Abstract
My understanding of traditional architecture changed during my visit to the City Palace Museum in Udaipur. Before the visit, I mainly understood heritage through physical elements such as stone walls, courtyards, jalis, paintings and decorative surfaces. While walking through the museum, however, I became more interested in the way the building was experienced. Although the palace rises through several levels, I never felt that I was simply moving through a conventional five-storey building. The movement was more gradual, with rooms opening into passages, courtyards, terraces and finally an upper garden. This experience made me think about how traditional architecture uses movement, light, scale and landscape to create a sense of place. The miniature paintings in the museum further helped me imagine the people and activities associated with these spaces. The museum identifies Mewar paintings with courtly life, including processions, rituals, celebrations and hunting scenes (City Palace Museum, n.d.). This chapter therefore examines traditional architecture as living cultural heritage, where buildings are connected with memory, craftsmanship, social practices and environmental knowledge. It argues that conservation should preserve not only physical structures but also the knowledge and meanings that allow heritage to remain relevant.