A 300-year-old mansion stands in the quiet village of Kaudsi, near Dehradun. Draped in vines and wrapped in silence, this is no ordinary building. It is a living memory of a bygone era.
Built at a time when neither cement nor modern tools existed, its walls were crafted using a traditional mixture of lime and urad dal — black lentils — a technique that has stood the test of time.
The massive wooden beams, some over 400 years old, remain solid and unshaken, a testament to the craftsmanship of those who built them. Caretaker of the mansion, Sharad Kumar Kala said, "This Haveli- from what our grandfathers say... when this was constructed, there was no role of cement. So, lime, surkhi, and urad dal pitthi.... Surkhi is made out of crushed red brick. That was called surkhi. All of that was mixed to make the mortar. That was used to make the beams."
"Sal wood was used to balance the beams, which are in good condition even after 400 to 450 years. The beams have broken only in the places where the wood was damaged. The beams are so strong even today that they do not break even if you take a hammer to them," Kala said.
According to the caretaker, Kaudsi is as old as the mansion itself. During the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, settlers from Thaneshwar in present-day Haryana made this village their home.
At the time, the region was under the rule of the princely state of Tehri, with the Nagas holding sway through the zamindari system. It was under their protection that the haveli was constructed.
