Brahmapuri is among the historical localities in Jodhpur, India.  It is one of the oldest known locations at the foot of Mehrangarh Fort, built in 1459′.  Brahmapuri is considered the first city of Jodhpur, and the city is now famously called the “Blue City” due to its many houses coloured blue.  These days, the bright blue colouring of Brahmapuri houses has become a hallmark of the city’s cultural identity, attracting much attention from tourists worldwide.

Still, the blue colour of the houses in Brahmapuri entered their space only in the 17th century.  Initially a colony for upper-caste Hindus-Brahmins, blue indicated sociocultural purity in the Hindu caste system.  Over time, this became an ordinary practice- painting the blue home in Morocco’s famous Chefchaouen style.

There were some practical reasons why blue paint was used for this purpose.  The blue pigment was prepared with a mixture of natural indigo and limestone plaster.  What is more, it helped to keep interiors cool in hot summers.  Furthermore, the blue colour possessed pest-repellent properties due to the mixture of copper sulfate with indigo.  However, over time, this tradition has started to fade in Jodhpur.

‘The use of natural indigo in the region has become minimal due to soil destruction caused by the crop cultivated for indigo.’ ‘ At the same time, modern technologies such as air conditioning have made it less necessary to use natural coolants.’  The increasing prices of indigo and other blue dyes have also made fewer houses painted in blue.  This paint that cost 5,000 rupees to give a home a blue look now costs more than 30,000 rupees, thus making it unaffordable to many residents.

As temperatures in Jodhpur have increased, the blue paint no longer cools homes to the same extent as it once had.  According to the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Jodhpur’s mean temperature has increased by one °C since the 1950s, reaching 38.5°C in 2016.  

The cumulative effect of this warming trend with the growth of a city has led many citizens to desert the old method of lime plaster.  Instead, they have opted for cement and concrete, which soak the blue pigment badly and intensify heat in the atmosphere, a phenomenon known as the “heat island effect.”

‘Despite all these challenges, residents and activists oppose the loss of the blue hues in Brahmapuri. Deepak Soni, a garment vendor, has been diligently working to restore blueish tones in the locality.  He began negotiating with the local government and residents in 2018 to repaint their houses blue.  Since 2019, he has collected money to repaint 500 houses every year and encouraged around 3,000 homeowners to go back to the blue tradition.’

Soni estimates that about half of Brahmapuri’s 33,000 homes are painted blue. He is also involved in a plan with local officials to lime plaster more homes, allowing them to retain the blue colour.  His efforts are directed towards helping preserve the city’s unique heritage, especially since people in tour-guided groups commonly compare Jodhpur to Chefchaouen, which has kept its blue identity alive for centuries.

Soni feels that keeping Brahmapuri blue embodies the essence of keeping the city culturally relevant.  He called upon citizens to cherish memories of their city and keep it in its former glory since if they do nothing, this specific identity of Jodhpur might dwindle away unnoticed.

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