to restore them by reconstructing the walls, rethatching the roofs and thoroughly cleaning each one—all of which took time.
In the autumn, courses began again after the Diwali festival. Since the huts were very popular among the foreigners and with some Indian students, they were the first to be filled. The preference to stay in them was partly because they afforded greater privacy and seclusion, something that was sought after by the more serious meditators. (One of them completed a month-long self-course in a wattle hut, and that too during the monsoon!)
Completed in early 1976, the original huts lasted for several years before their perishable wattle walls had to be replaced by bricks and their thatched roofs with corrugated bitumen panels. Even today, old students from the West who stayed in the huts retain fond memories of their experience. And witnessing their appreciation, all of us who were involved in the project still feel happy about the efforts that we made.
Editor’s Note: This post is the ninth in an ongoing series, A Dhamma Giri Diary, comprised of remembrances that together offer a first-hand account of the initial few years that followed the 1974 purchase of the barren hilltop that became the first Indian Vipassana center, Dhamma Giri, in Igatpuri, Maharashtra. Narayan Dasarwar, who was there from day one, reflects on his association with S.N. Goenka, the principal teacher, the development of the center, and some of the individuals who helped make it possible. The Pariyatti Journal is grateful to Narayan for sharing his personal account of life at Dhamma Giri.
