Refurbishing Jasuli Buri Shaukyani’s Dharamshala into a Rung Community Museum: an adaptive reuse project in Bhowali, Uttarakhand, by Compartment S4

Located along Bhowali’s congested market street where narrow roads press against concrete facades, the project centres on a once-forgotten dharamshala originally built by Jasuli Buri Shaukyani, a 19th-century resident of Dantu village in the Upper Darma Patti of Dharchula. One of several shelters she commissioned for Shauka traders, the structure historically served as a vital refuge in the trans-Himalayan trade network, supporting a community whose lives were shaped by constant movement across difficult terrain.

After decades of neglect and urban encroachment, the dharamshala has been carefully restored and reimagined as a local community museum—a living archive of the Rung people, a minority trans-Himalayan community to which Jasuli Devi herself belonged. Rather than treating the building as a static monument, the intervention positions it as an active cultural space. Importantly, the project also functions as a modular prototype, offering a scalable model for the revival of other abandoned dharamshalas across Uttarakhand—as museums, community libraries, cultural centres, or locally run homestays, linking heritage conservation with sustainable livelihoods and cultural tourism.

Architecturally, the project addresses a challenging urban condition. Perched above active shops and embedded within a dense grain, the upper floor of the structure had long been unusable, with collapsed roofs and floors. The intervention preserves the building’s spirit while redefining its utility. New doorways connect the upper-level rooms, allowing the museum to unfold as a continuous spatial sequence. A skylight introduces natural light, gently illuminating carved details and exhibits, and transforming the once-dark interior into a calm, contemplative environment.

The museum itself is conceived as an assemblage of memory. Everyday objects, tools, textiles, and heirlooms associated with the migratory life of the Rung community are displayed as tactile narratives, speaking of craft traditions, trade practices, spiritual beliefs, and lived landscapes. Together, they offer local visitors a renewed sense of pride and provide outsiders with a rare insight into a resilient cultural history.

A key aspect of the project is the use of Likhai, the traditional wood-carving craft of Uttarakhand. Local artisans were engaged to carve doors, columns, railings, brackets, and windows, ensuring cultural continuity while embedding local knowledge within the architecture. Wooden flooring lends warmth to the interiors, while the exterior facade was retrofitted using mud plaster, wooden signage, and traditional chajjas, carefully stitching the building back into its historical context.

More than a single restoration, the project represents an ongoing initiative to reclaim structures that once supported a travelling culture and now lie unused or encroached upon. Here, architecture acts both as a carrier of memory and a catalyst for future livelihoods. Standing quietly above the bustle of the street, the restored dharamshala demonstrates that conservation need not be nostalgic—it can be functional, contemporary, and deeply relevant. Sometimes, re-inhabiting what already exists can be more powerful than building anew, allowing stone, wood, and story to once again hold life.